Better Than Any Fish Story: Tchividjian on the Gospel in Jonah

We’re accustomed to describing the book of Jonah as that book about the guy who survived three days in a big fish. What if we began to understand it as a remarkable testimony to God’s extravagant, persevering grace, supremely demonstrated in the gospel of Jesus Christ? That’s what Tullian Tchividjian, senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, helps us see through his book Surprised By Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels. As part of The Gospel Coalition’s commitment to Preaching Christ in the Old Testament, I corresponded with Tchividjian about how he sees Jesus in a fish tale.

Why do you say Jonah is one of the best books for helping us get a better grip on the gospel?

Surprised by Grace started out as a series of sermons on Jonah that I preached during the hardest year of my life. Preparing those sermons and preaching them proved to be a functional lifeline for me, not because of things I learned about Jonah (everything we learn about Jonah we learn by way of negative example), but because of things I learned about God’s amazing, sustaining, pursuing grace. Keep Reading>>>

Review: Complete Works of Thomas Manton

Thomas Who?
Two years ago I compiled a list of most helpful Puritan resources for expositional, theological, and pastoral research. That list placed at #5 a man named Thomas Manton. Some of you were perplexed that I ranked this more obscure Puritan above those of more repute—John Owen, John Flavel, Richard Sibbes, Jeremiah Burroughs, Thomas Brooks, Thomas Goodwin, and Edward Reynolds. Each of these men represent exceptional gifting in the Puritan period; and if you disagree that Manton deserves to be above them, I think we can agree Rev. Manton belongs among them.
Compared to other favorite Puritans, Manton’s bibliography lacks pizzazz. Apart from two commentaries on James and Jude (both of which are excellent), he chose not to write books. Which explains why 20 of 22 volumes are stuffed full of expositions of Scripture. To the core of his life and ministry, Manton was a preacher of God’s Word, an able expositor who walked slowly through large sections of scripture in a very thorough and deliberate fashion. Dr. Joel Beeke writes, “Manton presents us with the best that English Puritans had to offer in careful, solid, warmhearted exposition of the Scriptures.” Continue reading HERE

Leadership Book Interview: Surprised by Grace with Tullian Tchividjian

My friend Tullian Tchividjian is the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He blogs at The Gospel Coalition site here.
Tullian is named after Tertullian, who, oddly enough, was the topic of Sunday lunch conversation this week. Tullian is becoming more widely known, and for good reason. He is a solid thinker, strong communicator, and passionate for the gospel.
If you are coming by to discuss yesterday's blog on contextualization, you might appreciated Tullian's article on the subject or his message at Advance 10.
Also, this Sunday was a big day at their church as they merged their two services. Tullians writes about that here (it's worth your time to go and read it before reading our interview). I listened to his message on the subject last week, where he exhorted believers to be missional and not tribal. Continue reading HERE