The Reality of Evil

Welcome to the New Year!  Our hearts go out this year to those who lost loved ones in the recent Connecticut massacre.  Perhaps you’ve suffered yourself at the hands of great evil and are asking, “Where next?”   Matt and Shaun offer hope and realistic answers to the problem that no amount of New Year’s resolutions can conquer.

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Links:

Loss of the Innocents (NYT), Ross Douthat

4 Wrong Answers to the Question “Why Me?”, Tim Keller

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, John Piper

Cynicism

It’s that holly, jolly time of year where everyone tries to “be good” so that Santa will bring them something.  Everybody except the cynics, that is.  What is a cynic?  They see everybody for the “pretenders” that they are.  Bah humbug.

Why can seeing the falsehoods and failures of those around us be so debilitating?  How can I find hope in the midst of the mess that is this life?  Well, have you ever considered the work of the ordinary means of grace in bringing you to see that God wants you weak, so that He can show Himself strong.  Have hope, cynic, you’re worse off than you think!  And God, He is just as strong as ever to save.

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Links:

Matt’s Musings, Ministry Leaders, Cynicism, and the Gospel

Jerram Barrs, The Saturation of Cynicism (Scroll down to page 2.)

J.F. Baldwin, The Deadliest Monster

Suffering

A little late this month due to Hurricane Sandy, but right on topic, namely suffering.  Natural disasters aren’t the only cause of suffering, though.  There is physical suffering, relational suffering, and even suffering for the truth. The Apostle Paul calls Christians to “follow him in suffering”.    What does he mean?  How can we do that?  Join us this month as we tackle a topic easier to talk about than to live, and so one in which we desperately need God’s grace.

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Links:

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Jeremiah Burroughs

Learning to Be Happy (Modern English version of Burroughs)

Contentment, A.W. Pink

Paying Attention

…in which Matt and Shaun have difficulty paying attention to the podcast.  Does your mind ever wander?  Do you ever have a hard time following a sermon or staying awake during prayer?  Christians need to reclaim the practice of “attending” to life one thing — one person — at a time!

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Interview with Milton Vincent

We believe the Gospel.  But do we live it?  With others?  Sometimes, as our guest this month suggests, we can be most irritable with our neighbor when we are trying to live the Christian life in our own strength.  The Gospel, on the other hand, offers a marvelous freedom to actually enjoy serving God!  This is a month not to miss.

Join Matt and Shaun as they talk with Milton Vincent, pastor of Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church and author of A Gospel Primer.

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Interview with Michael Ross

Matt and Shaun are joined by Michael Ross, pastor of Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, NC and author of Preaching for Revitalization.

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On Struggling Churches, Part 4

This month, Matt and Shaun talk about some of the work Matt is doing to promote revitalization in the PCA.

Introduction to the Podcast:

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The Kingdom Priority of Revitalization (Originally preached at North City Church, Poway, CA):

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