Q. 88. What is involved
in genuine repentance or conversion?

A. Two things:
the dying-away of the old self,
and the coming-to-life of the new.

Q. 89. What is the dying-away of the old self?

A. It is to be genuinely sorry for sin,
to hate it more and more,
and to run away from it.

Q. 90. What is the coming-to-life of the new self?

A. It is wholehearted joy in God through Christ
and a delight to do every kind of good
as God wants us to.

Q. 91. What do we do that is good?

A. Only that which
arises out of true faith,
conforms to God’s law,
and is done for his glory;
and not that which is based
on what we think is right
or on established human tradition.

http://www.crcna.org/pages/heidelberg_gratitude.cfm#Day 33

Q. 65. It is by faith alone
that we share in Christ and all his blessings:
where then does that faith come from?

A. The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts
by the preaching of the holy gospel,
and confirms it
through our use of the holy sacraments.

Q. 66. What are sacraments?

A. Sacraments are holy signs and seals for us to see.
They were instituted by God so that
by our use of them
he might make us understand more clearly
the promise of the gospel,
and might put his seal on that promise.

And this is God’s gospel promise:
to forgive our sins and give us eternal life
by grace alone
because of Christ’s one sacrifice
finished on the cross.

Q. 67. Are both the word and the sacraments then
intended to focus our faith
on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross
as the only ground of our salvation?

A. Right!

In the gospel the Holy Spirit teaches us
and through the holy sacraments he assures us
that our entire salvation
rests on Christ’s one sacrifice for us on the cross.

Q. 68. How many sacraments
did Christ institute in the New Testament?

A. Two: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

http://www.crcna.org/pages/heidelberg_sacraments.cfm

This week Ligonier Ministries is hosting their 2010 Nation Conference in Orlando, Fl. The conference, which begins Thursday morning and lasts through until 1:00 PM on Saturday afternoon, is themed around the “Tough Questions Christians Face.” Ligonier has also teamed up with Christianity.com to host a live webcast of the conference. This is a great resource and opportunity that, if you are able, I would encourage you to take advantage of. Here is the conference and speaker schedule.

THURSDAY, JUNE 17

Pre-Conference

9:00 – 9:20 a.m.
The Brave New World of New Media, Ed Stetzer

9:25 – 9:45 a.m.
Principles for Conduct in Communication, Tim Challies

10:00 – 10:20 a.m.
Taking Captive New Media for the Church, Burk Parsons

10:25 – 10:45 a.m.
The Hypersocialized Generation, Albert Mohler

10:55 – 11:55 a.m.
Questions & Answers

Conference

3:10 – 4:10 p.m.
Why Did Jesus Have to Die?, John MacArthur

5:10 – 6:00 p.m.
Is the Doctrine of Inerrancy Defensible?, Michael Horton

8:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Does the Doctrine of Divine Decrees Eliminate Human Will?, John MacArthur

FRIDAY, JUNE 18

8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
What Is Evil and Where Did It Come From?, R.C. Sproul

9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Why Do Christians Still Sin?, R.C. Sproul Jr.

11:40 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
How Do We Know Which Interpretation Is Right?, Derek Thomas

2:30 – 3:25 p.m.
Is the Bible Just Another Book?, Steven Lawson

4:15 – 5:15 p.m.
Is the Exclusivity of Christ Unjust?, Alistair Begg

7:15 – 8:30 p.m.
Questions & Answers

SATURDAY, JUNE 19

8:30 – 9:40 a.m.
Why Does the Universe Look So Old?, Albert Mohler

9:40 – 10:30 a.m.
Is Calvinism Good for the Church?, Burk Parsons

11:15 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.
If God Is Good, How Could He Command Holy War?, Derek Thomas

12:05 – 1:00 p.m.
Can We Enjoy Heaven Knowing of Loved Ones in Hell?, R.C. Sproul

Tune in here.

Gospel Center Discipleship
Late last week Jonathan Dodson announced the launch of gospelcenterdisciplship.com – a website devoted to discipleship resources. While there will be other books and resources added, the site currently features Jonathan’s book, Fight Clubs, “a way to promote grace-driven discipleship in your life and church.”

Al Mohler Suggests Ten Titles for Summer Reading
“Heavily weighted in history”, Al Mohler offers his recommendation for ten books that, in his opinion, “make for great summer reading.” “This year’s list also proves that boys never grow up.” Among the ten recommended books this year “are books dealing with cowboys, Indians, gangsters, lawmen, trains, spies, and battles.”

Ten Books Every Preacher Should Read in 2010
In the March/April issue of Preaching Magazine, Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. offers his annual suggestions of the top 10 books every preacher should read in 2010. The list doesn’t contain links, so I’ve added them below. (The books are in alphabetical order of the authors’ names.)

• Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice, by Bryan Chapell (Baker Academic)
• The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future, by Robert Darnton (Public Affairs)
• Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion, by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck (Moody Publishers) [on sale for 60% off—i.e., $6—at Amazon]
• Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church, by Michael Horton (Baker Books)
• The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne (Matthias Media)
• Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches, by Russell D. Moore (Crossway)
• Ancient Word, Changing Worlds: The Doctrine of Scripture in a Modern Age, by Stephen J. Nichols and Eric T. Brandt (Crossway)
• Perspectives on Christian Worship: 5 Views, edited by J. Matthew Pinson (B&H Academic)
• Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, by Christian Smith with Patricia Snell (Oxford Univ. Press)
• The Young and the Digital: What Migration to Social-Network Sites, Games, and Anytime, Anywhere Media Means for Our Future, by S. Craig Watkins (Beacon Press)

A Few Notable Posts from the Blogsphere:

• Discerning God’s Call by Darrin Patrick
• The Future of American Cities by Tim Keller

Q. 62. Why can’t the good we do
make us right with God,
or at least help make us right with him?

A. Because the righteousness
which can pass God’s scrutiny
must be entirely perfect
and must in every way measure up to the divine law.
Even the very best we do in this life
is imperfect
and stained with sin.

Q. 63. How can you say that the good we do
doesn’t earn anything
when God promises to reward it
in this life and the next?

A. This reward is not earned;
it is a gift of grace.

Q. 64. But doesn’t this teaching
make people indifferent and wicked?

A. No.
It is impossible
for those grafted into Christ by true faith
not to produce fruits of gratitude.

http://www.crcna.org/pages/heidelberg_spirit.cfm#Day 24

NEXT Conference Audio Now Available
Below are links to the free MP3s from the recent Sovereign Grace NEXT Conference.

• Joshua Harris, What Are You Built On?
• Mark Dever, The Doctrine of Christ’s Work Accomplished and Applied
• Kevin DeYoung, Scripture
• C.J. Mahaney, Sanctification
• D.A. Carson, God
• Kevin DeYoung, The Church
• Jeff Purswell, The End Times

Free Audio Download or Francis Chan’s, Forgotten God
Each month Christianaudio.com gives away a premium audiobook download for free. During the month of June they are offering Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Here is a brief description of Chan’s book from Christian Audio:

A follow up to the profound message of Crazy Love, Pastor Francis Chan offers a compelling invitation to understand, embrace, and follow the Holy Spirit’s direction in our lives. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of all three, but how often do we live with an awareness of only the first two?

Getting Started with Evernote
I love Evernote! It’s one of the few products / services that I use everyday. I use it as one of the essential capture and reference tools within my GTD ecosystem. Today, guest blogger Alicia Rockmore shares six baby steps to help you get started with Evernote. I encourage you to read the post and take some time to familiarize yourself with software and their service. If you are ready to begin, you can visit Evernote’s download (Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Andriod, Blackberry, Palm) page here.

Four Books for Only $10.00
For a limited time, Reformation Heritage Books is offering the following four books for the low cost of $10!

• Family Worship by Joel Beeke
• Contagious Christian Living by Joel Beeke
• The Happiness of Heaven by Maurice Roberts
• Walking as He Walked by Joel Beeke

(HT: Jonathan Dodson)

Q. 57. How does “the resurrection of the body”
comfort you?

A. Not only my soul
will be taken immediately after this life
to Christ its head,
but even my very flesh, raised by the power of Christ,
will be reunited with my soul
and made like Christ’s glorious* body.

Q. 58. How does the article
concerning “life everlasting”
comfort you?

A. Even as I already now
experience in my heart
the beginning of eternal joy,
so after this life I will have
perfect blessedness such as
no eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no human heart has ever imagined:
a blessedness in which to praise God eternally.

http://www.crcna.org/pages/heidelberg_spirit.cfm#Day 22

From C.J. Mahaney:

The gospel cannot be preached and heard enough, for it cannot be grasped well enough,” wrote Martin Luther.

By God’s grace I have been a Christian for 38 years. I agree with Luther—I still cannot hear the gospel enough. Each morning I seek to preach the gospel to myself by my study of Scripture and through the strategic reading of supplemental books about the cross. Over the past several months it has not been difficult to find enough books to fill this role. Six wonderful new books on the gospel have been published in the last five months, and they constitute a portion of my recent reading diet.

C.J. gives an overview of the following six books and why he recommends them:

• Graham Cole, God the Peacemaker: How Atonement Brings Shalom
• Sinclair Ferguson, By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me
• D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus
• Atonement, ed. Gabriel N.E. Fluhrer
• Greg Gilbert, What Is the Gospel? (C.J. writes: “Help me put a copy of this book into every hand. Buy a case of them and begin giving them away immediately!”)
• Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence: It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Puritan Electronic Research Tool @ Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
http://pert.puritanseminary.org/

Planning for the Lord’s Day
Tim Challies has a great post which shares some very practical wisdom for families as they prepare to worship each Lord’s Day.

Did They Have to Die?
My wife, Rachel, recently passed along this link to me to read. She has been influenced by the life and writings of Elizebeth Elliot and I encourage you to take some time to read this incredible story.

Christless Christianity Conference: Free Audio and Video Now Available
On March 26-27, 2010, in Los Angeles, CA, Michael Horton, Peter Jones, John MacArthur, and R.C. Sproul joined together to examine many of the popular misunderstandings of the gospel in our day as countless churches are preaching a message that has little if anything to do with the biblical gospel.

Streaming audio and video of these messages are now available on our website. Messages include:

• The Church Cries “Uncle” (“Sam” That Is) by Michael Horton
• Becoming a Better You by John MacArthur
• Questions & Answers #1
• Good Advice or Good News? by R.C. Sproul
• A Gnostic Gospel by Peter Jones
• Questions & Answers #2
• Moralistic & Therapeutic Deism by Michael Horton
• Back to Basics by R.C. Sproul
• Once Lost, Now Found: How Reformed Theology Assures Us by Daniel Hyde (Break-out Session)

DVD and CD conference sets are also now available for pre-order.