Book of the Month – Feb 2018
Pick up at the Book Rack on Sunday
SOLD OUT

After pastoring teens for 3 years, I’ve come to find one of the greatest motivators, THEIR PEERS. When a teenager sees another teenager on fire for Jesus, it makes a great impact! They become motivated/excited to live on fire for Jesus too. It’s contagious.

This Changes Everything is a burning coal in the fire! It is authored by an 18-year-old teenager who loves Jesus and knows how to articulate it. Jaquelle Crowe writes clearly, biblically, and practically. Her goal, as she states from the very beginning, is to encourage fellow teenagers with the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.

The gospel transformed her life! She writes thoroughly through every category of life and talks about how each one is changed by Christ: Church, Disciplines, Home, Time, Relationships, etc. Teenagers need to read this book and see how Jesus transforms the teen years, in every way. They need to hear, from another teen, that living for Jesus is possible. It’s not just possible, it’s an ALL LIFE SURRENDER that results in heavenly reward and blessing.

This book is helpful, not only for the teenager, but I encourage parents of teens to read too. This would be a great book to read along with your teenager. There are application questions at the end of each chapter that will provide heart to heart conversation.

Don’t miss out on this book! This is one that I will be gifting regularly in the coming years.

• Money? No. You can lose all your wealth but get back to work and even have more than you ever had.
• Your health? No. You can go to a doctor and get a protocol that can restore your health.
• Possessions? Nope. You can always accumulate more than what you’ve lost.

Time. Time, once lost, can never be recaptured. We can never regain our lost opportunity.

We only have one shot, one opportunity, to seize our life for the glory of God. Time is the most precious commodity God has given mankind. But, it is our responsibility to maximize it. 

The Greeks use a few words to describe “time.” In Scripture, kronis is used to refer to a clock, time on a calendar, or minutes and hours. This is where we get chronology, which describes the flow of events in history. However, in Ephesians 5:16, Paul commands us to “redeem the time” and uses the word kairos, which means eras or epochs or opportunities. In other words, we are to redeem—purchase for ourselves—the opportunities, the moments that can be grasped for God and for good and to bring glory to Him.

Kairos comes from Greek mythology where they named their young beautiful god of “opportunity” or “favorable moments.” His statue stood at the very center of one of the ancient Greek cities, and he was carved and chiseled by a man named Lysipus. Lysipus made him to have have wings on his feet, a great lock of hair in the front and bald on the back. At the base of the statue, Lysipus recorded the dialogue between him and Kairos: “Who made thee? Lysipus made me. What is thy name? My name is Opportunity. Why has thou wings on thy feet? That I may fly away swiftly. Why has thou a forelock? That men may seize me when I come. Why art thou bald in back? When I am gone by none can lay hold of me.”

The best time to seize the opportunity or time or our life is today. We only have one life to live, and it is only during this life that we have the opportunity to make the most of it and seize it for the glory of God. That goes with the holiday season we are embarking upon. Every season is an opportunity to make the most of time, redeem it, and use it for God’s glory. The holidays are a favorable time of the year because hearts become ripe for the gospel, but we must sow and water seeds for the gospel of Christ. Only then we can pray that we will harvest and reap what we have sown. But we need the workers—us, the body of Christ—to make the most of it.

Will you?

Ephesians 5:16, is preceded by verse 15 that commands every Christian who walks in light to walk wisely. The wisest Christian is he who values his time and makes the most of it—redeems it. Foolish is the man that plays the fool with time and opportunity. It is with time that men play the fool more than any other thing. The fool’s misuse of time is his greatest crime. Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.” The wise Christian will number his days and, by the redeeming power of Christ, redeem it for His glory and the good of man. John Macarthur says this, “Wisdom sees an opportunity for good and grasps it because that’s the opportunity for God.”

What’s the wisest use of our time? Proverbs 11:30 says, “and he who is wise wins souls.” Therefore, we can say that a wise man will seize the season to win souls for God, for His glory, and for their good. Thus, with the fall festival around the corner, and the holiday seasons approaching us quickly, I challenge us to redeem the season for Christ’s glory in sowing gospel seeds.

We have many great examples around our body, like the use of the ice cream truck and other individual efforts. I also recall what my orthopedic surgeon Christian friend of mine did this past Easter. After being convicted by the Spirit to reach his lost clinic and hospital staff, he invited them all to his house, where he hosted a jolly jump and games for kids and an amazing taco guy. He didn’t stop there; he rented a party bus so he could haul everyone to church service afterwards. WOW.

Not all of us have the big and outgoing personality that he does, or can afford to pull off such an ambitious endeavor, but most of us don’t try anything at all. Here are a few ways you can begin to start by simply inviting. Make cookies for your neighbors and invite them. Say hello. Use your resources. Use your gifts. Pray for them and your opportunities.

The greatest commandment is to love God, but the second, to love our neighbor, is equal to the first. To give them an opportunity to be around the body of Christ and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lamb who has covered all your sins, is the greatest way you can love them and the best way to use the seasons. Don’t miss the opportunity; redeem it in His spirit to His glory.

In today’s world the chief weapon of mass destruction (WMD) in the social realm is not nuclear, biologic or chemical in nature (although it is intended to have the same effect!). The chief weapon today is to spew forth toxic, personal character attacks of all kinds against an opponent or someone who is perceived as a threat. Whether any accusation is true or not, and clearly some are, the ultimate goal is simple: to discredit or destroy someone’s character. In this type of personal warfare, the assassination of character is intended to demonstrate the corruption of the one being attacked and the superiority of the attacker’s character, credibility or ability. This tactic is not new. It is as old as human history itself. When our first parents were confronted in the garden with the voice of the adversary, Satan, his tactics—albeit subtle and crafty—were designed to discredit God’s character and trustworthiness and to elevate his own. His sinister plot entailed portraying God as a liar and a corrupt fraud! (Gen 3:1-5)

Responding to Personal WMD’s

The apostle Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth provides powerful insights into how to deal with personal attacks we often encounter as Bible-believing Christians. Scripture shows us these attacks can come from inside and outside the church! (Matt 7:15-16; 2 Tim 3:12)

Case in point: After dealing with multiple problems plaguing the church at Corinth in his first letter—namely sexual sin, strife, disunity, pride and factionalism (sadly this sounds all too familiar nearly 2000 years later!)—in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 Paul responds to a more personal challenge: direct attacks on him and his preaching. In addition to bearing the burden of carefully and tirelessly shepherding the church at Corinth through serious moral and spiritual issues, there were a group of false teachers that had crept into the church who were mercilessly attacking Paul on every front. Their goal was clear: to discredit Paul so that they could teach their false, legalistic gospel. Paul had to go!! Their strategy was to constantly complain that the problems in the church were due to Paul’s lack of qualifications or fitness to minister as well as his flawed and deceptive message about the gospel of the grace of God found in Jesus Christ alone.

We get a glimpse of one of their discrediting tactics in 2 Corinthians 10:10 when they said… “His letters are weighty and strong, but His personal appearance is unimpressive and His speech contemptible.” Translation: Although he writes powerfully about God and the church, don’t believe it because he is flawed. Look at him! He isn’t very good looking, he can’t speak very well, and he has a disfigured face! (Gal 4:13-15). He obviously is not to be believed or followed because God’s man doesn’t look like that. He can’t be God’s man. He isn’t charismatic enough, fit enough or blessed enough!! He’s just like everyone else. He’s just an ordinary human being. There is nothing unique or gifted about him. If he were the real thing, he’d have it all together. He’d be super capable. He’d be much better than that. He’s a phony. Sound familiar?

Paul had to deal with a bit of a dilemma due these attacks (as we do too when we are personally attacked for faithfully following the biblical Jesus!). If he defended himself, He risked appearing proud and defensive. On one hand, I’m sure he was tempted to do just that, as you and I would be! What he did when being bombarded with personal WMD’s was quite shocking, counter-intuitive and instructive. Rather than defend himself against personal attacks he embraced them!!! He said that his and, by extension, our personal weaknesses and imperfections were absolutely true!

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul put it this way:

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; ⁸ we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

   This “treasure” Paul is talking about is the incalculable riches of the gospel (Col 2:3,9; Rom 8:2; Heb 2:14; Rom 8:1; Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18) Amazingly, the God of the universe chose to deposit the priceless truth of Christ and His gospel into “common” and “unimpressive” human vessels. The word “earthen” refers to a baked clay pot or container. They were cheap, easily replaceable storage containers most often used for handling garbage and human waste. The term “vessel” means a hollow instrument or tool. Paul responded to his attackers by saying the one true and living God uses humble, common, garbage containers, those considered worthless by the world, to be the vessels He uses to manifest His power to transform hearts through the gospel…“so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Cor 4:7b).

The Privilege and Power of Being His Vessels

It is amazing that God delights in using humble, common people like me and you to be His instruments!  By using frail, fallible people, God makes it clear to all that the power of the gospel lies not in the human messenger but in Him! The one true and living God uses the lowliest of vessels to work through because it demonstrates His surpassing greatness (v.7b), not the capability of the human container. Only God’s transforming power changes hearts, not ours! Scripture repeatedly teaches us all true followers of Christ have the privilege of being God’s instrument because…“we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor 4:7).

When we humbly embrace God’s plan to use us as His vessels then we, like Paul, will experience God’s awesome power working in and through us, faithfully sustaining us through it all …“ ⁸ we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor 4:8-11).

The Bottom Line

The essence of 2 Cor 4:7-11 is found in the use of the phrase “so that,” which is used three times. It is what is known grammatically as a “purpose clause,” meaning this phrase unfolds the main action or purpose of the passage.

When you encounter various types of personal attacks, 2 Cor 4:7-11 teaches us to embrace them rather than returning fire. It teaches us they provide an incredible opportunity to impact the world for Christ. It is precisely our imperfections and limitations that provide the means by which God’s power works through us! The incomparable treasure of the gospel of Jesus Christ resides in me and you—remember to patiently follow Paul’s example toward those who seek to discredit or destroy you. Here are the reasons:

• God’s power will be unleashed through you “so that the surpassing greatness will be of God and not ourselves” (2 Cor 4:7).

• The life of Christ will be put on display, physically demonstrating its transforming power “so that the life of Jesus may be made manifest in our body” (2 Cor 4:10).

• The genuine life-changing, sin-destroying power of the gospel will be seen in and through us “so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor 4:11).

Because we have “this treasure in earthen vessels.”

What needs more preparation—the sower or the ground? Charles Spurgeon’s comments are appropriate:

We are told men ought not to preach without preparation. Granted, but we add, men ought not to hear without preparation. Which, do you think, needs the most preparation, the sower or the ground? I would have the sower come with clean hands, but I would have the ground well-plowed and harrowed, well-turned over, and the clods broken before the seed comes in. It seems to me that there is more preparation needed by the ground than by the sower, more by the hearer than by the preacher.[1]

Of course, we are not downplaying the effort required from the preacher, but we listeners should consider our efforts too.

This week, I’ll present four pre-sermon spiritual preparations, and then next week, five physical preparations.[2]  Here we go with the spiritual preparations . . .

Throughout the week, we should daily be confessing sin (1 John 1:8–10). This is especially important as we approach the sermon event. It will be impossible to listen enthusiastically to God if we are harboring sin in our hearts. In 1 Peter 2:1–3, we are commanded to thirst for the pure milk of the Word, but a prerequisite is listed in that passage—namely, if we do not first put aside “all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” then we will not be able to develop that insatiable, baby-like appetite for the pure milk of the Word. So our first spiritual preparation is to ensure that unconfessed sin is brought into the open. We are to spend time with God in prayer, acknowledging the specific sin, seeking His forgiveness, pleading for a pure heart, and making a commitment to live righteously. If your sin has affected others, you will need to go seek their forgiveness also. Don’t wait until Sunday to do this. Take it seriously, and deal with personal sin as soon as it is brought to your attention.

Second, look up next Sunday’s Bible passage and read it at home during the week. Get your family involved in the process. Meditate on the passage during your quiet time. Write down questions that arise from the text. Fill your mind with the passage, so that when you listen to the sermon you will have a head-start and will already know where the sermon is going. You will be more engaged and your heart will already have been challenged with the spiritual truths that passage contains.

Third, pray for next Sunday’s preacher in the middle of the week. His job is difficult and his responsibility is weighty. Ask a preacher what he wants from his congregation, and most will answer this way: “Please pray for me” (1 Thess 5:25; 2 Thess 3:1; Heb 13:18). So ask the Lord to give your pastor grace and wisdom, strength and clarity in his study, so that when he comes to deliver the Lord’s message, he will come with humility and confidence, truth and grace, and integrity and knowledge.

Fourth, pray often for yourself, that God will grow in you a heartfelt expectation of all that will take place in your mind and heart during the sermon experience. Cultivate humility by anticipating spiritual change. Expect God to speak. Expect Him to assault your earthly hangovers. As you walk into church on Sunday morning, deliberately quiet your mind and heart before the sermon and say to yourself: “This is when God speaks to me.”  Pray: “Lord, speak to me. I am listening.” Pray for the work of God’s Spirit to enable you to submit to what the Bible clearly says, and to help you to change.

These four spiritual preparations will be aided greatly by the five practical preparations I’ll post next week.

Originally posted at: Community Sermon Listening

[1] Charles. H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon at His Best: Over 2200 Striking Quotations from the World’s Most Exhaustive and Widely-Read Sermon Series, ed. by Tom Carter (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1988), 158.

[2] The following preparation suggestions come from the following helpful books:Thabiti M. Anyabwile, What Is a Healthy Church Member? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 22, 25; Christopher Ash, Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey, England: The Good Book Company, 2009), 5; Joshua Harris, Stop Dating the Church (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2004), 105; and Ken Ramey, Expository Listening (The Woodlands, TX: Kress Biblical Resources, 2010), 112–13.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

The work of Christ on the cross and his triumphant victory over death are of first and high importance. Why? Because it is fundamental and foundational to the Christian life. Without the death of the perfect Son of Man there is no forgiveness of sins. Without the resurrection of Christ there is no power to live the Christian life.   That is the reason for our celebration on Easter day all throughout the world.

But, on Monday morning, post-resurrection, we must not stop where most churches stop. We must not end where most contemporary teaching and discipleship ends. There is something much more than the justifying work of Christ and his glorious resurrection. John Macarthur puts it bluntly, “We can get so preoccupied on the cross we think that the only way we can be sanctified is a cross-centered sanctification.”

In Romans 5:9-10, Paul tells us that there is something much more to the gospel: “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him…much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Much more indicates that what follows the initial aspect of salvation—being justified by his blood—is even more overwhelming and significant, as amazing as that is. And the life that does this is not Christ’s life in the flesh—his earthly ministry—but his life in heaven now where he sits on a throne, interceding on behalf of all his earthly saints.

Christ’s current ministry as the better Melchizedek—the true and living High Priest—makes certain both our future salvation from the wrath of God at judgment and our future glory. Christ’s ministry towards us now is proof that we have died into his death and risen with him in his resurrection. It is our assurance that we are one with Him at his death and one with him in the resurrection that is to come.

The death and resurrection enables something much more.

We must not stop at verse 9. Romans 5:15, 17 provides us with much more to say on much more: “much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many…much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

Paul is comparing the lesser Adam to the better Adam. Comparatively speaking, as the work of Christ is much more to the work of Adam, so is what Christ does for us as the ever living High Priest much more than his death. Regarding this, MacArthur says, “He died in hours. He rose in days. He ever lives to make intercession.”

Where shall we turn then in this post-resurrection Monday? To the greatest ministry of Christ revealed in Scripture: John 17. Of this passage John MacArthur says, “In the Old Testament the high priest went in on the day of atonement and came out rapidly. In the case of Christ he went in and sat down…and he is still there. Hebrews 7 says he is ever living to make intercession for us. He is praying us into heaven. John 17 is the only sample of the present work of the Lord Jesus. Hebrews says he’s doing it. Here we have his very words. He is still praying those very same requests…I submit that both of those glorious events—the death of Christ and resurrection—fall below the reality of John 17. This is the greatest ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

May our sanctification not just be cross-centered, but under the priesthood of our ever living intercessor, our living Christ. 

Download ‘Your Sorrow Will Turn to Joy’

While we humans have come to understand much that is true about life, and science and technology have developed things that bring tremendous value and help millions of people, there is one thing we humans will never truly figure out on our own—what life is ultimately all about. What is its true origin? Where is it going? What does it mean? Why is the world like it is? What is our purpose? Why am I the way I am?

We humans have made gods of education, science and human ideologies in an effort to try and find answers to those nagging questions. But have you noticed human ideas are constantly changing? There was a “big bang” and now there wasn’t a “big bang”? Many astrophysicists now believe “nothing” has always existed as “something.” Pre-creational stuff? Eternal nothingness isn’t really nothing but the precursor to everything.[5] Even the basic tenets of the theory of evolution continue to be hotly disputed.[6] Human ideas are constantly changing, appearing then disappearing, being tested and then found wanting, conflicting and contradicting each other. Amazingly men keep putting faith in them!

The church was and is not immune to this kind of humanistic thinking. In 1 Corinthians chapters 1-2 the apostle Paul was dealing with disputes amongst the body, driven in part by the heavy influence that Greek philosophy had upon many in the congregation. Here’s how Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, responded to man’s attempt through human wisdom alone to answer the ultimate questions of life: Is there a sovereign creator God? What is He like and how can I know Him?

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling–block and Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:21-25)

What Paul is saying to us in this passage is the single most important bit of knowledge every human needs to know! In the wisdom of God, human learning and wisdom alone cannot and will not lead us to ultimate knowledge: to personally know the one true and living God!

Sadly, human history shows us that the increase in human-based knowledge and philosophies tends to increase our problems, not solve them! It tends to obscure and distort the ultimate truth about God and the questions of life. Look around! With all of the increase in human knowledge and achievements, hatred, crime, mental disorders, family breakdowns, and hosts of other personal and societal ills are increasing! It’s obvious, with only a cursory look at human history, the more we depend on human wisdom alone the more our personal and societal problems grow in extent and severity. God is telling us through the simple, “foolish” message of the gospel that we cannot figure out the nature of ultimate reality on our own!

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 tells us we can never truly know Him through the wisdom of this world (1 Corinthians 1:21). Scripture tells us from the beginning of human history the “good news” has always been that faith and trust in God alone and not our efforts was and is His plan for us to know and be right with Him (Romans 4:1-5; Luke 18:9-14). The one who is ultimate knowledge and reality has established that the only way to know Him is by the “foolishness of the cross.” We are all born with an internal perception flaw on the hard-drive of our hearts, preventing us from truly embracing and understanding ourselves and who God is! Everyone is born with a spiritually dead, sinful heart that separates us from a living, personal relationship with God (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). No amount of human inquiry or scientific study will ever uncover the wisdom that supersedes all wisdom—the message of the gospel of the grace of God found in Jesus Christ alone! (Colossians 2:2-3)

Paul tells us the one and only God, who has revealed Himself in nature, in our conscience and the Bible, and most powerfully in the person of Jesus Christ, has made a way for us to know Him and accurately answer those ultimate questions of life: “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise” (1 Corinthians 3:18).

What is this “foolishness” that makes us wise? Humble, dependent belief and trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).

 Accept or reject it, here’s the bottom line: The only way to truly understand and answer the ultimate questions of life, know God and be right with Him is through embracing the “foolish” message of the cross.

“Christ the power and wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 2:24-25)

[1] Voyager Leaves The Solar System: Space.com

[2] Curiosity Lands on Mars: www.jpl.nasa.gov

[3] Molecular Imaging.com

[4] Extremetech.com

[5] String Theory Predicts A Time Before The Big Bang: www.scientificamerican.com

[6] Scientific Dissent on Darwinism: www.discovery.org

Like Ebenezer Scrooge, we often forget the true meaning of Christmas and embody the opposite of what Christmas means. And like Scrooge, we often need visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come to remind us what Christmas means. For the Christian, however, it is not ghosts of Christmas but the Holy Ghost of God that reminds us what Christmas is all about. For the Christian, December 25th is not about celebrating a holiday, but celebrating the birth of a person—the King.

While many are demanding we go from a merry Christmas to a happy holiday, even Christians often do not embody the true meaning of why we come together and celebrate because we get caught up with the giving, gifting, and eating. Unlike A Christmas Carol, Christmas is more than just kindness, generosity, and compassion. It is about celebrating the miraculous birth of the coming King. A life without Christmas is a life with neither the truth of a virgin birth nor the blood of a belittled King to wash away our sins. A life without Christmas is a life without hope, peace, joy, or good news. 

Hope

Life without Christmas is a hopeless life. It is during Christmas that we recall and celebrate the birth of the heir to David’s throne. Without it, there would be no hope of a coming King, no hope of a savior who will wipe away tears, and no hope of a coming kingdom where we enjoy the presence of God forevermore.

Peace

Life without Christmas is a life of war with God. Isaiah says, “And he will be called…Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:6-7). Jesus became our sin on the cross, and with his blood God signs the peace treaty with us and those who place their faith in Christ. Without Christmas, the Prince is not born and we remain hostile towards God. We remain his enemies. Christmas is the celebration of the friendship that God initiated with us through the birth of the savior and the declaration of everlasting peace with Him.

Joy

Life without Christmas is a life of everlasting restlessness. Augustine says that man’s heart is restless until it finds its rest in God. Without the birth of Christ, the only all-consuming, satisfying being remains distant from us, leaving our hearts restless and in pursuit of unsatisfying things. Luke 2:10 says, “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’”

Good News

Ultimately, life without Christmas is a life with bad news. The birth of Christ is the proclamation of the messiah coming to save people from their sins (Matthew 1:18-25)—the greatest news of all! But, if Christmas is removed from us, it is a hell-bound sprint. No Christmas means no forgiveness of sins. No Christmas means there was no perfect man to live the perfect life for us—no unblemished lamb.

At the end of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is transformed from the bitter old miser to a gentler, kinder man. Like Scrooge, when the eyes of our heart are opened to the true meaning of Christmas, we t00 should be transformed to embody the true meaning of Christmas—hope, peace, joy—and become those who embrace the good news of the incarnation of God for sinners like me and you.

]]> 4536 http://blog.faith-bible.net/2015/12/training-center-starts-again-in-sept-2016/ Fri, 18 Dec 2015 01:11:21 +0000 http://blog.faith-bible.net/?p=4520 Continue reading →]]> If you are a man actively participating in Faith Bible Church, we would like to invite you to consider joining the Training Center this fall.

The Training Center is a 3-year course of study designed to create mature men of God who will lead in the local church. It focuses on creating a solid foundation in the Bible and theology, teaching men to shepherd the local church and teaching men to lead in the local church.

Applications will be available at church in January.

If you want to get a head start, here’s some books that will help get you ready in different ways:

• Talk Thru the Bible, Wilkinson & Boa — bible survey
• How to Read the Bible for All its Worth, Fee & Stuart — bible survey
• How to Interpret the Bible for Yourself, Mayhue — bible interpretation
• Spiritual Disciplines of Christian Life, Whitney — spiritual walk
• Every Thought Captive, Pratt — apologetics
• New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, Bruce — bible history
• Taking God at His Word, DeYoung — bible inerrancy
• Knowledge of the Holy, Tozer — character of God
• Disciplines of a Godly Man, Hughes — personal holiness
• Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, Tripp — caring for others
• The Earthly Career of Jesus, the Christ, Culver — in-depth look at life & ministry of Jesus

NONE of these are required reading, but each of them works through a topic which we spend significant time on in TC.

We are also format-agnostic, so you can read print (new/used/borrowed), digital or listen to audio — just make sure you internalize and think through whatever it is you are studying!