Pretty video of a day in venice

Venezia from FKY on Vimeo.

Man Prize Winner Interview (Books)

You can listen to an interview with Julian Barnes, the writer who won the Man Prize. Listen to the interview on the studio 360 site.

Or download the Julian Barnes Interview.

Germany's Merkel Urges Euro Fiscal Union to tackle debt problem

Read the whole article on the BBC page.

In her speech, Mrs Merkel promised "concrete steps towards a fiscal union" - in effect close integration of the tax-and-spend polices of individual eurozone countries, with Brussels imposing penalties on members that break the rules.

"We need budget discipline and an effective crisis management mechanism," she said. "So we need to change the treaties or create new treaties."

The German government has been pressing for changes to establish powers to veto national budgets in the eurozone that breach agreed rules.

"We have started a new phase in European integration," Mrs Merkel said.

'Sons of Anarchy' & 'Madmen'

I've heard these shows talked about a few times as having gained some kind of cult following.

Here's the wikipedia summary of Mad Men:

Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each season has consisted of 13 episodes.^[2] The fifth season is scheduled to premiere in March 2012.

Mad Men is set in the 1960s, initially at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City, and later at the newly created firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.^[3] The focal point of the series is Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director at Sterling Cooper and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and the people in his life, both in and out of the office. As such, it regularly depicts the changing moods and social mores of 1960s America.

Mad Men has received critical acclaim, particularly for its historical authenticity and visual style, and has won multiple awards, including fifteen Emmys and four Golden Globes. It is the first basic cable series to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning it in each of its first four seasons in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.^[4]


Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle cluboperating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California. The show centers on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the Vice President of the club who begins questioning the club and himself.

The Sons of Anarchy (SOA) is an outlaw motorcycle club with many charters in the United States and overseas. The show focuses on the original and founding charter, Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original,^[8] referred to by the acronym SAMCRO.^[9] or Sam Crow. This nickname is also reflected in the original title of the show, Forever Sam Crow.^[10] The Redwood charter is headquartered in Charming, California, in a clubhouse adjacent to the Teller-Morrow auto mechanic shop. Led by President Clay Morrow, the club protects and controls Charming through close community relationships, bribery and violent intimidation.

Video: Video on life in Afghanistan (beautifully shot)

Earlier this year, filmmakers Lukas and Salome Augustin traveled to Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif, intent on capturing portraits of daily life. Lukas had lived in Kabul from 2006 to 2008, working with a humanitarian aid organization called Operation Mercy, and he'd fallen in love with the place. When he returned this year with his then-fiancée Salome, he shot this film, in part as a tribute to his friend Gayle Williams, an aid worker who was killed by the Taliban in 2008. I normally post still photos to In Focus, in part because I love the ability to linger on a scene. But Lukas and Salome have a still photographer's eye, and they've composed a very intimate series of video portraits of both the people and the landscape. The film lasts just under six minutes, so I invite you to take a few moments, relax, start the video in fullscreen mode, and let Lukas and Salome Augustin take you on a beautiful visit to the Hindu Kush. (A brief Q&A with the filmmakers is below the video here as well.) This entry is part of an ongoing monthly series on Afghanistan.

Afghanistan – touch down in flight from Augustin Pictures on Vimeo.

Afghanistan - touch down in flight, a film by Lukas and Salome Augustin. Click image above to play. (If the embedded video is not working, view on Vimeo) (© Augustin Pictures)

Video: Interesting Video on Jesus Relationship with the Church (Spoken Poetry and Theatre)

This post is taken from the Excellent Pure Church blog.

Seriously, these guys keep puttin’ it down for the King. This is not only poetry; it’s theater. Enjoy!

HT: Mic

Video: Hope in a Hopeless Marriage

This post is taken from THABITI ANYABWILE's excellent blog.

Last night my wife and I remained awake well past our bedtime, riveted to the story of Dean and Julie Peterson. Their story is a powerful account of God’s grace in restoring what appeared to be an utterly hopeless marriage. Revive Our Heart offers the interview in four parts. In a day where people have so little hope for difficult marriages, you will want to hear this interview and share it with friends. It won’t be a magic cure, but it just might demonstrate that people in bad marriages (30 years of unfaithfulness and lovelessness) can with the Lord’s help repair and thrive. This four-parter is well worth the hour-and-a-half or so it takes to listen.

Part 1: “Brokenness in Marriage“: Dean and Julie Petersen’s marriage began after a date rape and appeared to be over after a number of adulterous relationships. Dean was planning on killing his pastor. His wife went to this pastor for counseling and ended up in an adulterous relationship with him.

Part 2: “Is Love More Than Feelings?” Julie received a two-second hug from a co-worker. That set her on a descent into lust.

Part 3: “How Bitterness Can Lead to Impurity” Bitterness can lead to all sorts of other destructive sins. Discover the danger of bitterness in a marriage and learn to find freedom from it.

Part 4: “Seeing Your Husband for the First Time” Once romantic feelings of love are gone, is it possible to get them back? After resenting her husband, Julie Peterson started acting loving toward him.

Interesting Smith Wigglesworth prophecy on the coming together of Word & Spirit

Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) was born to an impoverished family in Yorkshire, England. Converted at the age of 8, Smith was illiterate until his twenties and learned to read by reading the bible. A plumber by trade, he eventually gave up his profession to preach the gospel. In 1907 he was baptized in the Spirit at an early pentecostal meeting in Sunderland and began preaching with ‘signs following’. Called the ‘Apostle of Faith’ there are many stories about his life, including the deaf hearing, the lame walking, cancers going and even the dead being raised.

Just before he died in 1947, Wigglesworth is reputed to have given this remarkable prophecy at the Annual Conference of the Elim Pentecostal Churches:

“During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the Church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it and will be characterized by a restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches.

In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say, ‘This is the great revival.’ But the Lord says, ‘No, neither is this the great revival, but both are steps towards it.’

When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidenced in the churches something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the Word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit. When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed, the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The outpouring of God’s Spirit will flow over from the United Kingdom to the mainland of Europe, and from there, will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.”

Does Hebrews teach us to move beyond the Gospel

This post is taken from the excellent 9Marks blog. Read the original post and more here.

Does Hebrews Tell Us to Move On from the Gospel?

By Bobby Jamieson | 12.1.2011PRINT

The other day a friend and I were discussing the rising tide of “gospel-centrality” among evangelicals. More and more voices are telling us that the gospel is not something we move on from in order to grow as Christians; instead, it should always remain the throbbing center of our lives and churches.

But, my friend asked me, what about Hebrews 6:1-2? “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.”

Doesn’t it sound like the author of Hebrews is urging us to move on from the gospel? Doesn’t he tell us specifically to “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ” and go on to bigger and better things?

Well, let’s find out. What does the author of Hebrews himself “move on” to after giving this exhortation?

First, he warns his hearers not to fall away from the faith (Heb. 6:4-8), assures them that their faith is indeed bearing fruit (Heb. 6:9-12), and reminds them to hope in the steadfast promises of God which are an anchor for the soul (Heb. 6:13-20).

Then he spends an entire chapter explaining Jesus’ high priesthood by comparing him to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1-28). This teaching on Melchizedek is, in fact, what the author wanted to get to earlier (Heb. 5:11-14), but had to rebuke his hearers first.

What do we learn from this comparison? Jesus holds his priesthood “by the power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16). He is the “guarantor of a better covenant” (Heb. 7:22). He “holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever” (Heb. 7:24). Therefore, “he is able to save to the uttermost all those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). Jesus doesn’t need to offer sacrifices for his own sins—the only sacrifice he needed to offer was for our sins, which he dealt with  “once for all when he offered up himself” (Heb. 7:27).

Then the author spends three full chapters explaining how Christ, through his sacrificial death and resurrection, has inaugurated the new covenant promised by Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8-10). Through his death Jesus secured eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). His death purifies our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God (Heb. 9:14). Because Jesus is our mediator, we who are called receive the promised eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15). Christ now appears before God on our behalf (Heb. 9:24), and one day he will return to save us (Heb. 9:28). By his will we have been sanctified through the offering of his body (Heb. 10:10), which has “perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:14).

So, when the author of Hebrews “moves on from the gospel,” what does he move on to? The priesthood of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, the heavenly intercession of Christ, the new covenant mediated by Christ, the future return of Christ, and how all of that enables us to turn from dead works and serve the living God.

In other words, the author of Hebrews doesn’t move on from the gospel; he moves deeper into the gospel. He doesn’t leave the gospel behind, but instead claws his way into more and more of its riches.

So then, at least for the author of Hebrews, leaving behind elementary teachings doesn’t mean leaving behind the gospel. Instead, it means diving into the deep end instead of splashing around in the shallows.

(In next week’s post I’ll address the question, What does it mean to not move on from the gospel even when we’re dealing with other matters, like church leadership and structure?)

Video: The Real Meaning of Christmas

A video from the Village Church, featuring Isaac Wimberely, entitled “Advent: God with Us.” It’s also on the new Folk Angel album. Maybe it’d be worth sending this to a friend today, with a short note that this is a good summary of the real meaning behind Christmas? Toward the End of this article is also an advent devotional guide from the people who made the video.

Christ is coming. He has come, and He will come again. This is the message of Advent.

Though Advent is often neglected in many contemporary churches, it has a long history of remembrance. It is a season of waiting, a time of anxious and eager anticipation for the coming (advent) of Christ to His bride.

Though it overlaps with modern Christmas celebrations, it is quite different. Whereas Christmas tends to be a season of noise and commotion, Advent is a time to slow down and reflect. It is a season to consider the first coming of Christ and patiently ponder His second.

This year, The Village will celebrate Advent together. Starting the last weekend in November, we will corporately begin to walk through the Old Testament anticipation of a Messiah, the incarnation of the Christ and the Church’s eager expectation of His soon return.

As part of the celebration of this tradition, we have produced a guide to walk you and your family through the season.

Our hope is that this guide and the weekly sermons will help drive you and your family more deeply into the meaning and message of Advent as we fix our eyes on Christ, glory in His incarnation and eagerly await His return.

Check out the contents:

Week 1: Promises and Patience
Theme: Our God makes and keeps promises, and his people are called to wait with patient longing.

Week 2: Awaiting and Advent
Theme: God made a particular promise of a Messiah, and Israel longed for his coming.

Week 3: Incarnation and Implications
Theme: God fulfilled the promise of a Messiah in the first advent of Jesus Christ.

Week 4: Resurrection and Return
Theme: After dying to redeem his people from slavery, Christ rose from the dead and promised to come again to redeem us fully.

Week 5: Watching and Waiting
Theme: As we await the second advent of Christ, we are called to a life of prayerful and prepared patience.

Appendices
A: Passages for Contemplating and Considering Christ
B: Recommended Resources for the Season
C: Recommended Activities for Family Devotion

Available Resources

Advent Guide (PDF)

The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-2, 14

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Blog Tips: Post blog automatically to another blog

See this page for how to do it. Haven't tried it yet, but will soon.

Innovative Lawyers Report (Financial Times)

A report by the Financial Times on the year in Law. Should be useful as a legal English material.

Go to the FT page to see the article and videos

How to read scripture publicly (some practical tips)

This post comes from Tim Challies excellent blog. It includes some things to do and some things to avoid as well as some practice texts toward the end.

Understand

In order to read a passage well, you first need to understand it. You need to understand the genre, the tone, the purpose for which it was written, and at least have a general comprehension of what the passage means. Is this a triumphant passage proclaiming the glories of God? Is this a poetic, meditative passage reflecting on pain and persecution? Is this God speaking to man or man speaking to God? Is this a story or a letter? What is God seeking to communicate to us in it?

Once you have been assigned a passage, spend at least a few minutes ensuring that you understand it. If this is an unfamiliar passage to you, and you have difficulty understanding it, it may be useful to read the passage in a couple of other translations or to do a little bit of research. If in doubt, ask someone!

Practice

Once you have a basic understanding of the passage, you will need to practice reading it. As you read you will be trying to understand its flow, to understand any natural divisions and to ensure that you know how to pronounce every word.

Because you will be reading out loud, will need to practice out loud. Read the passage from beginning to end until you are confident that you will be able to capture its flow—at least 5 or 6 times.

As you practice, learn which words or phrases you will need to emphasize, find natural places to pause and look for places where you will need to increase or decrease volume. Practice varying your tone and pace, but be careful that you do not become an actor delivering a dramatic presentation—this is not Shakespeare! Your task is to read the Scripture in a way that aids understanding but without drawing attention to yourself. You have succeeded well if people are drawn to the Word of God and take no notice of you!

If you encounter any difficult names, places or other words, you can visitESV.org and listen to any passage in order to find a specific pronunciation. Make sure you practice those difficult words enough times that you will not hesitate on them during the service.

Know in advance what you will say by way of introduction and conclusion. Generally the task of the Scripture reader is simply to read the Bible and not to editorialize (“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”).

Before the Service

Dress appropriately and according to the front-of-the-room dress code, if your church has one. Do not wear anything that might prove a distraction (such as shirts with a slogan or logo). Make sure the passage you will be reading has been bookmarked in your Bible so you can turn to it without flipping through page after page. Read it through at least a couple of times on Sunday morning to ensure that your memory of it is fresh.

There are times that the Scripture reader will be asked to announce the passage he is reading so everyone can follow along in his own Bible. There are other times that he will simply read a passage without announcing it. Be sure you know what is expected of you.

Also, ask whether you will wear a lapel microphone or stand in front of another microphones. If you are wearing a lapel mic, double check that you know how to turn it on and off (or if you even need to do so).

Reading

At the appropriate time in the service, walk to the front without hurrying, turn to face the church and open your Bible to the passage. We like to preface our readings with these words: “This is what Holy Scripture says.”

Stand tall without slouching. Hold your Bible in your hand instead of resting it on the pulpit. Hold it high enough that you can look over it to make eye contact with the people you are reading to. Use your other hand to guide your reading, if necessary. As often as possible, raise your eyes from the Bible to look at the people. Read ahead a little bit so you can make eye contact in those moments that your mouth catches up with your brain. Try to keep a good, natural pace. Your tendency will probably be to read a little bit too quickly. Through it all, remember that you are reading for the benefit of the church, so serve your brothers and sisters by reading God’s Word to them.

At the end of the passage pause for a moment before saying your words of conclusion: “This is the Word of the Lord. Amen.” Head back to your seat, but do not rush.

Common Mistakes

Here are a few common mistakes that you should be aware of.

Too Fast!
Do not be surprised if you find yourself a little bit nervous at least the first few times you read. This nervousness typically causes people to go too quickly—to run to the front, to speed read, and to run back to the safety of the chairs. When in doubt, slow down.

Not Enough Preparation
Do all you can to prepare properly. God’s Word deserves our best efforts. If you are halting and stumbling and mispronouncing words, you are not serving your brothers and sisters as well as you could.

Preacher Voice
Be careful not to fall prey to that strange habit of sing-songing the passage. Use a projected, but natural voice. Be you. Read to people like you want them to understand, not like you are revving an engine.

Too Quiet
The key to good vocal projection is to take a good breath (not gasp!) before your first word and then to use the diaphragm to push the sound forward out of your mouth. Read like you are trying to help the man sitting at the back wall hear you without amplification. As for amplification, it may sound loud to you, but you will need to learn to trust the volume to the sound operators. Speak fully and loudly and confidently.

Without Feeling
Do all you can to “feel” the text as you read it. Having prepared so well, you will already understand much of what it says. Let the Truth impact and interact with you as you read it.

Too Much Feeling
While you want to “feel” the text as you read it, be careful that you do not become an actor performing a dramatic recital.

Soft Balloon
One funny habit some people develop is getting the first third of the sentence well-projected, but trailing off to a near-whisper by the last third. Pace your expiration so that your vocal chords are still moving by the end of the phrase and sentence. You are a reader, not a mime.

Lack of Herald
The reading of God’s Word is to call people to action, so read as a town-crier. You have something to say and you can expect those within earshot to give it attention. This is primarily a frame of mind in the reader, but anything less subtly communicates disinterest.

Passages for Practice

Here are a handful of passages that are useful for practicing.

Psalm 22
How will you read the first 2 verses? How might David have spoken them? How did Christ speak them? Are you reading as David or as Jesus? What kind of transition will there be between verse 2 and 3? What kind of transition will there be between verses 5 and 6? What tone will you use in the final words of verse 31?

Isaiah 52
How will you transition from verse 2 to 3 and then from verse 6 to 7? Will you pause at the end of verse 7 between “who says to Zion,” and “Your God reigns?” How will you speak the words “Depart, depart” at the beginning of verse 11?

Mark 15
In any of the accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion we are faced with different voices—the officials, the soldiers, the thieves and, of course, Jesus himself. How will you read the words of mockery (verse 30, 31)? How will you pronounce and how will you read Jesus’ last words without being too dramatic (verse 34)? How will you capture the faith and wonder of the centurion as he realizes who he has just crucified (verse 39)?

Proverbs 9
What genre is this and how may that inform you as you prepare? How will you transition between description and speech (e.g. verse 4)? How will you transition between verses 12 and 13? How can you indicate that Wisdom is calling out but without over-acting?

Romans 3
Paul uses lots of big words, long sentences and Old Testament quotes. How will you read all the questions in verses 1, 2 and 3 without making it sound forced? How will you read the exclamation in verse 4? Will you vary your tone or voice in some way between verses 10 and 11 to indicate that you have moved from Paul to an Old Testament quote?

Revelation 21
How will you indicate that in verse 3 there is a loud voice from the throne without over-acting that voice? How will you pace the list of sins in verse 8 so that each one receives emphasis and it doesn’t all blend together? How do you pronounce “carnelian,” “chrysolite,” “beryl” and “jacinth?” Can you pronounce “the twelfth amethyst” without stumbling over it (it’s actually quite difficult!)?

Who are some exceptional Expository Preachers worth hearing

This post comes directly from CREDO magazine and you can read their post here. His list is as follows:

Joel Beeke
Alistair Begg
Mark Dever
Sinclair Ferguson
R. Kent Hughes
John Macarthur
John Piper

You can read his whole post below.

Who Are Some Expositional Preachers Worth a Careful Listen?

On 11.30.11  |  In Expository Preaching  |  by mattbarrett

By Tim Raymond -

This is the blog post I didn’t want to write.  In my recent series, “How Can Seminarians Learn to Preach to Normal People” (part 1, part 2, part 3), I encouraged those of you who desire to grow in your ability to connect biblical exegesis with the person in the pew to schedule time to regularly listen to the sermons of preachers who excel at both exegesis and heart-searching application.  At that time, I mentioned that I didn’t want to name specific living preachers as examples of the type of preaching I was advocating (with the single exception of Dr. Joel Beeke), for fear of encouraging that “celebrity pastor” mentality so prevalent in America.  The last thing I want to see is an “I am of Paul; I am of Apollos” attitude among my brother-pastors today.

However, since that series went public, I’ve received a surprising number of requests to point our readers to some examples of the types of preaching I believe is most helpful to the church.  And I’ve come to realize that some people are simply unaware of good models and are sincerely looking for helpful sermons to listen to.

So, with a bit of fear and trepidation, in today’s post I’d like to mention seven living preachers I believe are worth a careful listen.  These seven, to one degree or another, illustrate the principles I enumerated in the aforementioned series.  For full disclosure, I’ve chosen the number seven completely at random just to limit myself.  Surely there are thousands of good expositors out there and I’m sure the moment this post goes up on the blog, I’ll think of three or four others I wish I had included.  These are, however, all men I’ve listened to numerous times, some of them scores of times.

After a brief introduction, I’ll make a couple of comments on the particular strengths of the preacher.  Many of these men have hundreds of sermons available for free at www.sermonaudio.com or The Gospel Coalition Sermon Page.  And lest anyone try to discern any order of priority here, the men are listed alphabetically.

Joel Beeke – I realize I discussed Dr. Beeke in my previous series, but I want to mention him again.  Dr. Beeke is the president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids.  Contrary to what I said in a previous post, he does not usually preach “textual” sermons (I was graciously corrected on this).  Apparently, his pattern has been sequential exposition for at least the last 15 years.  In my opinion, Dr. Beeke is an absolute master of thought-provoking, heart-penetrating, lifestyle-examining application.  I have never listened to a preacher who so effectively shepherds the souls of his hearers through his preaching.  I find myself returning to him again and again, not because he’s necessarily the most mesmerizing communicator or meticulous exegete, but because I know of no other preacher who so consistently moves my heart to worship our great God.

Alistair Begg – Alistair Begg is the Senior Pastor of Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio, author of numerous books, and preacher on the daily radio broadcast Truth for Life.  While he is well-known in wider evangelicalism, for some reason many in the YRR community aren’t as familiar with him.  He is a careful exegete and highly effective at life-examining, convicting application.  With his thick Scottish brogue, his witty humor, his commitment to historic Reformed theology, and his constant references to The Beatles, it’s impossible to find him boring.  He’s especially good when it comes to matters of marriage and family.

Mark Dever – Mark Dever is the Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church and President of 9Marks Ministries.  His preaching is distinctive for at least two reasons.  First, he excels in displaying how a text shapes the worldview of the listener.  He’ll discuss the implications of a passage for unbelievers, for believers, for singles, for pastors, for entire church congregations, for secular government, etc.  Before long you begin to see how a text shapes your entire reality.  Second, Pastor Dever is especially gifted at preaching enormous portions of God’s Word in one sermon.  I’ve listened to his single sermon on the message of the entire Bible more than once.  He’s also covered all the books of the Bible in one sermon a piece.

Sinclair Ferguson – Sinclair Ferguson is the Senior Pastor of the historic First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, SC and professor of theology at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas.  Dr. Ferguson is in many ways similar to Dr. Beeke, only with a Scottish accent.  He’s an exemplar of careful exegesis, profound theological thinking, and thought-provoking application.  His preaching will make your heart break with conviction and sing for joy.  Dr. Ferguson is a man who manifestly walks with the Triune God.  I remember listening to one of his sermons on the glory of Christ at a conference a few years ago.  Both my wife and I felt as if we had been caught up to the third heaven.  His many books and commentaries are also excellent reads.

R. Kent Hughes – Though recently retired, Dr. Hughes was the Senior Pastor of College Church in Wheaton for most of my lifetime.  He continues to serve as Pastor Emeritus and the editor of the popular Preaching the Word series of commentaries.  Dr. Hughes is perhaps the most convicting preacher I’ve ever listened to.  I can still vividly remember when I worked for a year in a warehouse listening to his messages through the Sermon on the Mount while I stacked boxes.  I’d be so cut to the heart that I’d have to stop working and go off and be by myself. (Thankfully, my boss didn’t mind!)  He dissects the text with a precision and self-restraint more like John Stott than Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

John MacArthur – John MacArthur has been the Pastor-Teacher of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA, for over 40 years, is President of The Masters College & Seminary, daily preacher on Grace to You, and is the author of around a zillion books.  For so many younger guys my age, John MacArthur is sort of the George Washington of the YRR movement.  We were stuck in shallow, spiritually-sick churches, aghast at the sermons we were hearing on Christian radio, about ready to conclude that pastoring was for limp-wristed wimps, and harboring secret fears that Christianity was irrelevant.  When all of a sudden somebody handed us a John MacArthur cassette (yeah, cassettes really did exist at one time) and we got smacked in the face by a strong, masculine, no-holds-bared, exegetical two-by-four.  Thank God for John MacArthur!  Dr. MacArthur has been instrumental in the transition of thousands from generic evangelicalism to historic Calvinism.  Furthermore, he has gained a worldwide reputation as a meticulous exegete, being one of the few men in history who have preached verse-by-verse through the entire New Testament.  Somehow, he’s able to captivate his congregation while describing the particulars of a second aorist verb.  His preaching is characterized by clarity, courage, and conviction, similar in feel to MLJ.

John Piper – John Piper is Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, author of over 30 books, and the primary preacher and author at Desiring God Ministries.  Dr. Piper combines careful exegetical skills with profound thinking and burning passion.  Like Dr. MacArthur, the Lord has used John Piper countless times to bring younger evangelicals into a fuller appreciation of the Doctrines of Grace.  If discovering John MacArthur was getting smacked by an exegetical two-by-four, discovering Piper was getting hit by a theological Taser.  Dr. Piper has made famous the statement, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him,” a theme he hits in nearly all his books and sermons.

Honorable mention: The St. Helen’s-Bishopsgate Crew – If I could include one honorable mention, it would be the pastors and preachers who regularly expound the Word at St. Helen’s Church in London.  St. Helen’s is an evangelical Anglican church and strongly committed to expositional preaching.  Their sermons tend to follow that British approach of John Stott and Dick Lucas.  The reason I’ve included them in the honorable mention category is only because I’ve listened to far fewer of their sermons than the men mentioned above.  But what I have listened to is of very high quality.  And many of their sermons are available as videos.  So they might be a source worth exploring further.

I’ll conclude this post by inviting your input.  If there’s a preacher who you believe is especially gifted at both exegesis and application, point us to his ministry in the comments section.  It’s quite possible that we aren’t familiar with him but could be profoundly nourished by his preaching.  And if possible, link to his ministry.