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If you are regular reader of the blog, on Fridays I have shared new books, favorite books, and most recently kid books.  Now, I am going to share discipleship resources that I would recommend each Friday. 

This book is a great reminder that our theology about who Jesus is not just beliefs but a person.  Judah Smith does a great job communicating who Jesus is in a simple way.  Check it out!   

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you will remember that I enjoyed and quoted often Jesus Is ______ by Judah Smith.  I started reading his new book, Life Is ________ a few weeks ago.  Here are a few quotes from introduction and Chapter 1: Life is to be loved and to love. The order of those two phrases is intentional, because until we realize we are loved, it's tough--probably impossible--to truly love. The major theme of the Bible is that God's love passionately pursues humankind. He (God) genuinely loves us and wants the best for our lives. When it comes to God, love isn't just an action--it's a state of existence. God is love. God is saying that his love is not like ours. Against all common sense, in contrast to our human ideas about justice and commitment, God's love never quits.       

We are finishing up our series on Jesus Is ______ by Judah Smith this weekend.  I have enjoyed our discussions on who Jesus is which better equips us to worship Him.  Our next series is based on the book One Way Love by Tullian Tchividjian.  We will be focusing on how understanding God's One Way Love frees us up to serve God and others.  If you have not read the book, it is excellent for many reasons but especially the explanation of grace and law.  Pick it up at your local Christian bookstore.  As you know, I recommend Faith and Life Bookstore in Newton.

This past Sunday, our lesson topic was "Accuser or Advocate" from a group study by Judah Smith called Jesus Is ________.  I found our discussion after the video to be challenging and encouraging at the same time.  So, let me pose the question Smith poses to us, "Are we to be accusers or advocates in our world?"  I know what the obvious answer is.  We should be advocates.  But how does this apply practically with our spouse, children, friends, neighbors? Can we be advocates all the time?  As the old adage says, "hate the sin, love the sinner."  Can we stand firm on convictions from God's Word in a non-accusatory way?  Or should we?  Like I told the class, it requires a lot of prayer and leading by the Holy Spirit.  Here are some verses that show examples of accusation? 10  And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the ...

 Pastor Jared sent me this video a few days ago and I just watched it today.  What a powerful message!  I encourage each of you to watch it.  Do you enjoy God?  You might be surprised. 

I am continuing to share thoughts from Jesus Is _______. Here are quotes about love, suffering, and life: "We are all God's favorites. . .It's not about how much we love God. It's about how much he loves us." "Go ahead and try to describe the height of his love, the length of his love, the width of his love, the depth of his love. Our metaphors pale in comparison. We have marriages, we have children, we have adoptions, we have friends, but nothing compares to God's love for us." "He is on your side not because of who you are but because of who he is. His love is unconditional and overwhelming. He is your advocate, your defense lawyer, and your biggest fan." "The Bible declares emphatically that God is with us because God is for us." "Some of us go so far as to think God gets a kick out of our suffering." "The fact that Jesus is here not only brings comfort in hard times, it gives us courage that our cir...

I am thoroughly enjoying Judah Smith's book, Jesus Is _______.   Here are a few quotes from several chapters I read last week: "Jesus and joy are always a package deal. . .The answer to your joy problem is the gospel." "Sometimes preachers feel that we have to balance the good news and the bad news. . . It's human nature to mistrust what seems too good to be true. Let's settle in our hearts once and for all that Jesus is too good to be true. Salvation is too good to be true. Grace is too good to be true. Heaven is too good to be true. . . There's nothing bad or sad about God's gospel." "One of the reasons the gospel is so good is that it's more about God than about us. . .Religion says that obedience brings acceptance. The gospel teaches the opposite: acceptance brings obedience." "It's a holiness that is internally motivated, a holiness powered by love, not by guilt." "That is the gospel: God is with us...

I seem to be having a lot of conversations lately about the law and gospel.  We understand that the law cannot save us.  The law has no power.  What is the point of the law then?    Check out these verses: 3  For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)   6  But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:6)  My understanding is the law points out of our sin and points us to Jesus. Grace is where the power is.  Grace brings about the change in our lives. Here are a few quotes f...

Yesterday's post was about what God would write in your yearbook. What did you come up with? Here are a few thoughts from Judah Smith from Jesus Is _______: "They know they were saved by grace initially, but they feel as though every new sin is another nail in Jesus' hands." "Jesus said, It is finished. The more I think about this potent little phrase, the more convinced I am that we need a bigger estimation of God and a smaller estimation of sin." "We often approach sin backward. We try to control or diminish its effects, but we never deal with its internal power and shame." "On one level, sin is a big deal. But it's not as big a deal as it used to be, and it won't be a big deal at all in the future. . . Jesus' death dealt with the guilt of sin and the power of sin." "We would do well to stop focusing on our sins, our failures, our weaknesses, our pasts, and our legalistic attempts to live in holiness and sim...

This past week, I was reading from Jesus Is ________ by Judah Smith. He talks in one chapter about yearbook day. We all remember yearbook day. That day when you get your yearbook and you have everyone sign it and write nice things about you. You can't wait to read the comments at home. Did the quarterback of the team think I was a stud? Did the smartest girl think I was intelligent? Or we wonder, were they annoyed by me or thought I was stupid? Here is the question Smith poses, "What would God write in your yearbook today?" How would you answer that question? Of course, He would tell us He loves us. What else? Would He mention we did OK and keep striving and working to keep our sin under control? Would He remind us to keep serving and doing good things? Share in the comments below what God would say in your yearbook. Check back tomorrow for a few thoughts from Jesus Is ___________.

This is the chapter title for Chapter 5 of Judah Smith's book Jesus Is _________. I almost wore out a highlighter as I read this chapter. I encourage you to pick up the book. Here are some quotes: "People don't need grace to sin. They need grace to deal with the sin they already have." "That means that grace and truth aren't enemies. They are on the same side. We don't need to balance grace with truth or truth with grace, because they are both personified in Jesus." "If you want to know what God thinks of you, or what God would say about your sin, or how God would respond if he were face-to-face with you, just look at Jesus, and you'll know." "it (grace) will not motivate you to sin. It will motivate you to righteousness." "Allegiance to a doctrine can only last so long, but relationship trumps everything. We'll do anything for someone we love." "The point is this: some of us put too much tru...

Do you ever get tired of me sharing quotes with you?  I hope not.  I have had several people comment that they have benefited from the quotes, so I keep doing it.  Here are some quotes from Jesus Is            and Creature of the Word : "Grace is the foundation of Christianity and the essence of salvation." "That's why I think we should smile in church-we should dance, we should celebrate, we should laugh, and we should get over our serious selves and represent the joy of heaven." "We are sons and daughters of God by birth, not by worth." "Our sonship is not based on our performance but on Jesus's finished performance . . ." "Jesus died for us before we were born, before we had done anything, good or bad. Why is he going to start making us live by rules and law now?"   "Jesus fulfills every promise of the Old Testament, bringing light and clarity to the entirety of the canon of Scripture." "Gospel-c...

There are some great deals for resources on the cross and resurrection this week.  I have personally only read the one by John Piper.  But have read other books by R.C. Sproul and Jonathan Dodson.  If you are looking for a helpful resource this Easter week, I encourage you to check out the following links. Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper.  Available for $.99 here The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul.  Available here for free. Raised by Jonathan Dodson and Brad Watson is also free here  I also recommend the following books about Jesus: Jesus Is ________________ by Judah Smith Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchvidjian  The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller The Gospel of Yes by Mike Glenn You can purchase these at Faith and Life Bookstore in Newton or your local Christian store.

Have you ever pondered the statement that Jesus is a "friend of sinners?" That statement alone flies in the face of what many religious people believe and how they live.  Rather than hang out with the healthy, Jesus chose the sick.  In Judah Smith's book, Jesus Is            , he explains this concept.  Here are a few quotes from his book: "But Jesus didn't care about the scandal. He cared about the scandalous." "If justice must be served, we are all in trouble because we all have sin." "Both extremes (self-righteous or self-condemning) come from focusing on rules rather than on a relationship with Jesus." "Jesus sees our sin more clearly than anyone, yet he loves us more than anyone." "Church is a place where a bunch of people who realize they need help get together to love Jesus and encourage each other." "But when sin becomes more important than the sinner, an alarm needs to go off in our heads....

I am continuing to read Judah Smith's new book, Jesus Is          .  Here are a few quotes to ponder: "We need to abandon our scale and adopt God's because our misguided labels keep us from the right kind of interaction with people." "The good news is that Jesus came to reveal a God who defines us not by our actions but by his love." "We just have to remember that rules are not proof of our spirituality.  If anything, they are proof of our sinfulness, a reminder that we have a tendency toward wrongdoing and that we need help." "Whether I am better than you or worse than you really doesn't matter. What matters is that I recognize my need for Jesus."

Today, I began reading Jesus Is ________ by Judah Smith. He begins the book with the story of Zacchaeus. I look forward to reading the rest of the book. Here are a few quotes from Chapter 1: "Nowhere in the Bible, however, do we find God distinguishing between levels of sin. God doesn't share our rating system. To him, all sin is equally evil, and all sinners are equally lovable. Obviously sins have different consequences: some will get you incarcerated or your face punched in, while others won't even be noticed. But God just calls sin, sin." "What changed Zacchaeus? Biblical principle? Personal devotion? Religious duty and deeds? No-just a few moments with God in the flesh." "Jesus is not your accuser. He's not your prosecutor. He's not your judge. He's your friend and your rescuer. Like Zacchaeus, just spend time with Jesus." "Don't allow the opinions of other people to shape your concept of him. Get to know him f...

Over the last few weeks, I have discovered some new authors via articles, blog posts, or books.  I thought I would share a few of them with you today. Judah Smith , author of Jesus Is __________ and this great  post Frank Viola , author of numerous books and this great  post on our identity in Christ  Eric Geiger and Josh Patterson as they collaborate with Matt Chandler on Creature of the Word Andrew Farley , author of The Naked Gospel & God Without Religion Have a great weekend!