Yes they can …

Tony Reinke spurgeon

BoSox sweep Yanks at Fenway (7-6, 7-5, 7-6). What a weekend!


NY YANKEES (6) VS BOSTON (7) - FINAL

NY YANKEES             ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Damon cf              5  1  1  0   0  1   1  .255
D Jeter ss              4  1  1  1   0  1   0  .320
B Abreu rf              3  1  0  0   2  3   2  .309
A Rodriguez 3b          4  2  1  0   0  2   3  .371
J Giambi dh             4  0  2  3   0  0   1  .284
R Cano 2b               4  1  2  0   0  1   3  .309
D Mientkiewicz 1b       3  0  2  0   0  0   0  .167
 a-J Posada ph          0  0  0  0   1  0   0  .358
 M Cairo pr-1b          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
M Cabrera lf            4  0  0  1   0  0   2  .197
W Nieves c              3  0  0  0   0  0   1  .000
 b-J Phelps ph-c        1  0  0  0   0  0   2  .278

Totals                 35  6  9  5   3  8  15

a-walked for D Mientkiewicz in the 8th;  b-lined out to second for W Nieves in
the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Giambi (3, D Matsuzaka); D Mientkiewicz (1, D Matsuzaka). HR -
D Jeter (1, 5th inning off D Matsuzaka 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - J Giambi 3 (16), D
Jeter (5), M Cabrera (6). 2-out RBI - J Giambi 3. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Damon 1, J Phelps 1, R Cano 2. GIDP - M Cabrera. Team LOB -
7. 

FIELDING: DP: 1 (D Jeter-D Mientkiewicz). 

BOSTON                 ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Lugo ss               2  0  0  0   3  0   2  .267
K Youkilis 1b           3  0  0  0   2  0   3  .246
D Ortiz dh              5  0  1  0   0  0   3  .292
M Ramirez lf            5  2  3  1   0  0   4  .226
J Drew rf               4  2  2  1   1  1   2  .357
M Lowell 3b             4  2  2  4   1  1   1  .306
J Varitek c             4  1  1  1   1  0   2  .265
W Pena cf               3  0  0  0   1  3   2  .143
 C Crisp cf             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .214
D Pedroia 2b            4  0  2  0   0  0   2  .190

Totals                 34  7 11  7   9  5  21

BATTING: 2B - D Pedroia (1, C Wright); D Ortiz (8, C Bean); J Drew (3, S
Proctor). HR - M Ramirez (2, 3rd inning off C Wright 0 on, 2 Out), J Drew (2,
3rd inning off C Wright 0 on, 2 Out), M Lowell 2 (3, 3rd inning off C Wright 0
on, 2 Out, 7th inning off S Proctor 2 on, 0 Out), J Varitek (2, 3rd inning off
C Wright 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - M Ramirez (9), J Drew (8), M Lowell 4 (14), J
Varitek (9). 2-out RBI - M Ramirez, J Drew, M Lowell, J Varitek. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - M Ramirez 2, J Varitek 1, J Drew 1, J Lugo 2, K
Youkilis 1, D Pedroia 1. GIDP - D Ortiz. Team LOB - 12. 

BASERUNNING: SB - J Lugo (4, 2nd base off C Wright/W Nieves), J Drew (1, 2nd
base off C Bean/W Nieves). 

FIELDING: DP: 1 (D Pedroia-J Lugo-K Youkilis). 

----------------------------------------------------
    NY YANKEES      - 201 011 010   --   6
    BOSTON          - 004 000 30x   --   7
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES                   ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
C Wright                      3       5   4   4   3   3   4   7.87
C Bean                        2       1   0   0   3   1   0   0.00
A Pettitte (H, 1)             1       0   0   0   1   0   0   1.78
S Proctor (L, 0-1; B, 2)      0       3   3   3   0   0   1   4.91
L Vizcaino                    1       1   0   0   1   1   0   5.91
S Henn                        1       1   0   0   1   0   0   0.73

BOSTON                       ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
D Matsuzaka (W, 2-2)          7       8   6   6   1   7   1   4.00
H Okajima (H, 2)                1/3   1   0   0   1   0   0   1.04
B Donnelly (H, 3)               2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
J Papelbon (S, 6)             1       0   0   0   1   1   0   0.00

S Proctor pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.
D Matsuzaka pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

HBP - A Rodriguez (by D Matsuzaka); D Jeter (by D Matsuzaka).
Pitches-strikes: C Wright 70-38; C Bean 43-22; A Pettitte 9-5; S Proctor 10-7;
L Vizcaino 18-10; S Henn 22-12; D Matsuzaka 108-74; H Okajima 11-5; B Donnelly
6-5; J Papelbon 20-13. Ground balls-fly balls: C Wright 1-5; C Bean 3-2; A
Pettitte 2-1; S Proctor 0-0; L Vizcaino 2-0; S Henn 2-1; D Matsuzaka 7-7; H
Okajima 0-1; B Donnelly 1-1; J Papelbon 1-1. Batters faced: C Wright 17; C Bean
10; A Pettitte 3; S Proctor 3; L Vizcaino 5; S Henn 5; D Matsuzaka 31; H
Okajima 3; B Donnelly 2; J Papelbon 4. 

UMPIRES: HP--Sam Holbrook. 1B--Hunter Wendelstedt. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Bob
Davidson. 

T--3:34. Att--36,905.
Weather: 63 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 14 mph, out
to center.

And again

Tony Reinke spurgeon

BoSox take Yankees again … Sweep?


NY YANKEES (5) VS BOSTON (7) - FINAL

NY YANKEES             ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
M Cabrera cf            4  0  1  1   1  1   0  .210
D Jeter ss              5  2  2  0   0  1   2  .324
B Abreu rf              3  1  0  0   2  1   1  .323
A Rodriguez 3b          4  0  2  1   0  1   2  .379
J Giambi dh             4  0  1  1   0  3   3  .270
R Cano 2b               4  0  2  1   0  0   0  .297
D Mientkiewicz 1b       3  0  0  0   0  0   3  .128
 a-J Phelps ph-1b       1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .294
K Thompson lf           4  1  1  0   0  2   1  .250
W Nieves c              3  1  0  0   0  0   1  .000
 b-J Damon ph           1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .261

Totals                 36  5  9  4   3  9  13

a-popped out to shortstop for D Mientkiewicz in the 8th;  b-grounded to
shortstop for W Nieves in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - K Thompson (2, J Beckett); A Rodriguez (7, J Beckett); R Cano (3,
J Beckett). RBI - J Giambi (13), R Cano (7), M Cabrera (5), A Rodriguez (31).
2-out RBI - J Giambi, R Cano, A Rodriguez. Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - J Giambi 1, B Abreu 1, D Mientkiewicz 2, K Thompson 1. GIDP - D Jeter.
Team LOB - 7. 

BASERUNNING: SB - M Cabrera (1, 2nd base off J Papelbon/J Varitek). 

FIELDING: DP: 1 (D Jeter-J Phelps). 

BOSTON                 ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Lugo ss               4  1  2  2   1  0   2  .276
K Youkilis 1b           4  2  2  1   1  0   3  .259
D Ortiz dh              5  1  2  4   0  1   2  .300
M Ramirez lf            4  0  1  0   1  0   0  .193
J Drew rf               4  0  0  0   1  0   4  .346
M Lowell 3b             4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .293
J Varitek c             4  0  2  0   0  1   1  .267
C Crisp cf              4  2  2  0   0  0   3  .214
A Cora 2b               2  1  1  0   1  0   2  .357

Totals                 35  7 13  7   5  2  19

BATTING: 2B - K Youkilis (3, J Karstens); D Ortiz (7, J Karstens). HR - D Ortiz
(6, 4th inning off J Karstens 1 on, 2 Out). S - A Cora. RBI - D Ortiz 4 (17), J
Lugo 2 (5), K Youkilis (5). 2-out RBI - K Youkilis, D Ortiz 2. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - A Cora 1, J Drew 1, K Youkilis 2. GIDP - J Drew. Team
LOB - 10. 

BASERUNNING: SB - C Crisp (2, 2nd base off J Karstens/W Nieves). 

FIELDING: E - M Lowell (5, throw). DP: 1 (A Cora-K Youkilis). 

----------------------------------------------------
    NY YANKEES      - 220 000 100   --   5
    BOSTON          - 220 300 00x   --   7
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES                   ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Karstens (L, 0-1)           4 1/3   9   7   7   2   1   1  14.54
B Bruney                      1       2   0   0   0   0   0   0.87
S Henn                          2/3   0   0   0   1   1   0   0.79
S Proctor                     1       1   0   0   2   0   0   2.45
K Farnsworth                  1       1   0   0   0   0   0   6.14

BOSTON                       ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Beckett (W, 4-0)            6 2/3   9   5   4   2   7   0   2.55
H Okajima (H, 1)                2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   1.08
M Timlin (H, 1)                 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   4.91
J Papelbon (S, 5)             1       0   0   0   1   1   0   0.00

WP - J Karstens. IBB - M Ramirez (by S Henn). Pitches-strikes: J Karstens
89-58; B Bruney 33-22; S Henn 8-4; S Proctor 22-11; K Farnsworth 16-9; J
Beckett 106-72; H Okajima 8-6; M Timlin 6-5; J Papelbon 19-9. Ground balls-fly
balls: J Karstens 5-7; B Bruney 2-1; S Henn 0-1; S Proctor 0-3; K Farnsworth
2-1; J Beckett 10-4; H Okajima 1-0; M Timlin 0-2; J Papelbon 1-1. Batters
faced: J Karstens 24; B Bruney 5; S Henn 3; S Proctor 6; K Farnsworth 3; J
Beckett 31; H Okajima 2; M Timlin 2; J Papelbon 4. 

UMPIRES: HP--Bob Davidson. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Hunter Wendelstedt.
3B--Randy Marsh. 

T--3:26. Att--36,342.
Weather: 64 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, in
from right.

BoSox rally over Yanks!

Tony Reinke spurgeon

No surprises here, but it’s always great to see my BoSox take the Yankees! Tony


NY YANKEES (6) VS BOSTON (7) - FINAL

NY YANKEES             ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Damon cf              5  0  0  1   0  2   3  .267
D Jeter ss              4  1  1  0   1  0   0  .318
B Abreu rf              4  1  1  0   1  2   2  .339
A Rodriguez 3b          5  3  3  4   0  0   1  .371
J Giambi dh             4  0  2  1   0  1   0  .271
 K Thompson pr-dh       1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .250
J Posada c              2  0  1  0   0  0   0  .358
 W Nieves c             2  0  0  0   0  0   2  .000
R Cano 2b               4  1  2  0   0  0   0  .283
M Cabrera lf            4  0  1  0   0  1   3  .207
D Mientkiewicz 1b       2  0  0  0   1  0   0  .139

Totals                 37  6 11  6   3  7  12

BATTING: 2B - J Posada (4, C Schilling); A Rodriguez (6, J Romero). HR - A
Rodriguez 2 (12, 4th inning off C Schilling 0 on, 0 Out, 5th inning off C
Schilling 2 on, 2 Out). S - D Mientkiewicz. RBI - J Damon (6), A Rodriguez 4
(30), J Giambi (12). 2-out RBI - A Rodriguez 3. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Damon 2, B Abreu 1, M Cabrera 1. Team LOB - 8. 

FIELDING: DP: 2 (D Jeter-R Cano-D Mientkiewicz, D Jeter-D Mientkiewicz). 

BOSTON                 ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Lugo ss               4  0  0  0   1  1   3  .259
K Youkilis 1b           3  0  1  0   0  0   2  .241
D Ortiz dh              3  1  1  0   1  0   2  .291
M Ramirez lf            3  1  0  0   1  1   2  .189
J Drew rf               4  0  3  0   0  0   0  .375
M Lowell 3b             4  2  2  1   0  0   2  .296
J Varitek c             4  2  3  3   0  0   0  .244
C Crisp cf              4  1  2  2   0  1   0  .192
D Pedroia 2b            2  0  0  0   0  0   0  .158
 a-W Pena ph            1  0  0  0   0  1   2  .182
 A Cora 2b              1  0  1  1   0  0   0  .333

Totals                 33  7 13  7   3  4  13

a-struck out swinging for D Pedroia in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (6, M Myers). 3B - C Crisp (1, M Rivera). HR - J Varitek
(1, 4th inning off A Pettitte 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - J Varitek 3 (8), M Lowell
(10), C Crisp 2 (6), A Cora (3). 2-out RBI - J Varitek 2. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - D Ortiz 1, K Youkilis 1. GIDP - M Ramirez, M Lowell.
Team LOB - 6. 

BASERUNNING: CS - A Cora (1, 2nd base by M Rivera/W Nieves), J Drew (1, 2nd
base by A Pettitte/W Nieves). 

----------------------------------------------------
    NY YANKEES      - 001 130 010   --   6
    BOSTON          - 000 200 05x   --   7
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES                   ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
A Pettitte                    6 1/3   8   2   2   2   3   1   1.85
S Proctor (H, 3)                2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   2.70
M Myers                       0       1   1   1   0   0   0   1.17
L Vizcaino                      1/3   1   2   2   1   0   0   6.52
M Rivera (L, 1-2; B, 2)         2/3   3   2   2   0   1   0   8.44

BOSTON                       ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
C Schilling                   7       8   5   5   1   5   2   3.81
J Romero                        1/3   3   1   1   0   0   0   6.35
K Snyder (W, 1-0)               2/3   0   0   0   1   1   0   4.50
H Okajima (S, 1)              1       0   0   0   1   1   0   1.17

M Myers pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

HBP - K Youkilis (by A Pettitte). Pitches-strikes: A Pettitte 100-64; S
Proctor 6-5; M Myers 2-1; L Vizcaino 10-6; M Rivera 14-11; C Schilling 103-71;
J Romero 11-7; K Snyder 11-5; H Okajima 22-12. Ground balls-fly balls: A
Pettitte 12-3; S Proctor 0-2; M Myers 0-0; L Vizcaino 1-0; M Rivera 0-0; C
Schilling 8-8; J Romero 1-0; K Snyder 1-0; H Okajima 1-1. Batters faced: A
Pettitte 27; S Proctor 2; M Myers 1; L Vizcaino 3; M Rivera 4; C Schilling 30;
J Romero 4; K Snyder 3; H Okajima 4. 

UMPIRES: HP--Randy Marsh. 1B--Bob Davidson. 2B--Sam Holbrook. 3B--Hunter
Wendelstedt. 

T--3:18. Att--36,786.
Weather: 46 degrees, clear. Wind: 4 mph, in from
center.

Killing Sin: Crucify and Mortify

Tony Reinke Mortification, Sanctification, Sin, Sin in the church

Killing Sin: Crucify and Mortify

“So bent is the great Apostle on our full salvation from all our sins that their mere crucifixion does not satisfy him. Nothing will satisfy him short of their full mortification. For crucifixion after all is only crucifixion. But mortification is more. Mortification is death. Mortification is absolute death. It is a complete and final and everlasting death. A crucified man may continue to live for hours and even for days after he has been nailed to his cross. But after he is dead, he is forever dead. And so it is with a sin. A sin may continue to live, and as a matter of fact is does continue to live for days and weeks and months and years after it has been crucified. But, when once it is dead, it is forever dead. Nailing a sin to its cross; denying it all its former freedom of action and all its former food and keeping it nailed on its cross, so that it cannot rob or murder anymore – that is its crucifixion. But all the time so to crucify a sin is not yet to mortify it, as Paul himself knew to his cost. For, if ever any man’s sins were crucified, it was the Apostle’s sins. But at the same time if ever any man’s sins were still alive and unmortified, to his unspeakable wretchedness, it was Paul’s sins. … while every saint’s self-crucifixion is his own immediate and ever-urgent duty, at the same time the full and final mortification of all crucified sin is the proper work of Almighty God alone.”

– Alexander Whyte, Thomas Shepherd: Pilgrim Father and Founder of Harvard (Reformation Heritage; Grand Rapids, MI) 1909/2007. Pp. 140-141.

Mark Dever’s Canon of Theologians (Annual Reading Plan)

Tony Reinke Augustine, C.H. Spurgeon, John Bunyan, John Calvin, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, Mark Dever, Martin Luther, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Puritan Library, Puritans, Reading, Richard Sibbes

books.jpg

Thursday morning (4/12/07)
Breakout seminar #2
Mark Dever: “Watch the Past: Living Lessons from Dead Theologians”

GAITHERSBURG, MD – Being one who loves to read the books of dead theologians and preachers, Mark Dever’s session was a personal highlight. The point was to encourage us to broaden our theological and biographical reading to at least 12 different authors, each to be read for one month annually. Dever himself uses a yearly reading plan where he reads a specific author each month of the year (like Augustine in February). Then every April he moves on to John Calvin, reading a new biography or theological work. Each year the reading plan starts over.

For readers of the Together for the Gospel blog, this will sound familiar. On February 1, 2006 Dever wrote a short post titled “An apostolic agenda” outlining this very thing. On Thursday morning at the Sovereign Grace Ministries Leader’s Conference, Dever filled out the details.

Dever began with a lengthy quote from C.S. Lewis’ introduction to Athanasius’ On The Incarnation which outlines some reasons why old books are important. Lewis writes,

There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books. Thus I have found as a tutor in English Literature that if the average student wants to find out something about Platonism, the very last thing he thinks of doing is to take a translation of Plato off the library shelf and read the Symposium. He would rather read some dreary modern book ten times as long, all about “isms” and influences and only once in twelve pages telling him what Plato actually said. The error is rather an amiable one, for it springs from humility. The student is half afraid to meet one of the great philosophers face to face. He feels himself inadequate and thinks he will not understand him. But if he only knew, the great man, just because of his greatness, is much more intelligible than his modern commentator. The simplest student will be able to understand, if not all, yet a very great deal of what Plato said; but hardly anyone can understand some modern books on Platonism. It has always therefore been one of my main endeavours as a teacher to persuade the young that firsthand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than secondhand knowledge, but is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire. …

The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books. Not, of course, that there is any magic about the past. People were no cleverer then than they are now; they made as many mistakes as we. But not the same mistakes. They will not flatter us in the errors we are already committing; and their own errors, being now open and palpable, will not endanger us. Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction. To be sure, the books of the future would be just as good a corrective as the books of the past, but unfortunately we cannot get at them.

With this introduction, Dever launched into his “canon of theologians.” He encouraged us to read on theological issues that are not a particular struggle at the time. Let the theologians talk about what they want to talk about. Dever then outlined his own personal reading plan.

The ‘canon of theologians’

January – Early church writings (1st-3rd centuries). Recommended reading: Many and various works and authors were mentioned like the Epistle of Dionysius, The Didache, Clement, The Martyrdom of Polycarp and the Penguin paperback, Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers (0140444750). When asked if he used the early church writings in his expositional research, he said ‘no.’ He is familiar with the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture but has not found them exegetically beneficial. [This helps answer an important question we asked earlier this year]. Dever’s use of the early church fathers is predominantly theological and historical.

February – Augustine (354-430). The most influential extra-biblical theologian in the West. Recommended: City of God and The Confessions (Henry Chadwick edition). Dever’s disagreement: That the church is the conduit of salvation. “Augustine got it bad wrong on ecclesiology.”

March – Martin Luther (1483-1546). Lessons learned: 1. Justification is by faith alone, all of sheer grace. Luther “cleanses the church from the barnacles of traditionalism.” 2. Luther’s boldness. Read biography Here I Stand. Recommended reading: 95 Theses and Bondage of the Will. You can read Bondage of the Will out loud to children and they will be engaged because of the vigorous prose and Luther’s name-calling towards Erasmus (Dever is very funny). Best bio being Here I Stand by Roland Bainton (0452011469).

April – John Calvin (1509-1564). The greatest theologian of the Reformation period. Lessons learned: 1. God’s glory at the center of everything. The world is the “theater” of God’s glory. 2. Centrality of man’s depravity, shown especially in the heart’s perpetual idol production. 3. He was careful with Scripture. Calvin had a very rare combination of gifts that balanced the theological, linguistic, pastoral, and exegetical. 4. He filled both the offices of pastor and scholar. 5. The diligent training of his spiritual children even as he knew sending these pastors back into France would mean certain death [see the concept of “Calvin’s School of Death”]. Disagreements: That the state is responsible for the church. He confused the church and state, a distinction we take for granted today. Recommended: Sermons on the Ten Commandments, commentary on 1 Cor. 12-14, The Institutes of the Christian Religion and anything written by T.H.L. Parker. He does not recommend modern bios of Calvin and especially warned against McGrath.

May – Richard Sibbes (1577-1635). Lessons learned: 1. The tenderness of Christ. The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax a great example of Jesus’ tenderness and it makes for a great read together with your spouse. Sibbes was able to point out evidences of grace very well. 2. “Diagnostic evangelism.” Sibbes continued to hold out the biblical truth of what a genuine Christian looks like and, by consequence, sorted out those who nominally professed faith. By authenticating the Christian life he naturally separated the sheep from the wolves and goats. He was clear that one’s salvation does not come through assurance but rather assurance comes from genuine salvation. Sibbes pointed those who were never converted to run to grace in the Cross. Disagreement: Infant baptism. Recommendations: Sibbes stuttered in his preaching so he kept his sentences relatively short and this makes him easier to read than his contemporaries. Start with the sermons in volume seven of his collected works.

June – John Owen (1616-1683) and John Bunyan (1628-1688). John Owen is known for his argument on limited atonement in Death of Death. It’s a good book to scare Arminians, but there exist better exegetical ways to argue for limited atonement. Lesson learned: Linger with Scripture. “Diligent meditation reaps great rewards.” Dever especially recommends the Owen volumes by Kris Lundgaard (The Enemy Within and Through the Looking Glass) and those by Kapic and Taylor (Overcoming Sin and Temptation). … John Bunyan was a “pot-repairer with extraordinary preaching gifts.” Bunyan clearly expresses himself without the use of long, Latin sentences. His life was marked by a sincere pastoral concern. Recommended: Saint’s Knowledge of Christ’s Love, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (autobiographical) and The Pilgrim’s Progress. The Pilgrim’s Progress being a “great systematic theology” built around the “centrality of heaven.”

July – Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). There are many lessons and warnings from the life of Jonathan Edwards. Lessons learned: 1. Diligent meditation. “Edwards can stare at an idea” and has “a powerful ability to think out and illustrate” that idea. An excellent example of this is Edward’s sermon The Excellency of Christ. 2. Edwards demonstrates a zeal for the purity of the church. 3. Understands the connection between his ministry and his congregation. In his Farewell Sermon, after Edwards was fired, he tells his congregation “I’ll see you before the throne.” Disagreements: 1. Infant baptism. 2. The logic of God’s centrality seemed a bit philosophical rather than always biblical. 3. He shows some pastoral carelessness especially with the “young folks’ Bible” controversy [see chapter 18 in George Marsden’s biography]. Nevertheless, Edwards demonstrates a powerful ability to think out and illustrate. Read his sermons and especially his sermon The Nakedness of Job which he wrote when he was 18 years old! As an interesting side note, Dever has preached an Edwards sermon to his congregation. On October 5, 2003 he took Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, marked up the manuscript as he would his own and preached it. You can listen to the final product here.

August – C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892). Lessons learned: 1. Evangelism. Spurgeon preached the gospel from any and every text. “More than anyone else, I think of Spurgeon when I prepare my sermons.” Preach each sermon as though someone may be converted. 2. His life is filled with stories of God’s kindness upon his ministry. Read Spurgeon’s autobiography and be amazed at the stories. Spurgeon’s autobiography “may be the most fun thing to read apart from Scripture.” It will encourage you to see that we have a glorious God. 3. He had a lively faith. Spurgeon had “a heightened God-consciousness.” Even in the midst of a prolonged depression, Spurgeon shows that depression drives a faithful Christian to God. Read his Morning and Evening devotional.

September – B.B. Warfield (1851-1921). “Warfield strengthens my faith.” Like John Calvin, Warfield had a wonderful mix of scholarship and piety. Disagreements include infant baptism and Presbyterian polity.

October – Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981). Not much in disagreement. Lessons learned: 1. Gave his life to preaching and lived confident in the power of God’s Word. 2. Deadly earnest. It was no light thing for him to preach. The pulpit was the “desk of God.” Recommended: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Preaching and Preachers, Spiritual Depression and his biography by Iain Murray.

November – C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) and Carl F.H. Henry (1913-2003). Because time ran short, Dever simply finished off his list of writers he reads in November and December without further comment or recommendation.

December – Contemporary authors like John Stott, J.I. Packer, Iain Murray, R.C. Sproul and John Piper.

Conclusions

This breakout session encourages me to pursue the study of the early church writers, although I’ve become more convinced that they will not prove as helpful in my expositional research and sermon preparation as others. It also encourages me to narrow my focus to a handful of great writers and focus attention on their writings each year. I’m in the process of creating my own “canon of theologians” for annual study.

Breakout 1 > 2007 Sovereign Grace Leaders Conference

Tony Reinke 2007 SGM LC, C.H. Spurgeon, Churches in Minneapolis, Prayer, Preacher's study, Preaching, Sovereign Grace Ministries

Thursday morning (4/12/07)
Breakout seminar #1
Rick Gamache: “Watch Your Devotional Life”

GAITHERSBURG, MD – Over the past few months I have come to see my pastor Rick Gamache as the most gifted leader and preacher I have had the privilege of seeing up close. And although I see him all the time, I wasn’t about to miss his breakout session incj-mahaney.jpg the Pastors College classroom. No regrets.

As he and associate pastor Mark Alderton preach through Acts on Sunday morning at Sovereign Grace Fellowship (Minneapolis, MN), they have especially pointed out the correlations between the Apostolic church and the contemporary Sovereign Grace church. Recently a sermon on Acts 6 outlined the role of deacons and thus the role of pastors. Acts 6:1-7 also became the primary text for Gamache’s breakout seminar, Watch your Devotional Life: The Pastor’s Communion with God. The text reads,

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”

Pastors are mainly devoted to preaching and prayer. So the exhortation is for pastors to watch their preaching and prayer. This particular session was an exhortation for pastors to guard their prayer life.

Only three out of 10 pastors pray for 15 minutes each day. But here in Acts “the twelve” call out seven Spirit-filled deacons to care for the widows. This would free the Apostles to “devote” themselves to their leadership/pastoral task. The term “devote” (προσκαρτερησομεν) here is a strong word in the text. Even at the expense of other ministry opportunities, they were to “devote” themselves to a narrowed focus.

This priority is especially astonishing given the importance needy widows occupy in the New Testament. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27). By finding deacons to care for the widows highlights the significance of prayer in the pastoral life. The feeding of the widows was a threat to the Apostles — not because it was intrinsically a bad ministry — but because it hindered their primary duty. This reveals that the early leaders of the church did not have short prayer times in mind since it demanded a clearing of the schedule. They spent a lot of time at preaching and public/private prayer. This made it necessary to say “no” to other ministry opportunities. For example, being devoted to my wife does not mean I spend all my time with her. But it does mean she is a chief priority and because of this I must say ‘no’ to many good things. The same is true of prayer in the pastoral life.

Not only does Scripture call us to be “devoted” to prayer (Acts 1:14, 2:42), but Paul commands us to prayer (Rom. 12:12, Col. 4:2). A life devoted to prayer is the call of all Christians, and especially pastors. We need to watch it! Good ministry opportunities crowd in and demand time, but we must not let ministry become its own worst enemy. C.H. Spurgeon once said in a sermon,

“Sometimes we think we are too busy to pray. That is a great mistake, for praying is a saving of time. You remember Luther’s remark, ‘I have so much to do today that I shall never get through it with less than three hours’ prayer.’ … If we have no time we must make time, for if God has given us time for secondary duties, He must have given us time for primary ones, and to draw near to Him is a primary duty, and we must let nothing set in on one side. You other engagements will run smoothly if you do not forget your engagement with God” (Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. 18).

It would not be a Sovereign Grace conference unless every session was connected to the Cross. Gamache reminded us that our access to God in prayer comes through the work of Christ alone (Heb. 10:19-22). We must confess our inability to draw near to God based upon our own merits. The holiness of God does not consume us because of the Cross!

Neglecting the invitation is spiritual foolishness. We are called to ask, seek and knock (Luke 11:9-13). God promises to act when we pray. There is a cause-and-effect relationship to prayer. God says, “I will let your prayers effect My universe.” Amazing! Spurgeon writes: “We do not bow the knee merely because it is a duty, and a commendable spiritual exercise, but because we believe that, into the ear of the eternal God, we speak our wants, and that His ear is linked with a heart of feeling for us, and a hand working on our behalf. To us, true prayer is true power” (An All-Around Ministry, p. 13).

Psalm 50 shows the relationship of a breathtaking God and our drawing near to Him. In the first 14 verses we see a glimpse of the power and majesty of God. In verse 15 we are summoned: “and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” When we pray, we get the help and God gets the glory.

Pursuing the ministry without prayer is pride. Pastors are called to labor to “save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). The harvest is ready but the workers are few (Luke 10:1-8). Without God working in me, I will watch sinners run headlong to hell and my heart will be unmoved. God must be at work in our ministry and affections. Pastors are called to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24) and work for “your progress and joy in the faith” (Phil. 1:25). These callings make the pastor feel really needy! We are incapable of eternal fruit without the work of God. Thus, “Prayer is a means of crushing my self-sufficiency.”

“My life as a pastor is a life of war.” Seasons of blessing can lull us into a peacetime mentality. We can easily forget our dependence. “We will not drift into prayer but we will drift into prayerlessness.”

Gamache concluded with some practical advice for watching our prayer lives.

1. Structured and unstructured prayers. Sometimes we should just spill our hearts out to our Daddy. And there are times prayers will be shaped by prayer folders. Structure your prayer around Scripture as you are reading. There is a connection between prayer and the abiding Word in our hearts. Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). Also, there is a connection between knowing His will in Scripture and praying according to that will: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14). Also, the Word and prayer are interconnected because the Word produces faith (Rom. 10:17) and that faith is essential to prayer (Matt. 21:22).

2. Expressing deep needs and high joy in prayer. We praise God in prayer as He meets us in our darkest despair and when He meets us in our delights!

3. Long and short prayers. Quick outbursts of prayer throughout the day and longer prayers that “linger.” Spurgeon says, “pray until you pray.” Linger in prayer until you enter into the spirit of prayer. Pray for prayer.

4. Spontaneous and scheduled prayers. Learn to pray throughout the day and also plan your prayers.

In all, it was an excellent breakout session and I was blessed to be there. Prayer is no strength of mine and I’m better encouraged and equipped to pursue prayer more faithfully. I’m motivated to excel, not out of guilt or condemnation of failure, but because prayer is our access to the fountain of God’s blessing!

But what most comes to mind when I recall this session is that prayer is the means of “crushing my self-sufficiency.” And prayer seems to be an excellent gauge of my understanding of the immensity of the pastoral task and my own utter dependency upon God.

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Related 2007 SGM LC sessions:

 

1. 2007 Sovereign Grace Ministries Leadership Conference

2. R.C. Sproul: “The Holiness of God”

3. Rick Gamache: “Watch Your Devotional Life”

4. Mark Dever: “Watch the Past: Living Lessons from Dead Theologians”

5. David Powlison: “‘In the Last Analysis…’ Look out for Introspection”

6. C.J. Mahaney: “Trinitarian Pastoral Ministry”

7. 2007 Conference photographs