Freebie Friday - Overcoming Sin & Temptation By John Owen

The home of all things John Owen and Crossway are offering a free PDF of  Overcoming Sin & Temptation by John Owen for free! This would be a great book to share with friends and family.

John Piper contributed the forward for this book, and Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic contributed with the editing. This is a great little freebie! Enjoy! 

Spurgeon Quote Of The Week - 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Charles Spurgeon

During my "unplugged" week last week, I had the opportunity to read Steve Lawson's book, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon . I have to say after reading the book, I'm even more blown away by Charles Spurgeon's zeal for the Gospel than I was previously (which is saying a lot). I wanted to take this weeks "Spurgeon's Quote Of The Week" to share some of the facts that I found interesting. I hope you're as edified and challenged by these as I was (and am)!

1. Charles Spurgeon preached his first sermon at the age of 16, just one year after being converted. 
2. He became the pastor of Waterbeach Baptist Chapel at age 17, just two years after being converted. 
3. He became the pastor of New Park Street Chapel at the age of 19. He would faithfully pastor the New Park Street flock until his death 38 years later. 
4. Though he did not have a university degree, and had not attended seminary, he founded the Pastor's College at the young age of 22. 
5. He caught quiet a bit of flack from Arminians for preaching the Doctrines of Grace, as well as Hyper-Calvinists for preaching that man is fully responsible for making a decision for Christ. 
6. When he went to Geneva, he was welcomed as a second Calvin. He was urged to preach in the great Reformers pulpit, and was given the change to wear Calvin's gown; offers that he did not refuse. 
7. After construction had finished on the Metropolitan Tabernacle, he requested that the members not attend service once a quarter so that the unconverted might be able to find a seat and hear the preaching of the Gospel.
8. By the time he was 50, he had founded 66 organizations for the purpose of spreading the Gospel. 
9. When he died, there were six services held all together. One in France, and five more when his body was finally brought back to London. 
10. On his coffin, there laid an open Bible at Isaiah 45:22, the verse that the Lord used to bring him to faith. 

Bibliography

1. The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon by Steven J. Lawson

Richard Barcellos - Overview of Baptist Covenant Theology Series

For anyone looking for an overview of Baptist Covenant Theology, this is a great starting point. Richard Barcellos takes a good amount of time to explain concepts thoroughly; he speaks in a language that all can understand, and finally he makes much reference to important Reformed Baptist theologians like Nehemiah Coxe (who was likely senior editor of the Second London Baptist Confession), which is essential to understand how the Baptists articulated their understanding of the covenants. This is a good resource for those who wish to better understand how the Baptists formulate their views of the covenant.