Text: Romans 12:2 | Listen to Message “I just didn’t have peace about it.” “I felt like God was telling me to.” “Things got hard, so it was pretty clear to me God was closing that door.” “I put out a fleece and God seemed to be saying ‘no.’” “I thought it was the right call and I found a pastor who agreed with me.” Christians sure do have some bizarre ways of determining God’s will, don’t we? We follow our feelings, as if our emotions are infallible guides to our best life now. We claim “God said” this or that...
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Text: Philippians 2:1-11 | Listen to Message It’s the stat that’s been recirculated at seminaries and pastors’ conferences probably since the days of Peter, James, and John: 10% of the people in your churches will do all of the serving, and the other 90% will do nothing. True enough. Some people will never serve the local church, no matter what. Their idea of “church” is occasionally showing up to “get fed.” They’re consumers of religious programs, events, and experiences, but not servants of Jesus Christ. But I believe there’s a whole group of believers who want to serve in some meaningful...
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Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:14 | Listen to Message Here’s a case study to give an example of what Gospel-driven counseling might look like in action. I’m choosing the topic of shame because, as I’ve written here and here, I think it’s the #1 thing destroying Christian community right now. Though my case study refers to an endemic problem in modern culture – including the modern Church culture – this is not a reference to any actual persons or events.     You’ve noticed that your friends, Steve and Steph, have not been showing up to church lately. Their absence is conspicuous...
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Recommended Reading:  Everyday Church, by Tim Chester & Steve Timmis Counsel from The Cross, by Elyse Fitzpatrick & Dennis Johnson Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow, by Nancy Guthrie How People Change, by Timothy Lane Instruments in The Redeemer’s Hands, by Paul David Tripp Side by Side, by Ed Welch   Recommended Apps & Websites: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/?s=counseling A collection of Gospel-centered blog posts on counseling in the Church https://www.ccef.org/ Homepage of the Christian Counseling & Education Foundation https://biblicalcounseling. com Homepage of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (formerly NANC) https://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/ Homepage of the Biblical Counseling Coalition
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Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:14 | Listen to Message If you’re living in community, there will be plenty of opportunities to observe both sin and suffering in the lives of others. You may even think to yourself, “Someone should do something to help this person! But who?” It’s so easy to excuse ourselves from the responsibility to counsel a friend because, after all, we have plenty of our own issues to deal with. “Shouldn’t I fix my own problems first before attempting to help others with theirs?” While these are understandable concerns, the New Testament assumes that ordinary and broken believers will...
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Text: Ephesians 2:11-22 | Listen to Message Dietrich Bonhoeffer wisely cautioned, “The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community” (Life Together). It’s one thing to love the idea of community in the abstract; it’s another thing to enjoy real community with real people who have real problems. Theoretical community is easy; but real community always involves things like risk, patience, misunderstandings, sacrifice, hurt, repentance, forgiveness, and grace. In the midst of our selfishly individualistic culture, a diverse community of selfless, grace-saturated love would be a very attractive...
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Recommended Reading: Apologetics at The Cross, by Joshua D. Chatraw & Mark D. Allen Everyday Church, chapters 4-5, by Tim Chester & Steve Timmis Apologetics to The Glory of God, by John Frame What Is The Gospel?, by Greg Gilbert The Reason for God, by Tim Keller Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis Generating Hope, by Jimmy Long 8 to 15: The World Is Smaller Than You Think, by Tom Mercer Evangelism and The Sovereignty of God, by J. I. Packer The Art of Neighboring, by Jay Pathak & Dave Runion Desiring God, chapter 9, by John Piper Let The...
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Recommended Reading: The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath, by Mark Buchanan Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human, by John Mark Comer Crazy Busy, by Kevin DeYoung The Art of Rest, by Adam Mabry Reset, by David Murray Liturgy of The Ordinary, by Tish Harrison Warren   Recommended Apps & Websites: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/?s=sabbath A collection of Gospel-centered blog posts on Sabbath and rest. https://www.redeemercitytocity.com/blog/wisdom-and-sabbath-rest https://www.redeemer.com/redeemer-report/article/six_ways_to_practice_sabbath
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Text: 1 Peter 3:15 | Listen to Message 1 Peter 3:15 urges believers to “always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” In other words, if you want to share your faith, you must do 4 things: 1. You must have regular interaction with non-Christians. The Bible assumes Christians will be friends with non-Christians. Not “pretend” friends for the purpose of evangelizing them, but actual friends. This means genuinely loving them, caring about them, and spending time with them. You...
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Text: Genesis 2:1-3 | Listen to Message When I was a kid, the Sabbath Day was an existential threat to my happiness. A lot of the stuff I enjoyed was taboo on “The Lord’s Day” – especially if it involved mud, sports, or sweat. I was pretty sure my parents were one impulsive decision away from turning Sundays into no fun days. I figured “Sabbath” was the Hebrew word for death by boredom. Most of our culture today lives at the opposite end of the spectrum. There is no such thing as a “Sabbath” to the vast majority of people. Rest...
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