Recommended Listening from Joseph Pittano

(Available @ Biblecia.com)

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

(2 Timothy 2:15).

Some paragraphs here endorse ministries as whole or Christians and not particular messages.

Sermonindex.net will be referred to throughout as a great mp3 resource library.

1. Ray Comfort – livingwaters.com, wayofthemaster.com. Three messages in particular: “Hell’s Best Kept Secret,” “True and False Conversion,” and “Axe of the Apostles.” The first two of these messages are free and available through various forms like video, print and audio but the last is a recommended purchase. Ray’s teaching gets at the heart of the knowledge of the Gospel like no other teacher I’ve ever heard. His evangelical exposition ties together the Testaments in a seamless evangelistic reality. This is the Gospel to every generation. Ray has teamed up with Kirk Cameron (the former teenage TV star) to host The Way of The Master Ministries. Kirk has been marvelously converted and has become one of the most heartfelt ministers I have had the privilege of hearing preach. Both Ray and Kirk are splendid evangelists worth your time to hear. On wayofthemaster.com you can watch TV episodes and on both living waters and wayofthemaster.com you can listen to a number of other excellent messages not by name mentioned here.

2. Ravi Zacharias – rzim.org. Ravi is a superb apologist. Roughly half of the book of Acts is an apologetic discourse defending either apostleship or the veracity of faith in Christ. Ravi is a lover of the Gospel engaged in a similar labor. He is well respected even among his enemies for his scholarship, brilliance and gentlemanly discourse. He is frequently heard at large philosophically driven venues and debates around the world and is probably one of the most captivating minds in apologetics today. His doctrinal work was in the philosophy of religion. Ravi was born and raised in New Delhi, India and was converted as a young man to Christ. I urge you to bask in “The Uniqueness of Christ in History,” and “The Uniqueness of Christ among World Religions” both of which are lessons of more than one part. I also invite you to hear “Jesus As They Saw Him.” You can find these as well as hundreds of other lessons available from Ravi under the radio section of his site entitled “Let My People Think” or “Just Thinking.” These message titles seem to be re-used by him so you may see the same name more than once on a different date. Listen to this man.

3. John Piper – desiringGod.org. John is a pastor. John loves the Bible over his church week in and week out. He is surely one of the biggest brains behind the pulpit today and has caused me no little grief in his teaching. He is a lover of Christian history and doctrine and contends to preserve the precise declarations and creeds of Christianity from those who would vainly attempt to pull out its foundations. He has written over thirty books on Christian living and doctrine and gives his gifts to Christians in poetry, writing and speaking. His website is a large collection of grand works and he also has almost two hundred enthralling sermons available on sermonindex.net. Go here folks, listen and learn; get out of the twenty-first century for a bit I beg you. On Sermon Index under audio sermons you’ll find a number of John’s superb biographies detailing the lives, faith and works of some of the saints of old. Listen to these biographies, there is much preaching and historical data throughout. Listen and honor God for His great saints like Brainerd, Calvin, Luther, Spurgeon, Edwards, Augustine, Owen, and Bunyan just to name a few. These bios are recorded at Piper’s yearly pastor’s conference and make up an ongoing series entitled Men of Whom the World Was Not Worthy which title is of course borrowed from Hebrews eleven. They make for great listening. Shut the shop down, make ready for reflection, curl up on the couch with your Bible and listen about the lives and events of Christian men outside of your generation. It will bless you I promise you! I also commend to you the “Desiring God” series of messages that get to the Bible demanded task of setting God and God alone at the center of all things. This series is Piper’s theology.   

4. John Macarthur – gracetoyou.org. John is a pastor, a scholar and a theologian. Every sermon he preaches seems to contain twenty years of reflections, conclusions and facts. He has great clarity in his communication and truly is a blessing to the body of Christ. John has a sermon that rocked my understanding of Catholicism. I mention it and recommend it because it hits so close to home for many in America today. I’ll say no more here but strongly recommend all of you to the message called “The Pope and the Papacy.” It is one of many on the subject that he has preached. This message is mp3 downloadable on the Grace To You website for a few bucks but is also available on wayofthemasterradio.com for free in two parts. To get it on WOTMR go into the website’s previous shows and pod casts link to November 9th, 2006 and be sure to get both hours one and two. Listen well! John’s messages are truly masterpieces of Christian exposition. John has a talent for saying much in little space. He is a puritan preacher if ever I’ve heard one. Go to his website, purchase his stuff. He also has messages available on Sermon Index. I recommend his two part sermon called “The Character of Scripture” as well as “The Sufficiency of Scripture.” Also see “How Can We Witness if We Don’t Know What the Gospel is”? John Macarthur has been seen on Larry King Live and is called upon in matters of Christian concern because he has been known for his accurate dealings of Christian faith for well over forty years.

5. RC Sproul – Ligonier.org. RC Sproul was a seminary professor for most of his life, but was commanded to the pastorate of late. RC, like all true shepherds, would say that his ministry is as much for the strengthening and equipping of the church as it is for taking the Gospel to the unsaved. He is a passionate man with great softness and skill as a teacher. I go to him for systematic theology. His teachings on theology and the history of the church have been staples in my understanding of the reformed faith and Biblical orthodoxy. RC really enjoys teaching and it reverberates in his voice and manner behind the pulpit. He hosts a Christian radio program called Renewing Your Mind that is available on his website in archives and I highly recommend it. With all my heart for your benefit I also highly recommend you purchase the 2007 Orlando Contending for the Truth Conference CD or mp3 set of messages. The conference includes the teachings of several of the ministers recommended here in my list. These messages are like assets – they only increase value with age so you can’t lose. RC shares two messages during the conference called “The Resurrection of Christ” and “The Task of Apologetics”. These two messages alone are worth the purchase of the whole series. If you click on the series itself and scroll down you can buy the messages individually if you choose. The mp3 version of the conference series is in his store under the philosophy and apologetics link and is currently on page three of those resources. Check to be sure you have the right date. Check out all of RC’s books or sermons for solid and clear Biblical counsel. He’s also hilarious by the way.

6. Todd Friel – wayofthemasterradio.com. Todd was a stand up comedian and got saved. As I understand it he was on his way through a seminary when God revealed in him that he was not a Christian. His mix of personality and brilliance makes for terrific Christian talk. He really is a scholar and a theologian though I strongly suspect that he’d deny it. He hosts a daily Christian radio talk show. This show makes for great listening. Todd is an evangelist, but the nature of his station on this battleship called Christianity makes him to function as a scholar. I love his take on the faith and his presentation of the Gospel. Todd is a refreshing breeze whenever I listen to him. He has a sermon series available for purchase called “Herman Who?” which is a teaching on Biblical hermeneutics (the art and science of interpreting scripture,) doesn’t that sound awesome? Well, it is. I recommend Way of The Master Radio wholeheartedly. Scroll through the archived messages under previous shows and pod casts and read the descriptions of any given day’s broadcast and let one catch your eye. Listen and repeat. The radio show is archived and all the episodes are available on the site for free.

7. Leslie Hale – lesliehale.com. I owe an unknown amount of thanks to this rather obscure pastor. His sermon outlining the book by AW Pink called The Attributes of God absolutely rocked my faith in delightful ways that I loved to hate if that makes any sense. Leslie’s sermon that I call the most pivotal in my faith is called “My Concept of God.” I heard it years ago and only have it on cassette tape now. I don’t know much about Leslie except that he is a strict Irish preacher from Belfast. I thank God for bringing this man into my life and that his teachings assisted my rescue from the corruption and wickedness of the word faith cult movement. I am certain that it would be nothing but an email and any gift amount to his ministry to get “My Concept of God” on tape mailed to you; it is worth it. It literally is THE sermon that changed my life forever. God is majestic and holy and this sermon approaches Him and describes Him as He is. This message changed me in many ways. Just one message from someone you’ve never met. I cannot but marvel at the power of God to change the heart, and that is why I have this list in your eyes right now. He also preached a sermon on Christmas entitled something like “The Christmas Story as you’ve Never Heard it.” I had no idea the true immense power behind the Nativity Story and also had no idea how wrong holiday gift cards were. If you can get it, go through the trouble and get these two messages especially the first one mentioned. On his website there are many free messages that look promising and I wholeheartedly endorse Leslie’s ministry. Thank You God for this man.

8. Albert Mohler – albertmohler.com. Al is a very bright speaker and the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of the largest seminaries on earth. He has put a lot of attention into studying the subversive influence of what we call postmodernism into the culture and especially the church. He has many fantastic mp3 messages available on his website that are available to listen to online or download. Dr. Mohler is a great contender for Christian faith and Biblical stewardship.

9. Walter Martin – waltermartin.org. The late Walter Martin was awesome. I like this man because of his exhaustive examinations of the cults and false religions. He teaches on many false religions and is a trustworthy authority in such studies. He was a scholar and a lover of the precision of the Greek language. If you want to learn about false religions, which I hope you all do, here is one great source. He has a large and hugely influential series of messages called “The Kingdom of The Cults.” On his website you can listen to hours of teaching on false religions like the Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Scientologists, Christian Scientists, etc. Walter was well hated in his day as a Christian, which in his case means he was doing something right. Walter was the founder of the Christian Research Institute which is still available online.

10. Paul Washer – heartcrymissionary.com. Paul is a gentle giant. Spending most of his life in the mountains of central and South America as a missionary, Paul is a little different than what we normally hear here in the states. Paul’s message “A Sermon That Has Angered Many - Examine Yourself” was something very real for me. It is available on sermonindex.net. Following a man like Paul Washer in his teaching is of the type that automatically weeds out the fake. Paul is the type you are drawn to fellowship with whether he’s in the pulpit or the prison. Paul is a humble servant of his Lord and I love the man very much. His sermon “The Holiness of God” available on Sermon Index is beautiful. It is the lack of the preaching of that God that is at the heart of most silly Christian churches today.

11. Mark Cahill – markcahill.org. Loving a man like Mark is easy when you love the Gospel. His messages “Lukewarm No More”, “Engaging the Culture” and “It’s Not Blind Faith” are pumped full of his ideology on sharing the faith with strangers. He ministers a lot with youth in churches in America. Mark has many interesting stories of how Jesus has put him into the ears of famous people in his life and he freely shares of his failures and successes in those encounters. Mark has written several books and is involved and supportive of a great number of ministries in the country and around the world. He is without a doubt primarily an evangelist. Mark’s fire as an evangelist is, as Ephesians four says, for the equipping of the church.

12. Alistair Begg – truthforlife.org. Alistair is a pastor. He is a lover of sound doctrine and a terrific shepherd. I recommend any teaching that may catch your interest by its title. I first heard this man preach a three part sermon series called Why Bother With the Bible? I thought it was a terrific dealing with why the Bible is what it is to us as Christians. Alistair brings a refreshing influence to bear on American Christianity because of his Scottish upbringing. I truly enjoy his messages and find him to be a constant source of never boring teaching in the full counsel of God’s word.

13. Ken Ham – answersingenesis.org. Ken is a creation scientist. He teaches, as do all Christians and even just people who have a clue about the stupidity of Darwinian Evolution. Ken has wonderful resources available in both written and media form on his site. I have listened to several messages of Ken’s, but I don’t wish to recommend any specifically. I’d like to recommend this ministry because of their dealing with scientific issues. You can search their database with pretty much any question relating to creation. Ask them a question about science as it relates to the Bible and I hope they will answer your questions as well as they have mine.

14. D. James Kennedy – coralridge.org. The late D James Kennedy Has many interesting messages archived and available free of charge on his website called Truths That Transform. He shared on a lot of interesting topics and guest speakers to his programs have impacted me greatly. Pick a topic and search for it. You may find it with Mr. Kennedy.

15. David Guzik – enduringword.com. David literally sprang up out of nowhere in my life. His teaching on the Old Testament was unlike any other teaching I’d ever heard. Often I just hated that his messages had to end at all. If you’ve not been well versed in a lot of Old Testament books like I and II Kings, I and II Samuel, Daniel, Isaiah, etc, let him walk you through them in the multitude of messages available on Sermon Index. It is expository preaching through most of these books. He also does a lot of great teaching on church history all the way up through the Reformation. He is an awesome preacher and one I highly recommend. I do, among all his messages, recommend one in particular called (2^nd Samuel) the Kindness of God. It is a great teaching beginning in Second Samuel chapter nine seeking to show the depth of the kindness David exercised to the remaining members from the house of Saul. It is available on Sermon Index for free. As of the time of this letter it is on page five of his archived sermons.

16. Joseph Schimmel – goodfight.org. Mr. Schimmel has had one profound influence on my life. He produced a video called They Sold Their Souls for Rock n Roll. The complete version is a ten hour rockumentary on the rock and roll industry and almost every one of the bands I once idolized. I was once a huge heavy metal/hard rock fan. I had no idea back then just how wicked such music is. I was, as Corinthians says, blinded by sin to the Satanism which is so overtly present in such music. Even after I was ransomed I honestly had no idea about the music (as is probably the case with most of you.) This DVD changed my view forever. I didn’t see it until years after I stopped playing heavy metal guitar. It confirmed the evil of the music in me and showed me an extent to that evil that I would have thought did not exist. It is a great video and worth watching for anyone who names the name of Christ. If you have children do it for them if nothing else. It will impact you.

17. Leonard Ravenhill – ravenhill.org. The late Leonard Ravenhill was a preacher of a different breed. He has a heavy Methodist influence in his teaching. I love Leonard’s teaching on prayer. Prayer, to him, was the highest Christian duty. He has inspired me to pray hard and seek the truth of the position of a Christian on his knees before his God. Leonard is not a theologian; by his own definition he is a preacher. I relay that because I believe he is. There was one sermon video that captured my heart and just blessed my socks off from the man. It was a video called “Judgment Seat of Christ.” I really enjoyed the video as well as many of his other sermons. This video is available, along with many other Ravenhill messages on Sermonindex.net. Look for the video, and be specific in the words in the title. Leonard to me is iconic of an age of preachers long since gone. This man would walk through England, sleep in churches to preach, and hold revivals for weeks at a time wherever the Spirit led him. He died a modest and humble saint dearly missed by many. Leonard was a true preacher and his work was heart work. I thank God for his ministry and his love for holiness and fire in Christ. I don’t know too much about Leonard and strongly suspect that we would differ on many doctrinal points, but I can make the distinction for such a clear and loving man who was known to weep in the pulpit and travail for the honor of the Gospel he was born to proclaim.

Here are some other places to go.

1. Adrian Rogers

2. Charles Spurgeon

3. Jonathan Edwards

4. Chuck Missler

5. James Walker- watchman.org. His three part message Unmasking Mormonism is awesome. James was a well established former Mormon and provides great insight into the cult.

6. Paris Reidhead – His message on Sermon Index called Ten Shekels and a Shirt may start out slow, but it is awesome.

7. James White

8. Josh Mcdowell

9. Keith Green

10. Eric Meyer

11. F.F. Bruce

12. C.S. Lewis

13. G.K. Chesterton

14. Martin Luther

15. John Calvin

16. Lee Strobel

17. James Macdonald

18. Voddie Baucham

19. John Owen

20. Vance Havner. A message called Getting Used to the Dark was a great listen and is available on Sermon Index.

21. A.W. Pink

22. Blueletterbible.org. Blue Letter Bible is a fantastic online resource for Greek, Hebrew, verse by verse commentaries, lexicons and more.

23. Joseph Pittano (me), and Isaac D. – Biblecia.com. This is a glorious on going work. On our site you can listen to my audio sermon entitled “To A Stranger”. It is a general Christian apologetic and Gospel presentation. It originally went to a bunch of scientists and skeptics but is directed to a general audience. I enjoy leaving it at gas stations and such across the country as I travel. On this site you can see me and my young pre-medical student friend Isaac interview people on the streets on camera, listen to short presentations on numerous Biblical topics and read articles about Christian doctrine and truth.

I could recommend so many more and I’m sure I’m not remembering everybody I’d like to list right now but one thing is certain: All of these messages and/or Christians listed above in God’s glorious and merciful ways have contributed to my death in Christ. I thank them all for that and pray that as I submit them to you they might bless you as they have blessed me.

Grace to you in Jesus name. Listen to these resources and get their truths in your bones. Contend for this faith and do not lose heart.

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

 (2 Corinthians 4:6).