Posts by Todd Pruitt

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We have said a lot about how the Gospel must not only be our central message but also the controlling hermeneutic of our lives. In this article Tim Keller demonstrates how the Gospel must be central to our ministry.
http://youtube.com/v/Cg_zhEIpTjs
Check out this powerful article from the Wall Street Journal.
Al Mohler posts this pretty impressive list of books he recommends for guys.
As I prepare for the third part in my current series of messages I am struck by the fact that nowhere in Scripture does God seem to give His people a seminar in how to do evangelism. Certainly the Bible makes it clear that regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit (John 3) and that unbelievers are...
"Since prayer is an aspect of our sanctification, our development or growth in godliness, it too must be understood as the fruit of what Christ has done for us. This is often the missing dimension in books and sermons on prayer...Problems emerge when the task of praying is urged without the motive...
In keeping with my recent post on the five books I would like every church member to read I thought I'd follow up with a few more recommendations. As many of you know I love to read the Puritans. Their way of wedding passionate spirituality and sound doctrine stands to this day as a model for us...
“The city is full of care, and he who has to go there from day to day finds it to be a place of great wear and tear. It is full of noise, and stir, and bustle, and sore travail; many are its temptations, losses, and worries. But to go there with the divine blessing takes off the edge of its...
"One of the most sinned-against biblical principles is that of the grace of God in the gospel as the pattern, motive and power for Christian living. Let us take the example of Jesus. The Christian church has always acknowledged the role of the imitation of Christ as a valid principle in Christian...
Five books I wish every church member would read: 1. Knowing God by J.I. Packer 2. The Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson 3. Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul Tripp 4. God's Big Picture by Vaughn Roberts 5. Putting Amazing Back Into Grace by Michael Horton
This week I have been reflecting a lot on the last two years. They have been, for me, very hard years. In fact these two years have been among the most stessful of my life. Jesus said that unless a seed falls into the ground and dies it cannot bear fruit. What a great image for us to cling to when...
"I'm not Mother Teresa. But I'm also not Charles Manson." - Mike Tyson to the Nevada State Athletic Commission
I have need of endurance these days. The task of caring for the church is feeling particularly heavy. There are times when the stress and the sadness is so great that my knees begin to buckle. I often think of the apostle Paul's account of his own suffering. He experienced things like ship wreck,...
I saw the following excerpt posted over at The Shepherd's Scrapbook . It is part of a message delivered by Al Mohler at Covenant Life in Church in Maryland. It deals with Jesus parable of the sowers. Dr. Mohler pays particular attention to the nature of "the crowd." I found his insights very...
Southern Baptists cannot find between 50 and 60 per cent of our members. Southern Baptist Church attendance is less than half of the membership we claim. What is more, many SBC churches are populated with baptized individuals who demonstrate scant biblical knowlege and little, if any desire for...
Karen and I celebrated eighteen years of marriage today. I have come to believe that nothing so much as marriage reveals my sins as well as my virtues. It has been in marriage that my selfishness has risen to its ugliest heights. Mercifully, however, I am a much better man than I otherwise would...
"In the 1970s and 1980s, on every side and in almost every way, it was becoming clear that ways of doctrinal thinking were wearing very thin. The capacity to think doctrinally was being lost as new leaders emerged, as the leadership of the evangelical world shifted from the older pastor-theologians...
An important aspect to being a Gospel-shaped, Gospel-driven church is hospitality. We must learn to think of our facilities as not only being our place but our neighbor’s place as well. The word “hospitality” has come to mean little more than entertaining. But in the Bible it is something far more...
I started blogging last May. I have enjoyed the process. It has helped me to be more observant about what is going on around me and in the world. It has also helped develop in me more discipline to reflect theologically on these things. The following are a few posts from the first few months that...
http://youtube.com/v/pK65Jfny70Y
"We used to think that the good news of the gospel was that sinners could be saved, or salvaged, from the wreckage of original and personal sin. Today, it seems, there is a new focus. In the old gospel, the problem was, 'How does a holy God accept sinners?' For the new one, the problem appears to...
In light of the recent, albeit brief dialogue I had with Tadd Grandstaff on this blog I thought I would post some extended thoughts on the modern church growth movement. I have been asked more times than I can remember about my thoughts on the seeker-sensitive movement within the church. For those...
http://youtube.com/v/uUl99id2SvM Okay, I'm laying my cards on the table. Christians should not vote for Barack Obama. Those of you who know me know that while I do speak to political issues I am very careful not to endorse any candidates or use my pulpit for political causes. But we know that the...
Mike Bullmore, pastor of Crossway Community Church is one of my favorite preachers. Justin Taylor has posted these wonderful messages from the seventh chapter of 1 Corinthians that Dr. Bullmore recently preached to his congregation. If you would like to hear more sermons from Mike, I have a link to...
Dr. Tom Ascol is a brother I really appreciate. He is the Executive Director of Founders Ministries and the pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida. For the last two years at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention Tom has submitted a Resolution for Integrity in Church...
This is an outstanding teaching series by D.A. Carson and Michael Horton on Galatians and the doctrine of justification. These messages were delivered at the Clarus Conference at Desert Springs Church . Thanks to Justin Taylor for posting this link.
Tim Keller of the Gospel Coaltion has responded to the question, "What is the most crying need in the church today?" Keller writes: I’m throwing in with Jim Boice on this one (cf. his Two Cities: Two Loves.) The evangelical church must stay true to its Biblical foundations, and it must maintain and...
Justin Taylor has linked to a very helpful article by D.A. Carson on what is known as "Red Letter Christians." I have been warning about this movement for some time. They have a distorted doctrine of Scripture therefore a distorted doctrine of Christ Himself.
This is a shot of my table by the waterfall during free time following the afternoon sessions.
Here are a few more shots from Chagrin Falls.
John Hendryx has posted this helpful critique of the emerging church's understanding of the Gospel. This same approach to the Gospel can be seen among the "Red Letter Christians" like Tony Campolo.
Tim Challies is at the Basics Conference doing some live blogging. You can find his first two posts here and here .
Thabiti over at Pure Church posted these two clips ( here & here ) of Alistair Begg on the subject of preaching. This is one of the reasons why I come to the Basics Conference every May. I get this kind of thing for three days. I thought these two clips were particularly important in light of...
This is just one example of how churches have moved away from faithfully preaching God's Word and keeping the Gospel central to its proclamation. What happens in this type of preaching is that "principles" are presented "from the Bible" that anyone can apply and benefit from. It is the mistaken...
Some of the council members of The Gospel Coalition have recently addressed the question: “What is the greatest, most crying need in the American church today?” C.J. Mahaney answered this way: "The greatest need in the American church today is the recovery of the church’s central message, the...
One of my favorite places in the world is the Starbucks at Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It is in a building that is about 150 years old and overlooks the waterfall. Every year that I attend the Basics Conference I sit at one of those windows to read and do sermon planning. It's a great spot. Now, here's...
I drove to Cleveland, Ohio. That's a pretty long haul. Actually I really do enjoy road trips. I am in town for the Basics Conference at Parkside Church. I come to this conference for pastors every May. It is a wonderful time. I always find my soul revived a bit during these days. On my way I was...
http://youtube.com/v/0cJh4Vd2N3w This interview raises some very interesting questions about how the church should relate to the culture. What should the boundaries be? How about sermon preparation and planning? What do you think about this pastor's approach?
Great stuff from The Boar's Head Tavern. This post captures so well the modern American religious ethos.
Al Mohler posts this wonderful article on one family who has boldly defied the culture of death promoted by such groups as Planned Parenthood and NARAL. Deeply moving!
Here is a great article from Brad Wheeler in the latest issue of The Nine Marks Journal .
Russell Moore of Southern Seminary has written this very interesting article for the "Southwest Baptist Journal of Theology."
Tim Challies provides this helpful review of "The Shack." Chances are you have heard about this book or know someone who is reading it. Brothers and sisters, we must avoid being swept up in the latest fad. Rather, we must think biblically and reject that which is peddled to Christians which is...
Most of the people who read this are aware of and have rejected what is commonly known as “the prosperity gospel.” This heresy of “name it, claim it” is advanced by such false teachers as Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer. Basically, they teach an ancient...
I have been very concerned for some time about the lack of spiritual discernment in the Southern Baptist Covention. It can be seen in the enthusiastic approval of the church growth movement and the influence of the emergenet church movement. Lifeway Christian Bookstores (owned by the SBC) regularly...
Reformation 21 has posted a provocative article by Stephen Nichols. Dr. Nichols illustrates well the ascendency of a Christian sub-culture that has done more to dilute and trivialize the faith than see it advance. You may want to check out some of the outstanding books by Stephen Nichols: The...
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...
Tom Ascol over at Founders has a link to and commentary on recent articles from the Baptist Standard on the resurgence of Calvinism within the Southern Baptist Convention.
http://youtube.com/v/iHI-foSNccA It's the weekend. I'm having fun.
http://youtube.com/v/G9em-ZCddWk Brian Regan is my favorite comic. Thanks to Justin Taylor for finding this gem.