What Wondrous Love Is This

1. What wondrous love is this? 

O my soul, O my soul! 

What wondrous love is this, O my soul? 

What wondrous love is this? 

Which caused the Lord of bliss To bear the dreadful curse, For my soul. 

 2. When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down, 

When I was sinking down, sinking down, When I was sinking down,

 Beneath God's awful frown, Christ laid aside his crown For my soul.  

3. When I began to pray for my soul, for my soul, 

When I began to pray for my soul, When I began to pray, 

Thus the word of God did say, Christ is the truth and the way, For thy soul.  

4. He shed his heavenly light in my soul, in my soul, 

He shed his heavenly light in my soul, He shed his heavenly light,

 To disperse the gloom of night, Now it shines with radiance bright, In my soul. 

J.Stamp 1845 

Be Thou My Vision

1. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
   Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
   Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
   Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
2. Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
   I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
   Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
   Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
3. Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
   Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
   Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tow’r:
   Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
4. Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
   Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
   Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
   High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
5. High King of Heaven, my victory won,
   May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun!
   Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall,
   Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Dallan Forgaill's text speaks for itself.

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

1. O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
   Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
   O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine!
   Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.
2. What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
   Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
   Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
   Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.
3. What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
   For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
   O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
   Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.
4. Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
   Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
   Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
   My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

Penned by Bernard of Clairvaux in 1153. Longing to behold the Savior - clinging to the cross.

Fairest Lord Jesus

1. Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
   O Thou of God and man the Son,
   Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
   Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.
2. Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
   Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
   Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
   Who makes the woeful heart to sing.
3. Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
   And all the twinkling starry host;
   Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
   Than all the angels heav’n can boast.
4. All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,
   Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee;
   None can be nearer, fairer or dearer,
   Than Thou, my Savior, art to me.
5. Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
   Son of God and Son of Man!
   Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
   Now and forevermore be Thine.

German Jesuits, pub.1677 tr. by Joseph A. Seiss, 1873 . This hymn is my favorite. Rich in displaying the beauty of Christ in words.

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

1. Jesus, keep me near the cross,
   There a precious fountain—
   Free to all, a healing stream—
   Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.
   • Refrain:
     In the cross, in the cross,
     Be my glory ever;
     Till my raptured soul shall find
     Rest beyond the river.
2. Near the cross, a trembling soul,
   Love and Mercy found me;
   There the bright and morning star
   Sheds its beams around me.
3. Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
   Bring its scenes before me;
   Help me walk from day to day,
   With its shadows o’er me.
4. Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
   Hoping, trusting ever,
   Till I reach the golden strand,
   Just beyond the river.

Hymns like this are precious and life giving. Fanny Crosby thanks for using God's gift to encourage us all.

Desiring God Christmas Book Sale

Desiring God has put together ten extremely well priced packages of books for anyone on you Christmas list:

• For the Bargain Hunter
• For the Conference Lover
• For Anyone in a Hurry
• For the New Christian
• For Your Pastor
• For the Armchair Theologian
• For the Missionary
• For the Student
• For Mom
• For Dad
• (Almost Complete) John Piper Library

And for the personal touch call 1.888.346.4700 and a live person will help you find that perfect gift. I know each of the resource consultants at Desiring God and they are fantastic servant of God.

May it please God to do a miracle through the gifts you give that would help someone you love treasure God more!

"The Purpose of the Parables" D.A. Carson

The Gospel Coalition has recently posted "The Purpose of the Parables" the Carson preached on October 29, 2009. During the chapel service at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Carson worked in Matthew 13:10-17, 34-35. Go to the link to the blog posting and you can listen to the audio.

I am Living Vol. 01 - Free Album Download

Found this blog through twitter. I downloaded the album "I Am Living Vol. 01" and at first glance the blog Come&Live looks good. Why not give a listen today. I love the Intro to the album. Good job

adrianwarnock.com: Billy Graham Newsreels From The 1950s

adrianwarnock.com: Billy Graham Newsreels From The 1950s

Watching the newsreels and seeing the throngs of people running to get a glimpse of the "Evangelist" made me wonder what a newsreel if it had existed in the days of Whitefield would have reveled.

I think of the story from Whitefield's biography of a farmer in the field hearing his preaching near by gathered his wife and threw her on his horse and rode as hard as the could to hear the word. When the horse got tired the farmer dismounts and tells his wife to go on as he runs the remaining distant. As they approach the field where Whitefield will preach he sees such a cloud of dust and horses from the thousands who have gathered. Oh for more of Christ, to long to hear the word and to be transformed by the living Word.

Evangel the blog for First Things magazine.

The Evangel blog has a good archive of past issues of First Things’s has hit the web with the launch of Evangel.

Contributors:

• Matthew Anderson
• Hunter Baker
• Collin Brendemuehl
• Jared Bridges
• Joe Carter
• Kevin DeYoung
• Gene Fant
• Sarah J. Flashing
• James Grant
• Amy Hall
• David T. Koyzis
• Russell D. Moore
• Roger Overton
• Jeremy Pierce
• John Mark Reynolds
• Fred Sanders
• Frank Turk
• Justin Taylor
• Jared C. Wilson

Complete with an online store this blog will make for some interesting reading. Check it out.

Desiring God Pastors Conference 2010

The upcoming conference February 1-3, 2010 titled "The Pastor, the People, and the Pursuit of Joy" The Apostolic Aim of Pastoral Ministry Desiring God 2010 Conference for Pastors.

Location of the conference is Minneapolis, MN

“We are workers with you for your joy.” (2 Corinthians 1:24)

Speakers:

• Sam Storms
  Keynote Speaker

Senior Pastor at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and President of Enjoying God Ministries.

He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma (B.A. in History), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M. in Historical Theology) and received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas.

In addition to over 30 years of pastoral ministry, Sam also taught theology and historical theology at Wheaton College for four years. He is the author of 17 books (most recently, More Precious than Gold: 50 Daily Meditations on the Psalms) and numerous journal articles.

• Eric Mason
• Pastoral Speaker

Eric Mason is the co-founder and lead pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Mason is known for articulating and proclaiming the gospel with clarity, passion, and, authority at churches and conferences nationally. He also serves on the boards of the Acts 29 network and Reach Life Ministries. In addition, to serving at Epiphany Fellowship, he is an adjunct professor at Biblical Theological Seminary. Dr. Mason received his Master of Theology form Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM 2000) as well as a Doctorate degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (DMin, May 2007).

• Bob Blincoe
  Missions Speaker

Bob Blincoe graduated with a B.A. in history from the University of Oregon in 1973. HisMaster of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees are from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Bob Blincoe is the US Director of Frontiers in Mesa, Arizona. He led a Frontiers' team into northern Iraq following the Gulf War in 1991. Bob Blincoe is an ordained Presbyterian minister and author of Ethnic Realities and the Church: Lessons from Kurdistan. The International Bulletin of Missionary Research listed his book as one of the top mission books of 1999.

• John Piper on C.S. Lewis
  Biography

Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, where he first sensed God’s call to enter the ministry. He went on to earn degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.) and the University of Munich (D.Theol.).

For six years he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and in1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

He has written, among other books, Desiring God, Don’t Waste Your Life, God Is theGospel, and What Jesus Demands from the World, Spectacular Sins, and This Momentary Marriage.

New book about David Brainerd

I love biographies and especially those about missionaries. This new book on David Brainerd is featured on Justin Taylor's blog. It is published by Oxford University Press and hefty price tag. The Lives of David Brainerd: The Making of an American Evangelical Icon by John Grigg would be a worthy addition to your library.

Desiring God National Conference

The conference speakers Piper, Storms, Olasky, Wilson, Talbot, Kim and David Mathis as the moderator of the Q&A.


With Calvin in the Theater of God the national conference took place September 25-27.


John Calvin saw the world as a theater where the glory of God is always on display. This conference showed how the vision of God that Calvin lived and taught is relevant in all our lives for the parts we play in God's drama. Through the teaching of each of the conference speakers, we grew in our understanding of John Calvin, and more, we grew in our understanding of God's word, the purposes of God in human suffering, our glorious hope for heaven.

With Calvin in the Theater of God

For years I have volunteered at the Desiring God National Conferences. This year is the first in an official capacity as Events Manager. What a joy to serve attenders. We had a 148 volunteers, 11 countries represented. Our International Outreach department had a great display in the exhibit hall which promoted "Packing Hope" as a way to get resources into countries all around the globe.

As I reflect on the conference this passage comes to mind. "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11

A special micro site Theater of God has all the blog postings, photos, video, and audio. In the next week or so the sign language for each session will be posted.

Twitter

As I thought how I might use Twitter to bring glory to God I thought one way would be to use quotes that point to God. In 120 characters it becomes difficult to make some really good ones usable.


To see what these look like check them out @david__clifford .

Publish Post

R. C. Ryle Quotes

I found this blog R.C. Ryle Quotes through Justin Taylor's tweet. Here is an example of the kind of quote you will find:

“Next to praying there is nothing so important in practical religion as Bible reading. By reading that book we may learn what to believe, what to be, and what to do; how to live with comfort, and how to die in peace.”

“Happy is that man who possesses a Bible! Happier still is he who reads it! Happiest of all is he who not only reads it, but obeys it, and makes it the rule of his faith and practice!”

~ J.C. Ryle

Practical Religion p. 97

Another blog that has Ryle mp3's is Reformed Audio . Enjoy this giant of the faith.

Be Thou my Vision

On my way to work this morning listening to Matthew Smith sing his tune to this old Irish hymn. This has to be my favorite hymn. The lyrics always bring me right before the Sovereign Lord and Ruler of All!

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;

Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;

Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:

Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,

May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

From John Pipers Twitter

That every nail sinks in wood by God's decree has never made me doubt the value of hammers. Or preaching (Acts 13:48) - June 22nd.

This quote caught my eye in relation to the the title of this blog and were Hammer & Nail got its start with the quote from A.W. Pink. "Repeated blows of a hammer on the head of the same nail are necessary if it is to be driven in deeply, and one nail securely fixed is better than three of four loosely attached."

Thank God for Hammers and Nails!

A Great Summer Reading List

The Desiring God staff has provided a recommended reading list that the staff is reading right now consisting of 45 titles on its blog.

This would make a great summer reading list.

D.A. Carson Lectures

D.A. Carson lectures on the topic of temptation. For audio on this series follow this link for the MP3's.

Reformation Scotland

I have recently been reading a biography about the Scottish Reformer John Knox. The book is titled "The Plain Mr. Knox" by Elizabeth Whitley. It has sparked my interest in finding out more about the Reformation in Scotland and in the investigation I stumbled on a very good web site called Reformation Scotland. I would invite you to check it out. They have many good articles and a number of lectures that you can download.

The New Calvinism reported by Time

In the March 23, 2009 Annual Special Edition of Time Magazine cover feature "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now." Number 3 on the list was titled "The New Calvinism."

The article mentions those who are at the forefront of this "New Calvinism" as John Piper, Minneapolis, Mark Driscoll, Seattle, and Al Mohler the head of Southern Theological Seminary.

The top 10 list is as follows:

Jobs are the New Assets
Recycling the Suburbs
The New Calvinism
Reinstating the Interstate
Amortality
Africa, Business Destination
The Rent-a-Country
Biobanks
Survival Stores
Ecological Intelligence

This article is well written and has a real finger on the pulse of the evangelical community. This shoudl get some converations going.

"Boomer in the Pew" celebrates one year of blogging.

Crossway the publisher of the English Standard Version (ESV) has many excellent print editions and free ESV audio that you can listen to. You can read it on line at the ESV official web site or listen to passages at the Crossway site.

My pastor John Piper uses the ESV from the pulpit and we have it in the pew. Did I say pew? That makes me think of a great blog that is celebrating its 1st birthday. Check out Boomer in the Pew now you won't be disappointed. Boomer in the Pew is another great resource of a Christ centered blog that has great links and blog entries that will encourage your soul.

As David Porter celebrates his first year of blogging, he is giving away a free ESV Bible. Check out the rules for his drawing at Boomer in the Pew. You can view the special edition of the ESV that he will give away at his blog.

Naming God

Last weekend and this weekend I had the privilage of hearing D. A. Carson teach through half the Bible on Naming God.

Purpose: The purpose of this series of lectures is two-fold:
It is intended to explain what Christianity is all about in a non-reductionistic and non-simplistic way. Seekers are welcome. Carson will trace the storyline of Scripture, and articulating Christianity in such a way as to cause hearers either to reject or embrace the gospel.
On the other hand, this series is intended to explain what Christianity looks like. What is the compass? What are the claims of the gospel? It is one thing to know the storyline of Scripture, it is quite another to know one's role within the ongoing story of God's redemption of creation. It engages Christians at the worldview level, at the rub of gospel and culture.


The seminar covered topics as follows:
The God who made everything
The God who does not wipe out rebels
The God who writes his own agreements
The God who legislates
The God who reigns
The God who makes his people sing
The God who is unfathomably wise
The God who is coming
The God who becomes a human being
The God who grants new birth
The God who loves
The God who dies--and lives
The God who declares the guilty just
The God who gathers and transforms his people
The God who is very angry
The God who triumphs


They will be recording these sessions. The Gospel Coalition will be making the sessions available on theirsite at a later date to be determined.

John said that?

A man with God is always in the majority. - John Knox

What did John say?

No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshipped; no other man has been so devoutly loved.-- John Knox

Scripture Memory Blog

I just learned of a new blog that is helpful in memorizing scripture. It is based on the Fighter Verse program. I have trouble retaining a verse for an extended period of time. So when I found Tyler Kenny's 7x7 program for retaining verses I just had to start memorizing using this system. You can find this blog at FighterVerse.com and frequent it often.

Make God your greatest treasure! Hide his work in your heart. Start today!

Oswald Chambers

I have been listening to an MP3 audio book about Oswald Chambers. I have been taken again how God uses people to bring glory to himself. Chambers story is one that has similarities to A. W. Pink and George Muller in that they have overlapping characteristics of teaching the bible, prayer as a center point of their life, and a utterly total dependence on God to supply their needs.

Chambers is the author of the classic devotional book "My Utmost for His Highest." You can pick up this audio version of the book through ChristianAudio.com this month as the free download. The code for the free download is JAN2009. Just a few days left to get this great audio for free!!!

You will not be disappointed. You will by the end of listening be Glorifying God for his marvelous working.

Read Through the Bible Plan

Bible reading plans are numerous. Resolve this year to read through the bible. I have read thought the bible for several years now and find it refreshes the soul. I see new things in God's word that I had not seen the year before. It is the best way to commune with God and to hear his voice. Take the challenge this year. You will be blessed I am sure.

Fighter Verse Program

I am starting out the year renewed and ready to start and keep up memorizing the Fighter Verse program that our church puts out. We are memorizing Set D of the 5 year series.

My wife and I have committed to learn and recite them every evening at the dinner table. The verse to recite this coming Sunday is as follows:

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Is. 41:10 ESV

Join us in hiding God's word in your heart.