What God Has Done to Death

"Death be not proud, for thou art not so," wrote John Donne (1572-1631), the great poet and much-quoted pastor of St. Paul's Cathedral. Yet, then as now, even the most memorable words in our language can seem empty and cold. Death seems to terrorize us like a dark specter as it stalks the wounded widow and oppresses the lonely orphan. And lest we face this menace of mankind as if it didn't exist, or as if it had been eradicated from the world, or as if we could stand stoically flint-faced and unmoved by it, we must acknowledge that the Bible does admit its gruesome and inhumane attack on our emotions.

Illustration: Prosperity, Affluence

In his Jan. 11, 2004, column, George Will points out that despite the hand-wringing found in much of the media, life in America continues to improve on a material basis. He draws on date from Gregg Easterbrook's new book The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse.

Survey Says Many Pastors Lack Biblical Worldview

In a recent report based on a national survey of Protestant pastors, George Barna indicates that "only half of the country's Protestant pastors-51 percent-have a biblical worldview. Defining such a worldview as believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible and having a biblical view on six core beliefs (the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to evangelize), the researcher produced data showing there are significant variations by denominational affiliation and other demographics.

Preaching the Word to a Secular Culture

Michael Quicke is author of 360-Degree Preaching, the Preaching magazine Book of the Year for 2003. Quicke now teaches at Northern Baptist Seminary; but prior to that, he was Principal (President) at Spurgeon's College following a number of years as a pastor in Cambridge. In an interview several years ago, while still serving in his native Britain, Quicke talked about the challenge of biblical preaching in an overwhelmingly secular culture.

Telling the Truth

Another reissued book is Telling the Truth (Zondervan), edited by D.A. Carson. Subtitled Evangelizing Postmoderns and based on papers presented at a conference, the collection includes outstanding insights from a strong team of thinkers.

Rediscovering Holiness

In this revised and updated edition of his book Rediscovering Holiness (Regal), J.I. Packer reminds us of the necessity and character of holiness in the Christian life. This is an important but neglected topic in most churches, and the book may spark ideas of a sermon series on the issue.

Images of Salvation in the New Testament

In Images of Salvation in the New Testament (IVP), professor Brenda B. Colijn explores a variety of biblical images to see how New Testament writers expressed the truth and nature of salvation through Christ. This will be a helpful resource for preachers and teachers.