Dr. Kenneth Berding gives us a very readable and useable booklet on the Power of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is a professor of New Testament at Talbot Seminary. He spends time with students dialoguing about their walk with Christ, their lives with the Holy Spirit and how they have a tendency to not understand how the Holy Spirit in their life is their source of power.
I thought that Chapter three was extremely well written for our culture today. Using the premise of a discussion with a student who just didn't feel that the Holy Spirit provided any real power to help him overcome sin, Dr. Berding gives us some solid writing on why we might feel that way. In using Romans 8 as his main thesis he delves into different subjects about the Holy Spirit. In Chapter three it is whether or not the Holy Spirit provides us the ability to just say 'no' to sin but only if we are saying 'no' by the Spirit. What he means is this, if you want to get a handle on your sin life it is not just simply saying no to sin, but it is saying through the power of the Holy Spirit, no to sin and yes to putting that sin to death. What does it mean to 'put it to death?' Page 48, "So, to put to death really means to render ineffective, something that might need to be done again and again. Just remember, though, putting to death the deeds of the body is active. There is no passivity here."
Chapter four deals with how we are lead by the Spirit. Often times we acknowledge that the Holy Spirit lives in our lives (if we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior) but we don't allow the Holy Spirit to actually lead us. In this chapter Dr. Berding gives us good advice on how to let the Holy Spirit lead. How to know when the Spirit is leading and how to get out of the way and to allow the Spirit to take charge.
This little booklet is a great commentary on the 8th Chapter of Romans and will provide you with very practical information that you can put to use. For me the one verse that really stuck out was Romans 8:9, "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him." This was a sobering thought as I dwelt on it. If I have students who don't feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, or they don't think the Holy Spirit gives them power to overcome sin the I have to ask them this question, "are you actually a follower of Jesus Christ?" Because if they are a follower of Christ they should be experiencing a deep and growing relationship with the Holy Spirit.
This little booklet with it's dialogue questions at the end of each chapter will give you a good tool for leading a small group discussion on the value and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Enjoy!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Jesus + Nothing = Everything, by Tullian Tchividjian
Tchividjian addresses what many of us are experiencing who have been followers of Christ for a long time, we keep adding things to the Gospel. Why do we do that? Because as Tchividjian points out on page 37, "identify where your restlessness is rooted--because that's where a confrontation with the gospel is needed.". What he is talking about is that we add to the Gospel to attempt to resolve the restlessness that we feel with life.
The Gospel is Christ crucified and resurrected. It is not Jesus plus running an orphanage. Nor is it Jesus plus feeding the homeless. Nor is it Jesus plus abiding by a set of our own moralistic rules. No, everything we need is just Jesus and only Jesus. it isn't that good works are bad, it's just they don't bring us salvation. That is through Christ alone and His work on the cross)
When we add to the Gospel we are adding our own idols ofnthe heart. Tchividjian does a wonderful job giving us many quotes from Godly men to remind us that it is the idols of our hearts that are our ruin;
Augustine, "God, you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
Martin Luther, "whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God."
John Calvin famously said that all our hearts are idol-making factories.
Tullian Tchividjian, "idolatry is simply trying to build our identity on something besides God."
As a conflict coach for Peacemaker ministry I find myself captivated by Tchividjians thoughts and premises. He is so correct that we humans strive to find fulfillment and pleasure and meaning through the Gospel, but if it doesn't quite fit in our box, we add to it to make it fit. We add to it so our own pleasures are satisfied.
I agreed with Tchividjian that my problem was seeking to please people more than seeking to please God. By trying to please people you tend to water down the Gospel. You remove the rough edges so they will like it. But some of Christianity is difficult and we can not avoid it. We must seek to serve Him and Him only.
I recommend this book to all Christians who are struggling with restlessness in their hearts. They will find answers to their questions if they approach this read with an open heart and soul and mind. Jesus is all we need and after reading this book you will better understand why Jesus + Nothing = Everything.
I do want to thank Crossway books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
God bless you and enjoy reading and thinking!
The Gospel is Christ crucified and resurrected. It is not Jesus plus running an orphanage. Nor is it Jesus plus feeding the homeless. Nor is it Jesus plus abiding by a set of our own moralistic rules. No, everything we need is just Jesus and only Jesus. it isn't that good works are bad, it's just they don't bring us salvation. That is through Christ alone and His work on the cross)
When we add to the Gospel we are adding our own idols ofnthe heart. Tchividjian does a wonderful job giving us many quotes from Godly men to remind us that it is the idols of our hearts that are our ruin;
Augustine, "God, you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
Martin Luther, "whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God."
John Calvin famously said that all our hearts are idol-making factories.
Tullian Tchividjian, "idolatry is simply trying to build our identity on something besides God."
As a conflict coach for Peacemaker ministry I find myself captivated by Tchividjians thoughts and premises. He is so correct that we humans strive to find fulfillment and pleasure and meaning through the Gospel, but if it doesn't quite fit in our box, we add to it to make it fit. We add to it so our own pleasures are satisfied.
I agreed with Tchividjian that my problem was seeking to please people more than seeking to please God. By trying to please people you tend to water down the Gospel. You remove the rough edges so they will like it. But some of Christianity is difficult and we can not avoid it. We must seek to serve Him and Him only.
I recommend this book to all Christians who are struggling with restlessness in their hearts. They will find answers to their questions if they approach this read with an open heart and soul and mind. Jesus is all we need and after reading this book you will better understand why Jesus + Nothing = Everything.
I do want to thank Crossway books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
God bless you and enjoy reading and thinking!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
What is the Mission of the Church? by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert
Any industry asks the question, "what is our mission?" That is the driving concept that businesses build their product line, service department and advertising around. Those companies that understand their mission and develop well grow. Those companies that don't understand their mission and don't develop it well do not succeed and eventually close their doors. Hallmark understands the greeting card business, McDonald's understands the fast food hamburger business and they have been successful.
So, why is it that the church doesn't seem to understand it's mission? Why is it that the church doesn't plan and develop their ministries to articulate and pursue it's mission? Why do we often get sidetracked into other areas of business that are not our true mission? If McDonald's started selling computers at their same site as fast food we would wonder what they are thinking. it's not necessarily wrong for them to diversify, but it would seem that they should stay in the food business not go into technology.
So, with the church, What is our Mission? Is it to just Shepherd the people that we already have? Is it go provide social services to the poor? Is it to stand up for Justice for the poor? Is it to stand up for immigration rights for those seeking a better lifestyle?
All those things are good and not necessarily bad for the church to be involved in, but they are not the main mission of the church. So, what is the main mission of the church. On page 69 DeYoung and Gilbert give their capsule summary, "then it should not surprise us in the least that Jesus would end his earthly ministry by telling his disciples, 'You will be my witnesses' (Acts 1:8). It shouldn't be surprising that he would launch them into history with the command, 'Go . . . and make disciples' (Matt. 28:19). After all, that's exactly how the great riddle is solved: sinful people are brought into God's presence by becoming disciples of Jesus through faith and repentance, and they can do that only through the witness of the apostles as they proclaim the good news about who Jesus is, what he has done, and how we should respond as a result."
The mission of the church is found through our study of the Bible. "It is a fourfold story that we find in the Bible. 1) Creation, 2) Fall, 3) Redemption and 4) Consummation." (see page 68 DeYoung and Gilbert are going to develop their summation and their concept of the fourfold story of the Bible throughout this book. Their desire is for the layman as well as the paid profession pastor to understand that the mission of the church is to be witnesses of Jesus and Jesus crucified. We need to teach the Bible strongly and not water down the principles and applications that we find. We are not to become just a social service agency, we are to stay a people committed to passionately declare the Glory of God through the story of the Bible and help people find their way to God through understanding the ministry of Jesus.
The author's will also be careful to remind us that as we get our mission correct and preach the Gospel correctly that people will come to know the Lord, join the Church universal and then change their lifestyles to conform to Christ. That change of lifestyle will mean that people will want to do community service, they will want to give to the poor, they will want to stand up for social justice and other issues, but they will do it as an offshoot of their main mission which is to preach Christ and preach Him crucified. To explain to people the mission of the Gospel as told through the Bible.
I appreciated the fact that DeYoung and Gilbert make it clear up front (page 25) that, "this is not a book by and for biblical or theological scholars," instead it is written clearly enough for laypeople as well as the theologically astute. Their goal was further stated on page 23 as, "we want Christians to understand the story line of the Bible and think more critically about specific texts within this story." I think that is well done in their book. They have not written this as Theological tome but they have written it clearly enough for all to understand but they still want us to THINK CRITICALLY about what we read and what the Bible has to say.
So, tackle this book with the desire to delve into your Bible and think through all that is stated. You might not agree with all they say, but if you think critically you will grow, you will learn and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you as to what you should be learning.
God bless and enjoy!
So, why is it that the church doesn't seem to understand it's mission? Why is it that the church doesn't plan and develop their ministries to articulate and pursue it's mission? Why do we often get sidetracked into other areas of business that are not our true mission? If McDonald's started selling computers at their same site as fast food we would wonder what they are thinking. it's not necessarily wrong for them to diversify, but it would seem that they should stay in the food business not go into technology.
So, with the church, What is our Mission? Is it to just Shepherd the people that we already have? Is it go provide social services to the poor? Is it to stand up for Justice for the poor? Is it to stand up for immigration rights for those seeking a better lifestyle?
All those things are good and not necessarily bad for the church to be involved in, but they are not the main mission of the church. So, what is the main mission of the church. On page 69 DeYoung and Gilbert give their capsule summary, "then it should not surprise us in the least that Jesus would end his earthly ministry by telling his disciples, 'You will be my witnesses' (Acts 1:8). It shouldn't be surprising that he would launch them into history with the command, 'Go . . . and make disciples' (Matt. 28:19). After all, that's exactly how the great riddle is solved: sinful people are brought into God's presence by becoming disciples of Jesus through faith and repentance, and they can do that only through the witness of the apostles as they proclaim the good news about who Jesus is, what he has done, and how we should respond as a result."
The mission of the church is found through our study of the Bible. "It is a fourfold story that we find in the Bible. 1) Creation, 2) Fall, 3) Redemption and 4) Consummation." (see page 68 DeYoung and Gilbert are going to develop their summation and their concept of the fourfold story of the Bible throughout this book. Their desire is for the layman as well as the paid profession pastor to understand that the mission of the church is to be witnesses of Jesus and Jesus crucified. We need to teach the Bible strongly and not water down the principles and applications that we find. We are not to become just a social service agency, we are to stay a people committed to passionately declare the Glory of God through the story of the Bible and help people find their way to God through understanding the ministry of Jesus.
The author's will also be careful to remind us that as we get our mission correct and preach the Gospel correctly that people will come to know the Lord, join the Church universal and then change their lifestyles to conform to Christ. That change of lifestyle will mean that people will want to do community service, they will want to give to the poor, they will want to stand up for social justice and other issues, but they will do it as an offshoot of their main mission which is to preach Christ and preach Him crucified. To explain to people the mission of the Gospel as told through the Bible.
I appreciated the fact that DeYoung and Gilbert make it clear up front (page 25) that, "this is not a book by and for biblical or theological scholars," instead it is written clearly enough for laypeople as well as the theologically astute. Their goal was further stated on page 23 as, "we want Christians to understand the story line of the Bible and think more critically about specific texts within this story." I think that is well done in their book. They have not written this as Theological tome but they have written it clearly enough for all to understand but they still want us to THINK CRITICALLY about what we read and what the Bible has to say.
So, tackle this book with the desire to delve into your Bible and think through all that is stated. You might not agree with all they say, but if you think critically you will grow, you will learn and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you as to what you should be learning.
God bless and enjoy!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Tehran Initiative, by Joel Rosenberg
In this second of three books regarding the end times for Israel in regards to her struggle with her neighbors in the Middle East Joel Rosenberg again shows that he can combine the headlines from today with scripture from the Holy Bible and predict with uncany accuracy what the headlines will read in the near future.
The Tehran Inititative picks up where The Twelfth Iman left off. If you have not read The Twelfth Iman you should really consider reading it first so that you will understand the flow of this middle book in what will be a triology. The Twelfth Iman is making inroads in pulling all of the nations of the Middle East together into one Caliphate that will group together to destroy the Little Satan (Israel) and the Big Satan (the United States).
The Twelfth Iman is the Messiah of the Muslim world. He has come to set up a new Kingdom that will control the entire world and bring a one world government that will change the course of the world economy as well as bring the proper religion (Muslim, Shariah Law) into place. The people of the Muslim world are flocking to the Twelfth Iman, but their national leaders are a little more skeptical. But they are turning to him one by one and building the alliance.
The Christian community on the other hand sees the Twelfth Iman as the predicessor to End Times Theology. The ushering in of the False Prophet and the Anit-Christ. So, we have a classic conflict of religious authorities that is taking place.
On one side is Israel and the U.S. and on the other side is the Muslim world. The question is, will the CIA be able to effectively inflitrate Iran and the Twelfth Iman's ruling group or will they fail and plunge the world into a war that will see nuclear destruction as it has never been seen before.
Will the U.S. and Israel remain partners or will the U.S. back away from Israel and leave them to face their fate on their own?
As usual to a Rosenberg book it starts out with a policital disaster. The Twelfth Iman's group attempts to assinate the President of the United States, The President of Egypt and the Prime Minister of Israel in one terrorist attack. They are partially successful. This starts the tensions building and the showdown begins between Israel and Iran, between Israel and the United States and also between Iran and the CIA. Who will come out on top? Will the world come to an end?
As usual, a second book in a triology brings answers to the first book but then leaves questions unanswered that will be finalized in the third book.
But this book is a page turner. Once you start it you won't want to put it down. I guarantee that you will enjoy this read if you enjoy political end times thrillers.
Enjoy!
The Tehran Inititative picks up where The Twelfth Iman left off. If you have not read The Twelfth Iman you should really consider reading it first so that you will understand the flow of this middle book in what will be a triology. The Twelfth Iman is making inroads in pulling all of the nations of the Middle East together into one Caliphate that will group together to destroy the Little Satan (Israel) and the Big Satan (the United States).
The Twelfth Iman is the Messiah of the Muslim world. He has come to set up a new Kingdom that will control the entire world and bring a one world government that will change the course of the world economy as well as bring the proper religion (Muslim, Shariah Law) into place. The people of the Muslim world are flocking to the Twelfth Iman, but their national leaders are a little more skeptical. But they are turning to him one by one and building the alliance.
The Christian community on the other hand sees the Twelfth Iman as the predicessor to End Times Theology. The ushering in of the False Prophet and the Anit-Christ. So, we have a classic conflict of religious authorities that is taking place.
On one side is Israel and the U.S. and on the other side is the Muslim world. The question is, will the CIA be able to effectively inflitrate Iran and the Twelfth Iman's ruling group or will they fail and plunge the world into a war that will see nuclear destruction as it has never been seen before.
Will the U.S. and Israel remain partners or will the U.S. back away from Israel and leave them to face their fate on their own?
As usual to a Rosenberg book it starts out with a policital disaster. The Twelfth Iman's group attempts to assinate the President of the United States, The President of Egypt and the Prime Minister of Israel in one terrorist attack. They are partially successful. This starts the tensions building and the showdown begins between Israel and Iran, between Israel and the United States and also between Iran and the CIA. Who will come out on top? Will the world come to an end?
As usual, a second book in a triology brings answers to the first book but then leaves questions unanswered that will be finalized in the third book.
But this book is a page turner. Once you start it you won't want to put it down. I guarantee that you will enjoy this read if you enjoy political end times thrillers.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Forever: Why You Can Live Without It, by Paul Tripp
Paul Tripp again delivers a book that is not only readable but it is highly relevant to our culture today. We are a culture that is motivated to cram as much into our day as possible and if necessary go to work. We work so that we have the money to do the things that we really want to do.
But as our culture gets more involved we are finding that the soccer moms are more stressed out than ever. They spend their day, cleaning, doing laundry, taking the kids to school, soccer practice, ballet lessons, piano lessons, after school events, church events and then family events. By the end of the day or the end of the week everyone falls into bed totally exhausted to grab a few hours sleep before starting the routine again.
Why do we do that?
In “Forever” Tripp is trying to help us sort out why we do what we do and what is the meaning of life for each of us. He believes that Christians have especially lost sight of ‘Forever.’ We are supposed to live our lives with the hope of Eternity in our hearts. If that is true why don’t we slow down enough to look at our lives and ask this question, “What impact does this event have on eternity?”
Now granted some events have little or no impact on eternity yet God is happy we do them because they bring joy to our present life. But often times we strive to gain more money to buy more things to impress more people when with eternity in mind they have no impact on our Eternal Life.
Many people today are seeing counselors because they can’t say no. Or they don’t see any value in their lives.
Dr. Tripp wants us to stop and ask this question, “What did God have in mind for us when he planted the hope of Eternity in our hearts?” Wasn’t it to give us some perspective of what value we ought to place on present day activities?
My favorite chapters in his book were;
Chapter 2, “The Pack-it-all-in Mentality”
Chapter 7, “Hope Can’t Live Without Forever”
Chapter 8, “Suffering is Harder When You Have No Forever”
Chapter 9, “Forever and Your Relationships”
For me the most impacting was Chapter 8, “Suffering is Harder When You Have No Forever.” I think Dr. Tripp does a great job of helping us to understand why bad things happen to good people and then to further understand why some people handle suffering better than others. With the hope of “Forever” in your heart you can see that present day suffering pales in comparison to our Eternal Future with the Lord. It helps us to have a different outlook on life.
This book is going to be one of the best tools you can put in your library to help you in processing today’s hectic lifestyle with our hope for the future.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The King Jesus Gospel, by Scot McKinight
In this new book from Scot McKnight he tackles his belief that the modern church has gone on to loose the Gospel Message by going off 'mission' and just focusing on "Personal Salvation." He has a good point. For many people the idea of the Gospel is to lead people to salvation. But then what? They often times just stop there, excited that another soul has been added to The Kingdom. But where is the follow up? Where does discipleship come in to play? What really is the Great Commission? Is it to lead people to personal salvation or is it to teach people to obey 'all' that I have commanded?
I think that McKnight does a good job of hitting on the point that he is trying to drive home. His chart on page 30 sums it up well;
The Members The Decided The Discipled
Where do you fit? What do you think the Gospel pushes? Is the church only about community / membership or does it go beyond that to include leading people to Christ, personal salvation, in other words The Decided. It is McKnights contention that the modern church gets people to be part of the Decided group but then doesn't bother with helping them to become The Discipled.
The Gospel is about the story of Jesus Christ! It is about why the Son of God had to come to earth and take on the form of man and die on a cross and then be resurrected from the dead. It is about atonement, sacrifice, obedience, etc. etc. etc.
Don't let your Gospel message just be, "Everyone needs to hear about Salvation." Make sure your Gospel message is the true message of the Bible, God's word, God's desire. Make sure it includes 'teaching them to obey all that I have commanded.'
There is quite a bit more that McKnight touches on, but this is the basic premise. Be sure the Gospel Message you preach goes beyond Personal Salvation to include discipleship.
Enjoy!
I think that McKnight does a good job of hitting on the point that he is trying to drive home. His chart on page 30 sums it up well;
The Members The Decided The Discipled
Where do you fit? What do you think the Gospel pushes? Is the church only about community / membership or does it go beyond that to include leading people to Christ, personal salvation, in other words The Decided. It is McKnights contention that the modern church gets people to be part of the Decided group but then doesn't bother with helping them to become The Discipled.
The Gospel is about the story of Jesus Christ! It is about why the Son of God had to come to earth and take on the form of man and die on a cross and then be resurrected from the dead. It is about atonement, sacrifice, obedience, etc. etc. etc.
Don't let your Gospel message just be, "Everyone needs to hear about Salvation." Make sure your Gospel message is the true message of the Bible, God's word, God's desire. Make sure it includes 'teaching them to obey all that I have commanded.'
There is quite a bit more that McKnight touches on, but this is the basic premise. Be sure the Gospel Message you preach goes beyond Personal Salvation to include discipleship.
Enjoy!
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