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Title:  Oh, That I May Never Loiter on My Heavenly Journey! (Reflections on the Life and Ministry of David Brainerd) [MP3]
Speaker:  John Piper
Source:  Desiring God Resource Library (Biographies)
Description:  Despite his almost constant, debilitating pain and depression, David Brainerd persevered to take the Gospel of Jesus to the unreached Indians of the early American frontier. Brainerd only lived 29 years. But (owing mostly to his biography by Jonathan Edwards) his life has been used to incalculable effect for the Kingdom of God. He didn't waste his life.
"The list of missionaries who testify to the inspiration of Brainerd’s Life through the work of Jonathan Edwards is longer than any of us knows: Francis Asbury, Thomas Coke, William Carey, Henry Martyn, Robert Morrison, Samuel Mills, Fredrick Schwartz, Robert M’Cheyne, David Livingstone, Andrew Murray. And a few days before he died, Jim Elliot, who was martyred by the Aucas, entered in his diary, 'Confession of pride—suggested by David Brainerd’s Diary yesterday—must become an hourly thing with me.'"
"There are a few Indians—perhaps several hundreds—who owe their everlasting life to the direct love and ministry of David Brainerd.... If we live 29 years or if we live 99 years, would not any hardships be worth the saving of one person from the eternal torments of hell for the everlasting enjoyment of the glory of God?"
"Remember your leaders who have spoken God's word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith." (Hebrews 13:7)
Other Media:  Transcript (website)

Labels: audio, christian hedonism, faith, favorites, foreign missions, Grace, ministry, sovereignty, suffering and sacrifice, testimony, the unwasted life

Title:  John Newton: The Tough Roots of His Habitual Tenderness [MP3]
Speaker:  John Piper
Source:  Desiring God Resource Library (Biographies)
Description:  This time Piper recounts the life and ways of another of my spiritual heroes, John Newton. Once a debauched slave trader, God transformed Newton into a balanced man of God by His grace: tender, yet tough. In this sermon, you'll find a few reasons why I love quoting John Newton.
"It seems to me that we are always falling off the horse on one side or the other in this matter of being tough and tender—wimping out on truth when we ought to be lion-hearted, or wrangling with anger when we ought to be weeping. I know it's a risk to take up this topic and John Newton in a setting like this, where some of you need a good (tender!) kick in the pants to be more courageous, and others of you confuse courage with what William Cowper called 'a furious and abusive zeal.' Oh how rare are the pastors [or, read: 'Christians'] who speak with a tender heart and have a theological backbone of steel."
"Remember your leaders who have spoken God's word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith." (Hebrews 13:7)
Other Media:  Transcript (website)

Labels: audio, favorites, Grace, growth, leadership, mercy and justice, ministry, preaching and teaching, racial harmony, suffering and sacrifice, testimony

Title:  The Right Use of the Law [MP3]
Speaker:  Paris Reidhead
Description:  Paris talks to us about the use of the Law in New Covenant times. He shows how we have, without defining sin by the use of the Law, unwittingly stripped the Spirit in our evangelism and teaching of "the only tool He has ever used to prepare men for Grace."

Labels: audio, Commandments, evangelism, false conversion, foreign missions, Grace, idolatry, Law, preaching and teaching, testimony

Title:  The Gospel-Driven Church [MP3]
Speaker:  Dick Kaufmann
Source:  Acts 29 Multimedia
Description:  "The Gospel is out not to reform people but to transform people. Churches that preach for behavioral reformation tend to elevate middle-class values to the level of biblical norm and focus on external change. We resolve to seek transformation at the motivational and character level, not merely behavioral modification."
"The root of all of our problems is that something other than Christ is serving as our functional savior. Therefore we neither tell people: 'You shouldn't act like that—stop it!' nor 'You need to accept yourself as you are!' Rather, we call them to repent of their idols and trust in Christ who through his life and death is the only one who can give them all they are longing for."
Other Media:  Notes (website)

Labels: audio, churchplanting, culture, Grace, idolatry, ministry, preaching and teaching, testimony

Title:  My Gospel Journey [MP3]
Speaker:  Dick Kaufmann
Source:  Acts 29 Multimedia
Description:  Dick Kaufmann tells his own story of ministry, suffering, and God's way of teaching about his grace. A personal and very applicable message about how the Gospel relates to our lives on a daily, practical basis.
Other Media:  Timeline & Notes (website)

Labels: audio, churchplanting, favorites, Grace, growth, idolatry, ministry, suffering and sacrifice, testimony

Title:  Part 1 Being the Church in Our Culture, Part 2 Preaching the Gospel, Part 3 Doing Justice [MP3]
Speaker:  Tim Keller
Source:  Reform & Resurge Conference 2006
Description:  Keller discusses the role of the church in culture, the importance of cities to the church, preaching against idolatry as a means of exalting Jesus in the Gospel, and the biblical importance of doing justice as a means to a more comprehensive embodiment of Jesus and his Gospel in our culture and the world.
Other Media:  Article (PDF)

Labels: audio, church, churchplanting, culture, evangelism, favorites, Grace, heart, idolatry, mercy and justice, ministry, preaching and teaching, the city

Title:  Part 1 Gospel Realization, Part 2 Gospel Communication, Part 3 Gospel Incarnation [MP3]
Speaker:  Tim Keller
Source:  The Evangelist's Conference
Description:  A masterful explanation of the implications of the story of Jonah to our evangelistic methods. But more than applicable to evangelism, this series of sermons will challenge your personal response to Jesus and the idols in your life.

Labels: audio, evangelism, favorites, Grace, idolatry, jonah

Title:  Preaching and Teaching Jesus from Scripture [MP3]
Speaker:  Mark Driscoll
Source:  Mars Hill Church Media Library
Description:  "A message originally given to Acts 29 pastors, Pastor Mark Driscoll offers ten cautions and encouragements for preachers, that they may effectively fulfill their call to proclaim the gospel clearly."

Labels: audio, Grace, leadership, ministry, preaching and teaching

Title:  How to Present the Gospel the Way Jesus Did [MP3]
Speaker:  Philip DelRe
Source:  Voice in the Wilderness Ministry
Description:  In this excellent message, prison minister Philip Delre, gives an exciting explanation for what he calls "the church's most powerful apologetic weapon."

Labels: audio, Commandments, evangelism, false conversion, Grace, heart, Law

Title:  Hell's Best Kept Secret [MP3]
Speaker:  Ray Comfort
Source:  LivingWaters Publications
Description:  This is now, very likely, the most-heard sermon of all time. A clarion call to repentance and solid Biblical evangelism, "Hell's Best Kept Secret" carries an important message that you must hear!
"Why do 80-90% of those making a decision for Christ fall away from the faith? What is the principle that Spurgeon, Wesley, Whitefield, etc., used to reach the lost? Why has the Church neglected it? Don't let anything stop you from listening to this incredible teaching."
Other Media:  Outline (PPT)

Labels: audio, Commandments, evangelism, false conversion, favorites, Grace, heart, Law

Title:  The KnockKnock Survey Tract [PDF]
Author:  D. Michael Gregg
Description:  This is an aid to the KnockKnock survey. This tract was left with people after the conclusion of the survey in order to continue the Gospel presentation. The survey, for our purposes, was intended to quickly bring conviction using the Law. The tract was specifically designed to pick up where the survey leaves off, telling about the grace of God. It should be printed on both sides of a legal-size sheet of paper. Expect this to be revised in the future. It was very quickly created for a special project.

Labels: Commandments, document, evangelism, Grace, Law, the KnockKnock Survey

Title:  The 'Good' Question survey [PDF]
Author:  D. Michael Gregg
Description:  This is an effective tool to help you in sharing your faith with strangers! The survey uses the WDJD? questions (from Ray Comfort). Think of this as half-way between one-on-one and open-air evangelism. It is an effective method of witnessing to groups of people potentially as large as twenty, but is also effective in personal encounters. The survey is very useful, as well, in discipling another Christian in evangelism. One person gives the survey; the other records the answers. The 'Good' Question survey has been used by college and high school students to witness to about one thousand people in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, so far as we have heard.
Other Media:  Editable Version (RTF)

Labels: Commandments, document, evangelism, Grace, Law, the 'Good' Question survey

Title:  Urban Promise [MP3]
Speaker:  Collin McCartney
Source:  The Meeting House Audiocast

Labels: audio, favorites, Grace, growth, mercy and justice, ministry, testimony

Title:  Freedom from the Performance Trap [MP3]
Speaker:  Adrian Rogers
Source:  Love Worth Finding podcast

Labels: audio, favorites, Grace, growth