The Process that Produces

Jerry Bridges:

Endurance and perseverance are qualities we would all like to possess, but we are loath to go through the process that produces them.

Source

Thinking about "Revival"

As a pastor, I'm pretty careful about making political statements, but since Glenn Beck himself described his rally on the Washington Mall this past Saturday as "apolitical"-- that is, not about politics-- then I figure that I should be able to comment on the religious angle without it being taken politically.

Conveniently, Russell Moore has already done the job for me, and, not surprisingly, much better that I could have. Go read his "God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck."

Source

The Bible Is About Jesus

This video goes along with a portion of this morning's sermon.

The audio is part of a message from Tim Keller, which can be downloaded via this link.

Source

Called to Be Here

Francis Chan:

A lot of people in my church and in my travels tell me, “I believe that God has called me to Simi Valley.” Or Wichita. Or New York. Or Greenville. Or wherever. And that very well may be the case, but it could also be a cop out because you like where you live. You have a good job. The school district is safe and has high ratings. Your family lives close by (or perhaps far away, depending on your relationship with them). It makes sense that you are “called” to be there, right?

And maybe you are called to be called to where you live, but if you say you are called to be in the place where you are a few questions need to be consider. For example, how would you be missed if you left this place? What would change? Basically what difference does your presence here make? Or as my youth pastor once asked me, what would your church (and the worldwide church) look like if everyone was as committed as you are? If everyone gave and served and prayed exactly like you, would the church be healthy and empowered? Or would it be weak and listless? …

It is true that God may have called you to be exactly where you are. But it’s absolutely vital to grasp that he didn’t call there to settle in and live out your life in comfort and superficial peace. His purposes are not random or arbitrary. If you are still alive on this planet, it’s because he has something for you to do. He placed us on this earth for purposes that he orchestrated long before we were born (Ephesians 2:8-10) Do you believe you exist not for your own pleasure but to help people know the love of Jesus and to come fully alive in him? If so, then that will shape how you live your life in the place where you are.

*****

We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves because we were made to do these things. It is when we live like this that the Spirit of God moves and acts in and through us in ways that on our own we are not capable of.

From Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit

Source

A Definition of Evangelism

J. I. Packer defines evangelism:

To bear witness to Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that people may come to put their trust in God, through Christ; to acknowledge Him as their Savior; and to serve Him as their King, in the fellowship of His Church.

Do you see how this is more than just "getting people saved"?

Source

Priorities in Prayer

Jonathan Edwards:

If we look through the whole Bible and observe all the examples of prayer that we find there recorded, we shall not find so many prayers for any other mercy as for the deliverance, restoration and prosperity of the church and the advancement of God’s glory and kingdom of grace in the world...

The Scripture does not only abundantly manifest it to be the duty of God’s people to be much in prayer for this great mercy, but it also abounds with manifold considerations to encourage them in it and animate them with hopes of success. There is perhaps no one thing that the Bible so much promises, in order the encourage the faith, hope and prayers of the saints, as this...

For undoubtedly that which God abundantly makes the subject of his promises, God’s people should abundantly make the subject of their prayers. It also affords them the strongest assurances that their prayers shall be successful.

Source

You Can Change - Sample Chapter

This morning we announced that we will be encouraging our entire congregation to read the book You Can Change by Tim Chester, beginning in September.

To encourage you to consider this, here is a link to a sample of the book:

Introduction and Chapter 2

Here are some of the descriptions from the publisher:

A practical, interactive, and solidly biblical book designed to help Christians in all stages of life to find victory over sin by focusing on what God has already done in us.

*****

It's about heart change, not behavior change. That's the conviction of Tim Chester as he seeks to help everyday Christians "connect the truth about God with our Monday-morning struggles." This interactive book, laid out in workbook fashion, is for newer Christians struggling with sin and for more mature Christians who have plateaued in their faith as they seek to find victory over sin in their lives.

With a conviction that sanctification is God's work and the journey to holiness is joyful, Chester guides readers through a "change project"-beginning with the selection of one area of life they would like to modify. Each chapter includes a question (e.g., Why would you like to change? What truths do you need to turn to?) to guide readers as they deal with a specific sin or struggle, truths from God's word, and a reflection guide to help readers through their change project.

And an endorsement by Paul Tripp:

There are few books that are shockingly honest, carefully theological, and gloriously hopeful all at the same time. Tim Chester’s book You Can Change is all of these and more. He skillfully uses the deepest insights of the theology of the Word as a lens to help you understand yourself and the way of change and, in so doing, helps you to experience practically what you thought you already knew. The carefully crafted personal ‘reflection’ and ‘change project’ sections are worth the price of the book by themselves. It is wonderful to be reminded that you and I are not stuck, and it’s comforting to be guided by someone who knows well the road from where we are to where we need to be.

The books will be available on Sunday, August 29, and thereafter. I'll be blogging my way through the book right here, so stay tuned.

No Adjective

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, preaching on John 3:18, 17 February 1861.

The gate of Mercy is opened, and over the door it is written, ‘This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.‘ Between that word ‘save’ and the next word ‘sinners,’ there is no adjective. It does not say, ‘penitent sinners,’ ‘awakened sinners,’ ‘sensible sinners,’ ‘grieving sinners’ or ‘alarmed sinners.’ No, it only says, ‘sinners.’ And I know this, that when I come, I come to Christ today, for I feel it is as much a necessity of my life to come to the cross of Christ today as it was to come ten years ago—when I come to him, I dare not come as a conscious sinner or an awakened sinner, but I have to come still as a sinner with nothing in my hands.

Source

How to Receive Rebuke

Kevin DeYoung:

How to Receive Rebuke

1. Consider the source. If you are any kind of public figure there will always be complaints. Ditto if you spend any time on the internet. So it’s imperative we know what to do with criticism. Ask yourself: is this rebuke coming from someone I trust and respect? Is it from someone I know and someone who knows me? Is this person someone to whom I am accountable–a spouse, an elder board, an employer? We can’t take every rebuke to heart. But ignoring every unflattering assessment is foolish too.

2. Consider the substance. Pray about the hard word spoken to you. Ask others what they think. Maybe this rebuke needs your blind eye and deaf ear. Jesus was rebuked by Peter, so not every correction hits the mark. If you take an honest, humble look at the rebuke and it doesn’t seem to fit. Don’t wear it. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4 “My conscience is clean.” That didn’t mean he was necessarily acquitted before God, but as far as he could tell, he had not sinned. So he moved on.

But sometimes we do screw up. Even the best of men are men at best. I doubt many of us are over-rebuked. Most of us, myself included, would probably do well to receive more specific correction. So consider the source, consider the substance, and be prepared to grow.

3. Consider the sin. We will never benefit from rebuke (and our friends will be scared to tell us the truth) if we are never open to the possibility that we might have sin that needs rebuking. There are few things more necessary in a child of God than being teachable. “A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool” (Prov. 17:10). Or more to the point: “He who hates reproof is stupid” (Prov. 12:1).

4. Consider the Savior. Jesus sees all your sins right now. Why not see them for yourself? The way of godliness is the way of confession, cleansing, and change. One of the reasons we aren’t really changing, is because we aren’t really confessing. And we aren’t really confessing because we aren’t really seeing. And we aren’t really seeing because few of us love enough to give a rebuke and very few are humble enough to receive one.

But in the end, we have a lot to gain with rebuke–a restored brother, a conquered sin, a greater sense of the Savior’s love–and we’ve got nothing to lose but our pride.

This is from a series of posts on giving and receiving rebuke: 1, 2, 3

Glancing and Gazing

Joni Eareckson Tada:

I want to stay in the habit of 'glancing' at my problems and 'gazing' at my Lord.

Source

A God-Bathed Universe

Frank Sheed:

The test of anyone’s mind is what is in his mental landscape. And it is not even enough that we should see the same things as other people plus the things the Church teaches. Even the things that we and they both see will not look the same or be the same. . . .

It is like a physical landscape at sunrise: it is not that you see the same things that you saw before and now find yourself seeing the sun as well. You see everything sun-bathed. Similarly it is not a case of seeing the same universe as other people and then seeing God over and above. For God is at the center of the being of everything whatsoever. If we would see the Universe aright, we must see it God-bathed.

Source

Bearing No Burdens

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Jonathan Edwards (language updated):

In many cases, we may, by the rules of the gospel, be obliged to give to others when we cannot do it without suffering ourselves. . . . We should be willing to suffer with our neighbor and to take part of his burden on ourselves. Otherwise, how is that rule of ‘bearing one another’s burdens’ fulfilled? If we are never obliged to relieve others’ burdens except when we can do it without burdening ourselves, then how do we bear our neighbor’s burdens when we bear no burden at all?

Source

Hipster Christianity

Brett McCracken is the author of Hipster Christianity: Where Church and Cool Collide, and according to the book, he considers himself a Hipster Christian (or would that be a Christian Hipster?). But this week in a guest column for the Wall Street Journal, he writes:

If the evangelical Christian leadership thinks that "cool Christianity" is a sustainable path forward, they are severely mistaken. As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don't want cool as much as we want real.

If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy or popular. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same.

The Glory of God

We've been working through our church mission statement in our sermons this month. We say:

Our Passion Is the Glory of God in Jesus Christ

Savored through Worship

Strengthened through Discipleship

Spread through Witness

If you'd like to learn more about the concept of the glory of God in the Bible, check out this chapter "Toward a Theology of the Glory of God" from a new book titled The Glory of God.

Here's a section that gets at the interesting, intersecting ways the word/idea of glory is used in Scripture.

It is important to notice that these multiple meanings are distinct but

related. We might think of it this way: the triune God who is glorious displays

his glory, largely through his creation, image-bearers, providence, and

redemptive acts. God’s people respond by glorifying him. God receives glory

and, through uniting his people to Christ, shares his glory with them—all to

his glory.

Faith Is...

J. I. Packer:

Faith is...

knowing the facts of the gospel (the person, place and work of Jesus Christ),

welcoming the terms of the gospel (salvation from sin and a new life with God) and

receiving the Christ of the gospel (setting oneself to live as his follower, by self-denial, cross-bearing, and sacrificial service).

Source

Free Audio Book - Ministries of Mercy

For the rest of this month, you can download Tim Keller's book Ministries of Mercy for free at ChristianAudio.com with the coupon code AUG2010.

Here's how the publisher describes the book:

Like the wounded man on the Jericho road, there are needy people in our path - the widow next door, the family strapped with medical bills, the homeless man outside our place of worship. God calls us to be ministers of mercy to people in need of shelter, assistance, medical care, or just friendships.

Here Timothy J. Keller demonstrates that caring for needy people is the job of every believer - not just church deacons - as fundamental to Christian living as evangelism, nurture, and worship. But Keller doesn't stop there. He shows how we can carry out this vital ministry as individuals, families, and churches. Along the way, he deals perspectively with many thorny issues, such as the costs of meeting needs versus the limits of time and resources, giving material aid versus teaching responsibility, and meeting needs within the church versus those outside.

Commitment

Chuck Colson:

The basic building blocks of society simply erode without commitment. Any sensible society must address this problem by educating people that commitment is the very essence of human relationships.

At the least, we need to teach this in our churches. How can you begin as a Christian without death to self and total commitment to Jesus Christ?

But beyond the ramifications for society as a whole, beyond even the obvious necessity of Christian commitment, when we refuse to commit, we miss out on one of the great joys of life. When we obsess over ourselves, we lose the meaning of life, which is to know and serve God and love and serve our neighbors.

The rest of the article, titled "The Lost Art of Commitment," is here.

Everyday Sacrifices

Elisabeth Elliot:

We are not often called to great sacrifice, but daily we are presented with the chance to make small ones — a chance to make someone cheerful, a chance to do some small thing to make someone comfortable or contented, a chance to lay down our petty preferences or cherished plans. This probably requires us to relinquish something — our own convenience or comfort, our own free evening, our warm fireside, or even our habitual shyness or reserve or pride. My liberty must be curtailed, bound down, ignored (oh, how the world hates this sort of thing! how our own sinful natures hate it!) — for the sake of the liberation of others.

From A Path Through Suffering

Source

Virtual Temple

Here's what a team from UCLA developed as a simulation of what the Temple Mount would have looked like in Jesus day, before it was destroyed in A.D. 70.

Mark 13:1-2

¹ And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Source

A Different Attitude toward Suffering

Charles Spurgeon on suffering:

I have learned to kiss the wave that strikes me against the Rock of Ages.

Source