Showing results by author "Joel Beeke" in All Categories

If you are a true believer, Satan hates you because you bear the image of Christ and because you were snatched from his power. You deserted Satan, and he wants you back. He wants to sift you like wheat. While we should not overestimate Satan's power, to our peril we underestimate an enemy who is living, intelligent, resourceful, and cunning. Every Christian is in a battle that is fierce, spiritual, and necessary between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Writing to a friend who was disillusioned by religion, minister and theologian Henry Scougal created what would become a classic text on Christian living. Compassionately explaining what true religion is and isn't, Scougal shares biblical practices that lead to real spiritual transformation. In The Life of God in the Soul of Man, Scougal cuts through false ideas about religion and demonstrates how to pursue true unity with God. He explains that religion shouldn't be primarily focused on restraining or dictating outward behavior, but living a divine life characterized by faith.

The Puritans believed that godly marriages were foundational for the future life of families, churches, and nations. Therefore, they wrote prolifically on the subject of marriage, seeking to bring biblical reformation to this subject in a comprehensive way.

Assurance of faith is the conviction that one belongs to Christ through faith and will enjoy everlasting salvation. It is more than believing the gospel - it is believing that these truths apply to you. Having assurance affects life in more ways than forgiveness of sin, alleviation of guilt, and salvation from the punishment of hell - it affects your whole being, firing up your affections for Christ, your unshakable trust in God, your burden for the unsaved and your joy in life and even death.

Every pastor knows what it's like to be criticized. But how does he respond? And how does he offer constructive criticism of his own? With wisdom and charity, Joel Beeke and Nick Thompson answer these questions and more. The Bible is full of critics, and it gives us practical principles for responding to criticism, offering criticism, and creating a healthy church culture. As Beeke and Thompson unfold a theological vision for coping with criticism in the gospel ministry, you will be strengthened, encouraged, and equipped.

Church history is important because it shows us how God's faithful dealings with his people in the Bible continue in the ongoing life and work of Christ in our world. If you have ever wished for a short book highlighting church history's most important events that will enlighten your mind and pique your interest, this is the one you've been waiting for. Three prolific church historians collaborate their efforts in Church History 101 to present you with a quick listen of church history's high points.

In Living by God's Promises, Joel R. Beeke and James A. La Belle draw from stellar Puritan treatises on divine promises by Andrew Gray, Edward Leigh, and William Spurstowe, and offer them in contemporary language for today's readers. Moving beyond historical interest, this book explores a topic that is vital for Christian living. By God's grace, it will help you treasure the promises that God establishes in Christ and conveys in His covenant love to comfort you in sorrow and strengthen your faith.

The Puritans, as a body, have done more to elevate the national character than any class of Englishmen that ever lived. Ardent lovers of civil liberty, and ready to die in its defense - mighty at the council board, and no less mighty in the battlefield - feared abroad throughout Europe, and invincible at home while united - great with their pens, and no less great with their swords - fearing God very much, and fearing men very little - they were a generation of men who have never received from their country the honor that they deserve.

The Reformation did not happen instantaneously; it was something God patiently arranged over a number of years. As you listen to this book, you will learn how the Lord used some people to plant the seeds of church reform long before October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther published his 95 theses. Luther's story is well-known; we trust you will find it interesting and instructive to hear about him and many others (John Knox, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Zacharias Ursinus, Willem Teellinck, et al.) who contributed to the Reformation.

The Reformation did not happen instantaneously; it was something God patiently arranged over a number of years. As you listen to this book, you will learn how the Lord used some people to plant the seeds of church reform long before October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther published his 95 theses. Luther's story is well-known; we trust you will find it interesting and instructive to hear about him and about 40 others (John Knox, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Zacharias Ursinus, Willem Teellinck, etc.) who contributed to the Reformation.

What do George Whitefield, Elisabeth Elliot, and J. Gresham Machen have in common? They were all Evangelical Heroes. In Evangelical Heroes, Joel Beeke and Douglas Bond present thirty biographical sketches of faithful evangelical leaders from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. From George Whitfield to Charles Spurgeon to R.C. Sproul, these men and women held firm to the authority of Scripture and the reality of Christ's death and resurrection in the face of rising liberalism in the Church.

Using the Puritan writings judiciously, Joel R. Beeke and Brian G. Hedges provide 12 fascinating chapters on how the Puritans help us in a variety of ways, such as shaping our lives by the Scriptures, convicting our consciences of the subtlety and sinfulness of sin, opening for us the beauty and loveliness of Christ, and much more.

Spiritual growth is a necessary part of the Christian's life, but a failure to practice biblical meditation hinders such growth. Today, many believers misunderstand this core Christian discipline because they associate it with New Age spirituality and false religions. During the Puritan age, however, many ministers preached and wrote about meditation, and in this pamphlet, Joel R. Beeke guides us through their instruction on this subject. By God's grace, "perhaps we can recover the biblical practice of meditation for our time."

Dr. Beeke offers a heartfelt and solemn plea for families to return to Biblical, consistent, and passionate family worship. With pastoral insight and care, the author provides practical and valuable answers to the practice of family worship, and at the same time, addresses objections raised against it. In a world of impossible standards and idealism, this audiobook is a helpful and motivating guide to implement or increase the depth of your family devotions.

What do George Whitefield, Elisabeth Elliot, and J. Gresham Machen have in common? They were all Evangelical Heroes. In Evangelical Heroes, Joel Beeke and Douglas Bond present thirty biographical sketches of faithful evangelical leaders from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.

The essays in The Beauty and Glory of the Reformation illustrate the rich biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical heritage passed on by the great 16th-century Reformation. Through these studies, you will be challenged to treasure basic Reformation principles such as Scripture alone, Christ alone, and the glory of God alone, as well as to increase your awareness of what amazing spiritual mentors and models of godliness a variety of Reformation stalwarts were and what they can still teach us today.

Can any good come from thinking about death? Our natural tendency is to answer that question no! But what if our meditation on death was informed by a theological understanding of death, a recognition of the comfort Jesus's death affords Christians, and ethical guidance for dealing with death in these complicated days of modern medical developments? Rather than being morbidly unhelpful, authors Joel R. Beeke and Christopher W. Bogosh contend that meditating on dying and death can be profitable, even necessary, for us. Are you prepared to say that your death will be "gain" (Phil. 1:21)?

The theological system known as Calvinism is often caricatured as harsh, dour, and illogical. But as Dr. Joel R. Beeke argues in this important new book, this image could not be further from the truth. Beeke, a pastor, educator, editor, and prolific author, shows instead that Calvinism is a theology that is firmly rooted in Scripture and works its way out into every area of the believer’s life. He aims to “cover the intellectual and spiritual emphases of Calvinism, the way it influences the church and everyday living, and its ethical and cultural implications.”

It is not uncommon for professing Christians to question the genuineness of their faith. In seasons like this, they can wonder whether it is even possible to know for sure if they are in a state of saving grace. In this book, Anthony Burgess shows that Christians not only can come to an assurance of their salvation but should pursue it. Burgess provides helpful advice for avoiding a presumptuous spirit while developing a humble confidence in grace. Here is a book that will help you understand the marks of grace and avoid some common abuses associated with self-examination.

From George Whitfield to Charles Spurgeon to R.C. Sproul, these men and women held firm to the authority of Scripture and the reality of Christ's death and resurrection in the face of rising liberalism in the Church. These inspiring volumes introduce us to faithful Christians from the past and encourage us to stand firm today!