William Norman Grigg: Our Nation Under Obama (and the New Health Care Reform): A Christian Libertarian & Constitutionalist's Review (Encore)

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MP3 Available Here


William Norman Grigg, former Mormon High Priest who converted to Evangelical Christianity, former Senior Editor of The New American magazine and the author of America's Engineered Decline, Global Gun Grab, Freedom on the Altar: The UN's Crusade Against God and Family and The Gospel of Revolt: Feminism vs. the Family (see www.WillGrigg.com), will address the theme: "Our Nation Under Obama (and the New Health Care Reform): A Christian Libertarian & Constitutionalist's Review."

David F. Wells: The Rafiki Foundation: Befriending Orphans & Widows in Their Distress (James 1:27)

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David F. Wells, Ph.D., the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, will address the theme: "The Rafiki Foundation: Befriending Orphans & Widows in Their Distress (James 1:27)."

Time permitting, we we also return to our discussion that we began last week with Dr. Wells on the theme of his book: "The Courage to be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World". You can now hear that interview originally aired on Thursday, April 22.

Cohosting this broadcast is Pastor Jim Capo of the Massapequa Church of God, Massapequa, Long Island, NY.

Dr. Wells serves on the board of the Rafiki Foundation, Inc. (see http://www.rafiki-foundation.org/), whose goal is to establish orphanages and schools in 10 African countries in order to raise and train orphans within a Christian framework. Rafiki’s hope is that the next generation of leaders for these countries will come from their orphanages. Dr. Wells travels to Africa annually to visit these orphanages. For a number of years, he was a member of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, its theology working group and its planning committee for the World Congress that was held in Manila in 1989. For many years, he has worked to provide theological education and basic preaching tools for Third World pastors.

Dr. Wells received his B.D. at the University of London, his Th.M. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, his Ph.D. at Manchester University, England and was a post-doctoral Research Fellow at Yale Divinity School.

Prior to coming to Gordon-Conwell, Dr. Wells taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and chaired its division of systematic theology. Since arriving at Gordon-Conwell in 1979, he has served in a variety of positions. He moved to his current position in 2008 after having served as the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology since 1991. He was also Academic Dean of the Charlotte campus (1998-2000) and Special Assistant to the President for Institutional Planning (2001-2003). From 2003 to 2005, he directed Gordon-Conwell’s self-study for 10-year re-accreditation.

Dr. Wells was appointed as Distinguished Lecturer for the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity and was elected to the American Theological Society. He was also a recipient of a major grant for Senior Scholars from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Dr. Wells came to faith and sensed God’s call to Christian ministry while studying architecture at the University of Cape Town. He was ordained in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference in 1965.

Dr. Wells’ scholarly interests include church and culture. Much of his time is spent researching and writing, and he is currently turning his last five books into a film project.

Dr. David F. Wells’ Publications

Books
• The Courage to be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers and Emergents in the Postmodern World (William B. Eerdmans, 2008)
• Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ in a Postmodern World (William B. Eerdmans, 2004)
• Losing our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision (William B. Eerdmans, 1999) • Christian Faith and Practice in the Modern World: Theology from an Evangelical Point of View (Eerdmans, 1998)
• Bleeding of the Evangelical Church (Edinburgh, 1995)
• God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams (William B. Eerdmans, 1995)
• No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? (William B. Eerdmans, 1993)
• The Gospel in the Modern World, co-edited with M. Eden (InterVarsity Press, 1991)
• Dutch Reformed Theology (Baker Book House, 1989)
• The Princeton Theology (Reformed Theology in America), editor (Baker, 1989)
• Southern Reformed Theology (Baker Book House, 1989)
• Turning to God: Biblical Conversion in the Modern World (Baker, 1989)
• Turning to God: Biblical Conversion in the Modern World (William B. Eerdmans, 1989)
• Christian Faith and Practice in the Modern World: Theology from an Evangelical Point of View (William B. Eerdmans, 1988)
• God the Evangelist: How the Holy Spirit Works to Bring Men and Women to Faith, general editor and part author (William B. Eerdmans/Paternoster Press, 1987)
• Reformed Theology in America: A History of Its Modern Development, editor (William B. Eerdmans, 1985)
• The Evangelicals: What They Believe, Who They Are, Where They Are Changing, co-edited with John D. Woodbridge (Abingdon Press, 1985)
• The Person of Christ: A Biblical and Historical Analysis of the Incarnation (Crossway, 1984)
• Eerdmans Handbook to Christianity in America, general editor and part author (William B. Eerdmans, 1983)
• The Prophetic Theology of George Tyrell (Scholars Press, 1979)
• Search for Salvation (InterVarsity Press, 1978)
• Revolution in Rome (InterVarsity Press, 1972)
• Toward a Theology of the Future co-edited with Clark Pinnock (Creation House, 1971)

Kevin Butler & Nicholas Kersten: Seventh Day Baptists: Their History & Beliefs

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MP3 Available Here


Kevin Butler, Director of Communications for the American Sabbath Tract & Communication Council, and Nicholas Kersten, Librarian-Historian for the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Society , will address the theme: "Seventh Day Baptists: Their History & Beliefs".

From Monday, May 10th, through Thursday, May 13th, "Iron Sharpens Iron" will be airing a 4-day live series entitled "Saturday or Sunday: Which Day is the Christian Sabbath?: A Debate Between Baptists". The participants in this debate are Samuel Waldron, one of the pastors of the Heritage Baptist Church of Owensboro, Kentucky, and the Professor of Systematic Theology at the Midwest Center for Theological Studies, and Rod Henry, a former missionary to the Philippines and the pastor of Next Step Christian Church (Seventh Day Baptist) in Thornton, Colorado (see http://www.nextstepchurch.org/).

We thought it would be helpful to our audience to learn something about the history and beliefs of Seventh Day Baptists before the airing of the 4-day debate, so we invited Kevin Butler and Nicholas Kersten on the broadcast tonight to enlighten us about their denomination, and how they differ from Seventh-day Adventists and other groups who believe Saturday is the Christian Sabbath.

Kevin has been Director of Communications for the American Sabbath Tract & Communication Council (an agency of the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference) since 1989. His position includes editing "The Sabbath Recorder" magazine, one of the nation’s oldest continuing religious publications.

Nicholas Kersten has been the Librarian-Historian for the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Society since 2005. He is also continuing his studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL, in their Master of Divinity program.

It might interest many of our listeners to know that Dr. John Gill, the great 18th century Calvinist Baptist theologian and scholar who pastored New Park Street Chapel and the Metropolitan Tabernacle in England in the century prior to Charles Haddon Spurgeon's ministry, developed a treasured friendship with Seventh Day Baptist pastor, hymn writer and fellow Calvinist Dr. Samuel Stennett. You can read Dr. Stennett's , funeral message for Dr. Gill, delivered in 1771, entitled "The Victorious Christian Receiving the Crown", by clicking here.

Richard D. Phillips: The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men

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Richard D. Phillips, Senior Minister at Second Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC, will address the theme of his new book: "The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men".

There is a crying need in the church today for men to be men. But competing visions for what a man is to be —some growing out of popular culture and others arising from flawed teaching in the church—are exacerbating the problem.

Rev. Richard D. Phillips believes the problem and the inadequate solutions being put forward demand sound exegesis of biblical passages relating to masculinity. The Bible alone has the answer to what men are to be in the eyes of their Creator.

In this book, Rev. Phillips provides this essential exegesis and issues a call to reformation in the evangelical church’s attitude toward the role of men in the family, the church, and society.

The Reverend Richard D. Phillips was elected senior minister-elect by the congregation of Second Presbyterian Church, on April 15, 2007. He came to Greenville from First Presbyterian Church of Coral Springs/Margate, FL, where he served as senior minister since 2002. Previously, he served as minister of preaching at historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA. He and his wife, Sharon, have five children: Hannah, Matthew, Jonathan, Ellie, and Lydia. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan (BA), the University of Pennsylvania (MBA), and Westminster Theological Seminary (M. Div. with first honors).

Rev. Phillips served in the US Army for 13 years, holding command and staff positions in a number of combat units. While gaining his M.B.A. at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, he was converted to faith in Christ through the preaching of the gospel at Tenth Presbyterian Church. A few years later, while serving as assistant professor of leadership at West Point and holding the rank of major, he and his wife were persuaded of God’s call into the ordained ministry. Resigning from the Army, they moved back to Philadelphia to attend seminary.

While still in seminary, Rick became minister to a large inner-city outreach to singles and within a few years was preaching weekly at Tenth Presbyterian Church in downtown Philadelphia, the very church in which he was earlier converted and where he had met Sharon. During that time he also served on the staff of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, a radio and publishing ministry led by Rick’s mentor and senior pastor, James Montgomery Boice. He remains on the board of directors of that organization, currently serving as vice chairman. He also chairs the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, founded by Dr. Boice in 1974 and passed on to Rick’s leadership after Dr. Boice’s death in 2000. Rev. Phillips’ preaching is heard nationwide on the radio program, God’s Living Word.

Rev. Phillips focuses his ministry on what he refers to as the “3 P’s”: preaching, praying and pastoring. Additionally, God has called him to a writing ministry and he regularly authors books and articles. Among his twenty-one books, his most recent include a commentary on Zechariah, Jesus the Evangelist, and most recently What's So Great About the Doctrines of Grace. Rev. Phillips frequently speaks at conferences on the Bible and theology and is active in overseas missions, especially in East Africa. In addition to his ministry duties, Rick likes to spend time with his wife and children and is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox.

Gabriel N. E. Fluhrer: Atonement

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MP3 Available Here

Gabriel N. E. Fluhrer, Assistant Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC, will address the theme of the book he edited: "Atonement".

As Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing describes this book:

The doctrine of atonement is under debate. Evangelical publishing houses are releasing books that purport to change our understanding of this central Christian doctrine; church leaders are asking for the emphasis to change away from Christ as sin-bearer to Christ as exemplar of God's love (as if they need to be mutually exclusive?). What have some of the churches' best-known theologians and pastors to say on the matter? Published in conjunction with the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, this is a collecting of outstanding presentations on the Atonement from recent PCRT [Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology] meetings, together they make a strong case for the Reformed view of Atonement, but this book doesn't just discuss points of theology; it also shows the implications of that theology and how to communicate it - brilliant!

Chapter themes and their authors are:

1. The Necessity of the Atonement
J.I. PACKER
2. The Nature of the Atonement: Reconciliation
JOHN R. DE WITT
3. The Nature of the Atonement: Propitiation
JAMES M. BOICE
4. The Atonement and the Purpose of God
JOHN R. GERSTNER
5. Sacrifice and Satisfaction
R.C. SPROUL
6. The Language of the Marketplace
JAMES M. BOICE
7. Christ, the Sin-Bearer
SINCLAIR FERGUSON
8. Preaching the Cross
ALISTAIR BEGG

Tonight's guest, Gabriel N. E. Fluhrer, has been on staff at Second Church since beginning at Greenville Seminary in the fall of 2004. A graduate of the University of South Carolina, he is married to Callie, who hails from Lexington, KY, is also a graduate of USC and serves as an oncology nurse at St. Francis Hospital.

The Pastor's Roundtable

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David F. Wells: The Courage to be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World

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MP3 Available Here


David F. Wells, Ph.D., the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, will address the theme of his book: "The Courage to be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World".

Cohosting this broadcast is Pastor Jim Capo of the Massapequa Church of God, Massapequa, Long Island, NY.


As the publishers describe Dr. Wells' book:

“It takes no courage to sign up as a Protestant.” These words begin this bold new work — the culmination of David Wells’s long-standing critique of the evangelical landscape. But to live as a true Protestant — well, that’s another matter.

This book is a jeremiad against “new” versions of evangelicalism — marketers and emergents — and a summons to return to the historic faith, defined by the Reformation solas (grace, faith, and Scripture alone) and by a high regard for doctrine.

Wells argues that historic, classical evangelicalism is marked by doctrinal seriousness, as opposed to the new movements of the marketing church and the emergent church. He energetically confronts the marketing communities and their tendency to try to win parishioners as consumers rather than worshipers, advertising the most palatable environment rather than trusting the truth to be attractive. He takes particular issue with the most popular evangelical movement in recent years — the emergent church. Emergents, he says, are postmodern and postconservative and postfoundational, embracing a less absolute understanding of the authority of Scripture than traditionally held.

The Courage to Be Protestant is a forceful argument for the courage to be faithful to what Christianity in its biblical forms has always stood for, thereby securing hope for the church’s future.

Dr. Wells received his B.D. at the University of London, his Th.M. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, his Ph.D. at Manchester University, England and was a post-doctoral Research Fellow at Yale Divinity School.

Prior to coming to Gordon-Conwell, Dr. Wells taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and chaired its division of systematic theology. Since arriving at Gordon-Conwell in 1979, he has served in a variety of positions. He moved to his current position in 2008 after having served as the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology since 1991. He was also Academic Dean of the Charlotte campus (1998-2000) and Special Assistant to the President for Institutional Planning (2001-2003). From 2003 to 2005, he directed Gordon-Conwell’s self-study for 10-year re-accreditation.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Wells is involved with a number of ministries. He serves on the board of the Rafiki Foundation, Inc. (see http://www.rafiki-foundation.org/), whose goal is to establish orphanages and schools in 10 African countries in order to raise and train orphans within a Christian framework. Rafiki’s hope is that the next generation of leaders for these countries will come from their orphanages. Dr. Wells travels to Africa annually to visit these orphanages. For a number of years, he was a member of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, its theology working group and its planning committee for the World Congress that was held in Manila in 1989. For many years, he has worked to provide theological education and basic preaching tools for Third World pastors.

Dr. Wells was appointed as Distinguished Lecturer for the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity and was elected to the American Theological Society. He was also a recipient of a major grant for Senior Scholars from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Dr. Wells came to faith and sensed God’s call to Christian ministry while studying architecture at the University of Cape Town. He was ordained in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference in 1965.

Dr. Wells’ scholarly interests include church and culture. Much of his time is spent researching and writing, and he is currently turning his last five books into a film project.

Dr. David F. Wells’ Publications

Books
• The Courage to be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers and Emergents in the Postmodern World (William B. Eerdmans, 2008)
• Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ in a Postmodern World (William B. Eerdmans, 2004)
• Losing our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision (William B. Eerdmans, 1999)
• Christian Faith and Practice in the Modern World: Theology from an Evangelical Point of View (Eerdmans, 1998)
• Bleeding of the Evangelical Church (Edinburgh, 1995)
• God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams (William B. Eerdmans, 1995)
• No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? (William B. Eerdmans, 1993)
• The Gospel in the Modern World, co-edited with M. Eden (InterVarsity Press, 1991)
• Dutch Reformed Theology (Baker Book House, 1989)
• The Princeton Theology (Reformed Theology in America), editor (Baker, 1989)
• Southern Reformed Theology (Baker Book House, 1989)
• Turning to God: Biblical Conversion in the Modern World (Baker, 1989)
• Turning to God: Biblical Conversion in the Modern World (William B. Eerdmans, 1989)
• Christian Faith and Practice in the Modern World: Theology from an Evangelical Point of View (William B. Eerdmans, 1988)
• God the Evangelist: How the Holy Spirit Works to Bring Men and Women to Faith, general editor and part author (William B. Eerdmans/Paternoster Press, 1987)
• Reformed Theology in America: A History of Its Modern Development, editor (William B. Eerdmans, 1985)
• The Evangelicals: What They Believe, Who They Are, Where They Are Changing, co-edited with John D. Woodbridge (Abingdon Press, 1985)
• The Person of Christ: A Biblical and Historical Analysis of the Incarnation (Crossway, 1984)
• Eerdmans Handbook to Christianity in America, general editor and part author (William B. Eerdmans, 1983)
• The Prophetic Theology of George Tyrell (Scholars Press, 1979)
• Search for Salvation (InterVarsity Press, 1978)
• Revolution in Rome (InterVarsity Press, 1972)
• Toward a Theology of the Future co-edited with Clark Pinnock (Creation House, 1971)

Chris R. Armstrong: John Newton: Proclaiming Grace & Uniting the Church

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Chris R. Armstrong, associate professor of Church History at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and former managing editor of Christian History & Biography magazine, will address the theme: "John Newton: Proclaiming Grace & Uniting the Church".

John Newton (1725-1807) is, no doubt, most well known for his cherished, classic hymn, "Amazing Grace", one of the most frequently sung songs of the Christian Faith even today, over 200 years after it was penned by him. Newton went Home to Glory with Christ before the hymn rose to enormous popularity and became a staple in the hymnals of most Christian denominations spanning the theological spectrum.

In 1765, in the midst of what tonight's guest describes as a "virulent pamphlet war" in England between Arminian and Calvinist Christians, revival preacher, John Wesley, a staunch Arminian, wrote a letter to his younger, Calvinist colleague, John Newton, describing Newton as having been "designed by divine providence for an healer of breaches, a reconciler of honest but prejudice men, and an uniter (happy work!) of the children of God that are needlessly divided from each other..."

Tonight, Chris R. Armstrong will enlighten us about the life, dramatic conversion and legacy of this Christian "healer", "reconciler" and "uniter", who once was a wretch but was saved, was lost but was found, was blind but then could see, by God's Amazing Grace.

Tonight's theme is both the topic and the title of chapter six in Chris R. Armstrong's new book: Patron Saints for Postmoderns: 10 from the Past who Speak to our Future .

Chris R. Armstrong contributed chapters to Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land (edited by Mark A. Noll and Edith L. Blumhofer) and to Portraits of a Generation: Early Pentecostal Leaders (edited by James R. Goff Jr. and Grand Wacker). He has written over seventy articles as the former managing editor of Christian History & Biography magazine, and he is a contributing writer to Christianity Today, Leadership Journal, www.christianhistory.net and other publications. He blogs regularly at www.christianitytodayblogs.com/history.

You can read John Newton's "Thoughts on the African Slave Trade" made available on the Internet by Cornell University, from the Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection, here. Below you will find John Newton's original six stanzas that appeared, with minor spelling variations, in the first edition (1779), and soon after his death in the second edition (1808), of his beloved hymn that eventually came to be known as "Amazing Grace", initially published under the heading "Faith’s Review and Expectation":

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.

Peter Padro: Former "Brother of the Holy Cross"

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Kenneth Samples: The Seven Dangerous Ideas of Historic Christianity

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The Pastor's Roundtable

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"The Pastors' Roundtable" is the Friday edition of the "Iron Sharpens Iron" program. This is our feature enabling you, the listener, to call in on any subject regarding the Christian Faith (typically, Monday through Thursday you are only permitted to ask questions regarding the specific topic our guests are focussing on each particular day, but not so during "The Pastors' Roundtable"). If your question involves a personal, sensitive matter over which you need pastoral advice, please remain anonymous, and keep all other parties involved anonymous.

This Week's Pastoral Panel:


Pastor Bruce Bennett, Word of Truth Church, Holbrook, Long Island, NY (see www.wotchurch.com)


Pastor William O. Einwechter, Immanuel Free Reformed Church in Ephrata, PA (see www.ImmanuelFRC.org)


Pastor Jack Thomas, Massapequa Bible Ministries, Massapequa, Long Island, NY (see www.MassBibMin.org)

Dr. Robert J. Cameron: A Pastor's Journey With Colon Cancer

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Dr. Robert J. Cameron, who pastored Mount Carmel Church , in Somerset, NJ, for 31 years until his recent retirement, will address: "A Pastor's Journey With Colon Cancer".

African Americans are about 34 percent more likely to die of cancer than are whites and more than two times more likely to die of cancer than are Asian or Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Hispanics. African American men have the highest death rates of colon and rectum, lung, and prostate cancers (source: Landis, S.H.; Murray, T.; Bolden, S.; et al. Cancer statistics, 2000. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 50(1):2398-2424, 2000).

In March of 2009, our guest tonight, Dr. Robert J. Cameron, an African-American, was diagnosed with colon cancer. The cancer then spread to his liver. Praise be to God, the Great Physician, Dr. Cameron has been in remission since November. Tonight we will discuss the journey that God has taken Dr. Cameron on during this life-threatening trial.

Dr. Cameron is author of The Last Pew on the Left: America's Lost Potential. In this book Dr. Cameron took the bold and politically incorrect stance to urge both black and white Christians to repent of the evils of racism, which he sees as a "sin problem", not a "skin problem", that pollutes the hearts of people of all races, ethnicities and socio-economic statuses.

For many years Dr. Cameron also hosted "The Early Morning Worship Hour" broadcast on Family Radio, until the heresies of the founder, Harold Camping, forced him to depart from participation with this network. Until his retirement, in addition to his labors at Mt. Carmel Church, Dr. Cameron sat on the board of Greenville Theological Seminary in SC, and taught on the faculty at the New York School of the Bible in Manhattan for 15 years.

Mary Hertel: The Truth Set Me Free: A Former Nun Tells Her Story (Part Two)

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Mary Hertel, a former nun, will address the theme: "The Truth Set Me Free: A Former Nun Tells Her Story".

Mary Hertel, born into a strong Roman Catholic family, entered the Order of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1963. She left it in 1969 and was saved by God's grace in 1989. She is a member of Brookside Baptist Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin (see http://www.brooksidebaptist.org/).

Mary is a contributing author of The Truth Set Us Free: Twenty Former Nuns Tell Their Stories, to be in print soon from Solid Ground Christian Books (see http://www.solid-ground-books.com/detail_1477.asp). Mary is also Editor of the book along with Richard Bennett, a former priest and the founder of Berean Beacon Ministries.

Vatican Council II was completed in 1965. The Roman Catholic Church appeared to have changed her position towards Biblical believers. The Council had pronounced that they were now to be seen as 'separated brethren' (although it also reaffirmed the Council of Trent, which four hundred years earlier had declared Biblical believers to be heretics). Catholics could now 'dialogue' with them, enter their churches, and go to their Bible studies.

In the more than forty years that have elapsed since then, much confusion has arisen both among Catholics and among Biblical believers as to where each stands today. This volume brings the steady light of Scripture and the clear testimonies of twenty 20th century women to bear on this murky religious confusion of our times.

These women became nuns in Roman Catholic convents as their finest means of serv-ing God. The testimonies are 'inside stories', intensely personal, wonderfully down-to-earth. They ask--and finally get the right answers to--some of the same questions that you yourself might ask.

The solid promise of Holy God in Scripture is, 'And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye search for Me with all your heart.' This volume is modern testimony to that living promise.

The book will be of avid interest to -

- dedicated Roman Catholics who often do not know the realities of convent life

- lapsed Catholics who have become discouraged by the practice of a religious faith which has not answered his or her inner emptiness and confusion

- Evangelicals who are being drawn more closely into 'dialogue' with Roman Catho-lics, unaware of the inner workings of that huge, seemingly mysterious system

The former nuns who tell their stories in this new edition of The Truth Set Us Free are:

1. Jacqueline Kassar: From a Nun’s Convent to Biblical Conversion

2. Lolly Harding: A Medical Nun/Air Evac Nun’s Story of Conversion to the Truth

3. Eileen Donnelly: Led by the Shepherd

4. Nancy Hohman: Finding True Freedom in Christ: My Testimony

5. Mary McGuigan: A Training Ground for Discernment

6. Mary C. Hertel: The Unsearchable Ways of God

7. Mary Ann Pakiz: God’s Word Needs No Authority Other Than Itself

8. Jo Ellen Kaminski: His Banner Over Me Is Love

9. Amy Bentley: The Conversion of a Catholic Nun: My Return to Christ

10. Rocio Pestana Segovia: The Woman at the Well

11. Alicia Simpson: Alicia: My Search for Peace, a Nun’s Story

12. Sophia Tekien: And the Truth Made Me Free

13. Donna Spader Shire: Mother’s Vocation and God’s Grace

14. Lucille Poulin: The Truth Shall Make You Free!

15. Doreen Eberhardt (D’Antonio): This Is My Story

16. Eileen M. Doran: A Labyrinthian Way

17. Wilma Sullivan: My Desire to do Good

18. Peggy O’Neill: I Had Never Heard the True Gospel

19. Jayne (Stanford) Baer : Convent Living to True Life in the Lord

20. Mary Allen: From Bondage to Freedom in Christ


Pre-order the book and mention "Iron Sharpens Iron" for a discount: $10.00 a copy plus $4.00 shipping (a savings of $ 6.00).

Mary Hertel: The Truth Set Me Free: A Former Nun Tells Her Story (Part One)

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MP3 Available Here

Mary Hertel, a former nun, will address the theme: "The Truth Set Me Free: A Former Nun Tells Her Story".

Mary Hertel, born into a strong Roman Catholic family, entered the Order of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1963. She left it in 1969 and was saved by God's grace in 1989. She is a member of Brookside Baptist Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin (see http://www.brooksidebaptist.org/).

Mary is a contributing author of The Truth Set Us Free: Twenty Former Nuns Tell Their Stories, to be in print soon from Solid Ground Christian Books (see http://www.solid-ground-books.com/detail_1477.asp). Mary is also Editor of the book along with Richard Bennett, a former priest and the founder of Berean Beacon Ministries.

Vatican Council II was completed in 1965. The Roman Catholic Church appeared to have changed her position towards Biblical believers. The Council had pronounced that they were now to be seen as 'separated brethren' (although it also reaffirmed the Council of Trent, which four hundred years earlier had declared Biblical believers to be heretics). Catholics could now 'dialogue' with them, enter their churches, and go to their Bible studies.

In the more than forty years that have elapsed since then, much confusion has arisen both among Catholics and among Biblical believers as to where each stands today. This volume brings the steady light of Scripture and the clear testimonies of twenty 20th century women to bear on this murky religious confusion of our times.

These women became nuns in Roman Catholic convents as their finest means of serv-ing God. The testimonies are 'inside stories', intensely personal, wonderfully down-to-earth. They ask--and finally get the right answers to--some of the same questions that you yourself might ask.

The solid promise of Holy God in Scripture is, 'And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye search for Me with all your heart.' This volume is modern testimony to that living promise.

The book will be of avid interest to -

- dedicated Roman Catholics who often do not know the realities of convent life

- lapsed Catholics who have become discouraged by the practice of a religious faith which has not answered his or her inner emptiness and confusion

- Evangelicals who are being drawn more closely into 'dialogue' with Roman Catho-lics, unaware of the inner workings of that huge, seemingly mysterious system

The former nuns who tell their stories in this new edition of The Truth Set Us Free are:

1. Jacqueline Kassar: From a Nun’s Convent to Biblical Conversion

2. Lolly Harding: A Medical Nun/Air Evac Nun’s Story of Conversion to the Truth

3. Eileen Donnelly: Led by the Shepherd

4. Nancy Hohman: Finding True Freedom in Christ: My Testimony

5. Mary McGuigan: A Training Ground for Discernment

6. Mary C. Hertel: The Unsearchable Ways of God

7. Mary Ann Pakiz: God’s Word Needs No Authority Other Than Itself

8. Jo Ellen Kaminski: His Banner Over Me Is Love

9. Amy Bentley: The Conversion of a Catholic Nun: My Return to Christ

10. Rocio Pestana Segovia: The Woman at the Well

11. Alicia Simpson: Alicia: My Search for Peace, a Nun’s Story

12. Sophia Tekien: And the Truth Made Me Free

13. Donna Spader Shire: Mother’s Vocation and God’s Grace

14. Lucille Poulin: The Truth Shall Make You Free!

15. Doreen Eberhardt (D’Antonio): This Is My Story

16. Eileen M. Doran: A Labyrinthian Way

17. Wilma Sullivan: My Desire to do Good

18. Peggy O’Neill: I Had Never Heard the True Gospel

19. Jayne (Stanford) Baer : Convent Living to True Life in the Lord

20. Mary Allen: From Bondage to Freedom in Christ


Pre-order the book and mention "Iron Sharpens Iron" for a discount: $10.00 a copy plus $4.00 shipping (a savings of $ 6.00).

Walt Chantry: Today's Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic?

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MP3 Available Here

Walt Chantry, Editor of Banner of Truth Magazine , author of many books and former pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Carlisle, PA for nearly 40 years will address the theme of his classic work: "Today's Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic?"

Although written over 40 years ago, "Today's Gospel" contains a warning for the church that is, sadly, just as desperately needed to be heard by Christians today as it was in the 1970's.

Chantry declares that, "Differences between much of today's preaching and that of Jesus are not petty; they are enormous. The chief errors are not in emphasis or approach but in the heart of the Gospel message."

Based on the account of the Rich Young Ruler, Chantry demonstrates that what passes for the gospel message today is not what Jesus was teaching. This little book (less than 100 pages long) is a must read for anyone trying to comprehend the Lordship battles. An excellent study on the subject of the true gospel message and its illegitimate cousins.

"This little book will open your eyes to see the gospel through passage of the Rich Young Ruler in a whole new way. Chantry has the one of the best understandings of law and gospel we have seen. An antidote to today's market-driven, seeker gospel. Highly Recommended!" -- www.MonergismBooks.com

Walt was born in 1938 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He was raised in the Presbyterian church and was converted to Christ as a teenager. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1960 with a B.A. in History, and went on to receive a B.D. from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1963. That same year he was called to be pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where he served his Lord for the next 39 years. Soon after his retirement in 2002 he was asked to be the editor of Banner Of Truth Magazine and continues in that capacity to this day. He and his wife, Joie, have three children and 10 grandchildren. They now reside in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

You can hear Walt Chantry's sermons at http://www.chantry-sermons.com/index.html.

The Pastor's Roundtable

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MP3 Available Here

Daniel R. Hyde: Welcome to a Reformed Church: A Guide for Pilgrims

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MP3 Available Here

Daniel R. Hyde, pastor of the Oceanside United Reformed Church in Carlsbad/Oceanside, CA, will address the theme of his new book: "Welcome to a Reformed Church: A Guide for Pilgrims".

As Reformation Trust Publishing describes Pastor Hyde's book:

“Who are these guys?” That was the question the teenage Daniel R. Hyde posed to his father when he first encountered “Reformed” believers. With their unique beliefs and practices, these Christians didn’t fit any of the categories in his mind.

Not so many years later, Hyde is now Rev. Daniel R. Hyde, a pastor of a Reformed church. Recognizing that many are on the outside looking in, just as he once was, he wrote Welcome to a Reformed Church: A Guide for Pilgrims to explain what Reformed churches believe and why they structure their life and worship as they do.

In layman’s terms, Rev. Hyde sketches the historical roots of the Reformed churches, their scriptural and confessional basis, their key beliefs, and the ways in which those beliefs are put into practice. The result is a roadmap for those encountering the Reformed world for the first time and a primer for those who want to know more about their Reformed heritage.

Rev. Daniel R. Hyde (M.Div., Westminster Seminary California) was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church, converted in the Foursquare Church, educated at an Assemblies of God liberal arts college, and youth pastored in a non-denominational church. Pastor Hyde was brought to the Reformed Faith while in college and was drawn to it through its reverence, transcendence, and mystery in both theology and worship. He was married to his wife, Karajean, in 1998 and they have a one son, Cyprian. Pastor Hyde planted the Oceanside United Reformed Church in June of 2000.

Cohosting tonight's program is Pastor Drew Eenigenburg of the West Sayville Reformed Bible Church on Suffolk County, Long Island's south shore (see www.wsrbc.org).

Phil Johnson: The John Piper-Rick Warren Controversy: A Balanced Response (Part two)

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MP3 Available Here

Phil Johnson, Executive Director of "Grace To You," the radio, television & tape ministry of world-renowned radio Bible teacher, author & pastor, Dr. John MacArthur, will address the theme: "The John Piper-Rick Warren Controversy: A Balanced Response" (Part Two).


As many of you have heard, it was no "April Fools Joke", as our guest Phil Johnson tweeted (thumb-in-cheek). John Piper, highly sought after conference speaker, popular Reformed author, founder of the ministry Desiring God (see http://www.desiringgod.org/), and pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN (see http://www.hopeingod.org/), has invited controversial Southern Baptist pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren to speak on the theme "Thinking Purposefully for the Glory of Christ: The Life of the Mind and Global Reality", at the 2010 Desiring God National Conference . Warren is on a speaking roster that includes such powerful defenders of the Reformation as Al Mohler, R.C. Sproul, Thabiti Anyabwile and John Piper himself.

This has come as a shock to many who greatly value John Piper and his ministry due to the fact that Rick Warren has publicly taken positions on various important issues and has spearheaded activities that most folk in the Reformed/Sovereign Grace community consider to be antithetical to Reformational thinking. In addition to Warren's invitation to Barack Obama (then Senator), a militant pro-abortionist and pro-homosexual rights advocate, to speak at his church in December, 2006, for his Global Summit on AIDS, many of Warren's theological positions are disturbing to many who love and admire Piper.

As Michael Horton, cohost of " The White Horse Inn" radio broadcast and editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine , so aptly put it:

"I admire Rick Warren’s zeal for reaching non-Christians and concern for global challenges. I respect him for giving away much of his income for charitable purposes.

"At the same time, I believe that his message distorts the gospel and that he is contributing to the human-centered pragmatism that is eroding the proper ministry and mission of the church... While I applaud his concern for social justice, I am concerned that he confuses the law with the gospel and the work of Christians in their vocations (obeying the Great Commandment) with the work of Christ through his church in its ministry of Word and sacrament (the Great Commission)...

"...When USA Today asked him why Mormon and Jewish leaders are involved in his pastoral training programs, Rick Warren reportedly said, 'I’m not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won’t try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?' (USA Today, July 21, 2003). Rick Warren endorses a host of books, from New Age authors to Emergent writers to conservative evangelicals. So why not include Calvinists?...

"...We can be so proud of getting the gospel right while we don’t bother to get the gospel out to those who need it. Furthermore, we can be self-confident in our theological integrity while ignoring the Word of God when it impinges on questions of social concern.Yet the answer is not 'deeds over creeds,' but to be re-introduced to the creeds that generate the deeds that are the fruit of genuine faith. Getting the gospel right and getting the gospel out, as well as loving and serving our neighbors, comprise the callings of the church and of Christians in the world. However, confusing these is always disastrous for our message and mission." (Read entire article here: http://www.whitehorseinn.org/archives/425.html).

While our guest Phil Johnson is extremely concerned over John Piper's discernment in inviting Rick Warren to speak at his 2010 Desiring God National Conference, he is equally concerned over the slanderous reactions of some brethren who deem Piper himself to be a heretic, or worse, a non-Christian, over this news.

Phil Johnson, also maintains "The Spurgeon Archive", the largest collection of Charles Haddon Spurgeon resources on the world wide web, and his blog site, http://teampyro.blogspot.com/.

Phil Johnson: The John Piper-Rick Warren Controversy: A Balanced Response (Part One)

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MP3 Available Here

Phil Johnson, Executive Director of "Grace To You," the radio, television & tape ministry of world-renowned radio Bible teacher, author & pastor, Dr. John MacArthur, will address the theme: "The John Piper-Rick Warren Controversy: A Balanced Response" (Part one).


As many of you have heard, it was no "April Fools Joke", as our guest Phil Johnson tweeted (thumb-in-cheek). John Piper, highly sought after conference speaker, popular Reformed author, founder of the ministry Desiring God (see http://www.desiringgod.org/), and pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN (see http://www.hopeingod.org/), has invited controversial Southern Baptist pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren to speak on the theme "Thinking Purposefully for the Glory of Christ: The Life of the Mind and Global Reality", at the 2010 Desiring God National Conference . Warren is on a speaking roster that includes such powerful defenders of the Reformation as Al Mohler, R.C. Sproul, Thabiti Anyabwile and John Piper himself.

This has come as a shock to many who greatly value John Piper and his ministry due to the fact that Rick Warren has publicly taken positions on various important issues and has spearheaded activities that most folk in the Reformed/Sovereign Grace community consider to be antithetical to Reformational thinking. In addition to Warren's invitation to Barack Obama (then Senator), a militant pro-abortionist and pro-homosexual rights advocate, to speak at his church in December, 2006, for his Global Summit on AIDS, many of Warren's theological positions are disturbing to many who love and admire Piper.

As Michael Horton, cohost of " The White Horse Inn" radio broadcast and editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine , so aptly put it:

"I admire Rick Warren’s zeal for reaching non-Christians and concern for global challenges. I respect him for giving away much of his income for charitable purposes.

"At the same time, I believe that his message distorts the gospel and that he is contributing to the human-centered pragmatism that is eroding the proper ministry and mission of the church... While I applaud his concern for social justice, I am concerned that he confuses the law with the gospel and the work of Christians in their vocations (obeying the Great Commandment) with the work of Christ through his church in its ministry of Word and sacrament (the Great Commission)...

"...When USA Today asked him why Mormon and Jewish leaders are involved in his pastoral training programs, Rick Warren reportedly said, 'I’m not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won’t try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?' (USA Today, July 21, 2003). Rick Warren endorses a host of books, from New Age authors to Emergent writers to conservative evangelicals. So why not include Calvinists?...

"...We can be so proud of getting the gospel right while we don’t bother to get the gospel out to those who need it. Furthermore, we can be self-confident in our theological integrity while ignoring the Word of God when it impinges on questions of social concern.Yet the answer is not 'deeds over creeds,' but to be re-introduced to the creeds that generate the deeds that are the fruit of genuine faith. Getting the gospel right and getting the gospel out, as well as loving and serving our neighbors, comprise the callings of the church and of Christians in the world. However, confusing these is always disastrous for our message and mission." (Read entire article here: http://www.whitehorseinn.org/archives/425.html).

While our guest Phil Johnson is extremely concerned over John Piper's discernment in inviting Rick Warren to speak at his 2010 Desiring God National Conference, he is equally concerned over the slanderous reactions of some brethren who deem Piper himself to be a heretic, or worse, a non-Christian, over this news.

Phil Johnson, also maintains "The Spurgeon Archive", the largest collection of Charles Haddon Spurgeon resources on the world wide web, and his blog site, http://teampyro.blogspot.com/.

Max McLean: The Screwtape Letters: A Piercing Insight into Humanity’s Bent Toward Evil

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MP3 Available Here

Max McLean, renowned Christian actor, narrator, winner of the 2009 "Jeff Award" for Outstanding Solo Performance, and president of the Fellowship of Performing Arts , will address the theme: "The Screwtape Letters: A Piercing Insight into Humanity’s Bent Toward Evil".

Max is also starring in the lead role of the demon Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters, a critically acclaimed, theatrical adaptation of the classic C.S. Lewis novel published in the earlier half of the 20th century about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view, starting April 15th in New York City (see http://www.fpatheatre.com/screwtape)!

“Max McLean transforms C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters into GRIPPING drama!”-- Marvin Olasky, World Magazine

The Screwtape Letters is still one of C. S. Lewis’ most influential works, along with such other classics as The Chronicles of Narnia (including The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity. The book’s success as a piercing insight into humanity’s bent toward evil is due to Lewis’ lucid ability to make his readers squirm in self recognition. When first published in 1942 it brought immediate fame to this little-known Oxford don including the cover of Time Magazine.

Lewis dedicated the work to his close friend J. R. R. Tolkien who had expressed to Lewis that delving too deeply into the craft of evil would have consequences. Lewis admitted as much when he wrote: “Though I had never written anything more easily, I never wrote with less enjoyment . . . though it was easy to twist one’s mind into the diabolical attitude, it was not fun, or not for long. The work into which I had to project myself while I spoke through Screwtape was all dust, grit, thirst, and itch. Every trace of beauty, freshness, and geniality had to be excluded.”

Adapted and directed by Jeff Fiske & Max McLean, Scenic design is by Cameron Anderson, costumes are by Michael Bevins, lighting by Jesse Klug, and sound is by John Gromada.

Highlights from the ISI Luncheon

Untitled from Rhino's School of Rock on Vimeo.

ERIC C. REDMOND, author, highly sought-after conference speaker and founding pastor of Reformation Alive Baptist Church in Temple Hills, MD.

Pastor Redmond served as the Second Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2007 to 2008, and has served as the Theology Editor for "NAAF Outlook: Newsletter of the African American Fellowship of the SBC". He has also served on the Trustee Board of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary . He is a gifted expository preacher and teacher of God's Word. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary , his passion is to see lives transformed by growing in love and understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor Redmond’s ministry emphasis lies in expositional preaching and teaching of the Scriptures, development of godly male leadership, and the cultivation of Biblical community within the local church. He has a burden to encourage academic theological studies at research levels among young African-American church leaders, and to see the rearing and sending of African-Americans into international missions work.

Pastor Redmond's book, "Where Are All The Brothers?: Straight Answers to Men's Questions About the Church", is one of his attempts to help strong men give Christ a second look by addressing some of their modern day concerns. He also contributed to "Glory Road: The Journeys of 10 African-Americans into Reformed Christianity".

Currently, Pastor Redmond also serves as an Assistant Professor of Bible & Theology at Washington Bible College in Lanham MD . He feels a burden to reach all generations for Christ, so that a generation yet unborn might be raised up to know and love God. On his blog, "A Man from Issachar", Pastor Redmond again attempts to point his readers to Christ through an examination of current events.

Pastor Redmond and his wife Pam will have been very happily married for almost 20 years. They have five children – Charis (18), Chloe (16), Candace (12), Calvin (10), and Codell (9) – and they reside in Lanham, Maryland. The heart of the Redmond’s ministry partnership is strengthening families.

A controversial and refreshingly honest article by Pastor Redmond that is highly recommended, "Living Soli Deo Gloria Under Obama", may be read here.
"Iron Sharpens Iron" thanks our sponsors for making this Pastors' Luncheon possible:

John Thornbury: The Greatness of Good Friday

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MP3 Available Here

John Thornbury, Baptist historian and author, will address the theme: "The Greatness of Good Friday".

Good Friday commemorates one of the most monumental and most significant events in history. Tonight our guest will address the purpose of Calvary, and what Jesus Christ actually accomplished on the cross on that hill 2000 years ago.

John Thornbury's books include "God Sent Revival: The Story of Asahel Nettleton and the Second Great Awakening", "A System of Bible Doctrine", "Five Pioneer Missionaries", "David Brainerd - Pioneer Missionary to the American Indians", "The Doctrine of the Church: A Baptist View", "Help Us to Pray", and "A Pastor in New York: The Life and Times of Spencer Houghton Cone" (see this link).

For 44 years John faithfully served as pastor of the historic Winfield Baptist Church in Pennsylvania (see http://www.winfieldbaptist.com/ ), until his very recent retirement and move to Kentucky.

John Davis: He Is Risen!

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MP3 Available Here

John Davis, pastor of Amityville Community Church, an independent, nondenominational fellowship affirming the Doctrines of the Sovereign Grace of God located in Amityville, Long Island, NY, will address the theme: "He Is Risen!"