daddy4ms

For the rest of 2018, I will be sharing books I recommend because they are some of my favorites.  New Book Friday will resume in January. Enjoy!

A few weeks ago I finished reading Gospel Centered Kids Ministry by Brian Dembowczyk. He works for Lifeway and leads the team that produces Gospel Project for Kids Curriculum. Here are some quotes from the final chapters of the book: We see that Jesus met the spiritual needs (teaching and preaching), the physical needs (healing), and emotional needs (compassion) of the people.  Harvesting the fields always starts with me before they...Statistically, the ripest harvest field for the gospel falls in the demographic of kids. We need leaders who are to help kids see the gospel, love the gospel, grow in the gospel, and dedicate their lives to the gospel. Kids leaders might not be thought of as theologians by many people, but I believe we should be some of the most sound theologians in the church. Gospel transformation takes place when we spend time with Christ and let Him drive the gospel more deeply into our minds and hearts. Then, and only then, will the Holy Spirit produc...

I am continuing to read Gospel Centered Kids Ministry by Brian Dembowczyk and Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt.  Below are quotes from each of these books:  Obedience doesn't save. God saves. Obedience detached from the gospel doesn't please. Christ's righteousness pleases. Focus on the external behavior and you will miss the internal heart, but focus on the internal heart and you will get both. That is the key to righteousness...And that is the key to gospel-centered transformation and application.  Go to the heart, and the hands will follow. We have to point our kids to the heart over and over again just like Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount. The heart is where the battle is won or lost. When we allow the Holy Spirit to work the gospel deep down into our kids' hearts, it will show itself in what they do with their hands as well. This is the kind of gospel transformation we are after. Helping our kids trust in the gospel, find acceptance from God based on...

Currently, I am reading two books.  The first is Gospel Centered Kids Ministry by Brian Dembowczyk and Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt.  Here are some quotes from this week's reading: The battle of sin is won and lost in the heart. The beauty of the gospel is that it would not be based off of human effort; rather, it would rest entirely on what God would do on man's behalf. The gospel is not good advice about how to live; it is good news about what God has done. Our target is a transformed heart, not changed behavior. A transformed heart will always result in changed behavior that honors God, but changed behavior will not always result in a transformed heart that yields to God. We cannot move straight to application through bypassing the gospel. We need to filter everything we teach through the gospel. But we always follow the "what" of God's commands with the "why." And that "why" is always anchored to the gospel in looking at...