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My Favorite Pre-Marital Counseling Tool

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I’m currently working through pre-marital counseling with a couple and I was reminded that it might be helpful to share my “toys” with others.  For a few years, I’ve enjoyed using Preparing for Marriage by the Good Book Company.

Here’s how they describe this curriculum:

Preparing for Marriage seeks to show that a relationship with God is the very best basis on which to build a life, and helps churches which are preparing couples for marriage get on with one of our primary tasks – teaching the gospel to those who are lost without Christ.

Now, I’m not suggesting that every person I meet with is lost.  What I am suggesting is that the greatest need for all people in the pre-married queue is the good news of what God’s done for them through His Son.  This book leads through 4 sessions, builds a Biblical understanding of marriage, roots it in the Gospel, and also provides all kinds of helpful questions to discuss and applications to practice.  If you’re looking for a resource to use in this regard, I’d recommend this one to you.

 

Jared Wilson’s Latest: The Imperfect Disciple

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I’m happy to recommend Jared Wilson’s latest book, The Imperfect Disciple (Paperback, EBook, Audio, Study Guide), to you.  Why?  I love Jared’s Gospel-centered vision for discipleship.  And, that’s not just dropping a phrase.  Jared actually believes that the good news of Jesus coming to rescue sinners, dying for them and rising on their behalf, makes a difference in their ongoing growth as ones changed by this good news.  Another reason I love this book is that it’s after growth.  God’s heart for us is that we make progress in sanctification.  Wrapping our minds and hearts with application that direct us to live–really live–are needed.  Having given this short recommendation, though, let me allow Jared to speak and whet your appetite for the vision he unfolds:

What I’m trying to say [in this book] is this: you are not your quiet time.

Okay, day to day, you kind of are your Bible reading.  The spiritual disciplines–the rhythms of the kingdom–do shape us and help us become more of what Jesus is making us through them.  But, in the end, you are not your quiet time.

You are not your cruddy prayer life.  Prayer is vital and necessary.  When you pray, you strip your soul down to your proper proportion, helpless and needy and desperate.  Prayer of all kinds is basically confessed need of God.  It is an expression of our un-God-ness and God’s total God-ness.  But in the end, you are not your prayers.  Jesus is mediating for you and the Spirit is interceding for you, making up for all your prayerlessness.

You are not your standing before people.

You are not your past.

You are not the accumulation of harsh words from others and negative self-talk.

You are not even your sin, as primary and as serious as that problem is.

I’m not trying to affirm your sense of goodness.  I’m doing the opposite, in fact.

I want to, by God’s grace, give you the freedom to own up to your not having your act together.  I wrote this book for all who are tired of being tired.  I wrote this book for all who read the typical discipleship manuals and wonder who they could possibly be written for, the ones that make us feel overly burdened and over tasked and, because of all that, overly shamed.

You are not your ability to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.

You are not the sum of your spiritual accomplishments and religious devotion.

You are a great sinner, yes.  But you have a great Savior.

Child of God, you are a child of God.  And he will never, ever, ever leave you or forsake you.  (pp.229-230)

We need this good news.  I hope you grab this book and find the encouragement it has for you.

Hutchinson Food Options for Visiting Fair Goers

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Visit Hutchinson for the KS State Fair?  Here’s some food recommendations for you:

Of course, you’re probably coming to eat food at the fair.  Splendid.

But, for the budget conscious, might I recommend the following:

Breakfast — On your way in, stop in at Carriage Crossing in Yoder.  You can get a cinnamon roll and coffee or, if you’re craving protein, some amazing german sausage and eggs.   In Hutch proper, you could stop by Skaets or Firehouse Cafe and be well taken care of.

Coffee — In no particular order, as I love them all: Starbucks, Scuttlebutts, and Metro are great options on your way in or out of town.

Lunch — I’d probably grab a burger at R & B or you could grab BBQ at Roy’s (they’re closed on Mondays).

Dinner/Supper — There are many options.  Nicer sit down restaurants like the Airport (on your way out of town) or Jillian’s (downtown) are both quality places.  We also have some great Mexican options: Anchor or El Potrillo or Cafe Azteca.

Grab your favorite fair food, but build into Hutchinson by supporting these amazing local food establishments, as well.

Hutch locals, what am I missing?

New Music I’ve Enjoyed…

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Some new projects I’ve enjoyed in recent days are:

Lauren Chandler’s Steadfast Love single.

This goes along with her new book.  The great people that surround her musically make this an excellent song to engage.

Passion’s Salvation’s Tide Is Rising

Here’s a video from the title track…Passion’s music rarely disappoints.


Breakaway Ministries’ Lift Him High 

From Breakaway Ministries, meeting on the campus of Texas A & M.  Jeff Johnson and band have pulled together some amazing songs to help you exalt Jesus.

God Made All of Me

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Was privileged to get an early release copy and opportunity to review God Made All of Me: A Book To Help Children Protect Their Bodies by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb.

Here’s how the publisher described this important book: 

God Made All of Me is the first children’s book by Rid of My Disgrace authors Justin and Lindsey Holcomb, and its goal is to equip parents to help kids protect their own bodies. It’s a beautifully-illustrated little book with a clear message: your body is designed by God and every part of it is good. It helps parents give their kids language and expectations for appropriate and inappropriate touch and set clear boundaries for how others should treat them. When you read the book yourself, I think you will feel more confident in guiding your kids; when you read it with your kids, you will have already started the important conversation that every family needs to have.


Unfortunately, in the day and age we live in, child abuse is far too common.  At times, I think, people with children almost feel paralyzed in addressing this issue with their kids and we certainly don’t like to discuss it with others.  But, this children’s book is help to not only model some language for these kinds of courageous conversations but give instruction to your children in this matter.  Please consider the importance of this book.  You can see why this book is important.  

On top of the importance and subject matter found in this book, it comes loaded with incentives when you pre-order: over $100 worth of free, related resources. These include the eBook for Rid of My Disgrace, a Journal of Biblical Counseling article, some catechism albums, and a whole lot more!  It would definitely be in your interest to pre-order if you feel drawn to utilize this book.

Recommend this book.  Share this post.  Point people to the book’s site.  Let’s be about the common good of our children by equipping them in this way.   

#Godmadeallofme

Music Review – Folk Angel’s All the Earth Rejoice

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Been listening A LOT to Folk Angel’s All The Earth Rejoice.  If you don’t know Folk Angel, according to their website, they “write and rearrange traditional Christmas songs, and through that creative process, retell the Gospel story that illuminates all things.”  I have most all of their projects, but this most recent one has been getting a lot of play, mainly because I enjoy the stylistic diversity.  There are traditional songs redone in fun ways, new songs that help us glorify Christ and songs that I anticipate using in the local church.  My favorite track features Isaac Wimberley and is entitled He Knows.

I can’t say enough to recommend this to you.  But, don’t just take my word for it…go over to the All The Earth Rejoice page and sample each of the songs.  And, then, give them support by purchasing it for your holiday worship and enjoyment.

Folk Angel is also on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram



Podcast Recommendation: 5 Minutes in Church History

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Busy running around today, I caught up on a podcast I had subscribed to a while ago and am happy to recommend it to you.  It’s 5 Minutes in Church History with Stephen Nichols.  
Why?
1) It’s only 5 minutes.
2) It’s insightful.
3) It’s practical.
4) It’s useful knowledge for Christians to know.
5) It’s opening and closing intro song is cool. 🙂
Check it out.  I hope you find it helpful too…

5 Biography Recommendations (from an ordinary guy)

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Over at The Gospel Coalition, Justin Taylor’s been tearing it up lately with biography recommendations from some amazing scholars, which, in some ways has helped give me some new ideas to read.  I wondered, what 5 bios would I recommend to someone who had some time to read…  Here’s my list:

1) George Muller: Delighted In God (HistoryMakers) by Roger Steer (Christian Focus, 1999)

Maybe the most influential biography I read in seminary, who doesn’t need a refresher to be consistent in prayer and find delight in the lover of their souls?  Steer writes in a way that is engaging and will leave you encourage and praising God Himself.

2) The Forgotten Spurgeon by Iain Murray (Banner of Truth, 2009)

The most memorable bio I read in my college years, I find that I need to return to this consistently to learn some valuable lessons.  In my neck of the evangelical woods, it’s all Gospel all the time and this bio reminds us how that is in danger and needs to be defended.

3) David Brainerd: May I Never Loiter In My Heavenly Journey by Piper (Desiring God, 2012)

Just finished this in Small Group and found it helpful.  Specifically, with many prone to complain about their lot in life on Facebook and Twitter, Brainerd is like an alien, lamenting how he needs more patience in affliction.

4) Agape Leadership by Alexander Strauch (Lewis & Roth, 1995)

Unlike 1 Timothy 1:5 commands, the aim of most instruction in the church is to be right, correct or fix something.  But, if we heeded that simple command, not only would our churches have a different environment, but hard truths might be received more eagerly.  Specifically, leading in love as Strauch models through the life of R.C. Chapman would be great for many to read today.

5) A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards (Library of Religious Biography) by George Marsden (Eerdmans, 2008)

I loved reading Marsden’s biography and seeing some basic facts on the life of one I had heard so much about.  Yes, Edwards is known for many things, but Marsden helps us understand what the life of this man was like in the amazing days the wind of the First Great Awakening was blowing.

So, there’s my list.  Most of these are fairly easy reads and would greatly help you.  I hope you find something here encouraging.

S’More books I’ve read…

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Last weekend, I highlighted 3 books I had finished and over the weekend I finished up a few more:

40 Questions About the End Times by Eckhard Schnabel
Schnabel is a first class scholar and the 40 Questions series are a very accessible set of books.  What I appreciated about this overview of many of the questions we have about the end times was how thoroughly Biblical he was.  Part of the struggle in end times is deciphering what’s literal and what’s figurative in the apocalyptic genre (Revelation isn’t the same genre as say one of Paul’s letters).  Schnabel helps navigate the waters with a thorough Biblical case.  One other practical things that makes this appealing is in helping one see how different interpreters have erred and seeking to avoid that.  Really helpful piece.

Rose Guide to End-Times Prophecy by Timothy Paul Jones
I am working through this book right now and have found it very helpful in again, thinking about the 10,000 foot level of eschatology.  One thing I love so far is how centered on Jesus the book is.  One frustration I have about end times fanaticism is that the interpretations can leave Christ on the curb and other things are sensationalized and showcased.  Jones helps the reader see how different schools of thought are making much of Christ and what this means for the average person out there.  This book also helps by bringing end times things throughout the history of the church, and, in this, helps all readers.

Loving the Church . . . Blessing the Nations: Pursuing the Role of Local Churches in Global Mission by George Miley
Last month I attended a conference at a missions agency to help local church missions committees think about their role in relation to both the church and the call to reach the nations.  At that conference, one resource that popped up in a few quotes was this one.  I gave this a quick read and found many things helpful.  This book helps highlight a methodology for church planting.  But, in a deeper way, shows a love for the local church and the strength she can wield in planting churches internationally.  The church can be about God’s work and I was encouraged in this regard by this book.

Hope you’re enjoying your summer reading.

Some Reading…

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Finished up a few books recently, so here’s some little blurbs about each of them:

God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology by Jim Hamilton
I took my time and plodded through this a few pages at a time each evening for a few months.  I love God’s glory.  I believe it defines what we’re to ultimately be living for.  So, I really resonated with Hamilton and his thorough approach to uncover this theme throughout the Bible.  He even had a chapter that answered some objections of people who don’t see things the way he does.  And, the book ended with a section I loved with what this means to life and ministry.  I would highly recommend this volume to anyone who would like to take the time to see what God is up to in the Bible.

Create: Stop Making Excuses and Start Making Stuff by Stephen Altrogge
This was a very easy read, but a helpful, how do I put it?, kick in the pants to get about living a creative life.  Many excuse their apparent lack of creativity saying, “Well, I’m just not gifted.” And, Stephen takes time to show how not only you are creative, since you are created in the image of a Creative God, but also how this imprint on your creative design is meant to be acted upon.  He gets at motives, excuses we make and how we can take small steps to improve in our creativity.  I was very helped by this short read and benefitted accordingly.

Father Hunger: Why God Calls Men to Love and Lead Their Families by Doug Wilson
Another helpful book by Wilson on manhood.  I had the privilege of hearing Wilson speak on this subject at the Desiring God Conference for Pastors earlier this year.  The big call in this book is for men to take responsibility.  This is the definition of masculinity he gets at in this book: “The joyful accepting of responsibility.”  There are numerous ways Wilson applies this and gets at both the need and application of these kind of men for the good of society and the church.  Again, a helpful read to encourage men to men.

So, these are a few.  Take your time this summer to read through a book and find your soul nourished and your life pointing to God Himself.