Midweek I usually recommend some free audio on the web. This week, I am happy to recommend this sermon from Matt Maka (a pastor of Youth and Parenting at Covenant Life Church). I appreciated Matt’s passion for God’s Word exposed in this text. This is influential to me because this Sunday night, I am starting a new series on God’s Word seeking to stoke the embers of passion for God in His Word in our people. This sermon got at the blessing as well as the discipline required in embracing God’s Word. I highly recommend it.

Matt Maka – Psalms Part 10: The Young

How many times have you sinned and quickly sought to blame someone or some circumstance? If we were honest, we would admit that it happens far to much.

In this post from Ben Reaoch, he exposes 12 specific sins we blame on others. These sins are: Anger, Impatience, Lust, Anxiety, Spiritual Apathy, Insubordination, A Critical Spirit, Bitterness, Gluttony, Gossip, Self-Pity and Selfishness. I encourage you to not only read this post, but avail yourself to the grace God extends to you in Christ to deal with sins such as these. Let’s confess our sins to one another and be healed.

Here is my Wordle of the book of Ruth.

I continue to hear good things about all that God is doing in our congregation through small groups. I thought I would allude to one question that really exposed some weakness when it comes to fellowship. On p.26 of the chapter “Fellowship Rediscovered,” we have a big box with question #3:

Do you have any habits or heart attitudes that keep you from growing in Christ through fellowship? How about these?

• Because of my heritage, I’m naturally stoic and reserved, so I tend to keep to myself.
• I tried that kind of fellowship once, and I gave a whole lot more than I got, so I tend to keep to myself.
• I was an only child, so I tend to keep to myself.
• My brothers and sisters were the ones always clamoring for attention, so I tend to keep to myself.
• Maybe I’ll go along with this fellowship stuff, as long as somebody else goes first.

In my experience, these are probably as a good a sampling as you’ll find in print of the excuses people use for failing to pursue intimacy. I think we just need to continue what Scripture teaches and embrace fellowship with one another. As we walk in this, it is a bit frightening at times to open up ot others, but we get to experience grace from God in the fellowship He has ordained for us. I hope you are encouraged as you live this out in your life.

We had this picture taken Sunday. This is the first family photo (of which I am aware) since Gabe’s arrival.

For today’s Marriage Monday segment, I would like to exhort you to build a trust in God within your family. I’m always interested in growing to deepen my leadership in my family. I was really encouraged, then, when listening to a Piper sermon. He exhorted fathers to recount God’s faithfulness continually for your family. Our role as parents and specifically as fathers (men!) are to be those who are inflating the joy and trust our families have in God throughout their lives. As helpful as teaching them the alphabet, how to build things and the best way to throw a ball can be, it seems that I give much more attention to those things over against the things that matter. In small group last night, we were encouraged to be about practicing fellowship. This needs to be the case in our families. We ought to be on the lookout for and consistently be seeking to learn “How goes it with your soul.” I want my family to have a trust in God. I want them to see me blessing God no matter what circumstance we face. Let’s build trust in God among our family. And as we “trust in the Lord with all our heart” and “don’t lean on our own understanding” we will be “acknowledging Him in all our ways” and “He will direct our paths”. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

In case you were looking for something to read, consider the following lists:

C.J.’s Books for the Beach
Carolyn Mahaney’s 8 Year Reading List
Albert Mohler’s Books for Guys
Mohler’s Ten For the History Books (Part 1, Part 2)
Tim Keller’s Summer Reading Recommendations

Whatever you decide, don’t let your reading keep you from the diligent intake of God’s Word. As John Piper says in his excellent book, When I Don’t Desire God,

One of the ways we can fight against the inclinations that lure us from the Word of God to computers or television or any other substitute pleasure is to remind ourselves often of the immeasurable and superior benefits of the Word of God in our lives. We must put the evidence before us that reading, pondering, memorizing and studying the Bible will yield more joy in this life and the next than all the things that lure us from it. (WIDDG, p. 97)

If you need a simple guide to read your Bible, check out the Discipleship Journal plan or simply subscribe to have the ESV plans sent as a feed.

Read this summer and watch God do amazing things in your life.

I was reminded of simple truths about Gospel Centered Parenting in this 6 minute audio clip from the Sovereign Grace Blog. Listen as both C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney answer the question, “How do parents engage in gospel-centered parenting with children who are too young to comprehend the message of the gospel?”

The Resolved 2008 Conference just finished. The theme was Heaven and Hell. Here are some sermons available for free download:

Resolved 2008 Session 1 Rick Holland
Resolved 2008 Session 2 Randy Alcorn
Resolved 2008 Session 3 John MacArthur
Resolved 2008 Session 4 C.J. Mahaney
Resolved 2008 Session 5 Steve Lawson
Resolved 2008 Session 6 Randy Alcorn
Resolved 2008 Session 7 Steve Lawson
Resolved 2008 Session 8 John Piper
Resolved 2008 Session 9 Rick Holland
Resolved 2008 Session 10 John MacArthur
Resolved 2008 Session 11 C.J. Mahaney
Resolved 2008 Session 12 John Piper

Oh, and Abraham Piper linked to this video of C.J. Mahaney’s drum solo. Check this stuff out.

On my plane back from Florida, I listened to Albert Mohler‘s radio show from last Friday. In it, he alluded to his blog and an interesting article from one Phillip Longman. The blog Fatherhood and the Future of Civilization alludes to Longman’s article in Foreign Policy magazine: Why Men Rule — And Conservatives Will Inherit the Earth. To listen to the Radio Show from Friday (Faith and Fatherhood), click here.

All this points to the heightened responsibility father’s have in exercising their role. (My friend, Brad Russell, issues a call to apply this into our lives.) We must commit ourselves to living our faith, especially in our homes. If God has not given you a child yet, this is a call to preparation. If you are father, this is a call to valiance and to take leadership for that to which we have been called.