Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Andy Naselli

15 Gospel-Centered Questions to Ask

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Jonathan K. Dodson,“Gospel-Centered Questions to Ask,” appendix 1 in Gospel-Centered Discipleship  (Re:Lit; Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 155–56 (formatting added):

Here is a list of questions to help you cultivate gospel motivations.

Questions 11–15 are taken from Sam Storms’s book A Sincere and Pure Devotion to Christ.

See . . . forty-five more questions in David Powlison’s list of “X-ray Questions.”

  1. What do you desire more than anything else?
  2. What do you find yourself daydreaming or fantasizing about?
  3. What lies do you subtly believe that undermine the truth of the gospel?
  4. Are you astonished with the gospel? [Read more…] about 15 Gospel-Centered Questions to Ask

Jim Hamilton on Revelation

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If you’re preaching through Revelation, you’ll want to include this book on your shortlist of helps:

James M. Hamilton Jr. Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. Preaching the Word. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 457 pp. (20-page sample PDF)

Jim embraces historic premillennialism.

His sermons in print follow this basic structure (pp. 15–16, formatting added):

In the introduction I seek to do five things:

  • (1) Grab attention.
  • (2) Raise awareness of a real need that people have, a need that is addressed by the teaching of the text. The goal is to make people feel that they need to listen closely. Ideally, the need we have will be connected somehow to the opening attention-grabber.
  • (3) State the main point of the text. [Read more…] about Jim Hamilton on Revelation

The Torn Veil

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This is the most thorough resource I’m aware of that explains why the temple’s curtain tore in two when Jesus died:

Daniel M. Gurtner. The Torn Veil: Matthew’s Exposition of the Death of Jesus. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 139. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

It focuses on Matt 27:51a but takes into account the other Synoptic references and the explanations in Hebrews.

Dan Gurtner teaches New Testament at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota and serves as an elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church (where John Piper is pastor for preaching and vision). He earned his PhD at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland under Richard Bauckham, and this book is the published version of his dissertation on the tearing of the temple’s curtain in Matthew 27:51a. [Read more…] about The Torn Veil

Linspired

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Books on the rise of Jeremy Lin are starting to become available (e.g., Ted Kluck and Timothy Dalrymple), and I just read one of them:

Mike Yorkey. Linspired: The Remarkable Rise of Jeremy Lin. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012. 176 pp.

Yorkey was following Lin long before Linsanity began.

(By the way, Lin had surgery on his knee this week, and the Knicks expect him to miss the rest of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs.)

[Read more…] about Linspired

Sex Ethics in 1 Thess 4:3–8

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Bob Yarbrough has authored two articles on what 1 Thess 4:3–8 teaches about sex:

1. Robert W. Yarbrough, “Excellence in Christian Living: Sex Ethics à la First Thessalonians 4:3–8,” Reformation and Revival 5:4 (1996): 67–76.

Outline

  1. A Modern Ancient Problem
  2. Paul’s Commitment to True Excellence
  3. God’s Will: Sex Ethics at Center Stage
  4. The Gravity of Sexual Misconduct
  5. Paul’s (God’s) Call to Excellence Today [Read more…] about Sex Ethics in 1 Thess 4:3–8

Thank God for Gifted Professors and Students

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There’s almost always at least one person who is more gifted than you are at something.

  • It may tempt you to be sinfully discontent with your gifts and jealous of others.
  • It may fuel godly ambition.
  • It may fuel humility and thankfulness.

Would you believe that this happens in seminary—where people are taking classes about the Bible and theology?

It does. [Read more…] about Thank God for Gifted Professors and Students