God has ordained music and singing for the purpose of His praise. The Scriptures are full of exhortations to God’s people to sing and make music for the Lord. This is a blessing. God was gracious when He gave us the means of music that we might use to honor Him. But Scripture is clear that music in...

http://youtube.com/v/iHI-foSNccA It's the weekend. I'm having fun.

I found this link to a chapter from Richard Phillip's newest book over at Monergism . Check it out. For those of us who grew up not hearing much about the sovereignty of God it was truly a spiritual revolution to discover the time and attention that the Bible gives to this attribute. What a comfort...

Al Mohler has written a helpful article for Tabletalk on the role that churches should play in training pastors. Sadly this is not a vision that many churches have embraced.

The discouraging statistics regarding young people who leave the church after high school say more about the family, I believe, than about the church. I do think that entertainment/event driven youth ministry ultimately fails in its stated purpose. But, in the end, parents, particularly fathers...

The SBC's Annual Church Profile (ACP) for 2007 should remove all doubt: The Southern Baptist Convention is in decline. Tom Ascol has posted on this today . I would like to know if anyone would dare to speculate on why the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is one of the fastest growing...

Justin Taylor has posted a letter that J.I. Packer and several of his fellow Anglican ministers sent to Bishop Michael Ingham. The bishop threatened to strip Packer and the others of their ordination. The reason, of course, is that these men are evangelical, that is they believe the Bible to truly...

http://youtube.com/v/XFR-8NVjw-k

The Seven Pillars is a tool that Metro East uses to help keep us faithful to those things that are most important to our identity as the Body of Christ. The first of the Seven Pillars is worship. The statement reads: Honor God with biblical and excellent worship that engages both mind and...

This post written by Noel Piper for DesiringGod.org really made me ask some questions about my lifestyle and the way that most of us American Christians choose to live. How much financial and chronological margin do we have in our lives? Do we have enough so that we are able to give of ourselves...

Tom Ascol has posted some important thoughts on pastor Steve Gaines recent chapel message at Criswell College. Caricature is the playground of the dishonest, intellectually lazy or both. Brothers in Christ ought to have the decency to not misrepresent the beliefs of others.

Timmy Brister has written an excellent response to Nathan Finn's question, "What are the most pressing issues facing Southern Baptists?" Incidentally, I provide links to both of these gentlemen's blogs.

If you are in the market for a study Bible then this is one you should check out. Also, the Reformation Study Bible and Literary Study Bible are outstanding!

Ligon Duncan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, MS was the conference's first speaker. The topic of his address was "Sound Doctrine: Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry." This was an important message given the fact that the necessity of doctrinal precision is always under...

Here are some video clips of some of the messages from the first T4G conference in 2006. Enjoy!

Great article by Paul Tripp from "By Faith" which is an online magazine from the PCA. It's a great resource. If you would like to read more there is a link under the "Bible and Theology" section of this blog.

Bob Kauflin posts these thoughts over at "Worship Matters" concerning the singing of "Shout To The Lord" on American Idol.

What made the marriage conference with Paul Tripp so helpful (and different) was its Bible-centeredness. Sadly, much of the marriage resources produced for Christians is technique driven. The result is that husbands and wives are told what they must do for their spouse in order to get what they...

Proving once again that there is not a third-world thug, communist dictator, or Islamic terrorist that he will not lend credibility, Jimmy Carter has scheduled a meeting with a Hammas leader in Syria. Read more about it.

Darrel Bock has written a very good article that helps correct the error that there was no functioning Christian orthodoxy during the early years of Christianity. This error often becomes the occasion for a kind of doctrinal ambivalence which separates the ethical teachings of Jesus from the...

What a great weekend we had at Metro East! God used Paul Tripp to bless us deeply. I will have more to say about the content of the weekend later on but for now take advantage of Dr. Tripp's Sunday evening preaching at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. You will find a link to his preaching...

http://youtube.com/v/Pslo04hB1Rk Old Heresy, New Faces

Greg Gilbert over at "Church Matters" has written a very good piece on voting in the church. He gives sound advice about the kinds of decisions that must be delegated by the congregation in order to keep the church from being bogged down and divided over petty issues.

http://youtube.com/v/BYLMTvxOaeE