Summer is upon us!

If you've got some extra time over the next couple of months - maybe you're traveling a bit, or your summer schedule allows you more time to read for other reasons, or you just want some book recommendations as you maintain a habit of reading - here are a few books (in categories we should keep on our radar screens) you may want to consider. These are books that I've either read recently myself, or am hoping to dig into in the next couple of months.

I encourage you to explore these books a bit (each is linked to their Amazon page where you can learn more), then choose whichever one or two jumps out at you most and dig in! 

Every year my wife plants a big garden, and we look forward to all the fruit of that garden throughout the summer and into the Fall. She plants lettuce and tomatoes and peppers and whole lot of other things. 

But we also know that if we’re going to eat the fruit of the garden, we need to actively be dealing with the weeds in the garden. Because weeds will steal light and nutrients from the plants we want to grow. Weeds crowd out space you want for the crops to flourish. 

Dealing with weeds is a struggle. It’s work! But it’s worth it.

In Colossians 3:5-11, the Apostle Paul tells us to make sure we're dealing with the weeds in our garden. Listen to what he says:

Happy Reformation Day! On this day, 500 years ago, Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Chapel - the event that we now commonly look to as igniting the Protestant Reformation. 

Below I've collected a handful of resources that will help you understand a bit more about the Protestant Reformation and reflect on its ongoing significance. I encourage you to choose 1-2 links that interest you most and dig in. If you've got kids at home, consider bringing up some of the "big takeaways" with them, and inviting them into remembering the positive significance of the Reformation today. I've included a couple of accessible books that motivated learners can read.

Every now and then I try to take some time and reflect on why the intentional teaching ministry of the church remains important. Whatever shape it takes, why is equipping and a teaching in the church, for the church, and by the church valuable? 

At least one reason is the growth of secularism, pluralism, and "indifferentism" in America. Very simply stated, secularism is a worldview that pushes God to the margins. It's fine to believe in God on your own, the secularist may say, just don't bring any religious ideas or reasoning into the public square. Pluralism flows out of the reality that we are surrounded by people who believe very different things than than us - and it often goes a step further to say the no one religion can be exclusively true. "Indifferentism" (this is my term, I think) tries to explain the religious apathy of the "nones" and "dones" - those who adhere to no single religious expression (the "nones") or those who have "tried out" some religion and - for whatever reason - didn't stick with it.

So what does all this have to do with catechesis - an intentional and systematic approach to teaching in the local church? Here's what:

​What other books (in any of these categories listed above) would you suggest people consider?  List 'em here!

Christmas is lots of things. It's devotional - it should stir our hearts, prompting our reflection and worship. It's action-oriented - it should lead us to give of ourselves and serve others. 

And along with everything else it is, Christmas is theology. Big theological truths seep out of Christmas like sap comes out of the Christmas trees when they're cut down. In very short order, here are three theological truths that go hand-in-hand with Christmas.

God isn't some distant deity or a "capriciously malevolent bully" as some have claimed. In Christmas, we discover that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son..." (John 3:16). In Christmas, we see in the biggest way possible that God is a giver. And not only that God is a giver - but that God is a sacrificial, joyful, generous, over-the-top Giver.

The incarnation basically means that God became flesh. "Incarnation" helps us understand that Jesus was 100% God AND 100% man - both at the same time. (If you want to dig in deeper into the incarnation, read Stephen J. Wellum's recent ​God the Incarnate Son: The Doctrine of Christ or do some study on the Chalcedonian definition of Christ - a 5th century statement working to theologically articulate Christian orthodoxy around the two natures of Christ in His one person.

When Jesus came into the world, he came into a world that NEEDED to be saved. In John 1 we get this Gospel writer's pespective on Christmas, and it underlines our need for Jesus.

​In describing Jesus as light, John 1:5 tells us that Jesus came to shine in the darkness (i.e., evil). John 1:10-11 tells us that Jesus came into a world that was so darkened in its perception, twisted in its desires, and rebellious toward God that though Jesus made the world, "the world didn't recognize him." Instead, v. 11 tells us the world rejected Him. All of these things underline the truth thats sin is THE PROBLEM in our world and our hearts.

Sin is WHY we need Jesus. And so Jesus comes - is born of the Virgin Mary, lives a sinless life, dies on the cross for our sins and is raised to life again on the third day - so that "all who believe in His name can become children of God" (cf. John 1:12).

Let's not forget these (and other!) theological truths that go hand-in-hand with Christmas. Let's allow these truths to fill our minds, stir our devotion, and motivate our own action in line with the good news that Jesus has come, and that He's "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

Ligonier ministries has sponsored another LifeWay Research study, surveying where Americans land on certain theological beliefs. (I encourage you to check out the article reporting the findings, posted here at LifeWay.)

The results indicate that there's plenty of job security out there for teachers of theology, and need for churches to continue to champion theological formation. As someone who commented on the findings remarked, "although Americans still overwhelmingly identify as 'Christian,' startling percentages of the nation embrace ancient errors condemned by all major Christian traditions. These are not minor points of doctrine, but core ideas that define Christianity itself."

As I said in response to a similar survey done a couple of years ago, findings like this reinforce the responsibility churches have to champion evangelical theology and they remind us of the opportunity we have to draw people back to the life-giving fountain that is rich Christian theology.

Let's keep at it, Church. :)

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

• A Few of My Thoughts on a Recent Theological Survey (2014)
• The Importance of Systematic Theology
• My Own "Working Definition" of Christian Theology
• Starting to Build Your Biblical and Theological Library? Here Are 8 Books to Get You Started

This last Sunday I preached on "The 'Why?' Question" of Suffering from Job 1:1-2:10. (To find the message, click here and scroll down to the sermon preached on July 31, 2016.) The point I kept making from Job is this: "As you wrestle through the WHY question of suffering, focus on WHO God is and trust in Him."

In my opinion, there was no better song to end this message with than with the old hymn, "It Is Well," written by Horatio Spafford in the late 1800s. Not only do the lyrics of "It Is Well" reinforce the point I was trying to make, but the story behind the song is powerful. Spafford was a successful man who experienced deep suffering himself - losing much of his wealth and 5 children. His song is an example of someone who - in the midst of suffering - focused on God and trusted in Him. 

I encourage you to check out this brief video I found that tells the story behind this famous hymn. It's less than 5 min and will be worth the time spent watching it.