This Sunday, Lord willing, I hope to start a week by week journey through John’s Letters.
I just finished up, on Sunday mornings, a short series on God-centered marriage and family relationships. I entitled this HomeWord. As you can see in our graphic, the home’s foundation is on God’s Word and the overall trajectory is upward to glorify God.
In Newton on the Christian Life, I came across this outstanding quote from Newton:
Dr. [Isaac] Watts’ motto shall be mine, it is big enough for him, me, you and for thousands that approve it, In uno Jesu omnia [In Jesus alone is my everything]. In him I have an offering, an altar, a temple, a priest, a sun, a shield, a savior, a shepherd, a hiding place, a resting place, food, medicine, riches, honor, wisdom, righteousness, holiness, in short, everything.
In Jesus we find everything we need to sustain our confidence in him.
By the way, the best buy on this is at WTS Books now…
My sermons from 5/24/15 and 5/31/15 are now online:
God-Centered Marriage (Communication) – Genesis 1-3 was given on 5/24 and helped come up with a Biblical foundation for communication and, turning the corner, impart some measure of grace in how we can use our words for God’s glory.
God-Centered Marriage (Conflict) – James 4:1-10 was given on 5/31 and helped show how conflict is rooted in our our selfish hearts. Humility was encouraged as the God-given way to engage in conflict.
I hope these contributions help encourage positive actions in marriage.
I’m probably thinking a tad too ambitious, but this ought to keep me busy…
Here’s some books I’m hoping to tackle this summer:
Just Ride: A Practical Guide To Riding Your Bike by Grant Peterson
Hoping to get a nugget or two of encouragement and practical help for my hobby.
Side By Side: Walking With Others in Wisdom and Love by Ed Welch
I’ve never been disappointed with a Welch book and I’m sure the practical wisdom will be helpful.
The Matheny Manifesto by Mike Matheny
My favorite baseball team’s manager wrote this and I haven’t gotten to it yet.
God Dwells Among Us by Greg Beale
Beale has abbreviated some themes he’s written on elsewhere in this book and it will be a good Biblical theology to dig in to.
The Pastor and Counseling by Jeremy Pierre
I always like to read practical books on helping me help people make progress in the “stuff” of life.
India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha
Hoping to learn some history of a country I’ve grown to love.
What Does The Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
While much of our culture war isn’t about the Bible at all, this is important for people who claim to be Christians to know. Reading this by a typically clear writer to get more perspective.
Testimony of the Beloved Disciple by Richard Bauckham
My next series in 2016 will be on the Gospel of John so this will be good background reading.
I’m also working my way through Andrew Fuller’s sermons (I’m using the Logos edition)…
And, Tony Reinke’s book Newton on the Christian Life will emerge soon.
Also, I anticipate Don Whitney’s Praying the Bible to be a great addition for the summer.
Having said all of this, though, I will not allow this reading to crowd out the regular, unhurried time in THE BOOK, so if you dig these recommendations, why not dig into 1 John with me this summer. Just read a chapter each weekday and you’ll be steeping long and with much fruit. Tolle Lege!
So, I was dreaming about our H2Go Team‘s vision, asking the Lord how He might lead us in global missions and this song was brought to my memory:
My 5/17/15AM sermon, God-Centered Marriage (Roles) surveying Genesis 1-3 is now online. This message had me wrestling with the Biblical tensions around what role the husband and the wife are to play in marriage and how they are informed by the Gospel. I hope it encourages you.
My 5/10/15AM sermon, God-Centered Marriage from Genesis 2:18-25, helped launch our new HomeWord series (grounding families in the truth of God’s Word through the Gospel to God’s glory). This sermon, in particular, focused in on some of the broad contours of what God intends for marriages that honor Him. For instance, God is the point of marriage, there are roles to be seen, a marriage should think one not two, utilizing wise communication and celebrating physical intimacy are the highlights from this week. I hope it encourages you and drives to live to God’s glory in your relationships.
We’ve been reporting on our trip to India the past couple of weeks. Yesterday, we got to hear from my good friend Luke and what he’s working in. At any rate, please check out the Illuminate India Reports for more info.
My 4/26/15AM talk, the Illuminate India Report, with Cameron Wood is now online (Audio / Video). We appreciate the great support and feedback we were able to receive from so many in the congregation. It was a great time to come together and reflect on what God allowed us to see and do. I know there’s much more we could have communicated, but we wanted you to see how this trip tied to the Great Commission and what some short term connections might be. We look forward to connecting in deeper ways through the coming days and months, especially this coming Sunday and Luke and Julie report to us. I hope you had a blessed Lord’s Day.