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...

Here are some of my favorite tweets from the last few weeks.  This is one of the blessings of social media where we can hear the gospel from people all over the world. If you like the tweet, go and follow the person on Twitter.  How do our passions for God grow? Not by being told that they're supposed to grow, but by marveling at what God has done for us. @jdgreear Focus on external behavior & you will miss the internal heart,but focus on the internal heart & you will get both @briandembo I'm convinced many are not aware of how great Jesus is and how amazing his love and grace are to us. @JeffVanderstelt Can you imagine going through a whole day without guilt? That's what Jesus did for you--no guilt in life, no fear in death. @ElyseFitz via @faithandlifeks It's not just the negative Law that doesn't have power to change people but positive Law doesn't have power to change either. @Jaredcwilson I taste now the freedom of the gospel, which say...

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...

Here are some of my favorite tweets from the last few weeks.  This is one of the blessings of social media where we can hear the gospel from people all over the world. If you like the tweet, go and follow the person on Twitter.  When we grasp how secure we are in Christ we don't respond with the desire to sin more but we love God more and desire to sin less. @JohnH4Christ Christians do not live for an identity; they live from an identity. They do not achieve an identity; they receive an identity in Christ. @WePreachChrist Rest in the reality that God isn't simply your just Judge but also your loving Heavenly Father. @MattChandler74 I share the Gospel. Not because I think that they are not saved; I share the Gospel to remind them that they are loved. @RaleighSadler "I do not condemn you. Now leave your life of sin." - Jesus-- Reverse the order of these sentences, and you lose both Christianity and Jesus. @scottsauls Our target is a transformed heart, not ch...

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...

Here are some of my favorite tweets from the last few weeks.  This is one of the blessings of social media where we can hear the gospel from people all over the world. If you like the tweet, go and follow the person on Twitter.  Church, what's our message? Paul makes it clear in 1 Timothy 1:15-Christ Jesus came to save sinners. @rantingbeggar 'O wretched man that I am...' is permanently married to 'It Is Finished!' @JTMRM2002  The strength of your salvation lies not in your hands but His. @jaredcwilson Rather, every story in the Bible is designed to either proclaim or point towards the gospel in some way. @briandembo As I was praying & looking at this window at #hesstonmb yesterday, I was reminded of Jesus' words from John 7:38, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." @JL_Martin  

Here are some of my favorite tweets from the last few weeks.  This is one of the blessings of social media where we can hear the gospel from people all over the world. If you like the tweet, go and follow the person on Twitter.  Jesus interpreted Scripture, not as a collection of random stories but as one big story about Him. We should do the same. @BrianDembo Because the Gospel is what the Bible & Discipleship is all about, we can never move past it. We never outgrow it. @BrianDembo the reason grace is powerful for godliness is bc there is a chemistry of the heart that is greater than the math of the mind @BryanChapell Basically, I lived my life believing that God was pleased with me based on what I did, not on who I was in Christ. @BrianDembo Loved singing this simple truth " Jesus Loves Me" w/ kids in Children's Church today. @JL_Martin