Life on Wings - A Tribute to Dr Ern Baxter

Pondering Life on the Web ...

It's been a while since I've done a blogspotting thing. That doesn't mean that I haven't been looking but there hasn't been much that has stirred me to write a blog if I'm honest. Does that mean that the internet is descending into meaninglessness? Or I'm just not quite as easily irked as I was? I hope that it suggests that I am choosing my words more carefully as we are accountable for everything we say and do and type.

So this isn't going to be a classic 'blogspotting' piece (whatever that genre may be) but more a snapshot of what I'm doing, where I'm going and what I'm reading - some of that includes blogs of course. Do feel free to pass on by to more worthy material such as Ern Baxter!

Terry! Well another 'Luke and Dan special'. Terry Virgo is preaching at Church of Christ the King in Brighton! Some may wonder why this is worthy of mention - but as I can make out, the last time Terry preached at Church of Christ the King was quite a few months ago. He is incredibly busy understandably fathering a growing movement like Newfrontiers so I suspect the times that he is home in Brighton and preaching may become rarer. Fortunately CCK have an evening service! So we'll be travelling to Brighton to hear him and through him the God-entranced vision he lives.

The Newfrontiers Magazine Online: This outstanding magazine that I reviewed a few days ago is now available online here. Okay I might be slightly biased, but I have yet to come across a magazine that stands for so many of the passions that I treasure. The commitment to Word (Reformed Doctrine) and Spirit (Charismatic Life). The commitment to taking the Gospel to the Nations. The commitment to the local Church. It can all be found here! I forgot to mention that the One-to-One this issue is with Rob Rufus. It's a fascinating insight into a man of God that I can't wait to encounter again.

Andrew Fountain: I've got Luke to thank for this discovery. It seems Andrew Fountain is part of Newfrontiers Canada in a church called 'Newlife Church'. What impressed me beyond belief is that I think he has the most in-depth reviews of all of the sessions from "Together on a Mission 2006". They are here. I'm guessing he's listened to the CD's unless Prof McGonagall got him a time-turner. The standard has been raised most certainly for live-blogging "Together on a Mission 2007"!

A New Blog! I'm always eager to find new blogs that will be worth regularly reading. This blog is by Billy Kennedy - the leader of Community Church, Southampton. It's a large charismatic church that I have visited once and was very blessed when I went there. It was great to see that Billy met up with Terry Virgo recently. He said that Terry was concerned that he was okay with Newfrontiers planting into Southampton - which Billy assured him he was. That kind of knocks on the head the scaremongerers favourite gossip that Newfrontiers barges into cities thoughtlessly. Looking forward to seeing what he has to write.

Sam Storms Most Influential Books: Commissioned by Justin Taylor, Dr Storms has put together a list of what he considers to be the most influential books in evangelicalism. He seperates out the list into two - what are the most influential books and what should have been the most influential books. John Piper made Number 1 of his "should-haves", Wayne Grudem polled Number 3 and Jack Deere made Number 10. It's an interesting question - what books have influenced me the most - aside from the Bible? Or you? And why?

The Amazing Library! This is where I digress from blogs for a moment. My friend Pete and myself have just invested in this. It's essentially a parcel of 36 CD's with over 1, 000 books on them in Acrobat Reader form. Historically I am pretty anti having books on CD-Rom. I like books to sit on my bookshelf and be accessible that way. I like the look of books. I just love books! But I couldn't deny that these CD's will open up a whole army of material that would take me years to buy. From what I've read so far - it's more than surpassed my expectations! Worth taking a look any bookophiles!

Reformation Day: This symposium shows that quite a few people got pretty excited about this day. But it was Luke's blog that really got me excited. I don't see the point in re-visiting church history for history's sake. So Obadiah Sedgewick liked to wear woollen socks in bed ... how will that help us win the lost and take the Gospel to the ends of the earth? Luke wrote;

"We can expect Him to do the same in our day. As we look for the church to be fully restored we can wait expectantly for God to move and restore us that much closer to His norm. I believe He will do it. I believe He is doing it ... Hear that? It is possible. We will see the Church restored, the expression of Christianity changed around the world and God glorified through a glorious, triumphant Church!".

And Finally ... Jonathan Edwards on Angels.

Does anyone remember "A God-Entranced Vision of All Things"? During Dr Sam Storm's message; "Joy's Eternal Increase", he set out a challenge. He said that hardly anyone had looked into what Jonathan Edwards had to say on the subject of the angelic. I decided to take up the challenge and see what I could find. Here's a sample:

The Angels Demonstrate the Order of God: (Works, Volume 2)

"The design of God in thus ordering things, is to teach and show that he is all, and the creature nothing, and that all exaltation and dignity belong to him; and therefore those creatures that are most exalted shall in other respects be least and lowest. Thus, though the angels excel in wisdom and strength, and are advanced to glorious dignity, and are principalities and powers, and kings of the earth, yet God makes them all ministers to them who are much less than they, of inferior nature and degree. Thus, also, the saints who are most exalted in dignity are servants to others.

The angelic nature is the highest and most exalted created nature; yet God is pleased to put greater honour upon our inferior nature, viz. the human, by causing that the Head and King of all creatures should be in the human nature, and that the saints in that nature in Christ, should be in many respects exalted above the angels, that the angelic nature may not magnify itself against the human; and the man Christ Jesus, that creature who is above all, owes his superiority and dignity, not at all to himself, but to God; viz. to his union with a divine person".

The Angels Demonstrate the Rule of God: (Works, Volume 2).

"So they are a kind of princes under God, over such and such parts of the creation, or within such a certain sphere ... God hath concealed the particular spheres of the angels’ dominion and ministry, that we might not be tempted to idolatry. They, therefore, that worship angels under a notion of such and such angels having a superintendency over such particular persons or affairs, intrude into those things that they have not seen. It is not reasonable to suppose that the angels are called thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, merely for the honour they have in their great abilities and excellent qualifications, for the words do properly denote rate and authority".

The Angels Demonstrate Christ's Supremacy: (Works, Volume 2).

"(The Angels) were dependent on the sovereign grace of Christ to uphold them and assist them in this service, and to keep them from ruining themselves, as the fallen angels had done; by the fall of the angels, especially of Lucifer, the greatest, brightest, and most intelligent of all creatures, they were taught their own emptiness and insufficiency for themselves, and were led humbly in a self-diffidence to look to Christ, to seek to him, and depend on him, in whom it pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell to preserve them. So that they all along hung upon him".

That's a pretty appropriate place to end. "To look to Christ ... and to depend on Him".