Below you will find the audio and video from the sermon I preached this past Sunday evening. The text was John 6:60-70. The title of the message was, “Will You Go Away Also?”

Will You Go Away Also? (John 6:60-70) from Nicholas T. Batzig on Vimeo.
Audio

There are two possible meanings to Prov. 29:1. Fenner has explored the “reproving man” (e.g. minister, judge) as one who does not walk a strict course “will be destroyed (judged by God) and that without remedy.” While there are as many good reasons as there are proof-texts to support this reading Fenner takes the passive sense: “a man often reproved…”
Fenner explains, first, the passive and active sense of the Hebrew. His examples include Isa. 53:3, Dan. 9:23, Jer. 15:10, and 1 Kgs 2:26. In these examples the person is not …

Christ the Center recently interviewed Dr.  David McWilliams, Senior Minister of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Lakeland, FL., with regard to his marvelous Commentary on Galatians. You can listen to the show here.

The Magi, though often only thought of as models of religious fidelity and uprightness, were most certainly pagan magicians saved by the sovereign grace of God. Martin Downes notes:
The OT has consistently portrayed the magicians and wise men of the nations as the bad guys who always come second when they clash with God’s people. Witness the power encounter between the magicians of Pharaoh’s court and Moses and Aaron (Ex. 8:7,18). Fast forward to the time of Daniel and we see the same outcome (Dan. 2:1-16,25-28). Yet here in Matthew …

John Maclaurin, in his well known sermon Glorying in the Cross of Christ, explains the unusual way in which King Jesus appeared in the days of His flesh:
A King which the world admires is one of extensive power, with numerous armies, a golden crown and scepter, a throne of state, magnificent palaces, sumptuous feasts, many attendants of high rank, immense treasures to enrich them with, and various posts of honor to prefer them to.
Here was the reverse of all this:–For a crown, a crown of thorns; for a scepter, a …

Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon Life Through Christ Alone, noted:
It was by Christ that eternal life has been communicated from the foundation of the world. It was by Christ that holy men in the old world, before the flood, received life; ’twas by faith in him that Enoch was translated; ’twas by the reception of Christ that Abraham received eternal life; ’twas [by] faith in him Moses received eternal happiness, that faith whereby he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. It was by Christ …

Here is the compete list of Eric Alexander sermons available online. These are not listed on his website. You will find many more there as well.

The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University has made a sermon index for Jonathan Edwards’ sermons available. One of the first places I go when I am preparing a sermon is to the Yale University Press volumes of Edwards’ sermons, the Miscellanies, and Notes on Scripture. The indices in the Yale publications are invaluable sources for Edwards research. Below is the list of sermons in canonical order (Many of the sermons are also available there):

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

Jay Adams has a post over at the Institute for Nouthetic Studies blog, in which he considers John Calvin’s counseling ministry. You can read it here.

Having listened to many hours of John Piper’s sermons, I have come to the conclusion that his most recent series on the Gospel of John is the best yet! Piper faithfully expounds, text by text, the marvelous words of this most precious Gospel account. You can listen to any of the recent sermons below:
Faith: Unique and Fruitful Effect of the New Birth
In Him Was Life
In the Beginning was the Word
John was not the Light, but a Witness to the Light
From His Fullness We Have All Received, Grace Upon Grace
We Beheld …

Jonathan Edwards gives a persuasive explanation of the source of unbelief in men:
If men are wholly unable to believe of themselves, or unless God works faith in them, yet that is no argument that they are not chargeable with the blame of their own unbelief: for though man can’t believe in Christ of himself, yet that is no argument that he can’t reject him of himself. ‘Tis no argument that because one of two opposites is of God, that therefore the other is so too; but the contrary. If sweet …

Jim O’Brien has a great post on God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and the subsequent sacrifice of Christ. You can read it here.

I happened across the following letter from Jonathan Edwards to his son Timothy. It is an amazing example of a father’s concern for the salvation of his son:
Stockbridge, April 1, 1753
My Dear Child,
Before you will receive this letter, the matter will doubtless be determined, as to your having the smallpox. You will either be sick with that distemper, or will be past danger of having it, from any infection taken in your voyage. But whether you are sick or well, like to die or like to live, I …

Every Christian should read this book! Lane Keister has a helpful digest here.

Iain Campbell has a great post in which he briefly outlines the labors of three men: Alexander Cruden, Robert Young, and James Strong. You can read it here. Let’s not, in this age of technological advancement, forget the labors of these men who left an enormous blessing behind.

Here is the Nov. 1, 2009 White Horse Inn interview with Tim Keller. The subject was Keller’s New York Times best seller The Reason for God. There are some fascinating thoughts on evangelism and skepticism in New York. Keller gives some very helpful thoughts about the need for a more robust theological and confessional approach to ministry that is equally culturally engaging.

Jesus said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27
In this passage, Jesus demands absolute, undivided love, commitment, and devotion without rival. The love we are to have for Jesus should make all other loves in our lives seem like hatred. Only if we have …

We recently had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Tim Keller about his newest book Counterfeit God’s: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex and Power and the Only Hope that Matters. Dr. Keller argues quite persuasively that all sin is in fact heart idolatry. We were created to worship and serve the true and living God. If we are not worshiping Him we will always put something or someone in His place. This is no less true of the minister of the Gospel than it is of anyone else. In …

If you like interesting renditions of classic Christmas hymns and fun Christmas melodies, you will love Sufjan (pronounced ‘Sue-faan’) Stevens’ Songs for Christmas.You can listen to sample tracks here.

Monergism, one of the best theological websites online, has compiled a list of helpful Reformed blogs. You will probably be familiar with most of these blogs, but if not, you might want to subscribe to some using Google Reader. You can find the list at Monergism’s Reformed Bloggage page. I believe the ones in bold come more highly recommended! Here is the complete list:

1517
21st Century Tabletalk
A Priori Assumptione
Abundance of Grace
Against Heresies
Alpha and Omega Ministries
Already Not Yet
Antipelagian
Backwoods Presbyterian
Between Two Worlds
Biblical Foundations

Here is a five minute excerpt from our forthcoming interview with Tim Keller which on Christ the Center.  The interview focused on Dr. Keller’s latest book Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters.  Listen and be sure to visit Reformed Forum tomorrow for the full thing.

Jim O’Brien has a very nice post over at J.O.B.’s Journal on the faith of Abraham, and the grace God gives those who trust Him to do the difficult things to which He calls them. You can read it here.

New Covenant Presbyterian Church has added video to its web ministry. Several of these sermons will also appear on the Reformed Forum. In addition to these videos, the Reformed Forum is planning on filming Christ the Center. This ministry is dependent on the support of our listeners. None of the contributors benefit financially from this work they do for the Forum, but are dependent on support from listeners for the equipment that makes this ministry possible. We have included many helpful details in our  Christmas support letter. Below you will …

There is a great need at present to be set free from the snare of seeking human achievement and success in the American church. Our own Jim Cassidy recently wrote a post in which he mentions Kent Hughes’ 1987 work Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome. Crossway has recently republished it in a very nice edition. You can find it here. You can read Jim’s post here.

Exodus 20:17-20: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to …

Geerhardus Vos wrote:
“Faith in its last analysis was to the patriarchs the apprehension, the possession, the enjoyment of God Himself . . . Legalism lacks the supreme sense of worship. It obeys but it does not adore.”
Apparently, Vos was a Christian Hedonist!
Geerhardus Vos, Redemptive History And Biblical Interpretation, The Shorter Writings Of Geerhardus Vos (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1980), 229, 231.

Darryl Hart has raised some outstanding points with regard to the nature of the language of the Manhattan Declaration. You can read them here. Here is one such helpful point:
My last and biggest reservation is related to the Social Gospel aspects of the Declaration – that is, the idea that Christianity leads to and promotes a just society. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to be heard to be saying that Christianity promotes injustice, though, of course, Christianity’s record in human history has not been free from embracing tyranny …

One of the very first posts I wrote here at Feeding on Christ had to do with the doctrine of justification by faith alone and the time element. The most significant passage of Scripture in this discussion, and yet one that is often overlooked, is Romans 4:10. In the context, the apostle Paul is explaining the nature of justification by faith alone from the example of Abraham. Citing the locus classicus, Gen. 15:16 repeatedly, Paul develops his argumentation based on the application of the covenant sign to Abraham. In one …