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Slow Blogging Week Last Week…

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Sorry for the lack of posts last week. I gave the updates on Chandler and then was off of the radar far a good bit last week. I took an extra day off to go the movies with my wife in Wichita. We saw Disney’s The Christmas Carol in 3D, which was lots of fun. Then, on Friday, I got my new computer in the mail. After tinkering with that most of the weekend, I think I have all of the software updated and files transferred. So, hopefully, it will be back to business tomorrow.

Thought I owed my readers some sort of explanation.

Who is Jesus?

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C.S. Lewis famously remarked that He’s either a liar, a lunatic or the Lord. Today at Crestview, we looked at Colossians 1:15-16 to see a clear revelation of Jesus in a sermon entitled Who Is Jesus? The main points were pretty simple:

Jesus is God (15)
Jesus is Creator (16)

The big implication is that we weren’t made to spend our days serving ourselves. We were made for something greater…we were made by Him, through Him and for Him.

I hope you were encouraged as we looked at Jesus today.

Carson on Gospel Centered in Christian Life…

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Justin Buzzard recently asked D.A. Carson 4 questions “about the gospel, the upcoming generation, and doing ministry in unchurched regions like the San Francisco Bay Area.” The first question is, “In a paragraph, what does it mean to be gospel-centered in one’s Christian life?” Carson’s answer:

Some think of the gospel as so slender it does nothing more than get us into the kingdom. After that the real work of transformation begins. But a biblically-faithful understanding of the gospel shows that gospel to be rich, powerful, the wisdom of God and the power of God, all we need in Christ. It is the gospel that saves us, transforms us, conforms us to Christ, prepares us for the new heaven and the new earth, establishes our relations with fellow-believers, teaches us how to work and serve so as to bring glory to God, calls forth and edifies the church, and so forth. This gospel saves — and “salvation” means more than just “getting in,” but transformed wholeness. It would be easy to write many pages on how a gospel-centered ness affects all of life, but one must begin with a full-orbed understanding of what the gospel is and does.

Check out his post for the answers to other questions.

The Week of Audio…

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After listening to Chandler’s excellent sermon…this week I’ve also listened to:

Sinclair Ferguson kick off advent with a Lord’s Supper message on proclaiming Christ’s death until He comes again. Lots of good stuff on eschatology in this short message.

I also listened (thanks to Thabiti) to an old message from a Piper Pastor’s Conference back in 1989 from Kent Hughes related to his book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome. It was an excellent reminder of what faithful, cross-centered ministry looks like.

Listen and be encouraged.

Update on Matt Chandler…

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(Thanks, Benjamin!)

The Elders of The Village report:

Matt will undergo surgery Friday afternoon

Pastor Matt Chandler will have surgery Friday afternoon to remove a tumor located in the frontal lobe of his brain. The surgery will be performed by Dr. David Barnett.

Dr. Barnett told Matt that he was positive about recovery but won’t know the full results until the surgery is performed. The doctor was uncertain about the malignancy of the tumor, and a biopsy will be performed as part of the surgery.

The outpouring of support and prayers from all over the world has been overwhelming to Matt and Lauren. Continue to pray and fast on behalf of the family. The church’s monthly prayer service will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Highland Village, Denton and Dallas Northway worship centers. We encourage you to fast throughout that day and join us to pray that evening. If you cannot join us, pray wherever you are.

We continue to rest in the knowledge that Matt is in the sovereign hand of our heavenly Father who loves him immensely more than we can comprehend, and He alone understands the reasons for this trial. Along with your prayers, continue to give Matt and Lauren and their family time and space for their continued rest.

Pray for Matt Chandler

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In light of my recent blog post, I thought I would pass along this request from Challies and Thabiti: Pray for Matt Chandler. Challies writes:

Keep Matt Chandler in your prayers: “I have a small mass In my frontal lobe,” Matt Chandler, lead pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, Texas, wrote on his Twitter feed. “[I have a date] with the neurosurgeon early next week.”

Let’s lift this brother up and pray that God’s will is accomplished.

Matt Chandler at Southern Seminary…

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I know many of you appreciate the ministry of Matt Chandler. His gifts are amazing and he consistently is used by God to bless my soul (and challenge me to holiness). This was true in a recent sermon I finally got around to listening to. Matt preached at Southern Seminary. Here’s the text, audio and video. Take time to consider his application of an amazing text for ministers.

Transferred…

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Yesterday’s sermon, Transfer Orders, from Colossians 1:13-14 is now online. The text is simple review for those of us who have tasted and seen the Lord’s goodness in the Gospel — we are delivered from darkness to the kingdom of Jesus, receiving redemption and forgiveness. My charge to believers was, using the context, to increase in knowledge of these truths more and more and, in so doing, live a life pleasing to the Lord characterized by gratitude.

What emotions does the Father’s saving work in your produce?