Dr. Albert Mohler unveils a wonderful history oriented reading plan for the summer.  

Justin Taylor interviews Mark Noll about his new book, The New Shape of World Christianity.

Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin has completed a study guide to C.J. Mahaney’s book on Humility.

An interesting blog about the books, writings, and thought of C.S. Lewis. 

Tony Reinke asks, “Was Jonathan Edwards Cross Centered?” as he comments about Craig Biehl’s wonderful new book, The Infinite Merit of Christ: The Glory of Christ’s Obedience in the Theology of Jonathan Edwards.

Sample Pages

Publisher’s Description: First time ever available in English, this “Reformation handbook of pastoral theology … sets out in a vivid and persuasive way, biblical principles for church life, ministry, and discipline.”

For more than twenty-five years Martin Bucer was the undisputed leader of the Protestant Reformation in the city of Strasbourg. Yet he never managed to achieve all that he wished due to the opposition of the city’s political leaders. In 1548 he moved at the invitation of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to England, where he spent the last few years of his life as Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge.

Ten years earlier, in 1538, Bucer produced what he called ‘this little book’. A Reformation handbook of pastoral theology, it sets out his ideal of a godly Christian society, and was ‘written solely for the Lord’s glory and the improvement of his church at this time when Christ’s sheep are so deplorably scattered’. He commended it ‘to the Christian consideration of all God’s children, asking only that nothing should be judged according to carnal standards, but everything according to the word of the Lord.’ And added, ‘May the Lord grant that it will be of much use for his kingdom.’ Although largely rejected by the government of Strasbourg, Bucer’s Concerning the True Care of Souls met with much more success further afield and was to exercise a vast influence in later history. In Hesse, for example, a church order was introduced based on Bucer’s ideas, and in Strasbourg itself they were implemented in the French refugee community pastured from 1538 to 1541 by the young John Calvin, who had a great respect for Bucer and worked closely with him.

Nearly 500 years later we can still benefit greatly from Bucer’s spiritual wisdom as he sets out, in a vivid and persuasive way, biblical principles for church life, ministry, and discipline. Translated into English for the very first time through the labours of Peter Beale, the publishers send it forth, reechoing Bucer’s prayer: ‘May the Lord grant that it will be of much use for his kingdom.’

258 pages
Published January 2009

“This is THE pastoral theology that John Calvin implemented in his own pastorate in Strasbourg, from 1538 to 1541. Nearly 500 years later we can still benefit greatly from Bucer’s spiritual wisdom as he sets out, in a vivid and persuasive way, biblical principles for church life, ministry, and discipline. Never before available in English, until now!”
- Steve Burlew, Manager, The Banner of Truth North America

Deborah Hatheway, an eighteen-year-old convert who was without a pastor in her home town of Suffield, Massachusetts, turned to a known, trusted adviser for spiritual counsel and advice. Responding to her inquiry, Jonathan Edwards wrote this guide for a young Christian, with emphasis upon attitude and behavior.  Every new and old Christian alike needs to read this letter and heed this wise pastoral advice.

Northampton, June 3, 1741

Dear Child,

As you desired me to send you in writing some directions, how to conduct yourself in your Christian course, I would now answer your request. The sweet remembrance of the great things I have lately seen at Suffield, and the dear affections for those persons I have there conversed with, that give good evidences of a saving work of God upon their hearts, inclines me to do anything that lies in my power, to contribute to the spiritual joy and prosperity of God’s people there. And what I write to you, I would also say to other young women there, that are your friends and companions and the children of God; and therefore desire you would communicate it to them as you have opportunity.

I would advise you to keep up as great a strife and earnestness in religion in all parts of it, as you would do if you knew yourself to be in a state of nature and was seeking conversion. We advise persons under convictions to be earnest and violent for the kingdom of heaven, but when they have attained to conversion they ought not to be the less watchful, laborious and earnest in the whole work of religion, but the more; for they are under infinitely greater obligations. For want of this, many persons in a few months after their conversion have begun to lose the sweet and lively sense of spiritual things, and to grow cold and Hat and dark, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows, whereas if they had done as the Apostle did, Philippians 3:12-14, their path would have been as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day. Don’t leave off seeking, striving and praying for the very same things that we exhort unconverted persons to strive for, and a degree of which you have had in conversion. Thus pray that your eyes may be opened, that you may receive your sight, that you may know your self, and be brought to God’s foot, and that you may see the glory of God and Christ and may be raised from the dead, and have the love of Christ shed abroad in your heart; for those that have most of these things, had need still to pray for them; for there is so much blindness and hardness and pride and death remaining, that they still need to have that work of God wrought upon them, further to enlighten and enliven them; that shall be a bringing out of darkness into God’s marvelous light, and a kind of new conversion and resurrection from the dead. There are very few requests that are proper for a natural person, but that in some sense are proper for the godly.

When you hear sermons hear ‘em for yourself: though what is spoken in them may be more especially directed to the unconverted, or to those that in other respects are in different circumstances from yourself. Yet let the chief intent of your mind be to consider with yourself, in what respects is this that I hear spoken, applicable to me, and what improvement ought I to make of this for my own soul’s good? Though God has forgiven and forgotten your past sins, yet don’t forget ‘em yourself: often remember what a wretched bond slave you was in the land of Egypt. Often bring to mind your particular acts of sin before conversion, as the blessed apostle Paul is often mentioning his old blaspheming, persecuting and injuriousness, to the renewed humbling of his heart and acknowledging that he was the least of the apostles, and not worthy to be called an apostle, and the least of all saints, and the chief of sinners. And be often in confessing your old sins to God, and let that text be often in your mind, Ezekiel 16:63, “That thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.” Remember that you have more cause, on some accounts a thousand times, to lament and humble yourself for sins that have been since conversion than before, because of the infinitely greater obligations that are upon you to live to God. And look upon the faithfulness of Christ in unchangeably continuing his loving favor, and the unspeakable and saving fruits of his everlasting love, notwithstanding all your great unworthiness since your conversion, to be as great or wonderful, as his grace in converting you. Be always greatly abased for your remaining sin, and never think that you lie low enough for it, but yet don’t be at all discouraged or disheartened by it; for though we are exceeding sinful, yet we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, the preciousness of whose blood, and the merit of whose righteousness and the greatness of whose love and faithfulness does infinitely overtop the highest mountains of our sins.

When you engage in the duty of prayer, or come to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or attend any other duty of divine worship, come to Christ as Mary Magdalene did, Luke 7:37-38. Come and cast yourself down at his feet and kiss ‘em, and pour forth upon him the sweet perfumed ointment of divine love, out of a pure and broken heart, as she poured her precious ointment out of her pure, alabaster, broken box. Remember that pride is the worst viper that is in the heart, the greatest disturber of the soul’s peace and sweet communion with Christ; it was the first sin that ever was, and lies lowest in the foundation of Satan’s whole building, and is the most difficultly rooted out, and is the most hidden, secret and deceitful of all lusts, and often creeps in, insensibly, into the midst of religion and sometimes under the disguise of humility. That you may pass a good judgment of the frames you are in, always look upon those the best discourses and the best comforts that have most of these two effects, viz. those that make you least, lowest, and most like a little child; and secondly, those that do most engage and fix your heart in a full and firm disposition to deny yourself for God, and to spend and be spent for him. If at any time you fall into doubts about the state of your soul under darkness and dull frames of mind, ’tis proper to look over past experiences, but yet don’t consume too much of your time and strength in poring and puzzling thoughts about old experiences, that in dull frames appear dim and are very much out of sight, at least as to that which is the cream and life and sweetness of them: but rather apply yourself with all your might, to do an earnest pursuit after renewed experiences, new light, and new, lively acts of faith and love. One new discovery of the glory of Christ’s face, and the fountain of his sweet grace and love will do more towards scattering clouds of darkness and doubting in one minute, than examining old experiences by the best mark that can be given, a whole year. When the exercise of grace is at a low ebb, and corruption prevails, and by that means fear prevails, don’t desire to have fear cast out any other way, than by the reviving and prevailing of love, for ’tis not agreeable to the method of God’s wise dispensations that it should be cast out any other way; for when love is asleep, the saints need fear to restrain them from sin and therefore it is so ordered that at such times fear comes upon them, and that more or less as love sinks. But when love is in lively exercise, persons don’t need fear, and the prevailing of love in the heart, naturally tends to cast out fear, as darkness in a room vanishes away as you let more and more of the perfect beams of the sun into it, 1 John 4:18.

You ought to be much in exhorting and counseling and warning others, especially at such a day as this, Hebrews 10:25. And I would advise you especially, to be much in exhorting children and young women your equals; and when you exhort others that are men, I would advise that you take opportunities for it, chiefly when you are alone with them, or when only young persons are present. See 1 Timothy 2:9, 1 Timothy 2:11-12. When you counsel and warn others, do it earnestly, affectionately and thoroughly. And when you are speaking to your equals, let your warnings be intermixed with expressions of your sense of your own unworthiness, and of the sovereign grace that makes you differ; and if you can with a good conscience, say how that you in yourself are more unworthy than they. If you would set up religious meetings of young women by yourselves, to be attended once in a while, besides the other meetings that you attend, I should think it would be very proper and profitable. Under special difficulties, or when in great need of or great longings after any particular mercies for your self or others, set apart a day of secret fasting and prayer alone; and let the day be spent not only in petitions for the mercies you desired, but in searching your heart, and looking over your past life, and confessing your sins before God not as is wont to be done in public prayer, but by a very particular rehearsal before God, of the sins of your past life from your childhood hitherto, before and after conversion, with particular circumstances and aggravations, also very particularly and fully as possible, spreading all the abominations of your heart before him. Don’t let the adversaries of religion have it to say, that these converts don’t carry themselves any better than others. See Matthew 5:47, “What do ye more than others”; how holily should the children of God, and the redeemed and the beloved of the Son of God behave themselves? Therefore walk as a child of the light and of the day and adorn the doctrine of God your Savior; and particularly be much in those things, that may especially be called Christian virtues, and make you like the Lamb of God; be meek and lowly of heart and full of a pure, heavenly and humble love to all; and abound in deeds of love to others, and self-denial for others, and let there be in you a disposition to account others better than yourself.

Don’t talk of things of religion and matters of experience with an air of lightness and laughter, which is too much the manner in many places. In all your course, walk with God and follow Christ as a little, poor, helpless child, taking hold of Christ’s hand, keeping your eye on the mark of the wounds on his hands and side, whence came the blood that cleanses you from sin and hiding your nakedness under the skirt of the white shining robe of his righteousness. Pray much for the church of God and especially that he would carry on his glorious work that he has now begun; and be much in prayer for the ministers of Christ, and particularly I would beg a special interest in your prayers, and the prayers of your Christian companions, both when you are alone and when you are together, for your affectionate friend, that rejoices over you, and desires to be your servant,

In Jesus Christ,
Jonathan Edwards.

]]> http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/a-letter-from-a-pastor-spiritual-guidance-for-a-young-christian/feed/ 1 pastor new-with-edwards-5-small http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/edwards-speaks-to-pastors-2/ http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/edwards-speaks-to-pastors-2/#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:11:27 +0000 Dustin Benge http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/?p=3120 ]]>

On September 19, 1746, Jonathan Edwards preached at the installment of the Rev. Samuel Buel, as pastor of the church and congregation at East Hampton on Long Island. The sermon was entitled, “The Church’s Marriage to Her Sons, and to Her God.” In this marvelous sermon, Edwards lays out the marital relationship that Christ shares with his Bride, the church, and the relationship each Pastor shares with the same Bride. Listen as Edwards speaks on the Pastor’s role on the day when the Bride enters her heavenly glory.

“We trust, dear Sir, that you will esteem it a most blessed employment, to spend your time and skill in adorning Christ’s bride for her marriage with the Lamb, and that it is work which you will do with delight; and that you will take heed that the ornaments you put upon her are of the right sort, what shall be indeed beautiful and precious in the eyes of the bridegroom, that she may be all glorious within, and her clothing of wrought gold; that on the wedding-day she may stand on the king’s right hand in gold of Ophir.The joyful day is coming, when the spouse of Christ shall be led to the King in raiment of needle-work; and angels and faithful ministers will be the servants that shall lead her in. And you, Sir, if you are faithful in the charge now to be committed to you, shall be joined with glorious angels in that honorable and joyful service; but with this difference, that you shall have the higher privilege. Angels and faithful ministers shall be together in bringing in Christ’s bride into his palace, and presenting her to him. But faithful ministers hall have a much higher participation of the joy of that occasion. They shall have a greater and more immediate participation with the bride in her joy; for they shall not only be ministers to the church as the angels are, but parts of the church, principal members of the bride. And as such, at the same time that angels do the part of ministering spirits to the bride, when they conduct her to the bridegroom, they shall also do the part of ministering spirits to faithful ministers. And they shall also have a higher participation with the bridegroom than the angels, in his rejoicing at that time; for they shall be nearer to him than they. They are also his members, and are honored as the principal instruments of espousing the saints to him, and fitting them for his enjoyment; and therefore they will be more the crown of rejoicing of faithful ministers, than of the angels of heaven.

So great, dear Sir, is the honor and joy that is set before you, to engage you to faithfulness in your pastoral care of this people; so glorious the prize that Christ has set up to engage you to run the race that is set before you.”

(Taken from, “The Works of Jonathan Edwards,” vol. 2, The Banner of Truth)

1. Never allow social networking to replace or rival personal contact and communication. God made us to be social creatures that crave community. We cannot permit ourselves to substitute social networking for the harder work of building and maintaining personal relationships that are face to face.

2. Set clear parameters for the time devoted to social networking. These services can be seductive and time consuming. Social networking (and the Internet in general) can become obsessive and destructive of other relationships and higher priorities for the Christian.

3. Never write or post anything on a social networking site that you would not want the world to see, or anything that would compromise your Christian witness. There are plenty of young people (perhaps older persons now, too) who are ruining future job prospects and opportunities by social networking misbehavior. The cost to Christian witness is often far greater.

4. Never allow children and teenagers to have independent social networking access (or Internet access, for that matter). Parents should monitor, manage, supervise, and control the Internet access of their children and teens. Watch what your child posts and what their friends post.

5. Do not allow children and teens to accept any “friend” unknown to you. The social networking world can be a dangerous place, and parental protection here is vital.

6. Encourage older friends and relatives to sign up and use the technology. Grandparents can enjoy keeping up with grandchildren and with friends and loved ones separated by distance or mobility.

7. Use the social networking technology to bear witness to the Gospel, but never think that this can replace the centrality of face-to-face evangelism, witness, and discipleship.

8. Do all things to the glory of God, and do not allow social networking to become an idol or a display of narcissism.

]]> http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/dr-mohler-on-social-networking/feed/ 0 pastor http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/special-offer-from-banner-of-truth/ http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/special-offer-from-banner-of-truth/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:17:08 +0000 Dustin Benge http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/?p=3097 ]]>

In Recognition of the 500th Anniversary of the Birth of John Calvin, Banner of Truth is Pleased to Release

Tracts and Letters of John Calvin – 7 Volume Set
Author : John Calvin
Special Offer Price: $ 80.00 – List Price: $170.00
ISBN#: 9780851519876
Binding: Clothbound
Page Count : 7 Volume Set
Description: Long unavailable the republication of Calvin’s Tracts and Letters will delight all who have come to delight in the writings of the sixteenth-century reformer of Geneva.

3 Vols of Tracts

Three volumes of Tracts comprise some of Calvin’s most important writings. Volume 1 begins with the Life of Calvin written by his close friend and colleague, Theodore Beza. An outline of Calvin’s life and work by an eye-witness and intimate friend, it will never be entirely superseded by any other biography. There follows several miscellaneous Tracts relating to the reformation, which all have a strong bearing on the leading points at issue between Roman Catholics and Protestants. Among them is the famous exchange with Cardinal Sadaleto and The Necessity of Reforming the Church.

The Tracts contained in the second volume discuss subjects which are of the highest importance in themselves. They range widely over a very extensive field, presenting us both with general summaries of the Truth, in its most elementary form (Calvin’s Catechism, etc.), and also with learned and profound treatments of more difficult points, particularly the nature of our Saviours’ Presence in the Supper.

The four Tracts that comprise the third volume, were selected partly on account of their own intrinsic value, and partly on account of the additional interest which recent controversies have given to some of the subjects considered in them. They contain lucid discussions on all the leading points in the controversy with Rome, furnish wholesome advice in answer to a question which once was, and will probably again become, of great practical importance (The True Method of Reforming the Church and Healing Her Divisions); and refute the wild dogma which a kind of infidel fanaticism had devised, asserting, that in the interval between death and the final judgment the soul remains in a state of sleep or unconscious existence.

All the Tracts sustain the reputation of their distinguished author; and, considering their controversial nature, do not often display the virulent spirit and intemperate language for which modern critics all too often condemn Calvin.

4 Vols of Letters

The man who regularly lectured to theological students, preached on average five times a week and authored enough material to fill forty-eight enormous volumes could scarcely be expected to show enthusiasm for correspondence. Yet in the Complete Works of John Calvin there are to be found no less than eleven volumes of his correspondence!

Calvin wrote to kings and princes, reformers and friends, nobility and common people alike. His letters discuss affairs of State, but also the most mundane problems of everyday life, and through them all is revealed a man of deep pastoral concern, consistent and exemplary evangelistic zeal, with a humble sense of the final authority of God and his word.

The four volumes of letters in this edition range from 1528 to the year of the reformer’s death in 1564, and are of enormous historical interest. But their permanent significance lies in the reminder they provide of a great work of God, and the example they set of compassionate Christian care, and a deep concern for the advance of the gospel wherever it is proclaimed. Calvin’s personal ambition undergirds each letter: ‘It is enough that I live and die for Christ who is to his followers a gain both in life and in death.’

__________________________________

Denny Burk posted an interesting video – Nancy Pelosi Thinks We Need Less Children Being Born

__________________________________

Justin Taylor links us to Mark Dever’s Three Talks at the DG Pastors’ Conference

__________________________________

Dr. Al Mohler writes on an interesting subject: OK, There Really is a Bible Belt

__________________________________

Audio Interview with Michael Haykin and Donald Whitney

__________________________________

John Newton on Entering Pastoral Ministry

__________________________________

Handling Theological Mystery, According to Edwards

__________________________________

What is Your Learning Style?

__________________________________

Don’t forget to check out the new blog devoted to the life and thought of Jonathan Edwards, Journey Towards Heaven

What do you see as the greatest threats that may undermine a man’s ministry today?

One threat is laziness.  We live in a really busy and fast-paced culture.  many men run fast, but I’m not sure they go very deep.  By that I mean it is easy to be busy with the short and easier tasks but leave the long, hard jobs undone.  We are raising a culture, for example, that does not do the manual labor, at least in the major cities.  You hire people to do that.  It’s a service-oriented culture in America, it’s moving away from farming and manufacturing, and it’s all automated.  Many men do not know how to work hard, especially those who have been in school for a long time.  They know how to stay busy doing a number of little things, but they do not know how to focus with discipline on the main thing – diligence and discipline in the Scripture.  The result is often a failure to attend to the priorities and resultant superficiality in the ministry – the things that take time and prayer and intense study of the Word – are often not done well.

Second, there are constant threats in the area of personal purity.  We all have to guard our hearts and strengthen the inner man to remain pure, devoted to Christ, and dedicated to things that are holy.

Third, one of the chief problems that tears men down in the ministry is poor judgment in building a ministry team.  Whether it is elders, staff pastors, lay elders, or friendships, we need to pursue those who are faithful to the highest level of spiritual excellence.  We need the kind of people whose virtue, wisdom, and faithfulness to the work will force us to think and justify everything we do biblically.  They are not going to roll over because we want to do something.  I think that kind of accountability is really important.

A fourth threat to undermine a man’s ministry is a non-supportive wife.  It could also extend to the children, but particularly a non-supportive wife, one who nags and battles a pastor as he tries to be faithful and loyal to the Lord and the church.  If she is negative on the church or the people in it, or if she is spiritually out of sorts or materialistic and self-indulgent or a little too controlling, she will cease to be that support that her husband so desperately needs to serve his people with joy.  A fully supportive, loving, trusting wife who will be honest but who will stand with her husband to the very end frees a man up to do with all his heart what God has called him to do.

When the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus and requested that her two sons sit on His right and left hand in the kingdom, Jesus asks a question in Matthew 20:22, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” Then Jesus says that you and I should not desire greatness like the rest of the world. The secret of greatness is found in verse 26-27, “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.”

I present one question to you: how are you building your ministry? Is your church known because of their faithfulness to Scripture and the glory of God? Or is it known as a church that has been built as an edifice to the pastor? How are you building your ministry? What are you building your ministry upon? What legacy will you leave behind for posterity?

Do not be concerned with worldly acceptance and popularity. Do not be concerned with recognition and greatness in this life. Be concerned with faithfully fulfilling the calling to which you have been called. Beware of building edifices to yourself – for they will surely wash away with the sand upon the shore. Instead strive to build your ministry upon the Rock that will face all storm, wind, and rain.

The first major ice and snow storm of 2009 hit Louisville, Kentucky January 27 and 28. The storm dumped over an inch of ice and over 5 inches of snow across Kentucky, Indiana, and other surrounding states.

I have posted a few pictures of the event at Dustin Benge Photography.

The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers

Publisher: Ligonier Ministries
Author: Haykin, Michael A. G
ISBN-13: 9781567691115
Binding: Hardcover

Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin declares that “reading expressions of love from the past can be a helpful way of responding to the frangibility of Christian marriage in our day.” To that end, he brings together letters from one or both parties in twelve significant relationships from church history. The correspondents include such notables as Martin Luther (writing to his wife Katie), and John Calvin (expressing to friends his grief over the death of his wife Idelette). Lesser-known writers include Helmuth von Moltke, who wrote to his wife as he faced execution as the hands of the Nazis in 1945. The contents range from courtship communications to proposals of marriage to final words before dying, but most have to do with the events of everyday life. Dr. Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., provides an introduction to each set of letters and draws practical applications for today’s believers based on the expressions of love made by the correspondents. In the end, The Christian Lover is a celebration of marriage, an intimate window into the thoughts of men and women in love with both God and one another.

About the Author: Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin is currently the Director of The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, located on the campus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the editor of Eusebeia: The Bulletin of The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies.

For years I have desired a daily devotional written by Jonathan Edwards that exceeded just a few lines. I wanted a devotional of theological depth. Something that would lift my affections to heights of splendor as I beheld the majesty and holiness of God that Edwards so passionately proclaimed.

In order to enjoy such a devotional I decided to compile one myself in the sincere hope that many would benefit from its pages. With the initial consideration in view it took some time to decide in which direction of Edwards’ writings I would proceed. The Yale edition of Edwards works had just been published online by the Jonathan Edwards Center and provided a vast wealth of material in which to draw. Would I draw from his weighty theological treatises’? Would I develop something from his endless Miscellanies? Then it hit me, what a better place for true devotional reading than the life-labor of his sermons. I wanted to sit in the pew as those in New York, Northampton, and Stockbridge. Excerpts from Edwards’ sermons would also provide the opportunity for a wider audience, for those who read such a work enjoy and learn from sermons each week.

Reading over countless sermons I came to see that Edwards was first and foremost a preacher par excellence. This was his calling, his passion and his desire. The sermons of Edwards personify the essence and life of Puritan preaching. Filled with exhortation, exposition, and serious application; Edwards sought to lift the hearts and minds of his hearers in the truth of the Word of God.

A project, now entitled Journey Towards Heaven, that began as a person venture has ended up being a 414 page book with a sermon index and a Scripture index of more than 912 verses.

I have been encouraged by some to seek publishing and am in the process of doing so.  I look forward to see what God is going to do with this labor of love, in the sincere hope that it might come to your hand and devotional life very soon.

I want to say I am sorry for the lack of regular updates on this site.  There is a reason.

For the past several years I have wanted a daily devotional from Jonathan Edwards that consisted of more than a few lines each day. I set out to produce one. This has turned out to be a major task that has consumed the last 6 months of my life. I have extracted portions of Edwards sermons from the Yale Edition of his works that consist of 400-450 words per daily entry. What I began for only myself has turned out to be a 400 page book entitled “A Journey Towards Heaven”. I have finished all the content and now working on the Indexes. On the backside of the project I am so glad to began and can’t wait to see it actually in book form. I am even thinking about publishing.  I am almost done with all my work and need to dedicate all my time to this project.  Please keep looking for updates as I finish this book as well as new posts after this is complete.