From One Degree to Another

Phil Auxier's Blog

Connect

Preview – Christ

by

For the past few Sundays, we have consistently been looking at Jesus and who He is. We have seen the amazing suffering He endured and sought to get some measure of hope through it. This Sunday, we will continue our survey of the wondrous cross by seeing how Mark 15:33-39 reveals Jesus as the Christ (Even In Death). Hope to see you this weekend.

Advance 09 Audio

by

More free audio is available online from the latest conference: Advance 09. Here’s a summary:

Mark Driscoll – What is the Church?
Tyler Jones – The Resurgence of the Church
Bryan Chapell – Communicating the Gospel Through Preaching
Matt Chandler – Preaching the Gospel to the De-Churched
Ed Stetzer – Keys to Understanding the Church and Kingdom
J.D. Greear – Planting is for Wimps: Revitalizing a Church Around the Gospel
Eric Mason – The Ultimate Shepherd
Mark Driscoll – Ministry Idolatry
John Piper – Let The Nations Be Glad, Part 1
Q & A with Piper, Driscoll, Greear and Stetzer
Danny Akin – Marks of a Healthy Community of Faith
John Piper – Let The Nations Be Glad, Part 2

Carson @ Next….

by

This AM, back at the Y, I listened to D.A. Carson’s sermon at NEXT on the Incarnation. I would commend to you all the audio from this conference. Here’s a summary of his talk.

A few things stuck out to me:
1) His statement that the doctrine of creation necessitates responsibility on our part was an excellent point. I really hadn’t put that together with the masterful words Carson employed. This really opened my eyes to truth.
2) The way the readers of John’s Gospel would have read the opening verses. From a Bible-study method standpoint, this was helpful.
3) The practical manner in which Carson urged us to hold the incarnation.

This was very helpful. Listen and benefit from this as well.

New Index for NSBT…

by

I love the New Studies in Biblical Theology (NSBT) series. I was overjoyed this morning to ready of Andy Naselli compiling a master Scripture index for the entire series. What a helpful thing!

You see, this series explores different themes related to Biblical theology (which takes a doctrinal emphasis and seeks to explore what the Bible, or a particular Bible book or Biblical author, says about it, contrasted with systematic theology, which takes doctrines and tries to summarize the Biblical content into cohesive statements). I have benefited from many of the books in this series and this will be a helpful reference to have at one’s fingertips. For a summary of all the books in the series, visit Andy’s post. To start out with one of these books, I began reading Murray Harris’ Slave of Christ: A New Testament Metaphor for Total Devotion to Christ, printed in 1999. Enjoy!

Sunday Recap – Embrace Suffering & Relationship

by

I thought we had a great Lord’s day and was thoroughly encouraged being with God’s people. In the morning, my sermon was from Mark 15:16-32 and focused on how Jesus’ suffering gives us hope. What was driving a lot of my thoughts on this text was how comfortable we have it and how Mark’s readers were those facing suffering. No doubt reading of the sufferings of Christ would have given them great grace. Hopefully it accomplished this for us as well.

In the evening, the sermon was entitled Return and Repent from Hosea 6:1-6. I think the amazing picture God provides us for renewal in this section encourage us to pursue a relationship with God Himself. He desires love, not sacrifice. Good word to consider, especially when we so often substitute religious practice for relationship. H

Hopefully, the saints were built up and encouraged today, as well.

Preeminence…

by

I finished Joshua Harris’ sermon from Next yesterday. It is entitled Preeminence. The part that was really driven home to me was in Josh’s application of how so many in the room (and probably listening) would affirm the preeminence of Christ with their lips but not necessarily with their lives. Using Luke 6:46 as a springboard, his application was used by the Holy Spirit to bring fresh conviction to me. I highly recommend this sermon.

Quest for More (Again)

by

I’m rereading Paul Tripp’s excellent book, A Quest for More. Chapter 1 is available online for all to read. Tripp does an excellent job highlighting how we tend to live for transcendent, kingdom building activity. Slowly we all naturally drift toward living for something. This book is a must read for us in our contemporary individualism. I would highly recommend it.

Another good tool just became available online, thanks to Justin Buzzard. He has a post highlighting the big truth and big question of each of the 17 chapters. This tool alone would be worth your time as a means to exposing your heart. Enjoy.