We’ve attacked the problems in two different ways. This week we’re looking at a third – simply reviewing the basics of the Gospel. We tend to quickly forget these things.

The awfulness and shear scope of our own sin.  The most easily-proven doctrine is the most taken for granted. There is no one righteous – no not even one! (Romans 3:10) The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. (Gen. 6:5)

“The struggle to accept our exceeding sinfulness is everywhere in the church of Christ… when we are approached about our own sin, we wrap our robes of self-righteousness around us and rise to our own defense.

But only when you accept the bad news of the gospel does the good news make any sense. The grace, restoration, reconciliation, forgiveness, mercy, patience, power, healing and hope of the gospel are for sinners. They are only meaningful to you if you admit that you have the disease and realize that it’s terminal.”*

The importance of the heart. We talk a lot about behavior. People are doing this or that. We setup goals and measurable observations. – But God looks at the HEART. “The heart is the steering wheel of every human being. Everything we do is shaped and controlled by what our hearts want… Lasting changes always comes through the heart.”  We need to guard it and try and learn what this means: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

The benefits of Christ for RIGHT NOW: Jesus RULES the all things (Ephesians 2:22-23) Right now Jesus is putting all his enemies under his feet. (1 Cor 15:25-28) We can live courageously without fear.

Jesus calls us to Grow and Change: We can’t just coast. We need to be free from sin, from our selfishness, from our pride and take on Jesus’ character. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:4)

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:11-13)

* Quotes and some of the content from How People Change.

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Jack Crabtree and some of his youth ministry friends (like Me, Kevin and EmLam and Jimmy)  wrote a bunch of youth group lessons complete with games application, etc – and finally the second volume is published. It’s a pretty huge publisher (that’s right dad, you will probably be able to pick this book up at Ollies soon LOL) So, I’m praying that this is a help to especially the volunteer youth group teachers who can use some guidance in knowing how to teach students.

I was really thankful for how helpful this book has been – I’ve used it repeatedly, given it away, most recently there was a problem with missing a Sunday School teacher – I literally gave this book with a bookmark to two students and they were able to teach their peers God’s word – this is worth picking up.

Publisher Description

With lessons created, written, and tested by active, experienced youth leaders who work with young people every week … never before has there been a resource this comprehensive, this practical, and this relevant for teaching the New Testament to your students. Walking students through the New Testament used to feel like a daunting task—especially if you’ve tried to create studies that are relevant and engaging to your students. Now, you have a diverse team of nearly thirty youth ministry practitioners working for you—and they’ve put together more than 100 studies that will make your job easier while helping your students dig into the Bible. Whether you lead them yourself or hand the lessons over to your volunteers, each lesson is easy to implement and can be used alone or combined with lessons that have already been planned. You’ll also find a searchable CD-ROM, making it easier than ever to find exactly what you need to help lead your students deeper into the life-changing books from the New Testament.

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“The storyline of the Bible may begin in a garden, but it ends in a city.”

Book Review: To Transform a City: Whole Church, Whole Gospel, Whole City

One of my favorite gifts was a year-long subscription to Time Out New York – It comes to my mailbox once a week packed with events and hard to find nooks in the city that both inspire my free weekends (what are those again?) and somehow makes me feel connected to the greatest city in the world.  The book is about the importance of cities, a description of communities and the task of the church both global and local to change the world by transforming cities.

I’m really picky about books – I really like this book because it combines sociology, group psychology, theology, Biblical studies and the Gospel in a way that both instructs and motivates the Church to be a force for the gospel in the communities where people live.

Eric Swanson and Sam Williams describe city/community dynamics helpfully – nothing new but I’m not sure where I’ve seen all of their information in one place. They do a good Biblical-theology of the Kingdom and how scripture tells the story about God’s power at work. They go on to tell the story about how God’s vision is to change the world – a world where people are – many of whom found in cities. After surveying the social studies about city, and a Biblical Theological take on Kingdom, they talk about cities in Church history – from Tertullian to the Reformation to the Black Church to the odd (premillennialist?) reversal where evangelicals abandoned social concern. The remaining chapters address the breadth of the Church, the width and depth of the Gospel and the challenge laid out for church members and leaders to change the world.

I recommend this book. It is a fresh reminder to me of my responsibility to be a part of God’s mission to change the world by engaging the culture of our great city with the truth and action of the whole Gospel.

This is part of a Blog Tour over at Engadging Church Blog.

(heads – I was given this book free to review by Zondervan)

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Reading this brought a little smile to my face. I love the routines of married life, and felt some camaraderie with the author. We both see these small things as wonders.

I love that Sam and I have this somewhat silent agreement on whoever gets out of bed first tends to the dogs, and perhaps even makes coffee. If it’s bitter cold, Sam is dressed first and runs outside to start my car and turn the heat way up so it’s nice and warm by the time I head out the door.

These routine things, done fluidly and effortlessly, are part of just an ordinary day. Yet, they seem to possesses a power of their own–beautiful little stitches that reinforce us together when everything is status quo.

And so I wonder, what are the routines and minor wonders of your life?

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1) Up-to-date, nicely concise summary of the academic debates surrounding Galatians. Schreiner did good job in summarizing the debates. I was impressed by his interaction with Wright and Troy Martin. He’s not overly polemical but makes it pretty clear from where he’s writing.

2) A thematic theology of Galatians. The book ends with a theology of Galatians-It strikes me as a Systematic Theology limited to the book of Galatians. I’m up in the air on whether it’s better to read this first or last – but it’s valuable either way.

3) Rhetorical Tools. Scheiener is willing to bring in some of the best vocabulary of Rhetorical Criticism without reading in to Paul. His sections on structure are really helpful for me to understand the argument of the book and translation decisions. I really appreciate the diagrams with the rhetorical terms with the verses and his drive to help the reader catch the main idea of the argument. (this really helps for those of us who are excited to go off on tangents)

4) He forces the reader to spend time thinking about the text. This is worth the price of admission.  For readers of Greek, the printed text will be helpful. For non-readers, just slowing down to read will be invaluable. The bulk of the book is made of of sections called “Explanation of the Text” where the reader is given a word-by-word tour of what God through Paul is communicating.  I really appreciate the simplicity of the explanation. Most of it is what I’d look for in a really good study Bible footnote, with deeper information in a footnoted format. For me the experience of going through the book of Galatians with these kinds of notes is worth the price of  the book.

5) Theology in Application: Just in case the reader didn’t catch it – Schreiner offers sectional summaries of the theology found in each section and some practical applications of the verses. He goes out of his way to simplify some complicated arguments to preach to the newest Christian.

Summary: I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time with this valuable resource. I’m always searching for a book that combines the Greek text with valuable textual grammatical insight with history, theology and practical applications.

*I received this book from Zondervan as a review copy – Other reviews are joining me in a Blog Tour of the series.

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I was thinking about this idea as I was reading from Thessalonians Yesterday -

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. (2Th 1:11 NIV)

When I preached from this passage I took the NIV’s “prompting by your faith” and I know the different ways of translating it (perhaps “desire for goodness”?) but there is this assumption that God through faith gives desires, prompts, or whispers in to the souls of the faithful works or actions produced by faith. Maybe that’s what the founder of Willow experienced. And if so – I wonder how I can do better at hearing or being prompted and then obeying what God maybe whispering to me.

Disclaimer. I was given the book The Power of A Whisper by the Willow Creek Association in exchange for a promise of a few sentence blog review.

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Westminster Seminary just sent me a free copy of Vern Poythress’ book Redeeming Science. I’m really happy that they send graduates resources… and I love free books. It will make an interesting addition to my “to read” pile haha – you can read the introduction/first chapter online if you want.

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full disclosure. I’m participating in a blog tour with Zondervan to review a newly-published book your church is too small by John Armstrong. I ran into the author a bit when I was a teenager at America’s KESWICK. I received a pre-published copy for free.

This is not a book about making your local church bigger. It’s a book about discovering the width and the depth of God’s people, joining them and worshiping God as a result. The book is split into three different points.

past: The Biblical and historical basis for Christian Unity
John explores his own story – an spiritual, intellectual, theological journey from a sort of practical fundamentalist separatism to a fresh catholicity. He guides the reader through many  historical problems with Christians through the present-day and points out that church separatism/elitism is a great danger to the Gospel and is hurting the cause of Christ. He opens the Bible and points to Gods intent that the church be united. (I really appreciate his candor and his openness in telling his own story and ‘conversion’ experiences.)

present: Restoring Unity in the Church Today
John maps a clear direction for accomplishing unity. In a nutshell – churches become more united as they become more Christian. It’s a prideful church that emphasizes their distinctions more than Jesus. Churches should all be about Jesus and the gospel instead of “human systems”. Essentially, we should expand our idea of “church” to all Christians in areas, and work together as God’s servants. (I appreciate his emphasis on history and the critique of the present Church and her problems.)

future: The Missional-ecumenical Movement
John unveils a  new (old?) paradigm for thinking about the Church. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” (Psa 133.1) This is where the rubber hits the road – hardly anyone is explicitly against church unity, they just differ on what that looks like. His answer comes in 7 commitments.

1. a restored commitment to the sacraments
2. an increased appetite to know more about the early church.
3. an obvious open expression of love for the whole church and a real desire to see the church become one.
4. the blending of the practices of worship, devotion and prayer from the three streams tradition.
5. an interest in integrating more liturgical depth and structure with spontaneity and freedom in the Holy Spirit.
6. a greater involvement of sign and symbol in worship through banners, crosses, Christian art, and clerical vestments.
7. a continuing commitment to personal salvation, solid biblical teaching and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

My Take
First, I like this book. Its a book that some people absolutely MUST READ. Everyone should go on this journey of discovering what God has in the global, national, state-wide, city groupings of Christians. I am passionate about networking with other local churches for the Gospel. In the last week, I’ve spoke at a church outside of our tradition, I’ve planned a VBS that DHEFC will be putting on in an Urban church, I’ve been a part of a youth pastors networking group where we support each other… and almost anyone doing youth ministry on Long Island. No single church is an island so to speak. Jesus has a huge mission for us and we need each other to accomplish it.

Second – it’s a book that I didn’t need to read.  For me this idea is like a family reunion. It’s important (I guess) to realize I have relatives in Switzerland or Indiana and its nice to see them, but I’m not planning on moving in with them. What I missed in this book is an affirmation that each church’s flavor is valid and the diversity that it contributes puts God’s glory on display. I really appreciate what my former professor Peter Enns said on this - (and I wish I could quote him correctly) but he was talking about Fundamentalist churches (and i guess, on my background at BJU) – Lots of people outside of the separatist tradition would say that they’re wrong, and they need to change – their church is too small one might be quick to say. Pete said (loosely quoting) ~”Most people think about Paul’s ‘the church is the body with diverse parts’ as talking about people in a local church each being unique and gifted, but I wonder if it’s also talking about local churches in a universal church, because even churches and movements that I disagree with contribute important things to the body. Perhaps it is arrogant of us to look at certain parts and wish they were more like us”. (again loosely quoted, based on a recollection) What I didn’t like about John’s book is that it seemed to at times confuse unity with uniformity. I wish there was more of an affirmation that of unique worship styles cultures, or languages – something that can get lost in a zeal for unity. I love the Church on Long Island, but I’m also thankful that God made the churches as diverse as the people living here.

This book is an encouragement about the Gospel and I left it with renewed thanks to God for how big and expansive is his church.

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Ever ended your day wanting to do just that? Enter the Gospel of Mark, chapter 3.  Meet my friend Jesus. Watch my ‘woe is me’ attitude dissipate–at least until the next time I set out to march into the “depths of despair.”

It all starts out nice and all, the man with the withered hand getting healed, but by verse 6 two major groups–the Pharisees and Herodians (in my head I always equate these guys to lobbyists)–are holding a meeting.  On that day’s agenda: how to destroy Jesus. Ouch.

In verse 11 we find Jesus is having to deal with demons. Frequently. Another day, another demon. I wonder if he found the great crowds of people to be more irritating. At least the demons admitted to his identity, his purpose and his role in redemptive history.

Hello verse 19. By now Jesus has called his disciples, the men he would be doing life with for the remainder of his ministry.  I wonder how hard it was to call Judas, who would betray him. Imagine willingly committing the remainder of your days to hanging out with your traitor.  Imagine enduring every small act of life with that person if you were going to live in community together.  I am easily frustrated with Sam when he doesn’t rinse his toothbrush off enough according to my standards and I love him dearly.  I can’t even begin to imagine eating, living, playing, talking, resting, traveling–all while knowing what he would do for some silver.

By verse 21 Jesus’ family tried to help because the crowd thinks he’s lost it, or to put it more explicitly like the ESV translation does, “And when his family heard it,  they went out to seize him for they were saying ‘ He is out of his mind.’” Translation — call Dr. Phil because we need an intervention.  It doesn’t get better by verse 22, because now people  think he’s demon possessed. The chapter ends with Jesus’ mother and brothers coming to look for him. Again.

Tonight at dinner I chatted with Sam about this. I really like this chapter in Mark. It reminds me that Jesus was walking in tension through much of his ministry.  Often I forget to really think about who Jesus was is and revert to thinking of him with my flannel graph mentality.  What I mean is, often I look back on Jesus’ ministry and see this guy walking through a dusty landscape being kind to kids and making people feel better when all of a sudden a switch flips and all of the people want him dead!

But his message was a fierce one and it bothered people and made them feel uncomfortable and I bet it was really annoying to him that his family possibly thought he was crazy after all that had happened to them with the whole Christmas story and all…I mean, come on Mary—did you forget about the shepherds, and the wise men that came and how you fled to Egypt because Herod was so scared about this child who was the Messiah? And what about how when Joseph wanted to leave you in a kind way but an angel appeared and convinced him otherwise? Didn’t you know this guy came to shake things up?

Yet here it is, almost February and I’ve forgotten who Jesus was and this truth that I’ve centered my whole life on.  I’ve let a couple of small things get in the way and forgotten this awesome message that offended some and humbled others.

Mark 3.  I recommend reading it.

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The Complete NEW TESTAMENT resource for YOUTH WORKERS.

Jack Crabtree and some of his youth ministry friends (like Me, Kevin and EmLam and Jimmy)  wrote a bunch of youth group lessons complete with games application, etc – and finally the first volume is published. It’s a pretty huge publisher (that’s right dad, you will probably be able to pick this book up at Ollies soon LOL) So, I’m praying that this is a help to especially the volunteer youth group teachers who can use some guidance in knowing how to teach students.  Volume two is on its way

Publisher Blurb:

The Complete New Testament Resource for Youth Workers, Volume 1 by Livingstone Corporation, General Coming Soon!

Never before has there been a resource this comprehensive, this practical, and this relevant for teaching the New Testament to your students. With the topic overview, ideas for games, outlines for messages, study questions, and ideas to incorporate media or real-life experience into the teaching, and a searchable CD-ROM, you now have everything you need to lead students through more than 100 New Testament lessons.

Walking students through the New Testament can feel like a daunting task?especially if you’re trying to create studies that are relevant and engaging to your students. But fear not! You now have a diverse team of nearly thirty youth ministry practitioners working for you and they’ve put together more than 100 studies that will make your job easier while helping your students dig into the Bible! Never before has there been a resource this comprehensive, this practical, and this relevant for teaching the New Testament to your students. With the topic overview, ideas for games, outlines for messages, study questions, and ideas to incorporate media or real-life experience into the teaching, the Complete New Testament Resource for Youth Workers, Volume 1 has everything you need to lead students through these New Testament books:

• Matthew
• John
• Romans
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Titus
• Philemon
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude

Whether you lead them yourself or hand the lessons over to your volunteers, each lesson is easy to implement and can be used alone or combined with lessons that have already been planned. You?ll also find a searchable CD-ROM, making it even easier to find exactly what you need to help lead your students deeper into some of these life-changing books from the New Testament.

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