Preach Jesus

“If you preach a sermon that would be acceptable to the member of a Jewish synagogue or to a Unitarian congregation, there is something radically wrong with it. Preaching, when truly Christian, is distinctive. And what makes it distinctive is the all-pervading presence of a saving and sanctifying Christ. Jesus Christ must be at the heart of every sermon you preach.”
-Jay Adams

World Books

There are over 100 great book recommendations by Marvin Olasky in World Magazine’s 2007 Book Issue.

Religious Affection

“A person who has a knowledge of doctrine and theology only–without religious affection–has never engaged in true religion.”

-Jonathan Edwards

The Most Important Thing About Us

Our 20s Book Of The Summer is A.W. Tozer’s classic, The Knowledge of the Holy. It might be true to say that no other book has had a more powerful influence on my life. It was reading this book 8 years ago that first turned me on to studying theology. I couldn’t put the book down as soon as I read Tozer’s line in chapter 1:

“The most important thing about us is what comes into our minds when we think about God.”

Somehow, I knew Tozer was right. And I knew that what was coming into my mind when I thought about God was sorely lacking. So, I devoured this book. The Spirit was at work.

I still remember, as a junior in college, driving along a dark highway late at night in Idaho during a family vacation, impatiently waiting for the next patch of moonlight to break through the surrounding trees so that I could read the next sentence in this book. If I got a good break in the trees I could sometimes read a whole paragraph. During that  2 hr. drive I got through, maybe, 2 chapters. Yet it was 2 chapters of mind and heart re-constructive surgery as I came to behold a far grander vision of God than I’d ever before encountered.  I love this book because I love the God it depicts. It will be a thrill to watch how God uses this book among the twentysomethings of our church this summer.

Mom, thanks for giving this book to me as a Christmas gift in 1999.

Repentance Means…

“The New Testament word for repentance means changing one’s mind so that one’s views, values, goals, and ways are changed, and one’s whole life is lived differently. The change is radical, both inwardly and outwardly…Repentance means starting to live a new life.”

-J.I. Packer

37th Annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration

There’s much to pray about on the Peninsula this weekend as the 37th Annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration begins today (the parade doesn’t begin until tomorrow). I was going to meet up with a church planting buddy from Spokane in the city today, but the traffic is too intense because of the Celebration, so we’re meeting up in a much more conservative city instead: Berkeley.

Anyways, this weekend marks a great opportunity to renew your prayers that as individuals and as the church we would relate with both truth and grace to those living a LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) lifestyle. The church has often extended only truth or, on the other extreme, only grace, to those living a such a lifestyle. The gospel calls Christians to extend a message of both truth and grace to all, and the LGBT community desperately needs to hear this truth-and-grace-loaded message of the Savior who rules over all things and gave of his life to redeem and transform broken people.

Six Months In Philippi

Last night our twenties ministry wrapped up six months of studying Philippians, the apostle Paul’s 1st century letter to a diverse community of Christians living in the bustling, pagan city of Philippi. After reviewing Acts 16, the moving story of how Paul planted the church in Philippi with three transformed lives, I taught an overview of Philippians, a review of our six month soak in this gospel-centered, Christ-exalting, humility-producing, and joy-infusing epistle.

• We celebrated how the epistle begins and ends in grace, 1:2 & 4:23.

• We reviewed the precious promises of Philippians, such as 1:6 and 4:19.

• We marveled over Paul’s life transforming model of living for the advancement of the gospel and finding joy and contentment in any circumstance, even if that means imprisonment under Emperor Nero.

• We paused and contemplated the stirring sacrifice and achievement of our Savior, slowly re-reading 2:6-11.

• We pondered afresh the rich commands of the epistle, most of which center on rejoicing in the Lord, shedding worry and finding peace in the Lord through prayer, living in community in humility, shining as lights for Christ in the midst of a twisted world, and living in line with the gospel.

• And we soaked afresh in the gospel, the good news, ever-transforming message that stands at the center of the epistle to the Philippians, 1:27 being, in many ways, paradigmatic for the entire letter.

After I gave this re-cap of the letter, for about forty minutes we had member after member of the twenties group share how they’ve experienced transformation from spending six months with this slice of the Bible. It was deeply moving to listen to all of these stories. I was beyond encouraged to see evidence upon evidence of ways God’s grace has been at work in this twenties group these last six months, and over this entire last year.

And a sweet surprise from the evening came when, with meaningful words that cut to my heart, the guys in the group expressed their appreciation for my first year serving as Twenties Pastor at CPC and presented me with this book that I’ve been wanting, complete with their notes of encouragement and gratitude. I was moved by this unexpected act of kindness.

My friends, let me bear witness to the fact that Philippians is a slice of the Bible that is worthy of your deep study and that pays rich dividends as it’s studied in community. I’ve had the six month privilege of watching the Holy Spirit use this book among sixty or so of us twentysomethings, to center us on the gospel, lift our eyes off of ourselves and onto our great Savior, infect us with increased humility, stir up fresh repentance, increase our joy, draw us into greater love for and engagement with the hundreds of thousands of lost people here on the San Francisco Peninsula, and fill us with gratitude for our glorious God and his wise providence.

So, if you’re at a loss for what to study next, either privately or (even better) in a small group or in your church, consider Philippians.

Bryan Chapell, Using Illustrations To Preach With Power

I want to grow in my use of illustrations in my preaching. That’s why I recently read Bryan Chapell’s, Using Illustrations To Preach With Power. Preachers, if you too are in a position where you know your preaching could be better if you knew how to better illustrate biblical truth, this book’s for you. Here’s some quotes I enjoyed:

“…the illustrative content of all Jesus’ recorded teaching is 75%.”

“Personal Illustrations. These are the ones, I confess, that I like best. Stories from men’s and women’s experiences, from children’s experiences, narrated by the persons they happened to, shared by the preacher. There is a warmth about them that makes them very appealing. They give an honest ring to the gospel that does not come from anything else. They make the gospel seem real, touchable, truly incarnate.” (Chappel quoting John Killinger).

“The notion that illustrations are simplistic concessions to popular expectations is not only at odds with modern learning and communication theories, it contradicts the experience of most preachers. What minister has not discovered the ease with which an expositional truth can be propositionally stated, only to agonize for hours over how to illustrate that truth in a moving, relevant fashion?…In order to relate truths experientially, the preacher must himself delve to that level of being where mind, soul, body, world, and psyche are real. Until he has done so–until he has plumbed the depths of his emotions, relationships, and experiences and integrated what he discovers in those oceans with what he knows intellectually–his own understanding is not complete.”

“The mind yearns for, and needs, the concrete to anchor the abstract.”

“When illustrations arouse emotions they do more than pass information on to the mind. They stimulate decision-making responses; they influence our will. We do not make decisions solely on the basis of what we know. We also decide because of how we feel about what we know. Illustrations recognize and employ this dynamic. Motivations for us to act in accordance with God’s Word are frequently best forged in the illuminating fires of illustration…Illustrations are therefore doors that preachers open to allow listeners to experience a concept; and by experiencing it, to understand it, interact with it, and act upon it.”

All Sin Is Idolatry

“All sin is a kind of ‘idolatry,’ trusting in false sources of salvation, life or righteousness.
The ultimate reason for any sin is that something besides Christ is functioning as an alternative righteousness or source of confidence–and is thus an idol, a pseudo-savior, which creates inordinate desires.”

-Steve Childers

Simple Church

Right now our pastoral staff at CPC is reading and discussing Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger. Have any of you read this book? Do you have any thoughts, affirmations, or critiques of the book?