I just got it yesterday, but I am devouring Tim Chester and Steve Timmis’ book total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community. Here are a couple of nice quotes:

From pp. 15-16 on what the book’s about:

This book argues that two key principles should shape the way we “do church”: gospel and community. Christians are called to a dual fidelity: fidelity to the core content of the gospel and fidelity to the primary context of a believing community. Whether we are thinking about evangelism, social involvement, pastoral care, apologetics, discipleship, or teaching, the content is consistently the Christian gospel, and the context is consistently the Christian community. What we do is always defined by the gospel, and the context is always our belonging to the church. Our identity as Christians is defined by the gospel and community.

From p.35 quoting from Chris Wright’s book The Mission of God and how a God-centered missions perspective opens our eyes to the big picture, rather than the selfish confines of our own little worlds…

We ask, “Where does God fit into the story of my life?,” when the real question is “Where does my little life fit into this great story of God’s mission?”

We want to be driven by a purpose that has been tailored just right for our own individual lives, when we should be seeing the purpose of all life, including our own, wrapped up in the great mission of God for the whole of creation.

We talk about “applying the Bible to our lives.” What would it mean to apply our lives to the Bible instead, assuming the Bible to be the reality–the real story–to which we are called to conform ourselves?

We wrestle with “making the gospel relevant to the world.” But in this story, God is about the business of transforming the world to fit the shape of the gospel.

We argue about what can legitimately be included in the mission that God expects from the church, when we should ask what kind of church God wants for the whole range of his mission.

I may be wondering what kind of mission God has for me, when I should be asking what kind of me God wants for his mission.

And finally, I loved this quote from a report in the UK on reaching culture (p.36 in total Church):

The vast majority of Christians have not been helped to see that who they are and what they do every day in schools, workplaces or clubs is significant to God, nor that the people they spend time with in those everyday contexts are the people God is calling them to pray for, bless, and witness to. So we pray for our Sunday School teachers but not, for example, for schoolteachers working 40 hours a week in schools among children and adults who on the whole don’t know Jesus. We pray for overseas missionaries but not for Christian electricians, builders, shop assistants and managers in towns…We have simply not been envisioned, resourced and supported to share the Good News of Jesus in our everyday contexts.

These thoughts are some of the same things I’ve been thinking about prayerfully for a while, so coming across these things seems to be confirmation that the Lord is up to something. I’ll try and give further snippets as I continue reading.

Here is video from Mark Dever explaining the Gospel. (less than 2 minutes long)

Joshua Harris’ excellent book, Stop Dating the Church, urges us to be a part of the local church. Indeed, more than being a part, the church should be our passion. To have strong marriages, we need to involvement of others in our lives. Josh illustrates:

The opportunity to share life wtih otehr Christians and experience this kind of fellowship is one of the most exciting parts of being a committed member of a local church. But it requires effort and hard work. We have to pursue it diligently.

As you reach out to others, don’t limit yourself to people like you. The beauty of the local church is the opportunity you have to grow close to people from completely different backgrounds and cultures. So if you’re single, develop friendships wtih married couples adn families. If you’re older, look for the chance to befriend younger members. Don’t let age, race, or any other factor distance you from other brothers and sisters in Christ.

As married couples, let’s pursue this fellowship in the local church and honor God as a result.

Matt Chandler pastors The Village Church in the DFW area. I was listening to a sermon by him entitled Hands and Feet and he was speaking of how we minister to the local people in our area (not just on the international front). He spoke of a mentoring program to jr. high and high school students and said this:

“The public schools are the only place left where there is a mixture of every kind of socio-economic, ethnic and religious background.”

He illustrated this by saying that sports doesn’t do it, because it is segregated based on how much money you have. Because of the unique combination of people found there, this is an incredible ministry opportunity. Listen to the sermon for more info.

Just got word from my good friend, Mario, that Shane and Shane are coming to the Father’s House on Monday, September 29.

Here’s the precise details from their website:

Join Shane & Shane, Monday September 29 at 7pm at The Father’s House. Buy you and a friend a ticket and come worship with Shane & Shane. Ticket’s will be available at Will Call at The Father’s House on the day of the concert.

Tickets are only $10. They don’t have a bad seat in the entire place. You can also purchase tickets online. This is an incredible opportunity and I encourage you to plan to be there.

Here’s that web page I mentioned yesterday rating the best entrances in college football.

With our Adult SS starting a SS class on Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life, I have been thinking a lot about this theme and thought for today’s Marriage Monday post, I would say something about how this would apply to marriage.

There are countless couples who effectively waste their marriages. They forget the purpose for which God has brought them together or they minimize that purpose to things that are less than ultimate. Maybe they think that God has brought them together simply to procreate and raise children. While this might be something entrusted by God to married couples, it doesn’t point to ultimate reality.

When God created marriage in Genesis 2, there was something He was addressing in man and that was a need for companionship. Marriage is a unique relationship. It isn’t merely just having a life partner to keep you from being lonely. But Scripture also highlights marriage as being a covenant. Marriage is almost a new creation in which 2 individuals are formed into 1 unit. In marriage, God has brought you together with your spouse so that His glory can more effectively be displayed to the world than you could accomplish on your own. At the core of a marriage, then, is this “oneness” that exists. No longer are 2 individuals striving for their space or seeking to serve self. In marriage, God has brought those 2 individuals together as one. In marriage you die to self and come together to something greater.

We forfeit this idea, then, when we devote marriage to my time and doing what I need to do. When we have a selfish focus like this, we might be tottering on the brink of wasting our marriages. Therefore, before you waste it, spend time reviewing your marriage and its ULTIMATE purpose. God has brought you together with a spouse so that His glory is seen through you. Glorify and enjoy God, then, together…forever.

I just got in the mail Thabiti Anyabwile’s excellent book, What Is A Healthy Church Member? WTS also offers a PDF of the preface, introduction and Mark 1. After skimming it quickly, I found it wrought with much application and think it would be an excellent small group material for our church (potentially i.e. if the elders agree). Breaking from the conventional mold of 9 Marks, he gives 10 Marks of a healthy church member:
A Healthy Church Member Is…
1) An Expositional Listener
2) A Biblical Theologian
3) Gospel Saturated
4) Genuinely Converted
5) A Biblical Evangelist
6) A Committed Member
7) Seeks Discipline
8) A Growing Disciple
9) A Humble Follower
10) A Prayer Warrior

If you are looking for a book that will practically help your involvement in your church, this book is for you.

For today’s sermon of the week, there’s a sermon many are talking about:

C.J. Mahaney preached the final message in the Don’t Waste Your Life series at Covenant Life Church on Don’t Waste Your Sports from 1 Corinthians 10:31. I thought Tony Reinke summarized well when he quoted C.J. early in the message:

“Participation in sports must be informed by the knowledge of God. We have a tendency, when considering the topic of glorifying God in sports, to proceed immediately to practical application and to prematurely consider specific ways we are called to glorify God in sports. But any practical consideration must first proceed from a theologically informed understanding of the character of God as revealed in Scripture and the person and work of Christ. We must begin our consideration of this topic—of every topic!—with God. Until we behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ we cannot accurately or authentically glorify God (2 Cor. 4:6). Before we play sports for the glory of God we must behold the glory of God. … And this morning I have asked Puritan theologian John Owen to assist me:

Because he is—that is, an infinitely glorious, good, wise, holy, powerful, righteous, self-subsisting, self-sufficient, all-sufficient Being, the fountain, cause, and author of life and being to all things, and of all that is good in every kind, the first cause, last end, and absolute sovereign Lord of all, the rest and all-satisfactory reward of all other beings—therefore he is to be adored and worshipped. Hence are we in our hearts, minds, and souls, to admire, adore, and love him. His praises are we to celebrate. In him we are to trust and fear, and so to resign ourselves and all our concerns unto his will and disposal, to regard him with all the acts of our minds and persons, answerable to the holy properties and excellencies of his nature. This is to glorify him as God.

No doubt some are asking, ‘What does a 17th-century Puritan (who didn’t have game) have to say to the modern athlete? How does this relate to my soccer game or cross-country meet?’ Here’s why: When I behold the glory of God prior to playing sports, my heart is affected and transformed. This makes all the difference when I step out onto the field or court. This knowledge of God positions me to glorify Him and not myself. Our participation in sports must be informed by the knowledge of God in order to keep us from turning sports into something ugly, rather than beautiful. This knowledge of God’s glory will keep us from wasting our sports.”

More information on the sermon as well as info for the MP3 is available here.

The Kansas State Fair comes to Hutchinson in just 3 days. Pretty wild to think about, really. There’s a map of the fairgrounds available for those wishing to plan their time more specifically. Many of us go to the fair for one real reason–the food. Elrond Wedel tipped me of to this: A Food Directory for the 2008 Fair. In the words of Elrond, “whet your appetites” and enjoy!