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As I have continued to read Gospel Powered Parenting by William Farley, I have struggled.  Chapter 3 was difficult.  I would probably not recommend this book to parents because of this chapter.  Chapters 4-5 seemed to help a little, but something is missing.  I am going to finish the book, but won't recommend it to others.  His understanding of fear, holiness, and grace are much different from mine and more importantly my understanding of the Bible.  With that said, I believe fear, holiness, and grace are biblical.  However, I would see a different definition in Scripture than Farley. These chapters heap condemnation on parents if they don't measure up.  But then he says something that makes me question my strong feelings.  This book has confused me more than any other book I have read because of how it mixes law and gospel.  Most books I disagree with are heavy on law and moralism only.  This one blends law and gospel which makes...

I finally finished The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall. It is a book that was recommended by my friend, Russell, in Texas. We had a great gospel conversation outside of Starbucks this summer while I was on sabbatical.  Here are some quotes from the final chapters: assurance is very important for you to have if you want to grow in your faith and grow in holiness. Jesus tells you first about the work of believing.  Faith is the work of works, because all other good works proceed from faith. Many other people ruin their souls because they seek to have their sins forgiven through faith in Christ, but then they try to produce holiness in their lives by their own efforts. This is the truth of the gospel: no matter how sordid your life has been, no matter how many your sins have been, they are small compared to the grace of Christ. Don't "just do it." Instead, continually go to Christ first, by faith. Then, you will receive a gospel motivation ...

Yeah, me too.  All of us fall into the hypocrite category because we say one thing and do another. Scott Sauls has an excellent chapter in Jesus Outside the Lines on this topic.  Here are some of my favorite quotes from the chapter: It reminds me that God's relentless grip on me, not my relentless grip on God, keeps me in his love. Shouldn't we evaluate Jesus on his own merits rather than the flaws of his followers? There is something incredibly attractive and inviting about people who stop pointing fingers and posing and pretending to be totally good and totally right, and instead start taking themselves less seriously and openly and freely admit that they are not yet what they should be. The Bible helps us see how: it is the loveliness of Jesus, and only the loveliness of Jesus, that can make hypocrites lovely. Humbled by our own hypocrisy and drawn to how the loveliness of Jesus can transform us, we must preoccupy ourselves less with trying to be l...

I am continuing to read The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall. It is a slow read.  Here are selected quotes from Chapters 4 and 5. "faith is not simply a matter of avoiding punishment, where do not have any desire to love and enjoy Christ. Rather, true saving faith means that you come to a deep, heartfelt conviction of how precious Christ is..." "They know people cannot totally keep Christ's laws, so they say that as long as you resolve to keep Christ's law, that is good enough to save you." "In order to live a life of holiness, you need God's almighty power." "The flesh is the nature of man as it is corrupted by the fall of Adam." "Sanctification is far more than "turning over a new leaf" in the way you live. Sanctification is living out of your new nature in Christ." "Can you possibly imagine that anyone can prevail against sin if he sees that God is against him, and that he i...

I am continuing to read Walter Marshall's The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification . There are so many good quotes, but I will try and share only a handful today. The key to living a holy life is union with Christ. Now, we have to acknowledge that union with Christ is a great mystery. In order to keep the law of God, your soul must be empowered out of the fullness of Christ. The power to live a holy life is something that is produced in you by Christ, and treasured up for you in him. Union with Christ is not a privilege you earn by your sincere obedience, or by your own attempts at holiness. Your union with Christ is not a reward of your own good works. Rather, union with Christ is a privilege that God gives to every Christian when they first become a Christian! The Holy Spirit brings about your sanctification. Contrary to popular belief, this marvelous assurance of forgiveness and everlasting life will not motivate you to ungodly living. Any holy attitude you have, or any...

This book was recommended to me by Russell.  We met while I was on sabbatical and had a great conversation about discipleship, gospel, law, grace, parenting and more.  We covered a lot of ground in our 3 hour conversation outside Starbuck's in Dallas. Russell said he has read this book several times.  Based on what I have read so far, I think I might refer back and read it often too. Here are some quotes from the first chapter: Real obedience does not only consist of external good works and acts of love...True holiness is a matter of the heart...true holiness is not simply a matter of refraining from acting out your sinful lusts...True holiness means that you delight in doing God's will; you long to do it more than you long to do anything else! True holiness means that you cheerfully obey God. My whole book is about the means by which you can become holy, but many people will see this part as irrelevant and useless. Why? Because they only want to know what they have...

Today's New Book Friday was recommended by my friend Russell. We were Facebook friends and then met in Dallas while I was on sabbatical. We talked for three hours outside of Starbucks until after midnight. Thanks for the recommendation, Russell!

As I mentioned in a previous post, last week I started reading Show Them Jesus by Jack Klumpenhower. You can visit his website here  Below, I have included a section from Chapter 3 on growth for kids.  It was so helpful to me and will impact how I teach in the future. Church kids come in one of two types--unsaved and saved. Both types desperately need to see Jesus. . .We make a mistake if we think kids are saved by hearing the good news and trusting Jesus, but then grow as Christians some other way. . .We grow in the same way we became Christians--rooted in Jesus, with our hope in the good news. As kids learn about God's goodness and holiness, they ought to increase in aw of him. That's growth. And as they examine themselves and see the ugliness inside, they ought to increase in conviction of sin. That's growth too. But the combination of these will drive them to despair--unless their understanding of the forgiveness and righteousness they have in Jesus also grows. ...

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...

Right now, I am reading several books on the gospel.  It is interesting how each one is helping me better grasp the truth of the gospel.  Each comes from a different perspective, but have many overlaps as well.  These books are: The Gospel of Peace by James Richards When Sinners Say I Do by Dave Harvey Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian Good & Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith I think what all of them agree on is the need to understand who God is and who we are in Christ.  This truth is so important because that will then impact what we say and do.  Rather than participate in the "pendulum swing", they give a balanced view of love & holiness.  Both are important and when we respond to an extreme in either one, we do not have a Biblical understanding of God. They also speak to our motivations.  Why are we serving in the church?  Why are we loving others?  What is our response when we sin?  All of these a...