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MLJ on God’s Love

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…from his exposition on 1 John 2:29 and 1 John 3:1, in his book Life in Christ, which a group of our adults study each Wednesday night:

Oh, the quality of this love! Just realize what it means, the freeness of it all, that you and I should be called children of God! The freeness of this love that has looked upon us in spite of our sin, in spite of our recalcitrance, in spite of our unworthiness, in spite of our foulness as a result of the Fall and our own actions. Oh, the love that has not merely forgiven us but has given itself to us, that has entered into us and shared its own nature with us; stand in awe at the greatness of it!

Heed these words, especially in the next week as we ponder the Savior’s love.

Weekend Preview – Protection

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This coming Lord’s Day, we anticipate, Lord willing, gathering together to celebrate the Gospel and, specifically, thinking about Jesus and His Work on the cross. We will have the Lord’s Supper at the conclusion of the service. We will sing songs: Sing to the King, And Can It Be, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, and How Deep the Father’s Love.

For the sermon, I will be preaching from Colossians 2:4-5 on Protection. My intro starts with the history of Protection, KS (of all things), but the focus in the sermon is how God protects us from error. In Colossians 2:4, Paul writes, “I say this…” and of course he is referring to all that he has written in chapters 1-2:3, but specifically, I think, the fact of Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Paul writes to give protection to God’s people and keep them from error. More on that Sunday AM.

Sunday PM, we will gather together in small groups and continue working through our Gospel Centered Life curriculum. We are in chapter 4 for our meeting this Sunday.

Hope you have a refreshing weekend and come ready to worship Jesus.

More Resurrection (Easter) Prep…

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I’ve seen tidbits of information coming out on the resurrection for this Easter already. After my post yesterday, I thought this would be a good follow up.

On a Twitter feed, Jonathan Dobson says, “If u invite people “to church” this Easter, make sure u invite them “into the church” the next week. Share your life not just your pastor.”

Tony Reinke provides some notes and an outline for wading through this Scriptures this season.

If you haven’t read Adrian Warnock’s book Raised with Christ, you are missing some great doctrinal teaching on the resurrection.

If you are more musically inclined, Andrew Peterson has an entire album devoted the the truth of the resurrection.

Take advantage of the gift God has given us in the internet and use these resources to deepen your joy in God as we celebrate the Gospel!

Weekend Recap – 3/21

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Enjoyed a tremendous Lord’s Day yesterday…

In SS, I lead a class through Paul Tripp’s What Did You Expect? Curriculum. We were in Session 8 yesterday which helped wrap up 1 John 4. One line in particular stood out to me: “Our lack of love for others in rooted in identity amnesia” meaning, we’ve forgotten God’s love for us in Christ.

In AM worship, we sang songs of Jesus’ reign and then settled in to Colossians 2:1-3 in a sermon entitled Comfort in Struggle. This sermon really sought to orient us to be a church that encourages one another. Paul sought to encourage the Colossian believer in all that they were facing, and, through his words to them, we can get insight for our lives as well.

In PM worship, we looked at the Flood narrative in our Jesus in the Old Testament series. Specifically, we honed in Genesis 6:5-7:14 with the sermon entitled The Flood: Judgment and Rescue. I was personally affected in holding out God’s punishment for sin (as righteous judgment) and then holding out God’s amazing rescue and how these point to Jesus.

Finally, I concluded the night by leading our Men’s Theological Discussion Group on The Bible: Inerrancy and Authority. We dug into Scripture looking at how God has always been a speaking God, how He inspired Scripture and safeguarded it and finally we discussed issues like the canon and other related things. We read portions of The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.

While this was a very full day for me, it is productive to see God’s Word impact lives and realize the amazing privilege I have in getting to teach these things to others. There is so much to live based on what I teach and I hope that I can apply these things this week.

Prayer about Ultimate Health Care…

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…from Scotty Smith.

A portion:

Forgive me… when I spend more time being cynical and snide about government, rather than prayerful and engaged with the brokenhearted and the broken-bodied all around me. Health care is a good thing, a gospel thing. You are the Lord who heals (Exodus 15:26). By the wounds of your Son, Jesus, we are healed (Isa 53:5). You give gifts of healings, to and through your people (1 Cor. 12:9). A part of your kingdom agenda is the ultimate health care of the new heaven and new earth, when the leaves of the tree of life will provide healing for the nations (Rev. 22:2). Hasten that Day, Father, please, hasten that Day.