God is a communicating God. Throughout Scripture, we discover that God speaks. By the power of His word He speaks creation into existence (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 24, 26). He takes the initiative to reveal Himself (Exodus 34:5-7). God calls people to fresh steps of faith and obedience, in line with His mission (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 13:2). He encourages and offers hope (Acts 18:9-10). God is a communicating God.
Besides saying THAT God speaks, it's also important to note HOW God speaks. He is certainly able to speak directly, as seen in so many of the above Scripture passages. He speaks through human prophets in the Old Testament. These prophets calls God's people back to God's relationship with them, and how they ought to live in light of that. God has given us His Son. In the words of Jesus we hear God speaking to us, showing us how to follow Him and receive life to the fullest – life the way we were designed to live. God has given us His Word, the Bible. In the pages of this true, authoritative, divinely-inspired book we meet the God who speaks. In the pages of this living-and-active book we encounter truth that transforms our minds and equips us for every good work (cf. Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12). In all of this, we see again and again the God is a communicating God. The question is, are we listening? As we seek to listen well, I find it helpful to keep four things in mind:
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I ran across this quote from Christian theologian and teacher Sinclair Ferguson (I noticed this via Dave Harvey, pastor and author, via Twitter). I did a little bit of additional digging, and it looks like this quote comes from Sinclair Ferguson's book, The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction. I happen to agree with Sinclair Ferguson on this point - which won't come as much of a surprise if you've spent some time exploring the Brookside Institute blog posts on theology and catechesis. The question I encourage you to reflect on (and comment on here!) is this: HOW is Christian doctrine "one of the most important growth points of the Christian life"? Or, stated another way, how will Christian growth be stunted if we neglect Christian doctrine?
What Are Some Good Resources for Family Devotional Time? Here's a few to Have on Your Radar Screen.10/13/2015 As a Christian dad, one of the things I'm "about" is raising my four boys to know and love God. I can't create gospel-change in them, but I want to do what I can to cultivate a heart that responds to the gospel in them.
But (at least in my own experience) I also know how tough it is to do this. Schedules get crazy busy, and so good intentions don't pan out. When we do create time to gather for family devotions, it feels like there's always one or two kids that are creating distractions. Lightning doesn't strike often in terms of "aha moments" and profound prayer requests. And yet we keep doing family devotions - in all of their imperfections, and not always as consistently as I'd like. But we keep at it. And as we keep at it, I'm always on the look out for resources that can help my wife and I teach our kids the Bible and point them towards Jesus. Below I've listed some resources I've got on my radar screen that fit into this category of family devotions and discipling our kids. I recently wrote on some (potential) opportunities and dangers that go along with Bible apps. What's good about having easy access to God's Word in a mobile device format? What might be some dangers to be aware of? As I've continued to think about this, my simplified bottom line is this: Read God's Word. ENGAGE God's Word. Easy access to the Bible can certainly facilitate that, but not necessarily.
With this post still fresh in my mind, I was interested to read what Relevant magazine would have to say about "Moving Beyond Tweetable Bible Reading" by Chandler Vannoy. I'm grateful for how this post fleshes out how the value of engaging God's Word. I've included the four major points of the post below, with a bit of my own brief commentary underneath each. Prayer is one of those spiritual disciplines of the Christian life that I need to work at. I try to return to good books that help me think about and practice prayer, but I've also discovered the importance of meditating on certain Scriptural truths about prayer. These truths, I believe, help renew my mind and keep my prayer life moving in a forward direction.
Here are five mindsets that I've found propel my prayer life, and I'm hoping might breathe fresh life into your practice of prayer as well: In just a few weeks, Fall 2015 Institute classes will begin. (Woo hoo!)
The start of a semester always gives me lots of great opportunities to (re)introduce people to the Brookside Institute - what the Brookside Institute is, values that guide us, etc. As part of that, once or twice a year I compile a handful (or two) of links - most of them blog posts - that relate to these sorts of questions and topics. Consider it "speed dating" the Institute - learning a lot about what we do and what we're about in a short amount of time! Happy reading! Any evangelical church has a number of important functions it should value: preaching, groups, care, equipping, etc. (All of these are important!) Oftentimes, "missions" is tacked on here, as just one more "department" that should be included under the umbrella of local church leadership.
Now, I'm glad Brookside has staff leadership devoted to our Impact Ministries (Global Impact and Community Impact). But that doesn't mean the rest of us - those of us that aren't directly involved in a Go Team or serving specifically within Impact Ministries - are off the hook. That's because, fully appreciated, "missions" is not just one more department of a church, but mission is part of the very identity of the church - something that should weave its way throughout the life of the church. I love how Gregg Allison (leaning on Jurgen Moltmann) helps articulate this: It's important for Christians to think about church. The church is important. And as Christians, we're saved out of our sin and its consequences into (among other things) the church. But I wonder how many believers have stopped to really think about what being part of the church means? Does it just mean we lose the chance to sleep in on Sunday mornings? Or is being part of the Church that Jesus is building even better than we often think?
As I've studied the church - what she is, why she exists, and what "marks" should characterize her - I've found the answer is the latter: being part of the Church that Jesus is building is AWESOME. It's awesome because of the PEOPLE that make up the church, the PURPOSES that propel her, and the PRIORITIES that shape her. This "awesomeness" invites further study, so we can better appreciate all that God is doing in and through the church. With this in mind, I want to encourage you to read one book on Ecclesiology (that's the fancy word for the doctrine of the church) this year. If you're looking for suggestions, here's a starter list of 6 to choose from, listed alphabetically by author. (Each is linked to its page at Amazon where you can explore a bit further.) Oh yeah, and don't forget to keep current with Brookside's current sermon series (Aug 16-Sept 6, 2015), "I Love My Church"!
Many of you know that the Brookside Institute is all about building and reinforcing foundations of the Christian faith. A big way this happens is through classes we offer that ground and grow people in the faith - classes where people and Dig Deep, Learn Good, and Launch Well.
But let's be honest: We need a lot more than just classes to do this. One of the additional ways we can build and reinforce foundations of the Christian faith is by instructing our families and interacting with them about Christian truth, values, and behavior. Parents are not a cul-de-sac of equipping, where truth enters but can't proceed. In the biblical picture of families, parents are a conduit of a biblical worldview, "owning" Christian truths and value themselves, and then passing these same truths and values along to their children. (Check it out in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.) All this is why I'm so excited about Kevin DeYoung's new book, The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden. Pastor Kevin DeYoung's Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What that Means for You and Me is available for FREE E-BOOK DOWNLOAD for a few more days (through July 14, 2015).
Before I direct you to the link where you can access this e-book, let my quickly explain why this offer is definitely one to take advantage of (and then to follow through on by reading the book!). Here's the reason: As we seek to know and study and obey the Bible, we can't neglect the mindset with which we approach God's Word. DeYoung's book helps us with that in accessible, accurate, and profound ways. For a review I did of Taking God at His Word shortly after it was published, click here. OK - 'nuf said. Here's a link to the offer from Crossway Publishers where you can read a bit more and access the books: |
Tim WiebeChristian. Husband. Father. Pastor. Learner. Contributor. Reader. Categories
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