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Ten Books Every Christian Should Own
A few weeks ago I listed the 25 books that have influenced me the most. In that post I promised a second list, namely my catalog of the 10 books every Christian should own.
Photo thanks to Darren Hester
These are books that, from my perspective, transcend time and culture. They are the kind of resources that should be frequently published and first translated when we take the gospel to a new group.
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Four Tools for Great ComMissional Disciple-Making
Series | ComMission
In Ashamed of the Gospel 2.0, I criticized the man-centered, pragmatic approach of contextualization. I also promised to post four tools God has given us for the sake of making disciples of all the nations. All of the following are founded on the Sword of the Spirit and also require dependence on the Spirit Himself. So before we trade up for a new set of gospel gadgets that will prove themselves lemons, what are the divinely authorized gospel implements?
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Ashamed of the Gospel 2.0
Series | ComMission
“Contextualization” is a buzzword in Christian conversation these days. A little over a month ago an entire conference was devoted to proclaiming the supremacy of Christ in this postmodern world of ours, and many of the speakers pressed that responsible outreach requires us to contextualize, that is, put the gospel into terms that postmoderns can understand and appreciate. We were told that the methods of evangelism used yesterday won’t work any longer.
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The 25 Most Influential Books on the Void
Reading is making a comeback. Numerous bloggers have commented on the collection and reading of books in the past few weeks and I’ve started to compile an ever growing list of these posts for my own future reference.
Photo thanks to slimninja
One of the reasons behind the recent resurgence of bookish discussion by bloggers was the article by Christianity Today on the top 50 books that have influenced evangelicalism. The list is subjective if not downright suspect, but it received a fair amount of attention nonetheless.
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Appetite and Ability to Study God's Word
Series | Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry
The third mark of health in our series is:
A healthy student ministry has people with an appetite and ability to study God’s Word.
Many passages reveal the importance of God’s Word in the life of a believer and in the life of a church. For example, as soon as the church started to gather in the book of Acts we find four things that were most important to them:
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A Better Beard
I’m sure there are things more banal, but the C-Train points out some pros and cons in the better beard contest.
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Godly Leaders
Series | Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry
Here is the second mark of a healthy student ministry:
A healthy student ministry has people who are godly leaders.
We cannot bypass the principle of godly leadership and still expect to see God’s blessing. Holiness is the primary ingredient for leaders in the church.
It is staggering to consider how many churches–and youth ministries in particular–select leadership. A man (or woman) is not to be a leader in the church because he is the best businessman, has innate leadership ability, or has a large bank account.
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Part of the Local Church
Series | Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry
I retaught my series on the Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry almost a year ago. The introduction is here and without further ado the actual marks finally begin.
A healthy student ministry has people who are part of the local church.
The Old and New Testaments are completely silent about Student Ministries. There are no verses that describe ministry focused on young people.
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The Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry
Series | Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry
It was four years ago–July 11, 2001 to be exact–that I preached my very first message at Grace Bible Church. I was exhilarated that Wednesday night as we began to lay out the course for our student ministries. A lot has happened since then, both in individual lives and in the ministry, but there are some things that are still the same.
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Recommended Reformation Resources
I finished preaching through the Reformation solas again and wanted to put together a list of recommended resources for further study, similar to the online Edwards resources list I posted after this past Snow Retreat. Unlike that list, however, I’ve also included some books that are not available to read online.
See more about the Reformation Wall
Books Reformation general: Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? by James Montgomery Boice After Darkness, Light edited by R.
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The Precious Possession of Diligence
Many of you know that my dad passed away early Monday morning, April 17. We travelled to Ohio for his funeral last week and soberly enjoyed the time we were able to spend with my mom and sister as well as other family and friends. I had the privilege to speak for a few moments at his memorial service and the rest of this post is the substance of my message.
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The Best Online Edwards Resources
In spite of the fact that the 06SR is over, I am hoping that many of you will desire to learn more about and from Jonathan Edwards. While curious readers may already have clicked through my Edwards delicious tags, it seemed like an annotated list of Edwards resources available online might help get you started.
Photo thanks to Tony Reinke
Jonathan Edwards.com | This is the self-proclaimed "World's Largest Edwards Web Site,"