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Continuing an occasional series on quotes from the Reformed Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, today's post concerns his views on growing old.
Previous entries addressed ambition, eternity and unity.
Numbers following the quotes refer to the relevant sermon.
Spurgeon gives hope to those of us who see twentysomethings and think they look like 12-year-olds. That's my criterion for old age!
Without further ado, here is wisdom from the man known as the Prince of Preachers, with much more at the aforementioned link. Emphases mine below:
It is a crime to permit our fires to burn low while experience yields us more and more abundant fuel. AM191
From the altar of age the flashes of the fire of youth are gone, but the more real flame of earnest feeling remains. ME556
O you of forty, fifty, or sixty, what a world of mischief there is in you that will have to come out. 1248.455
Many of God's aged servants who have been spared to advanced years, have come to look out for the setting of earth's sun without a fear of darkness. While they have seemed to have one foot in the grave, they have really had one foot in heaven. 1922.537
Old men sometimes arrive at a second childhood. Do not be afraid, brother, if that is your case; you have gone through one period already that was more infantile than your second one can be, you will not be weaker then than you were at first. 2457.137
In the case of some old people, who have been professors of religion for years, but who have done next to nothing for Christ, I find it very difficult ever to stir them up at all. 2618.183
I always find that the older saints become more Calvinistic as they ripen in age; that is to say, they get to believe more and more that salvation is all of grace; and whereas, at first, they might have had some rather loose ideas concerning free-will, and the power of the creature, the lapse of years and fuller experience gradually blow all that kind of chaff away. 2991.287
When somebody said to a Christian minister, "I suppose you are on the wrong side of fifty?" "No," he said, "thank God, I am on the right side of fifty, for I am sixty, and am therefore nearer heaven." Old age should never be looked upon with dismay by us; it should be our joy. 3183.72
What a positive way for us oldies to start the week!
Age aside, may all my readers enjoy a blessed day!
A John MacArthur sermon I cited yesterday has a lovely explanation of marriage.
Excerpts follow from his exposition of Matthew 19:10-12, 'Jesus' Teaching on Divorce, Part 4′. Emphases mine below.
Leaders of every youth group from secondary school through university would do well to borrow from this sermon. Too many of us do not fully appreciate matrimony.
MacArthur sets out the main points of marriage. Each begins with a 'P'.
Children are an heritage from the Lord, so there is marriage to have children. Procreation … Nothing is more clear than you two are one when you see your selves in that one that is born of your union.
It's for pleasure. Hebrews 13:4 says, "Marriage is honorable in all and the bed is undefiled." The bed is undefiled, you can't do anything in that place that is defiling. Great liberation, 1 Corinthians 7 says, your body is not yours, and her body is not hers they belong to each other and the Old Testament … from Proverbs, talks about the satisfaction of the physical relationship, the pleasure.
It's for purity. In 1 Corinthians 7:2, the Bible says, that for fornication let every man have his own wife.
This is the verse (ESV):
2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
I love this. Ephesians 5 says that the man is to nourish, cherish, provide for, care for, be like a savior to his wife.
… marriage is a provision of security, it's a provision of carrying and nourishing and cherishing. Providing for[;] in fact, it says, if a man doesn't provide for his own household, he's worse than an unbeliever.
It's for partnership. When God made Eve, he said he made Adam a what? A helper. A helper. Somebody to come along side and help so you don't do things alone, you do them together. There is strength in that fellowship, isn't there. And I confess to you that my wife is strong where I am weak and that I tend to be strong where she is weak and that's the way it ought to be. She tells me when I need to be told and if she didn't, she wouldn't be strength to my weakness. She has wonderful ways of reminding me of my weaknesses. In fact, I can hear the speech coming before she gives it. I know, speech number 8, you don't have to give it. But there is real partnership isn't there, real partnership. I mean, I go here and I work here and I study and I do the things I need to do and she's home providing all the home needs all that the children need, all that I need to be free to do what I do. It's real partnership. And I provide all the resources that she needs to do what God has ordained for her to do and so that's partnership.
And then finally, marriage is picture. It's picture and what is it picture of? It is picture of Christ and his what? Church. Ephesians 5, it is a graphic demonstration in the face of the world that God loves and has an ongoing unending relationship with the bride whom he loves. And for whom he lives and dies and I dare say that the whole metaphor of marriage of a symbol of Christ and his church has lost its punch because the church is so rife with divorce and fouled up marriages.
Some psychologists did a study and came up with a theory that you are what you are because you are adjusting to the most important person in your life. Whoever the most important person is in your life, that's the person you are trying to please. Very simple for the Christian, isn't it? Who is the most important person in our life? Christ. That settles the issue, really, because now we can say, I receive it, if you say it. It's God's order.
If more of us heard, read and heeded those succinct yet necessary messages about marriage, we would have fewer divorces and many more happy unions.
Continuing an occasional series on quotes from the Reformed Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, today's post concerns his views on ambition.
The two previous entries addressed eternity and unity.
Before I move onto quotes from the Prince of Preachers, which are just as relevant today as they were in the 19th century, it is important to keep in mind how much he loved studying and reading. Those Christians who disparage the value of formal education could take a leaf out of his book.
Encyclopedia.com describes his grandfather's parsonage in Stambourne, Essex (southeastern England). Emphases mine below:
His favorite getaway was in the attic, in a secret little room he stumbled upon one day that had once served as the minister's den before the windows were covered up. In this dark, little space, Spurgeon discovered countless books and fell in love with Puritan theology.
… Spurgeon particularly loved Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, a Puritan who had been jailed for his beliefs. Over the course of his lifetime, Spurgeon read the book more than 100 times. The attic also contained books on Scriptural theology and Christian martyrs. Reading them provided Spurgeon with a solid theological background.
In the attic, Spurgeon fell in love with reading. In his autobiography, posted on the Spurgeon Archive website, Spurgeon described the impact reading had on him: "Out of that darkened room I fetched those old authors when I was yet a youth, and never was I happier than when in their company." This fondness for books lasted a lifetime. By the time he was an adult, Spurgeon read an average of six books a week and was well–read in Puritan theology, natural history, and Latin and Victorian literature. At his death, Spurgeon had 12,000 books in his personal library.
The numbers following the quotes below relate to his sermons.
Spurgeon clearly had a good knowledge — and understanding — of history as well as classical mythology, which, sadly, some churchgoers disdain today:
Ambition is like the sea which swallows all the rivers and is none the fuller; or like the grave whose insatiable maw for ever craves for the bodies of men. It is not like an amphora, which being full receives no more, but its fulness swells it till a still greater vacuum is formed. In all probability, Napoleon never longed for a sceptre till he gained the bâton, nor dreamed of being conqueror of Europe till he had gained the crown of France. Caligula, with the world at his feet, was mad with a longing for the moon, and could he have gained it the imperial lunatic would have coveted the sun. It is in vain to feed a fire which grows the more voracious the more it is supplied with fuel; he who lives to satisfy his ambition has before him the labour of Sisyphus, who rolled up hill an ever-rebounding stone, and the task of the daughters of Danaus, who are condemned for ever to attempt to fill a bottomless vessel with buckets full of holes. FA10
There are times in life when ambition can cause us to attempt or covet too much:
He who undertakes too much succeeds but little. PT140
You may burst a bag by trying to fill it too full, and ruin yourself by grasping at too much. PT140
Our endeavours to go up lead us to push others down. 2153.379
A man is never perfectly at peace if he is ambitious, and craving for this or that which as yet is beyond his reach. 2626.280
Men do not quarrel when their ambitions have come to an end. 2281.529
Are we accomplishing things for God's glory or man's?
And it is much the same also with ambition,—not the desire to use one's capacities to the full, especially for God's glory, and the good of our fellow-creatures; but that craving for so-called "glory" which makes a man court the homage of his fellow-men, and which will not let him be content unless he is set up on a high pedestal for fools to stare at. 2886.268
He had this advice for churchgoers:
Aspire to be something more than the mass of church members. Lift up your cry to God and beseech him to fire you with a nobler ambition than that which possesses the common Christian—that you may be found faithful unto God at the last, and may win many crowns for your Lord and Master, Christ. 867.232
In closing, this is worthwhile for seminarians who hope to rise to the top in their vocation:
Do you not know that the higher you rise, even in the Church of Christ, the more responsibility you have, and the heavier burdens you have to carry? 2871.91
Every time I read Spurgeon quotations I spend a period of time pondering each one. I hope you find them equally valuable.
One of last week's posts featured Charles Haddon Spurgeon's insights on eternity.
Today's entry throws the spotlight on his assessment of the Church of the 19th century and how she — and we today — can achieve unity. There are several quotes at the link. This is one of them:
It is not likely we should all see eye to eye. You cannot make a dozen watches all tick to the same time, much less make a dozen men all think the same thoughts. But, still, if we should all bow our thoughts to that one written Word, and would own no authority but the Bible, the Church could not be divided, could not be cut in pieces as she now is. 307.167
The Bible — divinely inspired — is read and heeded by too few Christians. Some of us prefer delving into religious self-help books, others poetry or modern church music.
Making a silent, personal commitment to reading and studying the truths of the Bible is the best way we can improve our relationship with Jesus, God and our fellow man.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a Victorian preacher and founder of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.
He was a Particular Baptist, meaning that he allied himself with the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith which is essentially Calvinist, outside of adult baptism.
He is still widely quoted today and is known as the Prince of Preachers.
(Image credit: Wikipedia)
Spurgeon admirers may already be acquainted with Spurgeon.US, which is a repository of over 4,000 quotes from this great man. The topics are categorised alphabetically. This is truly a treasure trove of Protestant Christianity.
I enjoyed reading what Spurgeon had to say on eternity. A few gems follow. The numbers at the end of the quotes are the sermon numbers. Emphases mine below.
When the wheel turns, those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink. Patience, then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time. ME280
Time tries most things, but eternity tries all. 1736.465
Certain men in these days declare that "everlasting" does not mean everlasting, but indicates a period to which an end will come sooner or later; I have no sympathy with them, and feel no inclination to renounce the everlastingness of heaven and other divine blessings in order to gratify the tastes of wicked men by denying the eternity of future punishments. 1186.438
A new way of reading the Bible has been invented in these highly enlightened days. I used to get on exceedingly well with the book years ago, for it seemed clear and plain enough, but modern interpreters would puzzle us out of our wits and out of our souls, if they could, by their vile habit of giving new meanings to plain words. Thank God, I keep to the old simple way; but I am informed that the inventors of the new minimizing glasses manage to read the big words small, and they have even read down the word "everlasting" into a little space of time. Everlasting may be six weeks or six months according to them. I use no such glasses; my eyes remain the same, and "everlasting" is "everlasting" to me whether I read of everlasting life or everlasting punishment. If I clip the word in one place I must do so in another, and it will never do to have a terminable heaven. I cannot afford to give it up here when its meaning is joyous to the saint, and therefore not there when its sound is terrible to the sinner. 1413.271
What saith the Scripture? "Eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord"—not, a moment, and then it is all over; but eternal destruction. The Scripture has put the two side by side, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." The same word applies to both. As long as heaven shall shine so long hell shall burn. As long as the saints are happy, so long shall those whose impenitence has made them castaways be wretched. 3324.497
We could do with thousands of Charles Spurgeons today.
Sadly, our seminaries aren't quite up to creating great evangelists.
Still, let us be thankful we have plenty of Spurgeon material at our disposal.
People are leaving the Church for a variety of reasons.
Micah J Murray has a post exploring those reasons. The commenters have more. This one says, in part:
I am weary of going face-to-face and having others think there is something wrong just because I look down or am not smiling. Could it be possible that in my despair or quietness, I am closer to God than ever before?
Yet, it seems that going to church now has to be a psychoanalytical, therapeutic exercise with the pastor or vicar silently summing up a newcomer or the occasional attendee after the service. Everyone is assumed to be an emotional cripple, and the clergyman is the guy (or gal) who will make that decision.
Why can't we go back to the old days when we went to church to worship God? Why do we have to join at least one group or committee in order to be considered proper church members? Yes, I know there are verses from St Paul's letters which encourage that, but his converts were also establishing fledgling Church communities. The Church grew into huge national and international denominational organisations.
Therefore, not everyone has to be 'active' in order to be a church member in good standing. Priests and ministers will disagree, but this is yet another reason why people shy away from either church worship or attending too often. They don't want to be too well acquainted with clergy or other members. It could lead to further involvement.
Clergy and elders should really leave people alone and let them decide whether to get involved in groups and committees, most of which are surrogate forms of therapy.
Church is primarily for worship — spending structured time with God and Christ Jesus.
For many churchgoers, true worship is all that they want. Please let them be.
Although writing about a secular subject, author John M Barry wrote the following in his book The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History. His words could also be applied to the church congregations of yesteryear:
They are simply a loose confederation of individuals, each of whom remains largely a free agent whose achievements are independent of the institution but who also shares and benefits from association with others. In these cases the institution simply provides an infrastructure that supports the individual, allowing him or her to flourish so that the whole often exceeds the sum of the parts.
Many would like to see a return to that kind of outlook.
Thomas Boston (1676-1732) spent most of his life in the Scottish Borders in ministry.
His parents were Covenanters, meaning that they bound themselves in various covenants to ensure Presbyterianism was the only Christianity practised in Scotland. In the 16th century, these men and women resisted the return of Roman Catholicism and, in the 17th century, the religious reform from the Anglicans in England.
Boston earned a degree in Arts from Edinburgh University and, for a short time, was a schoolmaster. He spent one term at theological college before being assigned to active ministry, which he began in 1697.
He spent much of his spare time educating himself and was well known for his knowledge of Hebrew. Jonathan Edwards considered Boston:
a truly great divine.
He also wrote several books and shorter works about Christianity and human nature. In 1704, having read a controversial book called The Marrow of Modern Divinity, he became a Marrowman, which meant that he emphasised the doctrine of grace and the free offer of the Gospel. The book is a collection of dialogues from Reformation divines on the nature of Christ's atonement and was a middle way of Christian practice, intended to guide believers from antinomianism (disregard for the Law) without embracing legalism.
The legalistic Calvinist hierarchy of the day disapproved of this perspective, yet it proved very popular among Scottish congregations. Indeed, the Marrowmen were effective, heartfelt preachers. Boston himself revived the church in Ettrick, where he ministered for 25 years. When he arrived in 1707, the number of members was around 60. By the time he retired, there were 777.
Boston not only preached in church, he had an active ministry at home, where he regularly held classes for his congregation.
Despite family deaths which touched him to the core, his wife Catherine was his loving companion and source of emotional support.
Boston's written works had a profound effect not only on his congregation, but many poor, hard-working Scots.
One of his essays is entitled, simply, 'Hell'. It describes the certainty, the nature and the eternity of it.
Excerpts and summaries follow, emphases mine (except for the first line, the titles and subtitles).
He introduces his essay with:
Then He shall say unto those on the left hand, "Depart from me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Matthew 25:41
and reminds us in the Introduction that:
The last thing which our Lord did, before He left the earth, was, 'He lifted up his hands, and blessed his disciples' (Luke, 24:50,51). But the last thing He will do, before He leaves the throne, is to curse and condemn His enemies; as we learn from the text which contains the dreadful sentence wherein the everlasting misery of the wicked is declared.
He then summarises the body of the essay before examining the doctrine of hell.
In this section, Boston discusses the 'curse' of the 'damned', their misery, their society and their eternity.
By nature all men are under the curse. But it is removed from the elect by virtue of their union with Christ. It abides on the rest of sinful mankind, and by it they are devoted to destruction, and separated to evil …
As in heaven grace comes to its perfection, so in hell sin arrives at its highest pitch; and as sin is thus advancing upon the man, he is the nearer and likelier to hell.
There are three things that have a fearful aspect here–
1. When everything that might do good to men's souls, is blasted to them; so that their blessings are cursed– sermons, prayers, admonitions, and reproofs, which are powerful towards others, are quite ineffectual to them.
2. When men go on in sinning still, in the face of plain rebukes from the Lord, in ordinances and providences. God meets them with rods in the way of their sin, as it were striking them back; yet they rush forward. What can be more like hell, where the Lord is always smiting and the damned always sinning against Him?
3. When everything in one's lot is turned into fuel for one's lusts. Thus, adversity and prosperity, poverty and wealth, the lack of ordinances and the enjoyment of them, do all but nourish the corruptions of many. Their vicious stomachs corrupt whatever they receive, and all does but increase noxious humors.
But the full harvest follows, in that misery which they shall forever lie under in hell; that wrath which, by virtue of the curse, shall come upon them to the uttermost– which is the curse fully executed. This black cloud opens upon them, and the terrible thunderbolt strikes them, by that dreadful voice from the throne, 'Depart from me, you cursed', which will give the whole wicked world a dismal view of what is in the bosom of the curse …
II. THE MISERY OF THE DAMNED, under that curse–
It is a misery which the tongues of men and angels cannot sufficiently express. God always acts like Himself– as no favors can be compared to His, so also His wrath and terrors are without a parallel.
As the saints in heaven are advanced to the highest pitch of happiness, so the damned in hell arrive at the height of misery.
Two things here I shall soberly inquire into– the punishment of 'loss', and the punishment of 'sense', in hell. But since these also are such things as eye has not seen, nor ear heard, we must, as geographers do, leave a large void for the unknown land, which that day will discover.
A. THE PUNISHMENT OF 'LOSS' WHICH THE DAMNED SHALL UNDERGO IS SEPARATION FROM THE LORD. 'Depart from me, you cursed.' This will be a stone upon their grave's mouth, as 'the talent of lead' (Zech 5:7,8), that will hold them down forever …
They cannot indeed be locally separated from God, they cannot be in a place where He is not; since He is, and will be present everywhere– 'If I make my bed in hell,' says the psalmist, 'behold you are there' (Psalm 139:8). But they shall be miserable beyond expression, in a 'relative' separation from God. Though He will be present in the very center of their souls, (if I may so express it), while they are wrapped up in fiery flames, in utter darkness– it shall only be to feed them with the vinegar of His wrath, and to punish them with the emanations of His revenging justice.
1. This separation will be AN INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION. 'Now' they depart from Him. They will not come to Him, though they are called and entreated to come.
But 'then' they shall be driven away from Him, when they would gladly abide with Him …
2. IT WILL BE A TOTAL AND UTTER SEPARATION. Though the wicked are, in this life, separated from God, yet there is a kind of interchange between them– He gives them many good gifts, and they give Him, at least, some good words; so that the peace is not altogether hopeless.
But 'then' there shall be a total separation, the damned being cast into utter darkness, where there will not be the least gleam of light or favor from the Lord; which will put an end to all their fair words to Him.
3. IT WILL BE A FINAL SEPARATION. They will part with Him, never more to meet, being shut up under everlasting horror and despair. The match between Jesus Christ and unbelievers, which has so often been carried forward, and put back again, shall then be broken up forever; and never shall one message of favor or goodwill go between the parties anymore.
This punishment of loss, in a total and final separation from God, is a misery beyond what mortals can conceive, and which the dreadful experience of the damned can only sufficiently unfold …
Wherefore, a total separation from God, wherein all comfortable communication between God and a rational creature is absolutely blocked up, must of necessity bring along with it a total eclipse of all light of comfort and ease whatever. If there is but one window, or open place, in a house, and that be totally shut up, it is evident there can be nothing but darkness in that house …
All joy goes, and unmixed sorrow settles in them. All quiet and rest separate from them and they are filled with horror and rage. Hope flies away, and despair seizes them. Common operations of the Spirit, which now restrain them, are withdrawn forever, and sin comes to its utmost height. Thus we have a dismal view of the horrible spectacle of sin and misery, which a creature proves when totally separated from God and left to itself; and we may see this separation from God to be the very hell of hell.
Being separated from God, they are deprived of all good. The good things which they set their hearts upon in this world are beyond their reach there. The covetous man cannot enjoy his wealth there; nor the ambitious man his honors; nor the sensual man his pleasures– no, not a drop of water to cool his tongue (Luke 16:24,25).
No food or drink there to strengthen the faint; no sleep to refresh the weary– and no music, or pleasant company, to comfort and cheer up the sorrowful. And as for those holy things they despised in the world, they shall never more hear of them, nor see them.
No offer of Christ there, no pardon, no peace; no wells of salvation in the pit of destruction. In one word, they shall be deprived of whatever might comfort them, being totally and finally separated from God, the fountain of all goodness and comfort.
(3) Man naturally desires to be happy, being conscious to himself that be is not self-sufficient. He forever has a desire of something outside of himself, to make him happy; and the soul being, by its natural make and constitution, capable of enjoying God, and nothing else being commensurable to its desires, it can never have true and solid rest until it rests in the enjoyment of God. This desire of happiness the rational creature can never lay aside, no, not even in hell …
So the doors of earth and heaven both are shut against them at once. This will create them unspeakable anguish, while they shall live under an eternal gnawing hunger after happiness, which they certainly know shall never be in the least measure satisfied, all doors being closed on them.
(4) The damned shall know that some are perfectly happy, in the enjoyment of that God from whom they themselves are separated; and this will aggravate the sense of their loss– that they can never have any share with those happy ones …
It is the opinion of some, that every person in heaven or hell shall hear and see all that passes in either state. Whatever is to be said for this, we have ground from the Word to conclude that the damned shall have a very accurate knowledge of the happiness of the saints in heaven; for what else can be meant of the rich man in hell seeing Lazarus in Abraham's bosom? …
It would be a mighty torment to a hungry man, to see others liberally feasting, while he is so chained up as not to have one crumb to stop his gnawing appetite …
(5) They will remember that time was when they might have been made partakers of the blessed company of saints, in their enjoyment of God– and this will aggravate their sense of the loss. All will remember that there was once a possibility of it; that they were once in the world, in some corners of which the way of salvation was laid open to men's view– and may wish they had gone round the world, until they had found it out.
Despisers of the Gospel will remember, with bitterness, that Jesus Christ, with all His benefits, was offered to them– that they were exhorted, entreated, and pressed to accept, but would not; and that they were warned of the misery they now feel, and exhorted to flee from the wrath to come, but they would not hearken.
The Gospel offer slighted will make a hot hell, and the loss of an offered heaven, will be a sinking weight on the spirits of unbelievers in the pit …
Others will remember that they thought themselves sure of heaven, but, being blinded with pride and self-conceit, they were above ordinances, and beyond instruction, and would not examine their state– which was their ruin. But then they will in vain wish that they had reputed themselves the worst of the congregation, and curse the fond conceit they had of themselves, and that others had of them too …
(6) They will see the loss to be irrecoverable– that they must eternally lie under it, never, never to be repaired.
Might the damned, after millions of ages in hell, regain what they have lost, it would be some ground of hope; but the prize is gone, and never can be recovered …
I am not disposed to dispute what kind of fire it is into which they shall depart, to be tormented forever, whether a material fire or not. Experience will more than satisfy the curiosity of those who are disposed rather to dispute about it, than to seek how to escape it.
Neither will I meddle with the question, Where is it? It is enough that the worm that never dies, and the fire that is never quenched, will be found somewhere by impenitent sinners.
1. But, first, I shall prove that, whatever kind of fire it is– it is more vehement and terrible than any fire we on earth are acquainted with …
(a) As in heaven, grace being brought to its perfection, profit and pleasure also arrive at their height there. So sin, being come to its height in hell, the punishment of evil also arrives at its perfection there …
(b) Why are the things of another world represented to us in an earthly dress, in the Word, but because the weakness of our capacities in such matters, which the Lord is pleased to condescend unto, requires it. It being always supposed, that the things of the other world are in their kind more perfect than those by which they are represented.
When heaven is represented to us under the notion of a city, with gates of pearl and the street of gold, we do not expect to find gold and pearls there, which are so mightily prized on earth, but something more excellent than the finest and most precious things in this world.
When therefore, we hear of hell-fire, it is necessary we understand by it something more vehement, piercing, and tormenting, than any fire ever seen by our eyes.
And here it is worth considering, that the torments of hell are held forth under several other notions than that of fire alone. And the reason of it is plain– namely, that hereby what of horror is lacking in one notion of hell, is supplied by another …
Therefore, we hear also of 'the second death', for the damned in hell shall be ever dying …
(c) Our fire cannot affect a spirit, but by way of sympathy with the body to which it is united. But hell-fire will not only pierce into the bodies, but also go directly into the souls of the damned, for it is 'prepared for the devil and his angels,' those wicked spirits, whom no fire on earth can hurt …
(d) The preparation of this fire proves the inexpressible vehemency and dreadfulness of it. The text calls it, 'prepared' yes, 'the prepared fire,' by way of eminence.
As the three children were not cast into ordinary fire [Daniel 3], but a fire prepared for a particular purpose which therefore was exceeding hot, the furnace being heated seven times more than ordinary, so the damned shall find in hell a prepared fire, the like to which was never prepared by human are …
2. As to the second point proposed, namely, the properties of the fiery torments in hell–
(a) They will be universal torments, every part of the creature being tormented in that flame. When one is cast into a fiery furnace, the fire makes its way into the very heart, and leaves no member untouched.
What part, then, can have ease, when the damned 'swim' in a lake of fire, burning with brimstone? There will their bodies be tormented and scorched forever …
Hence, no pleasant affection shall ever spring up in their hearts any more; their love of comfort, joy, and delight, in any object whatever, shall be plucked up by the root. They will be filled with hatred, fury, and rage against God, themselves, and their fellow-creatures, whether happy in heaven, or miserable in hell, as they themselves are.
They will be sunk in sorrow, racked with anxiety, filled with horror, galled to the heart with fretting, and continually darted with despair– which will make them weep, gnash their teeth, and blaspheme forever …
Conscience will be a worm to gnaw and prey upon them; remorse for their sins shall seize them and torment them forever, and they shall not be able to shake it off, as once they did; for 'in hell their worm does not die.' (Mark 9:44,46) …
(b) The torments in hell are manifold. Imagine the case that a man were, at one and the same time, under the violence of the gout, stone, and whatever diseases and pains have ever met together in one body– the torment of such a one would be but light in comparison to the torments of the dammed …
(c) They will be most intense and vehement torments, causing 'weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth' (Matt 13:42, 22:13). They are represented to us under the notion of pangs in childbirth, which are very sharp and acute …
It is true, there will be degrees of torments in hell– 'It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for Chorazin and Bethsaida' (Matt 11:21,22). But the least load of wrath there will be insupportable; for how can the heart of the creature endure, or his hands be strong, when God Himself is a consuming fire to him?
When the tares are bound in bundles for the fire, there will be "bundles" of covetous persons, of drunkards, profane sweaters, unclean persons, formal hypocrites, unbelievers, and despisers of the Gospel, and the like.
The several "bundles" being cast into hell-fire, some will burn more vehemently than others, according as their sins have been more heinous than those of others– a fiercer flame shall seize the bundle of the profane, than the bundle of unsanctified moralists.
(e) They will be unpitied. The punishments inflicted on the greatest malefactors on earth draw forth some compassion from the spectators. But the damned shall have none to pity them.
God will not pity them, but laugh at their calamity (Prov 1:26). The blessed company in heaven shall rejoice in the execution of God's righteous judgment, and sing while their smoke rises up forever and ever (Rev 19:3), 'And again they said, Hallelujah! And her smoke rose up forever and ever.'
No compassion can be expected from the devil and his angels, who delight in the ruin of the children of men, and are and will be forever void of pity. Neither will one person pity another there, where every one is weeping and gnashing his teeth, under his own insupportable anguish and pain.
There, natural affection will be extinguished– parents will not love their children, nor children their parents; the mother will not pity the daughter in these flames, nor will the daughter pity the mother; the son will show no regard to his father there, nor the servant to his master, where every one will be groaning under his own torment.
(f) To complete their misery, their torments shall be eternal! 'And the smoke of their torments ascends up forever and ever.' Ah! what a frightful case is this– to be tormented in the whole body and soul, and that not with one kind of torment, but many; all of these most acute, and all this without any intermission, and without pity from any!
What heart can conceive those things without horror? Nevertheless, if this most miserable case were at length to have an end, that would afford some comfort.
But the torments of the damned will have no end!
The final sections discuss being with the company of devils and the everlasting nature of hell.
Boston concluded with an exhortation to unbelievers to receive Christ 'as He is offered in the Gospel' and prayed that the Lord would be 'effectual' in accomplishing this.
This concludes a series on hell, available on my Christianity/Apologetics page under 'Hell'. Previous posts include:
Hell on low — or no — heat (20th century history)
Christian views on hell: moving back to Origen
J C Ryle on hell (19th century, first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool)
Our inability to comprehend hell — and God
Archibald G Brown (1844-1922) was a famous English pastor who devoted his ministry and life to the poor in London's East End.
(Photo credit: ELT Baptist Church)
Brown was the son of a wealthy investment banker and was expected to follow in his father's footsteps. However, his future wife Anne Bigg invited him to a service at Charles Haddon Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. The Metropolitan Tabernacle still exists today.
Although the Metropolitan Tabernacle was a Calvinistic Baptist congregation, the night Brown attended an Anglican lay preacher Stevenson Arthur Blackwood led the service. He asked an unbelieving, somewhat wayward Brown if he was a Christian. When Brown replied in the negative, Blackwood said, 'How sad'.
Brown was 16 at the time. Afterwards, he went to reflect on Blackwood's words and his own sinful state. Not only was he converted that day, privately, to Christianity, he went on to train for the ministry under Spurgeon at his Pastor's College. Brown stood out for Spurgeon. Not only was he the youngest seminarian but the most dedicated to the ministry. Hence the title 'Spurgeon's Successor'.
Brown's first ministry was in Bromley, Kent. However, outside of serving at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, his other pastorates were in London's East End. He became pastor of the Stepney Green Tabernacle in 1864, which was not well attended. However, by 1867, it was standing room only.
In 1872, he had a new tabernacle built — the East London Tabernacle, which you can see in the photo above. The new church could seat 2,500, although another 500 stood to hear Brown's powerful preaching. Inside, the tabernacle was massive; you can see more photos of it on the ELT Baptist Church site. Unfortunately, Germans bombed the building in 1944. It took ten years before a new replacement church opened, seating one-fifth of the number of people. The church has since left Baptist alliances and is now affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches and through it to Affinity (formerly the British Evangelical Council).
Sadly, Brown was widowed four times. However, two of his wives left him several children. Annie bore six and Brown's third wife Edith bore him four.
In later years, Edith's poor health required him to consider relinquishing the pastorate at the East London Tabernacle and leave the capital altogether. Before he could do so, Edith died. Mourning her loss, he felt he could not continue leading his congregation without her and embarked on an international preaching tour combining travel. He returned to London in 1897 and married his fourth wife Hannah.
His subsequent ministries included a pastorate at a Baptist church in south London and a co-pastorate with Spurgeon's son at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1907. In 1908, Brown became the sole pastor, a role he continued until 1910, when his own health began to fail. He toured and ministered in South Africa and Tasmania. In March 1922, Hannah died. Brown died nine days later on April 2, 1922.
During his lifetime, Brown and his assistant pastors had an intimate knowledge of the East End and its residents. Many were poor, burning their own banisters to stay warm. Others were prostitutes and thieves. Brown opened an orphanage for girls, started a soup kitchen and founded a summer holiday home in Herne Bay, Kent, to provide relief for the people of the East End.
Brown took a dim view of the modern views and erroneous theology creeping into the Church. He agreed with Spurgeon on the errors of fellow Baptist clergy denying that the Bible was divinely inspired. He deeply disapproved of the new social gospel, calling it an invention 'by the devil'. He also opposed musical instruments in worship and using secular activities as a means of evangelisation. Not surprisingly, many people who thought they knew better ridiculed and criticised him.
In February 1878, after returning from his travels and newly married to Hannah, Archibald G Brown preached a sermon on hell to young men. The sermon is called 'The Spiritual Doctrine of Hell'. He gave the address at the East London Tabernacle.
On his trip to Naples in 1877, Brown was struck by the looming Mount Vesuvius on the horizon and went to visit a recently rediscovered Pompeii, much of which was still buried. In August 79 AD, the town experienced a series of earthquakes over several days before Vesuvius erupted.
Wikipedia has a geological account of what happened. However, if anything approached hell on earth, the two days following the earthquakes had to be it. This summarises what happened in Herculaneum and Pompeii (emphases mine):
On the first day of the eruption a fall of white pumice containing clastic fragments of up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) fell for several hours.[18] It heated the roof tiles to 120–140 °C (248–284 °F).[19] This period would have been the last opportunity to escape. Subsequently a second column deposited a grey pumice with clastics up to 10 cm (3.9 in), temperature unsampled, but presumed to be higher, for 18 hours. These two falls were the Plinian phase. The collapse of the edges of these clouds generated the first dilute PDCs, which must have been devastating to Herculaneum, but did not enter Pompeii.
Early in the morning of the second day the grey cloud began to collapse to a greater degree. Two major surges struck and destroyed Pompeii. Herculaneum and all its population no longer existed. The emplacement temperature range of the first surge was 180–220 °C (356–428 °F), minimum temperatures; of the second, 220–260 °C (428–500 °F). The depositional temperature of the first was 140–300 °C (284–572 °F). Upstream and downstream of the flow it was 300–360 °C (572–680 °F).[20]
The variable temperature of the first surge was due to interaction with the buildings. Any population remaining in structural refuges could not have escaped, as the city was surrounded by gases of incinerating temperatures. The lowest temperatures were in rooms under collapsed roofs. These were as low as 100 °C (212 °F), the boiling point of water.[21] The authors suggest that elements of the bottom of the flow were decoupled from the main flow by topographic irregularities and were made cooler by the introduction of ambient turbulent air. In the second surge the irregularities were gone and the city was as hot as the surrounding environment.
During the last surge, which was very dilute, one meter more of deposits fell over the region.[22]
Now onto Brown's sermon on hell, which I highly recommend reading in full. Excerpts and summaries follow. Photos are courtesy of Wikipedia.
Brown began by denouncing modern theology, a warning to his audience that they should turn away from error:
Any casual reader of so-called Christian literature must know the distinctive feature of this nineteenth century. There has arisen in the midst of the church an anti-Christ which is known by the name of 'modern thought', at whose altars tens of thousands are bowing the knee, and offering their devotion. There is a horrid malaria abroad — a malaria breeding doubt and skepticism, and giving birth to wholesale practical infidelity. Surely the gospel of the present day might be rendered — 'He who doubts shall be saved, and he who believes shall be counted a fool.'
He continued:
The eternal covenant of God is torn up with a glib remark and a smile of contempt by some boy-censor. The threatenings of God are having all the thunder taken out of them; and now let any one venture to say that he believes in such doctrines as the sovereign grace of God, an atoning sacrifice, and a doom of unspeakable horror awaiting the man who dies unconverted — and if he is not derided, he will at least be looked upon with contemptuous pity.
Now, the fiercest onslaught has been made upon the doctrine of God's severity against sin, and the reason why I have selected this topic this evening is that, somehow or another the evil is finding its way into all the homes of our church members …
There is also an immense amount of jargon about the 'universal fatherhood' of God. We are told that God is so good, so kind, so indulgent, that he cannot possibly visit a sinner's sin with the dire doom that Scripture language declares.
He went on to discuss the letters (epistles) of Peter which mention the flood (Noah) and fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.
I. Now let us to our first point, namely, that our text shows that GOD'S SEVERITY ON SIN IS A SOLEMN FACT.
He mentions the verse where Peter reminds his converts that God expelled the bad angels from heaven and sent them to hell. There is no reason why He would not do the same to us:
Young men, can you not see that every argument which can be employed against the ultimate punishment of men, applies with equal force against the punishment of the sinful angels? Am I told, as we are repeatedly, that there is such a nobility about man, such a natural grandeur, that it is almost impossible to imagine that God can ever consign so glorious and intellectual a being to perdition!
Regarding the flood, from which Noah and his family were spared:
Come, Mr Modern Thinker — you who are so shocked at the idea of God ever pouring out his wrath on any — how do you account for this? Does this look like 'universal fatherhood'? Does this look like an indulgent father who knows nothing of righteous indignation against sin? It has been computed that the population of the world at that time was as great as now, owing to the longevity of the race, and yet the waters rose until the few — the eight — who rode in that ark were the sole remnant of a world that God had made.
Come, open your ears and hear the shrieks of the drowning; hear the cries of the strong swimmer in his last agony, and account for it, if you can, on any other ground than that God is a hater of sin — that when the accursed thing reaches a climax, he pours his wrath upon it — ay, though doing so destroys a world he fashioned.
He also spoke about God's slaying of the first-born in Egypt:
I suppose that in Egypt there were more people than there are in London tonight, and yet in every house the first born was found dead, and from end to end of Egypt's land a great wail of grief went up. Does that look like 'universal fatherhood'?
He also discussed the parting of the Red Sea for the Israelites, followed by the swallowing up of Pharaoh and his armies:
their salvation meant the destruction of all the chivalry of Egypt.
He mentioned that some modern thinkers would downplay these examples as all coming from the Old Testament, therefore, ancient history. Furthermore, any vivid portrayals of hell come from mediaeval monks, long dead.
'Medieval' is it, to speak about weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth? These words came not from the lips of any mortal man. They fell from the same lips that said, 'Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Neither Paul, nor Peter, nor any of the apostles, ever uttered such words as leaped from the lips of the Man of Sorrows. Christ's descriptions of Hell are the most fearful that we have! It is the lips of infinite love that speak of being cut asunder, and about burning with the fire that is never quenched!
II. Now, then, let us look at the next point. THIS PARTICULAR ACT OF SEVERITY MENTIONED IN OUR TEXT, IS TO BE AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL AGES.
At this point, he came to his trip to towns in the Bay of Naples. He described Vesuvius as resembling ivory, a beautiful mountain towering over picturesque, charming villages:
it seemed almost impossible to believe that Vesuvius could do any harm. I was almost inclined to think of Vesuvius as modern thinkers dream of God — that surely all the old fire has burned out. Still, there was some smoke rising which showed me that, though at that time no burning lava was pouring out upon its iron-bound flanks, yet it could do it again.
He toured Herculaneum and Pompeii, which reminded him of what divine punishment and hell must be like:
You must remember that it was not covered with burning lava, as is popularly supposed — that would have destroyed the city. There flowed a torrent of boiling mud which cooled and caked, and then over that there went the burning lava; and this again became like iron, so that there was the city sealed up airtightly, and, for 1,700 years, the world forgot that there was such a place as Pompeii. But we not only saw streets covered with the marks of chariot wheels, and houses with their frescoes. There were other sights sadder far. There were the relics of the past. There I saw the marble table, still standing in the garden as it was left that afternoon; and there was a bottle with the oil still in it; and there was the half eaten loaf of bread.
Yes — but what is that lying there? It is the body of a woman with her face in her hand, seeking to avoid the cinders that were falling. And you can stand there and look upon her, still lying as she cast herself down centuries back. I walked in and out those empty houses in this city of the dead, and I thought of the text, 'turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, he condemned them with an overthrow'. Sudden was the destruction …
The miser was caught as he was counting his hoard; the harlot was arrested in her house of shame; the prisoner was suffocated in his cell, and the sentry as he stood at the gateway.
He wondered if the people saw it as judgement of some sort?
A darkness that might be felt swathed the city. The earth rumbled; then the sea became tortured; and giant waves rolled up upon the trembling shore; and over all there were the lurid flashes from the crater of Vesuvius, while masses of blazing rock went hissing through the air, and the shrieks of the terrified people rose until death triumphed and stilled the clamor!
At that point he sensed Vesuvius speaking to him:
And the mountain muttered these words — 'I can do it again! I can do it again!'
In his tour of Pompeii, he saw the wrath of God coming again on Judgement Day:
My brethren and sisters, go back and see what God has done. When God smites Judah it is that Israel should take warning, and he who hurled the angels from Heaven to Hell, and drowned the world, and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, has power still to smite. Oh, do not rouse my God to anger. Will you count his longsuffering to be slackness? and because he still lengthens out the time of grace will you presume on it? 'Escape for your life.'
He concluded:
I have finished, and, as an old preacher once said, 'Now may God begin.' I feel that, though we have tried to preach to you earnestly, our language has been but cold and faint. Young men, I do not suppose I shall ever see you all again. It is impossible. But as surely as you are sitting in those pews there is a day coming in which you will find every word we have uttered to be true. There is a day coming in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the earth shall melt with fervent heat, and the trumpet of the archangel shall wax louder and louder! And if you die rejecting Christ you will find yourself, in spite of all that modern thinkers say, doomed to eternal perdition. Fly, then, to Christ, I beseech you. Trust him and he will save you this evening. Rest on his atoning sacrifice, and all sin shall be forgiven you. Go now, and presume no more on God's patience. Flee from the wrath to come! May God add his blessing, for Christ's sake. Amen.
I can add little more other than to second this sermon wholeheartedly.
Modern clergy from Brown's time to the present are hoodwinking us into thinking God will welcome everyone into the heavenly kingdom.
Believe Jesus's words rather than theirs. There is a second death in hell and it will last forever.
Tomorrow's post gives a graphic representation of hell by 17th century preacher Thomas Boston.
Yesterday's post started with Matthew 13:50, in which our Lord spoke of the 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' that takes place in hell.
In 1982, John MacArthur delivered a sermon on Matthew 13:47-52:
The Parable of the Net
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
51 "Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes." 52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
MacArthur's sermon is called 'The Furnace of Fire'. In it, he explains the nature of hell.
As I said yesterday, our modern notion of hell has been watered down greatly since the 19th century. Most Christians believe it will be a place of mental torment where the damned long for God forever.
But could there be other sensory elements to hell, ones which mankind would prefer to overlook or to explain away because they are too horrifying to contemplate? MacArthur thinks so.
He says that Jesus talked about how horrible hell would be. The Gospels have many references about eternal condemnation. These can be found in Matthew 5, Matthew 8, Matthew 23 through 25, Mark 9, Luke 6, Luke 12 and Luke 16.
Jesus said more about fire than mental torment, although permanent insanity could well be the end result of going to hell. Yet, many theologians and clergy choose to gloss over this fact. It would be better if they were to say that hell is like Dante's Inferno and advise us to read it. However, they would probably say that Jesus was using allegory in talking about hellfire. I doubt many believe in hell as Jesus described it.
Degrees of torment
Like Dante, MacArthur believes there will be degrees of punishment in hell (emphases mine):
You have in hell a place of relieved torment of body and soul in varying degrees … In other words, for some people, hell will be worse than others. For all who are there, it will be horrible. It will be ultimate suffering.
There will be no relief for that, but there will be even more severe degrees of suffering for some. It says in Hebrews 10, "Of how much more severe punishment shall they be thought worthy who have trodden underfoot the Son of God and counted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing." People who have stepped on Jesus Christ, who have rejected his cross, will know a greater hell than those who have not.
There will be degrees, just as there will be degrees of reward in heaven. We saw that, also, I think, in Matthew chapter 11, when it said, "It will be more tolerable for Sodom than for you." In other words, it's only relative. It isn't going to be tolerable for anyone, but it will appear to be more tolerable for them than for you because of what you have experienced.
You had Jesus Christ in your city, they didn't. You rejected Him with more light; therefore, hell will be more severe for you. And then you have, of course, that incredible parable in Luke 12 where the Lord says, "To the servant who knew and didn't do right, many stripes. To the servant who didn't know and didn't do right, a few stripes." So hell will be unrelieved torment of body in soul in varying degrees. And John Gerstner says, "Hell will have such severe degrees that a sinner, were he able, would give the whole world if his sins could be one less."
MacArthur reminds us that the Bible speaks of darkness when referring to hell:
the Bible defines it as darkness, outer darkness. That is deep-pit darkness, darkness that's way out from the light, impenetrable darkness, darkness that closes in. And it is darkness without the hope of light forever. Have you ever been in the darkness and longed for the daylight?
Have you ever been in the darkness and longed for someone to turn a light on? To be in that encroaching, encompassing, moving kind of darkness and know that for all the eons of eternity, you will never see light is how our Lord describes hell. Unrelieved darkness forever, with no hope of the light, no hope of the dawn.
Yes, there is fire:
And the Bible also says it is a fire. Now, it is not a fire that we would know as fire, to burn something in this world. But fire is God's way of describing it because it is a tortuous, unrelieved kind of fire, more terrible than any fire that we would ever know. But fire describes the torment of the damned; blackness describes the torment of the damned, no light, no light ever, ever. No relief from the suffering, the agony and the pain, forever. And there's only two times in all of Scripture that we have any insight into how people respond to hell.
Torment of the body
MacArthur mentions Jesus's cautionary story about the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Dives did nothing to help poor, sickly Lazarus who ate the scraps from his table. When Lazarus died, he went to heaven. When Dives died, he went to hell. There Dives suffered from everlasting thirst:
24 And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'
Abraham refused. The rich man then asked him to send someone who had died to his brothers, so they might be warned of the torment to come. Abraham replied that the rich man's brothers had Moses and the prophets to warn them. Ultimately:
31 He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"
Torment of the soul
MacArthur says:
it is a place of unrelieved torment for both body and soul, for both body and soul. Soul being the inner part.
The new body built for hell
MacArthur explains that the human body as God created for life on earth would not be able to resist hellfire.
So, when the Last Judgement takes place, just as those going to heaven will have a new glorified body, those going to hell will have a new body fit for eternal damnation:
When a person dies now, their soul descends into that torment. In the future, there will be a resurrection of the bodies of the damned. They will be given a transcendent body that will then go into a lake of fire. It will be a body not like the body we have now. It will be a very different one. They will be resurrected just like we will, as Christians.
We will be resurrected because this body could never live eternally in heaven, right? We have to have a transcendent body, a glorified body, a different body, and so do the damned. And they will be raised, John 5, they will be raised in new bodies for the single purpose of being punished forever in those bodies.
That's what the Bible says, tormented forever. They have to have a body to fit that eternal torment. And that's why Jesus in Matthew 10:28 said, "Fear not them that can destroy the body, but fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." You see, hell is soul and body.
Some people think it's just bad memories. No, it isn't just bad memories. It isn't just the inner thinking processes; it is that body as well. Transcendent, eternal bodies, greater than anything we have on this earth, are going to be given to the damned so that they can suffer in those bodies forever. And that's the only reason that they'll have those bodies.
With the present body, man couldn't endure hell … the body that we have now would be consumed in a moment. So as God fits the redeemed with new bodies for heaven, He fits the damned with new bodies for hell.
The worm and fire forever
We know that the 'worm dieth not' and that the fire never goes out. This describes the Jewish Gehenna. Was Jesus addressing His people allegorically or literally?
MacArthur explains:
Now what did He mean by that? When a body goes into the grave, into decay, worms descend into that body. And they begin to consume that body, and the worms will die when the food is gone. So once the body is consumed, the worms die. But in hell, the worms never die because the body, though it is continually being consumed, is never consumed. So the worm never dies.
In other words, the Lord was saying the unrelieved torment of body goes on and on.
it says, also, the fire is not quenched. Now a fire always goes out when the fuel is gone. But the fuel will never be gone. Though the burning goes on, the fuel is never consumed. And so you have unrelieved torment of body and soul.
Do enough of us think about hell or is it something we can explain away?
Is it more than the great existentialist void many of us have been taught to believe?
For all the time we spend rationalising hell, maybe it is time we gave Jesus's warnings more thought. We — inherently sinful men and women — are telling each other that hell is a state of mind. Our Lord described it differently.
If contemplating the hell He described is a horrifying thought, He meant us to clearly understand it's not a place we want to spend eternity. Repent, pray for faith and for continual grace.
My examination of the readings for Christmas 2 two weeks ago cited a sermon from John MacArthur.
In 'A Church for the New Millennium' he spoke about the incomprehension church growth theorists express with regard to the success of his Grace Community Church.
In other words, how could they increase their numbers without using the seemingly all-essential — in reality, unholy — principles of church growth?
Church growth in that context requires incorporating worldly values into the Church. It is big at Fuller Theological Seminary. I've written about it before.
MacArthur has never resorted to such falsehood. Yet, his congregation started from a small, local one nearly 50 years ago and, today, has thousands of people attending on any given Sunday.
He began by explaining the seeming urgent conundrum of modernising the Church. Emphases mine below. There has been a:
Tremendous amount of discussion on what it's going to take for the church to reach this generation. The generation itself is incessantly being defined and redefined. Familiar terms – yuppie generation, the generation X and all of those kinds of terms are used to describe something of the cultural attitudes and mor[e]s of our society which are moving so very rapidly and churches are scrambling to try to react and find a place of relevancy in the culture under the fear that if they don't, they will not be able to reach that culture.
It was some months ago now, quite a few months ago, that I told you about a book which I read, which has become very popular among church leaders that essentially says the church is going to be out of existence in the next 50 years if it doesn't re-invent itself. By the mid-21st century, the church could literally be out of existence unless it redefines itself in terms of cultural expectations.
He rightly said that this was the wrong approach:
The church continually trying to redefine itself under the terms that are defined by culture, puts itself in a very difficult position since culture is going in the wrong direction to start with and it's going there very, very rapidly.
In his congregation:
We have always believed at Grace Community Church that the church is defined not by the culture but by the scripture. That it is God who defines the church not the society around us. And certainly not the prince of the power of the air, who is the source of the culture, morays attitudes and philosophies so even religious. So we are different than other churches.
In fact:
I received a great compliment recently from somebody who said[,] you know the thing that's remarkable about Grace Community Church is that while everything in our society seems to be changing rapidly over the years, you haven't changed at all. In fact, he said to me you are doing the same things you used to be doing in about the same way you used to be doing them. And I said this is true. And of course, the question comes up aren't you concerned about being relevant? Well I'm only concerned really about being obedient to scripture and leaving the consequences to the Lord. So you know we've never been caught up in this scramble to try to adjust to the culture. And our church has grown and that's kind of turned us into something of a curiosity.
This has flummoxed Fuller, which offers courses such as Theology and Hip Hop Culture:
We used to have the people from Fuller Seminary come here with the Church Growth classes and because our church was the fastest growing church and the largest church in Los Angeles, they of necessity would bring students here to show them a rapidly growing church and then they stopped doing that because they said we confused the students because we had no regard. We don't have any information about how churches grow and we grew anyway. And that was confusing so they felt that selective research that reinforced their point was more useful for them and so they stopped coming here.
That is so sad, and I'm posting on it today because it reminds me of a reading from Matthew 13 coming up next (link goes live Saturday night UK time).
To draw a parallel, the Fuller faculty and students were exposed the truth of a good church then chose to ignore it in favour of their own flawed, worldly theory! It is appalling that their students are no longer taken as part of coursework to see Grace Community Church's authenticity and faithfulness to Holy Scripture. That is a very serious and deliberate oversight on the part of Fuller faculty. It is a sin to twist a divine blessing into a manmade falsehood.
However, Grace Community Church's natural growth thanks to the faithful preaching of Scripture has puzzled many other adherents of the church growth movement:
This church has been the subject of magazine articles and thes[e]s. Doctoral dissertations have been written on our church and on my preaching. There have been all kinds of reports about our church seminars, newspaper articles, journals, tapes, books, all undertaken to analyze our church. And our ministry ha[s] been examined and analyzed every way possible. Studied, labeled, categorized, copied. We have been blessed. We have been cursed. We have been defended. We have been ignored. We have been endowed. We have been publicized and we've even been sued. So just about a little of everything has come against us and the church itself can be rather simply defined in a lot of ways.
The definition includes:
the word church. That's what we are. We aren't anything else but a church. That is what we are. By definition we are a church. And if you understand that word means then you understand what this church is. That is the key to understanding Grace Community Church. It is the key to our identity. We are not like any other institution in the world. We are absolutely and utterly unique. And when you understand church, then you have a definition of what we are and what are to be in the world.
And it is really an unchanging definition. It is no different for us in the 20th century than it was in the 2nd century AD. It is not different for us than it was in the 10th century. It is no different for us than it was in the 15th century or any other century. We are defined by a divine designation church, not by anything cultural, not by anything contemporary, not by anything that society developed but rather by the word church, which is biblical.
MacArthur gave this sermon in 2000. It is sad to think that the church growth movement has been around for decades and shows no signs of abating. Fuller isn't the only institution promoting it. Rick Warren — possibly their most famous alumnus alive today — does, too.
Fuller's reach is a long one. Many Lutheran churches in America believe there is a winning formula in church growth.
So do Anglican churches here in England, although it is not referred to as such, however, we are seeing an ever-increasing number of 'programmes' and the deadly 'small groups'. 'Do, please join,' our clergy and churchwardens exhort. Everyone needs to be 'involved'!
It doesn't work. I went to my Anglican church's midnight service at Christmas last month. It was only a third full. Twenty years ago to the day — 1995 — it was standing room only. Making the C of E 'relevant' has brought down numbers dramatically.
Back to the biblical meaning of 'church':
The word church in the New Testament is from a Greek word ekklesia that is a noun that comes out of a group verb kaleo, which means to call. So ekklesia is simply the called, the called ones, those called together, those according to Romans 8:28 called according to God's purpose. We are called together. In Ephesians 4:1, Paul says I therefore the prison of the lord and treat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. You are the called because you've had a calling. And the church is simply the called ones. We are the assembly of the called. This was a very ordinary Greek word by the way. Very ordinary Greek word so it can be any assembly of any people called together for anything …
We are not a human organization built by good people. We are not a human organization designed by well-intentioned people. We are not a human organization basically constructed around some tradition. We are a group of people summoned together by God himself for his purposes. So we can say this the church is an assembly of people called by God. We are an assembly of people called by God …
We have been called by God together. Romans 1:6 you also are the called of Jesus Christ to all who are beloved of God in Rome called together as saints. And you find this in 1 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John and other places. Even Hebrews 3:1 talks about our heavenly calling and heaven is really a synonym for God.
It is not our church. It is not my church. It is not the pastor's church. It is not the elder's church. I have to tell you, it's not even your church. It's Christ's church. He ordained it. He builds it. He leads it. We are simply called into it and he is the caller.
And this explains really all the goodness, all the blessing, all the success, all the power, all the things that we have seen by way of spiritual richness. It has all come from God. The weaknesses of our fellowship, the failures of our church on the other hand are the marks of humanness. Where you see us weak and failing is where you see the hand of men and women. The weak human vessels God has chosen do show up in the weak elements of life in the church. We fail because of us, not him. We succeed because of him, not us. So when you come to Grace Church and you want to analyze why it is what it is and when you want to find some pathway to success that might be repeatable somewhere else, you are going to find it very difficult. Because wherever we have succeeded it is because God has done a mighty work and wherever we have failed it is because the imprint of human hands is on this place.
The successes then cannot be easily defined. They cannot be easily analyzed. They cannot be easily canned and they cannot be easily reproduced and repeated because they are the work of God who is the caller of the called. The failures, yes, you can find those and you can certainly can repeat those. People can come to Grace Church and analyze our failures and go back and repeat them. But when they come and try to analyze our success and go back and repeat that, it's really impossible because the Lord is the one who has caused the blessing and the success. The Lord is behind the power and the impact of the church. And he is not easily defined, analyzed, canned and repeated.
So what I'm saying is that Grace Community Church has been blessed only as we have functioned as God's called people, not some human organization, not with some unusual level of human leadership or some unusual level of the power of persuasive speech. That is not what has caused this church to become what it is. That is not how we define ourselves and that is no reasonable explanation of the blessing of God. Wherever God moves, the flowers have always bloomed. Wherever we walk, they always die.
In closing:
what I'm concerned about today is so many people in the ministry who under this pressure to somehow let the culture define them are ceasing to be the church. You can look at some of those places and they may call themselves the church and there is a church in there somewhere. There's a community of the called in there somewhere not to be confused with what is visible. We never wanted to have somewhere hidden the midst of a visible human organization a real church. We wanted the real church to be visible. The single great goal then for the church through all its life has been to let God be at work and to allow the church to be the church. We don't want the culture to define what we are. We don't want the society around us to define what we are. We want to be whatever it is that God wants us to be. That's what we want to be. Nothing less and nothing more.
Fuller, Warren, their followers and the rest of the church growth movement will never understand that simple, biblical principle.
May we choose our congregations wisely.


text: Sony's Subtitle Glasses Mean the Deaf Can Watch Movies in the Theater TooAdrian Covert8/25/11 9:00pmFiled to: MoviesSonyFilmsubtitlesGlasseseyewearDisabilitiesAccesibilityDeafness54EditInvite manuallyPromoteDismissUndismissHideShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink If someone with a hearing disability wants to watch a film that isn't already subtitled, they have very few options. But now, Sony UK is developing a pair of glasses that display subtitles in time with a given film.Sony's Tim Potter tells the BBC that the subtitles would appear is though they're on the screen: "What we do is put the closed captions or the subtitles onto the screen of the glasses so it's super-imposed on the cinema screen, [making it look] like the actual subtitles are on the cinema screen," he said. After trying them out, Charlie Swinbourne seemed pretty pleased with the effectiveness of the special specs. "The good thing about them is that you're not refocusing. It doesn't feel like the words are really near and the screen is far away. It feels like they're together." The glasses are expected to start popping up in UK movie theaters next year. But if you're hard of hearing and already wear glasses, it might be time to consider contacts. [BBC via Yahoo] Advertisement Image via BBCReply54 repliesLeave a reply

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Heh, interesting things going on here. I will take part on European Cycle Messengers Championships on 3-6.july 2014 in Stockholm. Dates little bit off but I will pay close attention on this thread. I...
Type: Posts; User: J.Andersons
Heh, interesting things going on here. I will take part on European Cycle Messengers Championships on 3-6.july 2014 in Stockholm. Dates little bit off but I will pay close attention on this thread. I...
If smaller gathered end hammock still not works for side sleeping, try a bigger good ole Brazilian hammock, but eventually You'll soon adapt sleeping on the back in hammock. Had been side sleeper on...
Welcome from Latvia!
There are also MacCat Ultra, litlle bit longer and 6 tieouts not 4 ones and side cat cuts are less deep and Ive not missed pullouts. For me this tarp are nice enough.
In april or may in next spring I plan to buy a real nice upgrade to replace my cheapo TTTM single with one of those nice Birds:boggle: I see no one from the Baltics ordered those nice creations.
Going to backpacking trip without tarp or any other form of shelter calls for miserable nights in the woods. Better safe than sorry imho.
Huh! I did get email from Brian about black friday tarp sale, I'm surprised to get communication from OES:eek:
Great to see You are back in business.
This model hammock are I sleep in full time last 5 years and no plans for going back to sleeping on those rigid flat squared beds!:D
Ex side sleeper here, I sleep in big brazilian hammock almost 5 years and do not have plans to go bact to sleeping on the bed. You could rig it inside in bedroom as a bed replacement.
It in no way will be bizzare times, Your location time zone are only off from my location Latvia only by mere two hours.
those Brazilian heavy cotton hammock will be strong enough to sleep full time in it for years to come. My big ole cotton hammock are almost 5 years of full time use and still going strong.
Ex side sleeper here and I'm say that OP eventually will sleep on the back rather side in that Brazilian hammock because had been side sleeper prior hanging in hammock:
From Latvia also here!
I have slightly bigger brazilian hammock with sleeping surface size of 2,5m*1,75m size and are really comfy for me. Sleeping in this big ole brazilian almost 5 years and I do not want to go back to...
Almost 5 years full time hammock sleeper here and I feel refreshed in the morning. I also had not the best back for sure but hammock really helps because my weight are distributed evenly in brazilian...
I think that slingshot can actually do some serious damage. Try to slingshot that tent peg on the ground and let's see how it strikes.
You meant BMW? Those BMW motorcycles are nice machines.
My only one real and go to tarp are MacCat Ultra but I'm happy camper with it. One caveat though, seems hard to get those MacCat tarps as of last threads.
Welcome to HF from not so far Latvia!
I had two key factors for my recovery plan, that big ole Brazilian hammock for sleeping in it because had to sleep first weeks 24/7 and this sports nutrition drink.:)
I'm going soon back to cycling...
Welcome to HF from Latvia! Your english are great and I would never notice that this is not jour native language.
Try to sleep in hammock like this and in half side and half back position with broken side up to eliminate squeeze. I done just that and healed faster than initially Doc said.
I'm surprised by...
For those interested people how I feel after long time, I do not feel motion restriction and stiffening at all and worked in forestry from january through april this year as chainsaw operator without...
I'm had been side sleeper on mattress and sleeping on my back was almost impossible but in hammock I found myself sleeping on my back most part of time. I found that hammock also reliefs back pain.
Welcome to HF from Latvia. Great to see more hangers from EU.
Big WELCOME to HF from not so far small country Latvia! If you look harder in trip reports there in Sweden had organized group hang S.K.A.H.O. I also wanted to participate in this travel and hang but...
From what forum profile shows that Brian's Last Activity: 04-29-2013 06:49
If Brian had no activity whole month, it will go rather miss than hit.
Ive had a complete opposite, got first time to nap in my some time ago purchased in new big brazilian cotton hammock and in planned 20 minute nap I ended sleeping without awaking and any tossing and...
Congrats! Now time to update your orofile;)
Welcome back!
Time really flies and are hard to notice those years!
Time to get rid of that mattress and go to Brazilian hammock full time!
Stealth gray for me, not trying to go invisible vor others but OES MacCat grey color with black edges looks nice in any campground or woods.
Welcome to HF! For me it took longer to receive my MacCat Ultra but craftsmanship are top quality!
Never regretted this purchase and enjoyed great summer solstice hang near Salacgriva with my...
Hammock therapy are great thing, I sleeped in hammock also after cycling accident with broken left collarbone without any negative issues.
I also sone time ago scored for 20 Latvian lats TTTM single and tried it to hang and lay in it and those sewed on sides are floppy and center piece of fabric without sides are too narrow for me, it...
Great to see that Brian, You ar in safe place. Those terrorists are mad guys.
Seems interesting for me but I can not understand Norvegian and not on that forum. Thanks for the crosspost on HF! Let's see how this developes and in which dates.
I'm far outside os USA but reading with interest how this is going. Great job Rev!
We want to see pics of this Condor DB! Sounds great and interesting design for do it all hammock.
Congrats! Now You have to update your profile.
How fast will OP get that tarp, it's a big question but I think You eventually get your tarp, bought some time ago MacCat Ultra and craftmanship done on this tarp are nice. Communications are hit or...
+1 on this! I would buy HG Burrow, Incubator instead and they are cheaper than ENOs.
Now take that remote control to fly that plane when relaxing in hammock:lol:
I hang full time indoors since 2008 years november and that big ole Brazilian hammock still going strong! But slept outdoors ~10 nights only. Me needs to complete my hammock shelter system to be...
Dutch Flyz,
New hammock from cottages, I see sometime myself hanging in Dangerbird,
HG Incubator/Burrow set sometime would be nice to have but my wallet get's scared!
Some woopies maybe.
I do not...
I use classic wool blanket for insulation, just place in hammock it and wraping myself in it as needed.
I started full time sleeping instantly after I got brazilian cotton hammock and tried first nap wich ended on full night sleeping.
This happened 4 years ago.


text:
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A great Vo-Tech high school in DE. Good at sports.State Cheerleading champs.
Did u see that 13-0 season last year? Lets hope we pull another Hodgson this year
by ben327ejc September 19, 2008
Trending Now
An eastern-Ontario slang for one who uses inanimate objects in public places to reach sexual arousal.
Oh my god! There is a hodgson over there on that park bench! Someone call the police!
by ballsacknegro March 03, 2009
One who sends useless emails frequently.
Quit sending me so many useless emails you hodgson.
by Greg Rainmaker August 06, 2007


text:
Comic-Con Trailers: The Best of the Best, Ranked
Film, TV
"Can you picture what will be / So limitless and free"
Continue Reading »
Peter Milligan's (and, to a certain extent, Chris Bachalo's) masterpiece gets the spotlight!
Continue Reading »
I think this way of reviewing the many trades and older stuff I get is good, so I will continue doing so. I hope it's good for all of you!
Continue Reading »
Comics Should Be Good accepts review copies. Anything sent to us will (for better or for worse) end up reviewed on the blog. See where to send the review copies.


text:
Allen Corbin
Allen Corbin is a fourth-generation family member in Lubbock radio. He produces Pratt on Texas, anchors KFYO News and contributes to SportsRadio 1340 The Fan. Allen and his wife have one child and live in Lubbock.
A North Texas man was sentenced yesterday in a federal court to 5 ½ years in prison yesterday for hauling over 245 pounds of marijuana.
City of Lubbock offices will be closed on Good Friday.
Gas prices in Lubbock fall again in Lubbock.
District 84 Representative John Frullo spoke with KFYO News about the latest in the 83rd Legislative session in Austin.
On the Saturday edition of The Chad Hasty Show, Chad Hasty and Chris Marsh discussed a television station's story on a boy wanting to get a diabetic dog.
Drought conditions have put a South Plains town in a state of emergency concerning their water supply.
The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce is hosting an event next month with the U.S. Senator.
Gas prices in Lubbock fall for the fourth consecutive week.
The City of Lubbock Health Department will hold vaccination clinics next week.
The vaccination clinics are available for both adults and children on Monday at the Dream Center located at 30th and Avenue L from 1 p...
The Easter Holiday is upon us.
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Free personalized radio that
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Sparing The Horse
Features of This Trackheavy use of samples
electronica roots
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intricate rhythms
a dominant bass riff
synth riffs
synth swoops
effected synths
vinyl ambience
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subtle use of noise effects
trippy soundscapes
These are just a few of the hundreds of attributes cataloged for this track by the Music Genome Project.show more
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text:
n. one who can not type correctly.
Aimee is a exen. She can never seem to type her words correctly.
by Mt. Lakes Camp July 25, 2006
Trending Now
Top Definition
The plural of ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife. You have one ex but many exen
All my shoes came from shopping with the exen
by havocker May 14, 2010


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MS Trial Alert: Recruitment for Study of Plovamer Acetate vs. Copaxone in Relapsing-Remitting MS
Feb 12, 2014
Summary: Investigators are recruiting approximately 550 people with relapsing-remitting MS worldwide for a study to determine the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of four doses of plovamer acetate versus Copaxone® (glatiramer acetate, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.). The study is funded by EMD Serono.
Rationale: Plovamer acetate is a drug delivered once weekly subcutaneously (under the skin). Like Copaxone, it is a copolymer, a compound that is synthesized by linking single amino acids (molecules used to build proteins) in random order to chains of multiple amino acids. Such chains are also called polypeptides. Plovamer acetate is an immunomodulator. It is believed to reduce the immune attack on the brain and spinal cord of people with MS but not to reduce the immune response against infections. Plovamer acetate was tested in two Phase 1 studies. (The Journal of Neuroimmunology 2010;225:153)
Eligibility and Details: People between the ages of 18 and 60 are eligible for this study. Patients must have had a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS. Further details on enrollment criteria are available from the contact below.
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of five groups. They will receive either plovamer acetate (0.5 mg, 3 mg, 10 mg, or 20 mg, once per week injected under the skin), or Copaxone 20 mg once per day injected under the skin. Study participants will receive treatment for at least 40 weeks.
The primary goal of the study is to determine the effect on disease activity observed on MRI scans. Other outcomes being studied are relapse rate, EDSS and MSFC (scales used to measure MS disease activity), and fatigue.
Contact: To learn more about the enrollment criteria for this study, and to find out if you are eligible to participate, please email Marc Gleichmann (email@example.com) or Colleen Ferris (email@example.com), or call EMD Serono US Medical Information at 1-866-275-7376.
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Yoda. Done on the iPad Mini with Procreate App (sketch) and Adobe Idea (inks and color). Also, background was added with iDraw Mac. See attached files for more behind the scenes images as well as the final.
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text:
Hunter writes:
Greetings TWiM crew!
Because of all the recent interest in "microbiological art," I decided to challenge my Biology 350 students to "paint" using luminous bacteria. We have a balloting process, tallied the results, and made some appropriate awards! I think the world of my students, and I hope you enjoy this view i... Read More
Since the chickenpox vaccine became available in the U.S. in 1995, there has been a large reduction in chickenpox cases. Hospitalizations and outpatient visits for chickenpox have continued their decline after a second dose of the vaccine was recommended to improve protection against the disease... Read More
A preliminary report on the contact-independent antagonism of Pseudogymnoascus destructans by Rhodococcus rhodochrous strain DAP96253
This article provides the preliminary results of a possible treatment/ Biological control agent for White Nose Syndrome (WNS) cause by Pseudogymnoascus destructans. It is estimated that over 5.5 of North American bats have died due to this deadly disease. Recently this method of treatment descri... Read More
Invasive Salmonella infections in sub-Saharan Africa are a major cause of child illness and deaths, a new body of research into this usually overlooked infectious disease has revealed. Read More
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Researchers who have revealed a highly efficient way that bacteria use toxins to interrupt the immune response say that until now, the trickery of these toxins has been underappreciated in science. Read More
Host: Jeff Fox with special guest, Alexander Mankin and Michael Jewett.
Alexander Mankin –called Shura --of the University of Illinois, Chicago, and Michael Jewett at Northwestern University talk with Jeff Fox about their recent success in joining the 30S and 50S bacterial riboso... Read More
This episode: Gut bacteria make it possible for coffee berry borer beetles to live entirely on caffeine-rich food!
(6.9 MB, 7.5 minutes)
Show notes:
The TWiPyzoites solve the case of the Uncommon Parasite, and discuss the role of eosinophils in promoting the growth of Trichinella in skeletal muscle.
Hosts: Read More
BOC Sciences-Bayer as a well known German based multinational chemical and pharmaceutical company recently separated with Coverstro both economically and legally. And after the independence, Bayer will be developed into a pure and leading life science company according to the latest official new... Read More
This slideshow outlines the work of WHOI scientists Tracy Mincer and Kristen Whalen in the quest to beat antibiotic resistance through bioprospecting in the ocean. Read More
In a biological sense, last year's Ebola epidemic, which struck West Africa, spilled over into the United States and Europe, and has to date led to more than 27,000 infections and more than 11,000 deaths, was a great surprise.
Local health and political leaders did not know of the presence o... Read More
ASM Live at #ICAAC / ICC - Gilead's Stribild Demonstrates Improved Safety and Efficacy Among Women Who Switched from a Multi-Pill Antiretroviral Drug Regimen
Dr. Sally Hodder, Director of the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute, will share the results from WAVES, the First International Phase 3 HIV Study to Enroll Only Women. Women are routinely underrepresented in HIV clinical trials although they account for half of the globa... Read More
Spongiform encephalopathies are neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolding of normal cellular prion proteins. A 2014 case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob prion disease in the United States was probably caused by eating beef from animals with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow d... Read More
Dispersal of microbes between humans and the built environment can occur through direct contact with surfaces or through airborne release; the latter mechanism remains poorly understood. Humans emit upwards of 106 biological particles per hour, and have long been known to transmit path... Read More
ASM Live at #ICAAC / ICC - Co-contribution of rotavirus vaccines (RVs) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in reduction of pediatric hospital burden
Ron Dagan, Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at the Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit, Soroka University Medical Center, Israel will discuss his research that showed how the introduction of both pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) and rotavirus vaccines (RVs) led to the rapid an... Read More
The TWiP triumvirate solves the case of the Missionary in Kenya, and review the finding of a soldier caste in flatworms that parasitize snails.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Read More
Ancient Egyptians used copper to sterilize chest wounds and drinking water. Greeks, Romans and Aztecs relied on copper compounds to treat burns, headaches and ear infections. Thousands of years later, the ancient therapeutic is being embraced by some hospitals because of its ability to kill bact... Read More


text:
I'm sure after a relaxing summer holiday, you'll be raring to join us for another testclub meetup.
Our speaker this time around will be Stephen Janaway who will give a 30-40 minute talk on:
An Introduction to Mobile Testing
Stephen will give an introduction to mobile testing so if you are just starting testing mobile, think you might be testing mobile, or are just interested in mobile testing anyway then why not drop by. Learn how software testing for mobile devices and handsets differs from the desktop world and how the mobile industry and technology impacts software testing.
We also have a couple of 99 secs talk on various subject matters. If you'd like to give a 99 secs talk or any talk, please feel free to do so.. just let me know.
Look forward to seeing you all
Hi everyone,
Great to see you on Wednesday. I've posted the slides up on my website in case you want them for reference.
0 · September 20, 2013
There was talk at the end of a 'Surrey STC Christmas Dinner', would anybody be interested in meeting for food in December? No specific talks but perhaps the conversation might sway towards testing...
I'm happy to reserve a table somewhere, though we will have to be fairly quick to beat the office party rush.
What dates would you be able to make it?
What type of food?
Traditional (anywhere but the keep), Traditional @ The Keep, Indian, Chinese, Italian.
Please register interest... and we'll confirm something. Me:
Dec 3,4,5,10,11,12,17 - Any type
0 · September 20, 2013
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text:
21 More Beyonce GIFs to Show Off Her Range of Assets
The woman is a lot more than just the World's Most Perfect Booty.
Bryiana Dyrdek Is the Babe of the Day
What a smile. What a babe.
This Week's Best Lingerie Pictures Ever
Sometimes lingerie is lacy and elaborate. And sometimes it's barely even there.
21 Booty-Shakin' Beyonce GIFs to Honor the World's Best Butt
An appreciation for Earth's most perfect posterior.
Carrie Keagan Is the Babe of the Day
Who doesn't love a buxom blonde in a red dress?
14 Sexy Cosplaying GIFs of Your Favorite Comics, Anime & Sci-Fi Characters
See Poison Ivy and others like you've never seen them before (but maybe how you've imagined them).
Shay Maria Is the Babe of the Day
This girl has a really fun life.
This Week's Best Cleavage Ever
Come on, dive right in.
Mayra Tinajero Is the Babe of the Day
A super-hottie who's into Supercross. She sounds fun.
This Week's Hottest Yoga Pants Ever
That, friends, is called a shelf.
17 Sexiest GIFs of 'Game of Thrones' Hottest Women
The Seven Kingdoms feature a wide variety of attractive ladies.
CJ Miles Is the Babe of the Day
The girl has a gift: the gift of making us ogle her *ridiculous* body.


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This essential guide represents the collective, subjective wisdom of an international team of critics who winnow the world of spirits down to the "must-try" whiskies—from high-quality, mass-produced brands to small-batch specialty bourbons from micro-distilleries. Each entry includes critical tasting notes, a history of the distillery, and temperature recommendations.
From grain to glass, everything important is covered—including storing and serving whiskies, making whisky cocktails, and pairing whisky with food—making this the most important illustrated exploration of whisky published in years.
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