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March 16, 2011 by kevinstilley

Perspective on Difficulties

Pastor James Montgomery Boice stood before Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in May 2000 and shared with them that he had been diagnosed with liver cancer. His perspective on his condition is one that would greatly enrich the spiritual life of many Christians suffering in diverse circumstances.

“Should you pray for a miracle? Well, you’re free to do that, of course. My general impression is that the God who is able to do miracles–and He certainly can–is also able to keep you from getting the problem in the first place. So although miracles do happen, they’re rare by definition.…Above all, I would say pray for the glory of God. If you think of God glorifying Himself in history and you say, where in all of history has God most glorified Himself? He did it at the cross of Jesus Christ, and it wasn’t by delivering Jesus from the cross, though He could have.…God is in charge. When things like this come into our lives, they are not accidental. It’s not as if God somehow forgot what was going on, and something bad slipped by.… God is not only the one who is in charge; God is also good. Everything He does is good.… If God does something in your life, would you change it? If you’d change it, you’d make it worse. It wouldn’t be as good” (James Montgomery Boice, quoted by Randy Alcorn in If God is Good, p.14).

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James Montgomery Boice Bibliography

Books:

1970  Witness and Revelation in the Gospel of John (Zondervan)
1971  Philippians: An Expositional Commentary (Zondervan)
1972  The Sermon on the Mount (Zondervan)
1973  How to Live the Christian Life (Moody; originally, How to Live It Up, Zondervan)
1974  Ordinary Men Called by God (Victor; originally, How God Can Use Nobodies)
1974 The Last and Future World (Zondervan)
1975-79  The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary (5 volumes, Zondervan; issued in one volume, 1985; 5 volumes, Baker 1999)
1976  “Galatians” in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Zondervan)
1977 Can You Run Away from God? (Victor)
1977  Does Inerrancy Matter? (Tyndale)
1977  Our Sovereign God, editor (Baker)
1978  The Foundation of Biblical Authority, editor (Zondervan)
1979  The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary (Zondervan)
1979  Making God’s Word Plain, editor (Tenth Presbyterian Church)
1980  Our Savior God: Studies on Man, Christ and the Atonement, editor (Baker)
1982-87  Genesis: An Expositional Commentary (3 volumes, Zondervan)
1983  The Parables of Jesus (Moody)
1983  The Christ of Christmas (Moody)
1983-86  The Minor Prophets: An Expositional Commentary (2 volumes, Zondervan)
1984  Standing on the Rock (Tyndale). Reissued 1994 (Baker)
1985  The Christ of the Open Tomb (Moody)
1986  Foundations of the Christian Faith (4 volumes in one, InterVarsity Press; original volumes issued, 1978-81)
1986  Christ’s Call to Discipleship (Moody)
1988  Transforming Our World: A Call to Action, editor (Multnomah)
1988, 98  Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Baker)
1989  Daniel: An Expositional Commentary (Zondervan)
1989  Joshua: We Will Serve the Lord (Revell)
1990  Nehemiah: Learning to Lead (Revell)
1992-94  Romans (4 volumes, Baker)
1992 The King Has Come (Christian Focus Publications)
1993  Amazing Grace (Tyndale)
1993  Mind Renewal in a Mindless Age (Baker)
1994-98  Psalms (3 volumes, Baker)
1994  Sure I Believe, So What! (Christian Focus Publications)
1995  Hearing God When You Hurt (Baker)
1996  Two Cities, Two Loves (InterVarsity)
1996  Here We Stand: A Call from Confessing Evangelicals, editor with Benjamin E. Sasse (Baker)
1997  Living By the Book (Baker)
1997  Acts: An Expositional Commentary (Baker)
1999  The Heart of the Cross, with Philip Graham Ryken (Crossway)
1999  What Makes a Church Evangelical?
2000  Hymns for a Modern Reformation, with Paul S. Jones
2001  Matthew: An Expositional Commentary (2 volumes, Baker)
2001  Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? (Crossway)
2002  The Doctrines of Grace, with Philip Graham Ryken (Crossway)
2002  Jesus on Trial, with Philip Graham Ryken (Crossway)

Chapters:

1985  “The Future of Reformed Theology” in David F. Wells, editor, Reformed Theology in America: A History of Its Modern Development (Eerdmans)
1986  “The Preacher and Scholarship” in Samuel T. Logan, editor, The Preacher and Preaching: Reviving the Art in the Twentieth Century (Presbyterian and Reformed)
1992  “A Better Way: The Power of Word and Spirit” in Michael Scott Horton, editor, Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church? (Moody)
1994  “The Sovereignty of God” in John D. Carson and David W. Hall, editors, To Glorify and Enjoy God: A Commemoration of the 350th Anniversary of the Westminster Assembly (Banner of Truth Trust)

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RELATED

Click here for the full text of Boice’s announcement

Suffering – Select Quotes

Filed Under: Blog, Quotes, Theology Tagged With: cancer, Miracles, Providence, Sovereignty of God, suffering

September 20, 2008 by kevinstilley

If God Predestines Some To Be Saved, What Choice Do I Really Have

The following books are recommended for further reading in the chapter “If God Predestines Some To Be Saved, What Choice Do I Really Have”, in That’s Just Your Interpretation: Responding to Skeptics Who Challenge Your Faith, by Paul Copan.

Chosen But Free ( Norman Geisler)

The New Chosen People: A Corporate View of Election (William Klein)

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RELATED BOOKS

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Freewill, Predestination, soteriology, Sovereignty of God

September 19, 2008 by kevinstilley

If God Knows What We’re Going To Do, Then We Don’t Have Free Will

The following books are recommended for further reading in the chapter “If God Knows What We’re Going To Do, Then We Don’t Have Free Will”, in That’s Just Your Interpretation: Responding to Skeptics Who Challenge Your Faith, by Paul Copan.

Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views (James Beilby and Paul Eddy)

The Only Wise God (William Lane Craig)

God, Freedom, and Evil (Alvin Plantinga)

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RELATED BOOKS

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Apologetics, Freewill, Sovereignty of God, theology proper

July 22, 2008 by kevinstilley

Pastoral Theology Texts – John Piper

Dr. John Piper used the following texts in a course he taught on Pastoral Theology:

Required Textbooks

* The Bible (Bring your GNT and NAS95 or ESV)

* Wayne Grudem and John Piper, eds., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism, Crossway, 1991.

* John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, Multnomah Press, 2003.

* John Piper, A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer, Crossway Books, 1997.

* John Piper, The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23, Baker Book House, 1993.

* John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad, Baker Books, 2003.

* John Piper, The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God’s Delight in Being God, Multnomah, 2000.

* John Piper, The Purifying Power of Living by Faith in FUTURE GRACE, Multnomah Press, 1995.

* Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, Lewis and Roth Publishers, 1995.

* T.U.L.I.P. What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism, Bethlehem Baptist Church Staff, 1985 (available from DGM or online at www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/doctrines_grace/tulip.html)

Textbooks used to illustrate positions not held by Dr. Piper included:

* Clark Pinnock, ed., The Grace of God, The Will of Man: A Case for Arminianism, Zondervan, 1989;

* Clark Pinnock, ed., The Openness of God, InterVarsity Press, 1994

* Gregory Boyd, God at War: the Bible and Spiritual Conflict, InterVarsity Press, 1997

* Greg Boyd, Satan and the Problem of Evil, InterVarsity Press, 2001

* John Sanders, The God Who Risks: A Theology of Providence, InterVarsity Press, 1998

* Norman Geisler, Chosen But Free (Bethany, 2001).

* Gilbert Bilezikian, Beyond Sex Roles : A Guide for the Study of Female Roles in the Bible, 1985

* Stanley J. Grenz with Denise Muir Kjesbo, Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry, 1995

* Rebecca Merrill Groothuis, Good News for Women: A Biblical Picture of Gender Equality, 1997.

And, here is a portion of the course description:

This course is designed to acquaint students with the practical application of Christian doctrine to a wide variety of issues. The course addresses such issues as fighting personal sin, prayer and fasting, roles of men and women, suffering, worship, God’s sovereignty, eldership, inspiration of Scripture, and motivation for life and ministry. Students will be urged not only to consider the biblical underpinnings for these issues, but how to apply them to every-day life.
Course Objectives

Practical Theology aims to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples. We pray that honest, humble, rigorous interpretation of Biblical texts, as well as God-centered discussion of theological and practical ministry issues will kindle this passion and equip students to spread it winsomely to others.

Thus it is our aim that the student who successfully completes the course in Practical Theology will be better equipped to:

* savor, strengthen, and spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all of life and ministry;
* meet a wide range of needs in people’s lives with a loving and powerful application of Biblical truth;
* apply Biblical doctrine to the nitty-gritty of life and ministry

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Church Leadership, Elders, Pastoral Theology, Preachers, Sovereignty of God, Women In Ministry

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