Ann Hasseltine Judson (1789-1826)

Its always fascinating to me to hear different individuals articulate what it is to be a Christian—what its like, what it makes them think of, how their countenance changes when they speak of it, what pictures they envision, what convictions their heart stirs with, etc.

Here’s a description that stole my attention immediately when I read it for the first time.  I came across it a few weeks back while reading Adoniram Judson’s biography, To the Golden Shore.  Judson didn’t say it, though.  His wife did.

In describing the fellowship of salvation, she explains it as sharing in,

“Joys as exalted as heaven, durable as eternity!”  —Ann Hasseltine Judson, p. 166

What a beautiful expression.  No need to add anything to it.  I’ll just leave you with it and hope that it soaks into your soul like it did mine.

Have you come across any similarly striking expressions or descriptions regarding the Christian faith?  Your comments are welcomed.

On the same day they were married, young Adoniram and Ann (”Nancy”) Judson, future missionaries to the peoples of Burma (modern-day Myanmar), attended a commissioning service for themselves and a handful of other young men and women.

The service took place at the church where Nancy had grown up.  Her minister, Parson Allen, composed a special hymn for the occasion.  It was delivered at the end of the service.  It is said that, “People wept unashamedly as the sang.”

Here’s the first verse:

Go, ye heralds of salvation; Go, and preach in heathen lands;
Publish loud to every nation, What the Lord of life commands,
Go, ye sisters, their companions, Soothe their cares, and wipe their tears,
Angels shall in bright battalions Guard your steps and guard your fears.

—From Courtney Anderson’s, To the Golden Shore (pp. 108-109)

I was deeply moved when I read this account and pictured family and friends sending off the young missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission, most likely to never see them again.

Related Post:

—A Word of Conviction from Adoniram Judson

Bartolome Esteban Murillo's, The Return of the Prodigal Son

I stated “Five Truths About Forgiveness” last week.

This thought needs to be taken a step farther, though.  The issue of forgiveness can and should be brought to a more practical level.

The question must be asked, “What does forgiveness look like?

To answer that question I propose the following:

Seven Things Forgiveness Is and Does:

1. Resists revenge (Rom. 12:19)
2. Doesn’t return evil for evil (I Thess. 5:15)
3. Wish the person well (Luke 6:28)
4. Grieve at their tragedies (Prov. 24:17)
5. Pray for their welfare (Matt. 5:44)
6. Seek reconciliation from them so far as it depends on you (Rom. 12:18)
7. Come to their aid in distress (Ex. 23:4)

Anti-plagiarism safety net:

You need to know that I borrowed the ideas in this post from two others.  The content is not my own.

• John Piper’s sermon, “As We Forgive Our Debtors” is where I took most of this from.
• Chris Brauns offered helpful comments on this post.  Chris has written a book on forgiveness which you should most definitely check out—Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers to Complex Questions and Deep Wounds.

Make sure to do your part:

I’m sure there’s more application for this subject.  If I’ve missed anything, or you feel you can better articulate how to practically apply biblical forgiveness, by all means help us all out and leave a comment.

Dr. Richard Mayhue contributed an excellent little chapter called “The Pastor’s Home”  in the book, Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry, edited by John MacArthur.

He writes that,

“Without the strength of my home, I would never have made it through twenty years of ministry.  My marriage and my family provide me a home where I can:

1. retreat—get away from the pressures
2. relax—enjoy a different environment
3. recharge—gain a new supply of energy
4. relate—enjoy my wife and children
5. rehabilitate—heal the wounds
6. reach out—to neighbors, friends, and flock
7. research—uninterrupted study/writing
8. raise a family—children and grandchildren
9. ripen—grow in God’s grace
10. rejoice—praise the Lord
11. reflect—quiet moments to contemplate
12. reinvest—in my grandchildren
13. regain perspective—in prayer and Scripture”

Mayhue closes this section by saying that,

“When I leave the fair haven nof my home for ministry, I depart in strength, not weakness.”

What a wonderful description and goal for all of us who minister.  Can you think of any other things that a godly, peaceful home can supply and accomplish in a pastor’s life?

If you’re not familiar with the term, “church-hopping” refers to folks who bounce around from church-to-church looking for the latest and greatest that any given community has to offer.

At its worst, it represents the idea of God and the church serving the individual instead of the individual serving God and His Church.

• Jon Acuff wrote about it at his wildly popular ‘Stuff Christians Like” blog.
• Naked Pastor drew it perfectly in the picture displayed to the right.
• On a more serious note, both Josh Harris and the Kevin DeYoung—Ted Kluck tag team duo have tackled this subject as well.  For the former see the book, Stop Dating the Church.  And the latter, Why We Love the Church.

J. Oswald Sanders’ book on leadership is a classic in my line of work. Its titled, Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer.  I was given a copy a few weeks ago as an ordination gift.

At about 60 pages in I’m finding it to be a very beneficial and humbling read.

Here are a few nuggets of wisdom he offers (or cites) on the subject of…well, of wisdom.  So its wisdom concerning wisdom.

“If knowledge is the accumulation of facts and intelligence the development of reason, wisdom is heavenly discernment.  It is insight into the heart of things.  Wisdom involves knowing God and the subtleties of the human heart.  More than knowledge, it is the right application of knowledge in moral and spiritual matters, in handling dilemmas, in negotiating complex relationships.”

“‘Wisdom is nine-tenths a matter of being wise in time,’ said Theodore Roosevelt.  Most of us are ‘too often wise after the event.’”

“Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much,
Wisdom is humble, that he knows no more.”

“D. E. Hoste knew the importance of wisdom for leaders:

‘When a person in authority demands obedience of another, irrespective of the latter’s reason and conscience, this is tyranny.  On the other hand, when, by the exercise of tact and sympathy, prayer, spiritual power and sound wisdom, one is able to influence and enlighten another, so that a life course is changed, that is spiritual leadership.’”

Get your own copy of this great work through the link below.



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In his book, Why Johnny Can’t Preach, T. David Gordon asks the question,

“How has the movement from language-based media to image-based and electronic media altered our sensibilities, and how, in turn, has this change in sensibility shaped today’s preachers?” (p. 16)

His answer is rather direct and gives no reason for celebration.  He confesses that,

“Less than 30 percent of those who are ordained to the Christian ministry can preach an even mediocre sermon.” (p. 11)

Gordon offers help by way of reference.  He points his readers to Robert Lewis Dabney’s book on homiletics, Lectures on Sacred Rhetoric.  There Dabney constructs “The Seven Cardinal Requisites of Preaching.”

For the purpose of brevity I’ll only list the seven requisites with Gordon’s test questions.  The questions are to be asked for the sake of determining whether a given sermon contains that requisite.  Very helpful stuff.

1. Textual Fidelity
   Test: Does the significant point of the sermon arise out of the significant point of the text?
2. Unity
   Test: If ten people are asked after the sermon what the sermon was about, will at least eight of them give the same (or a similar) answer?
3. Evangelical Tone
   Test: Does the sermon press the hearer to consider the hopelessness of his condition apart from Christ, and the utter competence of Christ to rescue the penitent sinner?
4. Instructiveness
   Test: Does the sermon significantly engage the mind, or  is the sermon full of commonplace cliches, slogans, and general truths?
5. Movement
   Test: Do the earlier parts of the sermon  contribute to the latter parts’ full effect?
6. Point
   Test: Is the effect of the sermon, on those who believe it, similar?
7. Order
   Test: Could the hearers compare notes and reproduce the outline of the sermon?

All of us preachers would do well to strive to contain each of these elements in our every sermon.  Gordon’s book was excellent.  I recommend every preacher get their own copy.  You can do so for only $10 or less through the link below.

A prayer to remember this morning as we go to the house of the Lord:

We are going to the house of prayer

pour upon us the spirit of grace and supplication;

We are going to the house of praise,

awaken in us every grateful and cheerful emotion;

We are going to the house of instruction,

give testimony to the Word preached,

and glorify it in the hearts of all who hear;

may it enlighten the ignorant,

awaken the careless, reclaim the wandering,

establish the weak, comfort the feeble-minded,

make ready a people for their Lord.

—Taken from the, “First Day Morning: Worship” in The Valley of Vision

I was ordained by my church  last weekend.  I was given a gift to spend on books/supplies/whatever would help me in my ministry of preaching.  Needless to say for anyone who knows me, I spent every dime of it on books!

I do hope to post about what a wonderful, sobering, and worshipful experience it was being ordained, but for now I’ll share how I spent the ordination gift money.  I considered using it to buy a set of NT commentaries, but I’ve already got several complete sets that are great (Calvin, Expositor’s, MacArthur, Henry, Barnes, et al).  Instead I went through and worked on my Amazon Wish List.  With the monies given I was able to buy twenty different titles and still manage to have a few bucks leftover.  Yes!

Here are the books that are in the mail and on their way to my house right now. If you’re tantalized by any of these works, feel free to click through the links and buy your own copy. None of them were too expensive, and they all came highly recommend to me through various friends, acquaintances, or other related books.

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Approaching the halfway mark through Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck’s, Why We Love the Church.  Really liking this one.  Almost as a side note DeYoung addresses the subject of pastors handling criticism of their preaching.

He writes,

“Every preacher has to learn to handle criticism.  In addition to a lot of encouraging comments, I’ve been told my sermons are too long, too boring, too light, too heavy, too Reformed, not Reformed enough, too focused on application, and too light on application.” (p. 74-75)

Sound familiar?  I’ve definitely gotten the “Your-sermons-are-too-long” one before.  What’s your version?

DeYoung goes on to explain,

“I haven’t fully figured out how to handle criticism, but first I try to listen and understand  what my critics are saying.  Then I consider the source—their attitude, their track record, their motives.  Finally, I ask the Lord for wisdom to know if I should pay attention or forget about the conversation.” (p. 75)

That’s a good word.  Let’s take it to heart.

While I was looking for a picture to display in this post I came across these little gems from a religious cartoon blog, Indiscriminate Ink.  Funny stuff.  He’s got more.  Check ‘em out.

I recently picked up a copy of Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck’s recently published work, Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion (July, 2009).  I’ve only read the first few chapters, but so far I’ve enjoyed and agreed with pretty much everything.  You can learn more about the book from its website.  Also, you may want to check out Tim Challies’ review of it over at Discerning Reader.

On pages 32-36 DeYoung elucidates the necessity of the gospel to the life of the Church by way of positing several questions that churches need to ask themselves concerning how they handle the gospel.

Here are those questions:

1. Are we getting in the way of the gospel?
2. Are we believing the gospel?
3. Are we relying on the power of the gospel?
4. Are we getting the gospel out?
5. Are we getting the gospel right?
6. Are we adorning the gospel with good works?
7. Are we praying for the work of the gospel?
8. Are we training up our children in the gospel?
9. Are we trusting God’s sovereignty in the gospel?

These are questions we all need to be asking of ourselves as well as of our churches.  (Just in case there’s any uncertainty as to what the gospel is, I ‘d suggest checking out this “Gospel Definitions” resource from Trevin Wax’s, Kingdom People blog.)

The first half of the book has proven very beneficial.  I’d recommend it to anyone, but most especially to younger people or anyone who ministers to younger people (”younger” = teens to mid-thirties).

The books only $10.  You can get your own copy through the link below.