Mark Overstreet

If you want to know what has been going on for the last 150 years at the largest seminary in the world, then you need to read this book. Greg Wills is a friend and a scholar. Most importantly, he is a servant of God who is passionate about preaching the gospel, teaching the Scriptures, and explaining history as the fabric of revelation through which God’s glory is displayed in creation.

I look forward to spending many hours in this 592pp history of my alma mater and what is by many considered the most influential seminary on the planet.

Also, you may be interested in reading this interview in the FL state paper.

Southern Seminary founder’s vision restored, historian asserts.

Tim Keller finished his sermon with these words, “Have you accepted Jesus into your life as your Creator?”

Read the article and think about the role of pastor and planting churches in key areas that need the gospel and its influence.

Keller explains, “The difference between a solid church and a terrible church is pretty much up to you.” “The difference between a solid church and incredible success has almost nothing to do with you at all. It’s like you are out there paddling on your surfboard, and suddenly the wave comes and you ride in, standing up like you’re a Greek god. That has everything to do with the wave.”

A.N. Wilson, the 58-year-old British biographer, novelist and man of letters, has reportedly repented of his delusions of the faithful and confessed that Jesus has risen indeed.

He now says he believes that atheists are like “people who have no ear for music or who have never been in love.”

“Intellectuals often pursue long, drawn-out love affairs with Christian thought. Next time you hear someone fume that God is the most contemptible being who never existed, keep in mind that you just might be watching the first act of a divine romantic comedy.”

Read: Look Who’s a Believer Now

More links from RealClearPolitics

Humble Beginnings to High Court

Notable Court Opinions, Articles

Biography and Background

1998 Confirmation Vote, 67 – 29

The office of the press secretary released their views on the qualifications for Sonia Sotomayor as nominee for justice of the supreme court.

Report: American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Company — almost 80 messages a day, more than double the average of a year earlier.

Still, American teens are way behind Asian teenagers. Texting affects communication, relationships, and culture dramatically. 

Text your thoughts below.

Texting May Be Taking a Toll on Teenagers

Judge Sotomayor, 54, grew up in a Bronx housing project, a child of Puerto Rican parents. She would be the court’s first Hispanic justice.

Her father died when she was 9, leaving her mother to raise her and a brother. In speeches to Latino groups over the years, Judge Sotomayor has recalled how her mother worked six days a week as a nurse to send her and her brother to Catholic school, purchased the only set of encyclopedias in the neighborhood and kept a warm pot of rice and beans on the stove every day for their friends.

She loved Nancy Drew mysteries, she once said, and yearned to be a police detective. But a doctor who diagnosed her childhood diabetes suggested that would be difficult. She traded her adoration of Nancy for an allegiance to Perry — she became a fan of Perry Mason on television, she said, and decided to become a lawyer.

She went to Princeton, which she has described as a life-changing experience. When she arrived on campus from the Bronx, she said it was like “a visitor landing in an alien country.” She never raised her hand in her first year there.

After graduating summa cum laude from Princeton, she went to Yale Law School, worked for Robert M. Morgenthau in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and spent time in private practice before being named to the bench.

Judge Sotomayor married before she graduated from college and divorced a few years later. Her diabetes, for which she takes insulin daily, has not proved to be a problem, but some have speculated as to whether her illness could or should be an issue in terms of her projected longevity on the court, because of the potential for complications.

Some lawyers have described her courtroom manner as abrupt, but several others said in interviews that it represents nothing more than her direct, New York style. Judge Martin Glenn, who as a veteran appeals lawyer had appeared before her frequently, said that she was widely regarded as an excellent judge.

Excerpts taken from this article.

When Mark Twain died in 1910, he left behind the largest collection of personal papers created by any 19th century American author. His talent for humor and story made me a fan at a young age and I still enjoy reading him today. His perspective is real and plain, characteristics often lacking in popular literature today. This text is a new compilation of 24 pieces of humor and criticism, including book reviews and private correspondence.

More on Twain: Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835, in the village of Florida, Missouri. He attended (more…)

Two words, “Puff Graham,” whispered by the mouth of media mogul William Randolph Hearst to his editors, launched young Billy Graham from relative obscurity to global prominence. In two words, publications like Time, Newsweek, A.P., Quick, and Life all featured Billy Graham and his “Canvas Cathedral,” and Graham confessed that his life and ministry was changed forever.  

No man in history has preached to more people in live audiences than Billy Graham. From the pulpit in 1949, Graham preached his first 8-week crusade in Los Angeles, and one night he preached the most famous sermon in American religious history–Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the hands of an angry God.”

For the first time, the Edwards Center at Yale has made available the original transcript of Edwards sermon and the audio of Graham’s preaching in LA as a pairing.  

Its fascinating to hear how Graham moves almost immediately to Jesus, whereas Edwards delayed much longer. Also, if you listen to the sermon and follow along with the transcript, you can follow the theological varities Graham takes to bear out his convictions in preaching to the audience before him. Two great preachers, one great sermon.  Enjoy!

Listen and read.

Read more:

Amazon to Launch New Textbook Kindle for students