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Weekend Recap – Union With Christ

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As I was reflecting on Sunday AM’s events, I am still a bit awestruck by the implications of what it means to be united to Christ. The sermon, Union, from Colossians 2:20-23 is now online. The sermon really talked about the effects that being in union with Christ has upon the believer. Specifically, our connection with the world is severed and we are given real, effectual help in fighting sin. The challenge is that many of us think that we can defeat sin in our own ability. We need to remember that it is all Christ. As we received Christ Jesus, the Lord, we are to walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith, just as we were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6-7). Let’s look to our union with Christ and find it to be sufficient for our fight with sin.

On the Personal Side … (2)

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If you read my last post, it seemed as though I was going to cruise through the weekend without a hitch. After a great Friday night with friends, who really helped to give me a break, I was rolling Saturday AM. Got the boys loaded and picked up a package at the post office, but when I got back in the car, it wouldn’t start. After much work (and coming home using the truck to shuttle the boys around to run some other errands), found out the starter needed replaced and finished that up around 6:45PM. After supper, baths and prep for Sunday, boys went down.

Today was a pretty uneventful day, getting up and getting the boys around and then settling into a typical Sunday AM routine at church. Got through everything, grabbed some lunch with other friends, and came home and all boys (including me) got a nap in. Tonight, we get to be with some other friends for a Fish Fry. Just one more day till Mom gets home. I can’t wait!

Please continue to pray that God would be glorified in our home.

On the Personal Side… (1)

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A few of you know that Meg is in Florida with her mom for the weekend, which leaves me home with the 2 boys (4 and 2 year old if your wondering). Had a productive day yesterday: a friend came over and helped me clean maple tree sproutlets out of the gutters, fix the attic fan and put together a swingset. In the evening, we went to watch our adult church softball team play (we won pretty handily). Then, we went and got some ice cream.

Today, ran a few errands and am home enjoying some down time while the boys sleep. Have some friends over tonight for a break (for kids from me and me to adult world conversations).

So…if you’re a reader of mine, please pray that I would exhibit godliness to my boys by being patient with them, having a few extra things to account for this weekend. I really enjoy having an opportunity like this (and being able to bless Meg in this way), but I realize also my sinful nature is crouching at the door waiting to be served and I want to master it so the boys are served well. Pray for me to be holy in this.

Radical Review and Response..

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In a previous post I spoke of David Platt’s book Radical, which I had the opportunity to read last week. Justin Taylor interviewed Platt about the book and promised more to come. Today, Kevin DeYoung reviewed the book and allowed Platt to respond.

A few things:
1) The message of Platt’s book needs to be heard for many of us who are more devoted to the American dream than we are to the basic demands of the Gospel.
2) The charitable dialogue you will find in the links above reflects what’s best about being Gospel-centered.
3) If you are looking for some other Platt resources:
His T4G Breakout Session is online. But, if you have the time, you could listen to the Radical series from the Church at Brook Hills, where Platt pastors. This would give you the audio content found in the book (in about 8 messages).
RADICAL

Weekend Recap – Growth & Mission

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This weekend, we had a great Lord’s Day. In the morning, we met together, celebrated the Lord’s Supper, looked at Growth from Colossians 2:18-19. This sermon really pointed conclusively to how central Jesus must be in the life of the church. We major on too many minor things. As we are severed from our Head, we lose vitality. Holding tight to Christ is key.

And it was very fitting that in God’s providence we got in small groups in the evening to discuss mission. Great stuff. Hope you enjoyed your Lord’s Day.

Got Guilt?

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If you’re like me, you occasionally feel guilt in living some part of the Christian life. Whether its being more passionate in sharing the Gospel or honoring God in my body, I feel weighed down with guilt far to often. Maybe yours comes in one of these areas:

* We could pray more.
* We aren’t bold enough in evangelism.
* We like sports too much.
* We watch movies and television too often.
* Our quiet times are too short or too sporadic.
* We don’t give enough.
* We bought a new couch.
* We don’t read to our kids enough.
* Our kids eat Cheetos and french fries.
* We don’t recycle enough.
* We need to lost 20 pounds.
* We could use our time better.
* We could live some place harder or in something smaller.

Kevin DeYoung had some great thoughts on this recently in a post entitled, Are Christians Meant to Feel Guilty All the Time? His reasons we feel guilt:

1. We don’t fully embrace the good news of the gospel.
2. Christians tend to motivate each other by guilt rather than grace.
3. Most of our low-level guilt falls under the ambiguous category of “not doing enough.”
4. When we are truly guilty of sin it is imperative we repent and receive God’s mercy.

Take some time and work through this post for your soul’s sake.

Raising Obedient Children

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As a man struggling to subdue my sinful nature married to a wife in the same struggle, seeking to raise 2 boys who have somehow managed to learn how sin (shocking isn’t it?) I found this post over at The Resurgence, Raising Obedient Children, helpful. The points they cover are:

1. We are confident in our God-given parental authority.
2. We never count to three.
3. We model it ourselves to authority figures in our lives.
4. We try not to exasperate our children (Ephesians 6:4).
5. We use appropriate forms of punishment.
6. We are convinced that it really is worth the effort.

Enjoy.

Weekend Preview (5/23) – Growth & Mission

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This video will be referred to in the opening of my sermon. In the AM, we will be looking at Colossians 2:18-19. The verses end with “growing with a growth that is from God.” There’s lots of huff and puff about church growth that isn’t rooted in the Bible. It seems that Paul is under the impression that growth from God is related very closely to holding tight to Christ as the Head. We will conclude our time Sunday morning with the Lord’s Supper.

In the PM, we will meet in Small Groups, continuing our study of the Gospel Centered Life curriculum. This week we are on Session 7 – Mission.