Three Conferences in Two Weeks

This weekend began a stretch of conferences for me:

• PCRT in Greenville (the past two days)
• The Gospel Coalition in Chicago (Tuesday through Thursday this week)
• Children Desiring God in Minneapolis (Thursday through Saturday next week)

If you're planning to be at one of these, please let me know. I'd love to touch base with you!

Redeemer Bible Church, Brighton, CO

Heritage's latest church planter, Todd Davis, is blogging. He and his family have been in Brighton, Colorado for a month now. You can keep up with him here.

Packer on Penal Substitution

I'm reading In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement as part of my Easter meditation. It is a collection of articles by J. I. Packer and Mark Dever defending the substitutionary nature of Christ's cross-work.

Here's a nugget for you to ponder and exult in as you prepare for corporate worship tomorrow:

The word "penal" . . . is there, not to prompt theoretical puzzlement about the transferring of guilt, but to articulate the insight of believers who, as they look at Calvary in the light of the New Testament, are constrained to say, "Jesus was bearing the judgment I deserved (and deserve), the penalty for my sins, the punishment due to me"--"he loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). How it was possible for him to bear their penalty they do not claim to know, any more than they know how it was possible for him to be made man; but that he bore it is the certainty on which all their hopes rest (84).

May God give us grace to continue resting our hopes on the completed work of his Son!

Colbert and Ehrmann on Christ

Satirist Stephen Colbert had theologian Bart Ehrmann on The Colbert Report Thursday to discuss Ehrmann's view that traditional Christian thinking about Christ is (and for most of church history has been) erroneous. Colbert's replies are vintage:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bart Ehrman
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

HT: BW3

The Glory of God: Objective Reality

Danny gave me consecutive opportunities to preach at Heritage, once this past Sunday evening and again this coming Sunday evening. My sermons are on the glory of God. And no, they are not exhaustive--even though one of our elders jokingly asked me if they would be.

Both the audio and my notes from the first sermon (The Glory of God: Objective Reality) are now available.

Dr. Oz on Stem Cell Research

Even the most casual Oprah watcher knows Dr. Mehmet Oz, the doctor she turns to most often to discuss medical/health-related issues. Last week, Dr. Oz appeared with Oprah and Michael J. Fox to talk about the possibilities of stem cells. His conclusion is enlightening: adult stem cells--not embryonic ones--hold the potential for curing Parkinson's.



Two things stand out to me: (1) that the debate over embryonic stem cell research is not a matter of medicine but politics; and (2) that doctors may find a cure for Parkinson's within the decade. The former reminds me that we must not think it right to destroy one life in order to save another. The latter reminds me that God in his common grace may yet provide a way to preserve the lives of those who are currently suffering with Parkinson's. As a survivor of one disease that (until recently) was considered fatal, I join the many who wish that day to come soon.

HT: World.

Help GSP Airport Attract Lower Fares

A friend of mine who works in operations at Greenville-Spartanburg Airport passed along this survey the other day and asked that I share it with anyone who would benefit from lower fares at GSP. He told me last night that the results may have great bearing on GSP's future plans. So if you live in the Upstate or travel frequently to the Upstate, please take a three or four minutes to respond.