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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. We used this resource this past year in our Go Deeper Hour with adults.  It has a DVD to go along with the book.  Matt does a great job of telling stories and how they relate to the Christian life.  I highly recommend this for your small group or Sunday School class.  I wish we would have had more time to spend on this book as it has so many great truths.

We often forget.  We see throughout history the Israelites and the church forgetting. We need to be reminded often of who God is in Scripture, church history and in our lives and churches. The names of God are important because these names are not just what God does, it is who He is.  I hope this will encourage you as you are reminded of how good, great, and awesome our God is. I am the life   6  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) What it reminds me?  Jesus came to bring us life.  In John 10:10, it says He came to bring eternal or abundant life.  This is not just heaven, but life on earth today.  Jesus did not come to make bad people good, but instead dead people alive.  I am thankful for the life I have in Christ and how that changes how I live today.  For more on this topic, check out Matt Heard's book, Life With A Capital L.

Session 4-Matt Heard-Experiencing Eternal Life Do human beings ever realize life while they are living it? From Emily in Our Town We all have a longing to "realize life while we live it" Matthew 7:13-14-Our longings are ultimately for restoration Proverbs 13:12 (tree of life-mentioned 3 times in Scripture) John 4:13 Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 12:23; 1 Timothy 6:12 John 14:6-way-doing; truth-thinking; life-being (Part A & B)-Jesus didn't say pick two of three Way without Life-suffocating legalism, sub-cultural behavioral codes, works-based action, empty ritual (Matthew 23:27-28) Truth without Life-meaningless talk, foolish, unprofitable arguments, quarreling about words, judgmental tool (John 5:39-40) Way with Life-biblical obedience, healthy, God-glorifying action, Life-demonstrating & life-giving behavior Truth with Life-doctrine that illuminates and liberates, written word that leads to life Eternal Life is Not synonymous with heave...

Session 2 with Matt Heard-Longing for Life Jeremiah 2:13--My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. John Calvin referred to us as idol factories. We are prone to wander. I'm thankful that the Living Water never leaves or forsakes us. The starting point of the gospel is God. We are created in His image. Our longings central to being human engaged and discerned rooted in eternity John 4:13-eternal life is not a synonym for heaven Isaiah 26:7-9-every person on earth has a longing for God; they just don't know it. We all have an eternal plug that we try to plug into temporal outlets. Psalm 63:1-when our fervency goes down, it is because we choose a broken cistern instead of turning to the only Fountain, the Living Water. There is Life Everywhere Painting based on short story by Leo Tolstoy The gospel comes to me to bring me to life. In the ...

Our pastor's gathering began with introductions from Don Morris followed by praise and worship. Pastor Brad Burkholder, lead pastor at Hesston MB Church, shared about ministry to the community following the Feb. 25th shooting at Excel Industries. Matt Heard, author of Life with A Capital L, is our speaker for the week. Session 1: The Gospel and Our Longing Philippians 3:12 USMB's Future Story Three core commitments: church multiplication/planting/evangelism Intentional disciple-making Developing leaders 1 Timothy 6:12 John 20:31 Do we understand the so what of the gospel? Part A-that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God Part B-and that by believing you may have life in his name. We proclaim part A but we don't live part B so people don't care about part A Sehnsucht-longing, deep desire, why am I here? Our Longings... Central To Being Human Engaged And Discerned Under the Direction of Christ's Spirit ...

Next week July 27-30, the USMB Convention will be meeting in Denver, Colorado.  Our speaker for both the pastor's conference and convention is Matt Heard.  I sent Matt some questions and below you will find his responses.  As I have read part one of this book, I believe Matt's keynotes will be a message that is very timely for our USMB family.  I hope this brief interview will whet your appetite for hearing more from Matt next week. If you are unable to be at the convention next week, I will be tweeting quotes @JL_Martin as well as posting on this blog what is going on.  Check back next week Thursday, Friday and Saturday for my thoughts from the convention. Why did you want to write Life with a Capital L: Embracing Your God-Given Humanity ?   I think many of us in churches are tragically less fluent than we should be regarding the grand “why” of the Gospel. Other than the forgiveness of sins and admission into heaven (both of whi...