Weekly Wrap (26/05)

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Meet Zach Sobiech: The story of a man who was diagnosed with cancer and given only a few months to live. This video shows what he did with his remaining time on earth.

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Australia's Boom is Anything But for its Aboriginal People - Not a faith-based article but one which resonates with my heart for justice for all people. A great article highlighting the disparity in experiences between Aboriginal and Non-aboriginal Australians.

Wycliffe Bible Translations for Muslims - "Bible translations that avoid the phrase "Son of God" have proven successful among Muslims. But dismay by some missionaries and scholars recently led at least two denominations—including the three-million-member Assemblies of God—to threaten boycotts of Wycliffe Bible Translators unless it ended the practice." A interesting Gleaning from Christianity Today on this contentious issue.

Why Some Preachers Get Better & Others Don't - "No one denies that a preaching class and some coaching can help anyone become better. What we question is the possibility that someone with no natural giftedness and ability can be taught well enough that he can become really good." Hershael York offers some interesting reflections on the art of teaching people to preach.

Why Do Rookie Pastors Get Fired? - "I have a simple two letter answer. EQ. Or rather, the lack of it." A good, thought-provoking article.

Is Ministry Ruining Your Marriage? - "So, how do you keep church conflict from impacting your home life? The short answer is, you can’t. If you’re in church leadership, serious church conflict will, in various ways, impact your family life." An interesting article highlighting the importance of boundaries in cultivating a strong and healthy marriage.
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Thought for the day...

"Don't obey God to get things. Obey God to get God. He is your shield and your very great reward."

— Mike Pilavachi

Weekly Wrap (19/05)

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

This should make you laugh... stories of Preaching Goofs from members of the Gospel Coalition.

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Is Prayer Necessary? - "You don't need prayer when there's nothing at stake in your walk with Christ." David Platt offers some thoughts in this great video.

John Piper on Regrets & Retirement - A video interview with John Piper discussing his reflections on his long time ministry leading Bethlehem Baptism Church in the USA.

It Happens After Prayer - A great book review by Tim Challies - well worth a read.

Fixed Point - Fixed Point Foundation have recently released a new and improved website with lots of interesting content.

Free Resources for You & Your Church - Life.TV offer some seriously cool graphics and powerpoint slides to use for your church for free. Check them out!
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Thought for the day...

"The best work is done out of rest."

— Louie Giglio

Weekly Wrap (12/05)

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Here's a contentious one... Shai Linne a Christian American Rapper slams False Teachers in his song which names many popular Christian leaders in it. What do you think?

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John Piper Praises Rapper of Controversial 'Fal$E Teacher$' Song - Here's what John Piper thinks of Shai Linne's song. An interesting read.

How Dallas Willard Changed American Christianity - "Dallas Willard’s legacy and influence will continue, despite his death. His writings will endure and the many institutions that looked to him for guidance will continue to practice the life of the kingdom in the ways he commended." Matthew Lee Anderson writes a fantastic tribute piece to the much loved and respected Dallas Willard.

Preach Better Sermons 2013 Highlights - "If you missed the free online Preach Better Sermons conference put on by the good people at the Rocket Company, don’t worry. I took a ton of notes. Here are a few of the nuggets I got from each speaker." ProPreacher does indeed share some nuggets from the many well known Christian communicators who participated in the Preach Better Sermons Conference this year.

Suffering Servants - Sarah Pulliam Bailey interviews Joni Eareckson and Ken Tada and discusses in detail their deep struggle to make their marriage work.

Not Only To Profess, But Also To Practice - Trevin Wax shares a short, yet powerful poem by Thomas Becon.
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Thought for the day...

"The first responsibility of leadership is to make time to humbly listen to God. Without that, you're on your own."

— Rick Warren

Weekly Wrap (05/05)

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

John Piper and Kevin DeYoung discuss in this video, the process of working hard towards holiness and the effort that is involved in developing a life that reflects Christ.

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4 Reasons Not To Homeschool Your Kids - This is an interesting article that is sure to stir up some conversation amongst many Christians who choose to home school their children. What do you think?

Love Your Neighbour: Even the Muslim Ones - "For many Americans, their knowledge of Muslims is what they see on television news rather than what they know from experience. Yet, forming a view of any group based solely on what one sees on the news is a bad idea.
When the Boston Marathon bombing occurred, many Americans were quick to assume it was the work of Muslim extremists, even before it was confirmed... Yet, far too many take it further, leading me to ask, why do some people assume that all, most, or even many Muslims must be terrorists?" Another brilliant article from Ed Stetzer that is worth reading more than once.

Are you Telling Lies When You Preach? - This is an interesting article by Ryan Hobbs which suggests the need for preachers to check the authenticity of stories that they use as sermon illustrations week to week. An interesting read.

A Father's Love - "When I was 16, my parents kicked me out of the house. They had tried everything. Nothing worked. And it got to the point where my lifestyle had become so disruptive to the rest of the household, that they were left with no choice but to painfully say, “We love you but you can’t continue to live this way and live under our roof." Tullian Tchividjian from the Gospel Coalition shares the story of his own father's love for him in this great post.

Antidote to Poison - "I was haunted by failure to the edge of suicide—and then came life." Ravi Zacharias shares his personal testimony in this blog piece. A very powerful and challenging read!
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Thought for the day...

"The power you need is not found In faith, but in WHOM you place that faith. Tiny faith in a big God gets big results."

— Rick Warren

Book Review: Forgotten God by Francis Chan

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

           

As I indicated when I started this blog, one of my priorities would be to provide book reviews on interesting Christian books that I come across from time to time. So here it is: my very first book review on Alive in Christ!

Francis Chan's Forgotten God is a great book - let me just start by saying that. Why the title Forgotten God you might be thinking? Francis Chan outlines his justification for his provocative title from his introductory passages, suggesting that the Holy Spirit is:

"...tragically neglected and, for all practical purposes, forgotten. While no evangelical would deny His existence, I'm willing to bet there are millions of churchgoers across America who cannot confidently say they have experienced His presence or action in their lives over the past year. And many of them do not believe they can."

Francis Chan poses this challenging thought:

"...what if you grew up on a desert island with nothing but the Bible to read? Imagine being rescued after twenty years and then attending a typical evangelical church. Chances are you'd be shocked... Having read the Scriptures outsides the context of contemporary church culture, you would be convinced that the Holy Spirit is as essential to a believer's existence as air is to staying alive."

He continues with this statement:

"There is a big gap between what we read in Scripture about the Holy Spirit and how most believers and churches operate today. In many modern churches, you would be stunned by the apparent absence of the Spirit in any manifest way."

Challenging thoughts indeed! Through his book, Francis Chan provides a basic overview of the Holy Spirit and provides some fantastic, thought provoking statements - such as the ones above - that could be pondered for some time after the reader has finished the book. This is what Forgotten God does well. Forgotten God is not a deep, theological book, written to provide definitive answers on all aspects of theology about the Holy Spirit. Rather, Francis Chan's Forgotten God provides an endless array of statements, illustrations and stories which challenge and unsettle the reader, causing the reader to reassess the degree to which the Holy Spirit has influence and is evident in their own life.

Tim Challies in his book review of Forgotten God makes the following statement in concluding his review:

"...for those who have thought little about the person and role of the Holy Spirit, Forgotten God may be just the thing to get them thinking. For those who have not thought about the Spirit for a long time, this may serve as a good wake-up call. It is far from a full-orbed or exhaustive treatment, but neither is that its purpose. Chan sets out to get the reader thinking “that by keeping in step with the Spirit, we might regularly fellowship over what He’s doing rather than what He did months or years ago.” It’s about living a life dependent on and surrendered to the Spirit, about seeking how we can live faithfully here and now. And this he accomplishes well."

I think Tim sums it up well. Francis Chan's Forgotten God is a great read that exhorts the reader to live a life of reliance on - and surrender to - the Holy Spirit. Any book that encourages the reader to do that can only be a good thing in my opinion.

Empty Me - A Song by Jeremy Camp

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Holy Fire burn away, 

My desire for anything

That is not of you and is of me.

I want more of you and less of me.

Holy Fire burn away,

My desire for anything

That is not of you and is of me,

I want more of you and less of me.

Empty me,

Empty me,

Fill, won't you fill me, 

With you, with you...

Empty Me, Jeremy Camp

The Daniel Project

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

I recently came across this Documentary on the Age website and watched it with my wife. We had both never really looked in to the issues of End Times and Biblical Prophecy in too much detail, so we were eager to check this Documentary out. The Documentary (according to the official website) is:

"...an acclaimed and gripping 90 min feature length documentary for our time. The Daniel Project is a genuine investigative documentary that puts ancient predictions under a journalistic microscope and presents this astonishing subject in a unique format that is both entertaining and challenging."

The Age website promotes the Documentary in this way:

Did ancient scrolls predict not only the path of modern human history but also signs of its destruction? The Daniel Project puts these prophecies under a microscope and discovers that many appear to have already come to pass. Writings by the prophet Daniel in the 6th Century BC appear to predict with uncanny accuracy today's surveillance society, climate change, terrorism and the rise of conflict in the Middle East. Known as the real Nostradamus, he was famous for his apocalyptic visions. Could his foresight be a sign of a deadly pattern we fail to see today?

I thought that it was quite interesting to see such a Documentary on a secular news site and after watching it, thought that it was worth sharing online. Wherever you stand on Biblical Prophecy and End Times thinking, you will get a lot out of viewing this challenging Documentary. So make yourself a cup of coffee, stream the Documentary online from The Age, put your thinking cap on and enjoy!

Weekly Wrap (28/04)

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

How can the church respond to the tragic Boston Marathon bombing? Ed Stetzer and Adam Mabry provide some great ideas and shares what the local church did and are continuing to do, to support the people of Boston post the attack.

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Confessions of a Pastor Who Used to be More Reformed Than Jesus - Ed Stetzer writes an interesting article about a pastor who used to be more reformed than Jesus, called Danny Slavich.

We Should Shine Bright In The Darkness - "Churches are not peddlers of Christian goods and services; we are cells of subversion and transformation. We're not just opening our doors and hoping for a good turnout; we're opening our lives to show off the glory of our Savior by the way we live together, by the way we serve together, by the way we reach out in Jesus' name together." Another great article from Ed Stetzer.

Should We Always Expect God to Heal? - "My answer is somewhat simple, but then again, maybe not so. Here’s how I answer the question: We should expect God to do what will bring God the most glory." Aaron Armstrong writes a thoughtful take on the hot topic of God and physical healing.

Autopsy of a Deceased Church - "I worked with the church for three weeks. The problems were obvious; the solutions were difficult." Thom Rainer writes a reflective piece on his time working with a church that was slowly on the decline.

Can a Dying Church Find Life? - A follow-up blog post to Autopsy of a Deceased Church from Thom Rainer. This is well worth checking out!
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Thought for the day...

""How can we expect to live with God in heaven if we love not to live with him on earth?"

— John Mason