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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.

Weekend Recap – Substance & Sacrifice

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The sermons from this past Lord’s Day are up and online…

In the AM, we looked at Colossians 2:16-17 and how Christ is more substantial for our justification than health or religion. The sermon was called Substance. The big question I gave at the end of the sermon was: “Why be content with the shadows when you have substance available?”

In the PM, we gathered to look at Sacrifice, Jesus in the OT story of the institution of Passover in Exodus 12:1-13. What stuck out to me was how Jesus was the perfect protection and provision for sinners.

Weekend Preview – Substance & Sacrifice

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This Lord’s Day, Lord-willing, we will be looking into Colossians again (specifically Colossians 2:16-17) and how Jesus is the substance over against all kinds of expressions of justification. Plan to come Sunday AM ready to boast in the Gospel.

On Sunday PM, we continue our walk through the OT, looking for sightings of Jesus and are in Exodus 12, and how the Passover implementation points to Christ. If possible, read through this chapter and prepare your heart to worship Jesus.