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You Can Change by Tim Chester has been on my bookshelf for a few years.  I started it this year and I am sorry that I didn't start it sooner.  This book is so good!  Chester's book cover states "God's Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions"  Go buy the book.   But for now, here are several great quotes: We're not changed by systems or rules. We need a Redeemer to set us free, and we have a great Redeemer in Jesus...What this book tries to do is connect the truth about God with our Monday-morning struggles. The message of this book is that change takes place in our lives as we turn to see the glory of God in Jesus. We "see" the glory of Christ as we "hear" the gospel of Christ. Moral effort, fear of judgment, and sets of rules can't bring lasting change. But amazing things happen when we "turn to the Lord." What the law does do is show us we can't change ourselves or make ourselve...

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. The enemy is real and he speaks. Whose voice over you will you choose to agree with? God’s? Let’s be # mightywarriors who believe that God can transform us & our lives. @SDCMBYouth @usmb_youth #sdyc18   We need the eyes of our heart opened if we are going to understand what the Father of glory is doing. (Jack Miller) Behind every sin is a lie...Not many people thinks of themselves as someone who believes lies. But every time we don’t trust God’s word we’re believing something else, and that something is always a lie. @timchestercouk It is far better to be known and loved than it is to be followed, tweeted, and applauded. @scottsauls Do you approach the Bible with the expectation that the same Spirit who inspired these words once, long a...

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. ( Note to self) Don’t compare with others. You end up either arrogant or miserable and never joyful. It’s a game you can only lose. @andycroft86 For every one look at your sin take ten looks at Jesus. Robert Murray McCheyne via @ScottyWardSmith Jesus is God’s answer to our deepest need, not just for physical healing, but for the deeper healing of forgiveness of sins. (Jack Miller) Change takes place in our lives as we turn to see the glory of God in Jesus. We see the glory of Christ as we hear the gospel of Christ. Moral effort, fear of judgment, & sets of rules can’t bring lasting change. But amazing things happen when we turn to the Lord. @timchestercouk Before we walk into an overwhelming situation, may we set aside an extended time to ...

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!

I finished reading Why the Reformation Still Matters by Michael Reeves and Tim Chester a few weeks ago.  There is a previous blog post with quotes from first 5 chapters of the book.  Today's post includes quotes from Chapters 6-11. For them (the Reformers) there was an important difference between union and communion. Communion with Christ--meaning the actual enjoyment of Christ--is something that fluctuates in believers...Union is the foundation of communion...union with Christ is a fixed and therefore stable thing, the solid foundation on which we can know lasting joy. (117) our sin cannot be removed from our hearts simply by our trying harder or scrubbing ourselves clean: the Spirit must transform us through the gospel. That is how the new life of the Spirit begins, and this is how it grows...The gospel, then, cannot be treated simply as a message for unbelievers, as the doorway into the Christian life; in order for Christians to grow they must be kept in the sunshine...

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. In other words, the key factor when deciding which church to join is not the style of worship or provision for children or charisma of its leaders, but the gospel. Is this church committed to the Word of God? @timchestercouk @mike_reeves Rather, he sent down the same Spirit by whose power he had dispensed the Word, to complete his work by the efficacious confirmation of the Word... the Word is the instrument by which the Lord dispenses the illumination of his Spirit to believers. (Calvin’s Institutes)   Your kids don’t need a perfect parent, they need a parent who looks to Jesus when things aren’t perfect. @rjgrune   As it pertains to our growth as Christians & discipleship, how often do we start with our status with...

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. You can never, ever assume the Gospel. Everything we do in Discipleship must be anchored in the Gospel – what Christ has done for us. @MichaelHorton_ interview on @theocast_org What the devil wants us to do is to lose sight of Christ’s part in the change process. Therefore, any change, any victory over sinful habits, has to start with you exercising more faith in your sovereign Senior Partner. (Jack Miller) The gospel, then, cannot be treated simply as a message for unbelievers, as the doorway into the Christian life; in order for Christians to grow they must be kept in the sunshine of the gospel. @timchestercouk @mike_reeves Our response to what God has done is a life characterized not by striving but by thanking, a life of gratitude—that’s what God...

I am about halfway through the book, Why the Reformation Still Matters   by Michael Reeves and Tim Chester.  I am reading it in preparation for preaching this summer.  Here are some quotes from the first 5 chapters: Nothing matters more than justification by Christ alone through faith alone...This is why Luther described justification as "the summary of Christian doctrine" and "the article by which the church stands or falls." So Christ is central to the Bible. And Christ is central to the interpretation of the Bible. All true interpretations of the Bible lead us to Jesus. Corrupted all the way down, we cannot fix ourselves. Our hearts must be renewed, and that can happen only through the gospel being preached and the glory of God being unveiled. For them, grace was not a "thing" at all; it is the personal kindness of God by which he does not merely enable us but actually rescues and freely gives us himself...In other words, the grace and righte...

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 your heart is abiding in Jesus, you want to worship him. @pauldunk And once you get alone with God, you begin to discover that being with God – that knowing him and his love for you – is the best and most beautiful thing in the world. (Jack Miller) It's possible to be drawn to the Bible, theological study and discourse, and even to teaching, preaching, serving, and church -- yet be disconnected relationally from Jesus. If we are seeking "his kingdom" but not seeking HIM, then we are missing the point entirely. @scottsauls Without the words, “for you,” the good news, the Gospel, does not exist, only more rules. Without these words Christianity becomes meaningless. Jesus died for you. It is finished for you. The words “for you” are the m...

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. He wants you to walk in love, but he wants you to see that love is found in his Son. Faith looks away from self to the cross and to Christ and what the Father has done. When you look to Jesus, a holy love spreads through your life. (Jack Miller)  I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who You say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who You say I am. @EvanHeadrick Faith is not interested in faith. How big it is, how little it is. How strong it is, how weak. Faith is not about itself. It's about Christ. @birdchadlouis When Jesus said “it is finished” from the cross, it means that He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins AND He perfectly fulfilled and obeyed the law in our place. @Ryan_Haskins Nothing matters more than justification by Christ ...

Currently, I am reading several books on the Reformation in preparation for a sermon series I am doing this summer.  Here are the books I am currently reading:

Christmas has come and gone.  So, every year after Christmas I share new books that I received as gifts.  I love to read and appreciate the gift of books.  So, here is today's New Book Friday: