34 Blood-Stained Resources for Good Friday

It’s Good Friday and it’s a good opportunity to meditate on the cross. Therefore I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite resources for Good Friday, some brand new resources and some of our blog readers Good Friday meditations. Have a look through the list and spend some time using one of these resources to remind you how amazing Jesus is.

What about God killing people in the Old Testament?

There are some questions that trouble non-Christians that really don’t trouble Christians.

• “Is there such a thing is as truth?” seems so self-evident.
• “Is the crucifixion cosmic child abuse?” is easy to answer if you’ve read the Bible yourself.
• “Is Christianity anti-Semitic?” seems ridiculous when you know the church was founded by 12 Jewish guys who followed another Jewish guy who was fulfilled the great Jewish hope.

Although we are happy to answer the questions of our friends and family, these things rarely ever make us struggle.

But there are some questions that do.

One such question is about God killing people in the Old Testament. God seems utterly brutal to do such a thing. How can we reconcile this with the loving God of the New Testament?

Dave Bish has put up an excellent blog post entitled “What about God killing people in the Old Testament?” where he discusses these issues. I would urge you to read the post for yourself. Let me summarise the main arguments here and then add some thoughts of my own.

All the Prayers of Paul

In The Greatest Prayer Tip I Ever Received, I recommend using the prayers of Paul as inspiration for prayer.

Of course finding the prayers of Paul can be a challenge. So I have compiled a list of all of Paul’s prayers, prayer reports, prayer requests and exhortations to prayer. This list comes from “A Call to Spiritual Reformation” by D.A. Carson and shows every single prayer Paul prays.

Death by Love: Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears

If you’ve been a Christian long enough, you’ve probably memorised verses about Jesus being our ransom. You’ll willingly die in defense of penal substitution. You might even know what propitiation means.

Yet if your honest you probably haven’t understood how these doctrines affect you.

In one of the best recent books on the cross, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears tackle these issues in an immensely practical way. The writers take a topic of the cross (i.e. propitation, expiation, Christus Victor) and apply it to a real life situation. This makes it eminently readable and immensely practical.

If you wanted to read about the cross, but you’ve been put off by weighty doctrine, this is the book for you. It’ll explain the doctrines simply and apply them powerfully.

If Christ Was Real…He Wouldn’t Send People to Hell

A place of burning fire, likened to the loss of an only child. Hell is a horrific place.

No wonder, this doctrine puts people off Christianity.

Emotionally, the idea is so disgusting we want to never hear it again. Logically, it seems utterly inconsistent that Christ could send people to hell.

Surely a loving God can’t send people to hell?

If Christianity is to stand we must ask this question: is there any way a loving God would allow hell?

3 Reasons Why I Love the Church

“I love Jesus but I hate the Church.” she said defiantly “The Church causes nothing but pain. I’m going to learn about Jesus on my own.”

These were the words of a girl I was discussing Christianity with. Clearly, she had not had the best experience of the church. As upsetting as it is she’s not alone.

Maybe you’re like this girl. Maybe you keep away from the Church thinking it has nothing to offer but hurt. Maybe you do attend Sunday service, but the Church has hurt you so bad you’ve lost the love you had at first.

Why should you love the Church. What does it have to offer?

If Christ Was Real…He Wouldn’t Have Such Awful Followers

They couldn’t believe it was him. As the news story unfolded, the Pastor realised the latest paedophile pastor was a man they knew from Bible college.

“He seemed so strong in the faith!” they exclaimed to each other. They’d have never thought that this could be true.

With men like this around, it’s no wonder people question if Christ is real. Surely if he was real, he wouldn’t have such awful followers. Doesn’t this disprove Christianity?

You Can Make the Difference!

Whenever I speak to people who left the church and renounced God, they speak of the problem of Christian obedience as a massive factor.

Soon, after some lively discussions on Eshu’s blog,  I hope to answer those who say that the church’s records of evil is a reason to deny God . However, before I do so I want to talk to the Christians. I want us to realise that living for Christ can be an essential part in the way God saves people.

But before I do that I better get a big misconception out of the way.

The Gospel & Personal Evangelism: Mark Dever

Have you ever wondered how you as a lay person can preach the Gospel to your friends? Or maybe you doubt that evangelism is for you? Perhaps you’re unsure as to what evangelism really involves.

If so, this book is for you. In “The Gospel & Personal Evangelism”, Mark Dever teaches what the Bible says the Gospel is and the methods of evangelism it sets forth. This isn’t a book for pastors, it is a book that all Christians can read. So short you can read it in no time, this book is a great start if you want to see what evangelism is and how you should do it..

10 Books You Should Read in 2009

Reading is a powerful gift from God, both to those who are Christians and those who aren’t.

I think most of the people who read this site are avid readers, but sometimes being an avid reader is not enough. When I became a Christian I read like crazy, but most of the books I read had a lot of fluff and not much meat. We need to know the books we read are worth reading.

Ever since I started reading better books, I’ve appreciated other Christians recommending books for my attention. This is what I plan to do here, with my 10 Books You Should Read in 2009.