daddy4ms

Introduction : Are you easily distracted?   If so, what are some of the distractions in your life.   Go ahead and spend 30 seconds writing down some distractions that keep you from the most important things (relationship with God, relationship with family/friends). Review: ·          Freedom (vs. 1)-Brad talked about how we have been set free from slavery and the law.   Free AND Freedom-He used the image of a jail cell that has the door opened but we stay inside the cell even though we have been set free.   We can live like this as believers as we rely on law or rules to guide us rather than Holy Spirit. ·                  True Value (vs. 2-6)-Last week, Pastor Brad’s points were about No Value, “Don’t Do & Must Do” or “Spirit in You”, (Is there a checklist of Don’t Do/Must Do for believers or do we trust Holy Spirit to empower/reveal Himself in us...

I loved Jared C. Wilson's chapter "The Pastor and the Bible."  I highlighted a lot!  Often we can let good things become too important in the church and in life.  This chapter is a reminder that our absolute authority is God's Word and how important the Bible is in our preaching.  most gospel-centered preachers have an aversion to "how-to" sermons to begin with...Do these things and thereby reap these rewards is in essence legalistic..."How-to" sermons are specifically designed to help people become better Christians. The long and short of it appears to be that an entire ministerial enterprise dedicated to meeting felt needs, supplying biblical advice, and providing top-notch production values has quietly become a huge success at drawing crowds but a huge failure at what the Bible actually calls the church to do. Our words ought to stand under Scripture, not vice versa. When we come to the biblical text, it is meant to shape us: we are not to...

This is a new feature on the blog.  Usually on Mondays, I get caught up on my favorite podcasts.  This usually results in a lot of tweeting on that day.  However, if you are at work and not checking Twitter during that time, you might miss some of the great truth being shared by others.  So, I am sharing some of best tweets from the previous week which include great wisdom and truth.                       Our kids don’t just need to see how that movie or this video is bad; they need to see how Jesus is better. @ JKlumpenhower When the message is about what you need to do, you miss what Jesus does for you. @rjgrune Maturity in the Christian life is movement away from dependence on principles to the point of inherent desire. @byronyawn                   ...

A few weeks ago, I finished Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges.  I loved most of the book.  I disagreed with Bridges view on suffering and adversity.  However, I would recommend the book to people because of his great explanation of grace through all of life. I have posted previously on the book so I have picked several quotes from the second half of the book. We are responsible to clothe ourselves with Christlike character, but we are dependent on God's Spirit to produce with us His "fruit." We cannot make one inch of progress in sanctification apart from the powerful working of the Spirit in us. Instead, we have developed another brand of legalism, a brand that is concerned, not with salvation, but with how we live the Christian life. I call this "evangelical legalism." They (fences) begin as a sincere effort to deal with real sin issues. But very often we begin to focus on the fence we've built instead of the sin it was designed to guard ag...

As you know, I am reading Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian.  It is a great book on the gospel.  For those of you struggling with sin (that's all of us, right?) and legalism, I encourage you to buy the book.  Ponder these quotes from Chapter 7 entitled, "Fully Exposed": "In Christless Christianity, Michael Horton identifies "the regular diet in many churches across America today: Do more, try harder . . . The focus still seems to be on us and our activity rather than on God and his work in Jesus Christ." "In the Gospel -Driven Life, Michael Horton helps open our eyes to all that "in Christ" means: Paul does not say, "Be like Jesus." He says, You are like Jesus" . . .  It's easy for us to rely on the gospel for forgiveness and justification but then look elsewhere for our renewal and sanctification. However, Paul says that it's all there: "in Christ."Only after saying this does Paul then issu...

How would you complete this statement? As I was reading, Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian on Thursday, he filled in the blank.  You might be surprised by this answer. He writes, "In fact, according to the Bible, the greatest threat to the gospel's advance in this world, and the greatest threat to gospel growth in your life and in mine, is a particular strain of idolatry that arises not from outside the church but from inside... The Bible makes it clear that the gospel's premier enemy is the one we often call "legalism ." I like to call it performancism. Still another way of viewing it, especially in its most common manifestation in Christians is moralism." Tchividjian explains legalism as "when what we need to do, not what Jesus has done, becomes the end game.  Are you guilty of this?  I know I am.  He continues with the following quote that steps on our toes, " We know it's wrong to worship immorality, like everybody out...

I’m ecstatic about the resurgence of gospel centrality taking place in the evangelical church. The idea that the gospel is not only for those outside the church but also for those inside the church; that it not only ignites the Christian life but is the fuel that keeps Christians going and growing every day, may seem like a new idea, but it’s really old. I’m glad it’s re-gaining traction, but as far as we’ve come, we need to go further. For all the talk of gospel-centeredness, there’s still some fear and trepidation fueled by a common misunderstanding regarding the radical nature of grace. Even amongst the proponents of gospel-centrality, I still hear talk about there being two equal dangers that Christians must avoid: legalism and lawlessness. The False Balance of “Legalism vs. Lawlessness” Legalism , they say, happens when you focus too much on law, or rules. Lawlessness , they say, happens when you focus too much on grace. Therefore, in order to maintain spiritual e...