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The First To State The Case

1/21/2019

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. -Proverbs 18:17

The Kid Who Enraged Social Media

If you've been on Facebook or Twitter over the past several days, you may have encountered videos or articles about a young man staring into the face of a Native American man beating a drum. It was probably a picture of some MAGA hats and crowds of white kids surrounding this man and accompanied with a status like: "This is what the pro-life movement looks like." or "This is the what racism looks like... way to go Trump.

Murky Details

You may have been like me and felt a level of anger at the young man for being so foolish and disrespectful to a veteran and Native American. You may have commented as I did and said, "this foolishness doesn't represent the pro-life movement or Christianity" in response to all of the negative backlash plastered all over your Facebook newsfeed. With a short video clip, I thought I heard "build that wall" or something hateful, and I knew this needed to be condemned immediately.

I confess, I didn't do any further research than that. I made a judgment on this young man based on his skin color, his clothing, and political affiliation without giving him a chance to speak for himself. If I'm honest, I didn't give the situation more than a few minutes of thought because this stuff happens all the time in the days of president Trump.

At that time, nobody on my newsfeed shared the young man's perspective on the event.

Sunday Morning

On Sunday morning, I noticed that one of my Facebook friends shared another article with more footage and details about the case. He was back-tracking on his original sentiments regarding the situation, and I took some time to dive into the details. I honestly thought it was just a far-right website trying to disprove the realities of what actually occurred in the video.

In reality, the videos and further evidence disproved some of the "facts" I had just learned about on the previous day:

The boys were singing their school fight song rather than chanting "build that wall".
A group of "black activists" were harassing the boys. Those activists are so-called Hebrew Israelites (I will spare you the hateful and racist language spewed at the young men). As the Native American group was approaching, you can hear the men saying, "Here comes Gad" and other names of the 12 Israelite tribes because they believe Native Americans are Israelites as well.
The Native American group was not surrounded by a group of Trump supporters— instead they walked into the group of boys and stopped. Phillips, the man playing the drum, continued with a straight face while a lady standing next to him was taunting and yelling at some of the students in the crowd.

A Change Of Perspective

Needless to say, my opinion of the young man has changed. I am not taking a stance on whether he did anything right or wrong. That is not the point of this post, and I am still unsure of everything that went on. In good conscience, I can say that the media painted a picture of the scene that was extremely one-sided.

This is dangerous for many reasons, especially when a high school student and his family are receiving threats of murder and violence over a video, meme, and slanted social media post. More dangerous is the fact that it is sinful and can harden our hearts to the sinfulness of gossip, slander, malice, deceit, and dishonesty. God hates those sins.

Image Credit: OMKAR

A Biblical Path Forward

As a Christian, there is no excuse for slandering the boy in the video. If we don't know all of the facts, it is best that we pray for his soul as well as the veteran who was involved.

This situation has given me time to pause and really think about social media and its impacts on my life. Here are some practical thoughts that I'm going to be prayerfully applying to my life in light of this event:

Strive to hear both sides of a story before making a judgment or commenting on a matter. If God will judge every "careless word" I speak, then I should probably be more "quick to hear and slow to speak" (Matthew 12:36, James 1:19). Social media gives more opportunity to multiply the amount of careless words I speak, and I fear the amount I've racked up in the 12-ish years I've been using Facebook.
Examine the "facts" of a situation before believing them. As the Proverb above states, until the first person to speak is examined, I can't claim to have a balanced, unbiased view of the situation. Even with video evidence, the person who hits back is still usually the one gets caught. The scriptures are replete with warnings about smooth talkers and deceivers, Satan is still crafty and would love to have believers sinning in their speech.
Resolve to speak about people in comments and conversations what I would say to their face or before a Holy God in prayer. If I were sitting across a coffee shop table praying for and with that young man, I don't think "racist", "bigot", "idiot", etc. would be my language toward him. I would be seeking to understand his perspective and trying to point him to the person and work of Christ. Ephesians 4:15calls me to speak the truth "in love", not gossip and slander in anger and gossip.
Refuse to show partiality in any given situation. As a politically and religiously conservative Christian in the Trump era, it is easy to get frustrated and be ridiculed. Being black makes the situation more challenging because my spheres of influence are often opposed to one another. Regardless, I can't show partiality toward pro-lifers or against people who are pro-Trump. I also can't side with "black activists" simply because they were in a scuffle with some kids wearing MAGA hats. I must side with truth, even if it isn't convenient in one of the spheres of influence in my life. There is so much malice and deceit in the media, that I have no choice but to heavily fact-check and strive to be pure in speech like the God I love and serve (Psalm 12:6).
Genuinely pray for the souls of people I'm tempted to gossip about. I haven't prayed for either of the people in this video, have you? God knows. If I have given more time to speaking about these people than praying for them, I am doing them no good whatsoever and am wasting valuable time God gave me in sinful gossip and slander. If these people are important enough to be in my conversations, they are important to pray for (1 Timothy 2:1).

Run To Jesus

In times like these, I feel the shame and embarrassment of being manipulated by the media. Worse, I have sinned against God and man through my sinful speech. I have become increasingly aware of the effect that social media is having on my life and the lives of the world around me.

There is hope for us, and that hope is found in Jesus. "In these last days, God has spoken to us through His Son" (Hebrews 1:2). If your life is anchored in the true words of the gospel, no matter how deceitful the media is, you have a firm foundation.

The truth is that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, including people like me who fall into gossip and slander. He made purification for sin, resurrected, and is now sitting enthroned in heaven at His Father's right hand. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to show us the Word of God which is the truth.

Jesus' high priestly prayer includes these words: "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). If I spend more time with God is His true Word than I do in this world with their false words, I'll be sanctified. If I let the Word of God dwell in me and rule my thoughts, words, actions, and emotions, I'll become more like Christ minute-by-minute, day-by-day, hour-by-hour. As I behold the Son, I'm being transformed into His image.

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Fighting Temptation Like Jesus

1/18/2019

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Think about the last time you were tempted and fell into sin. What were the thoughts going through your mind? What weapons did you use to wage war against your flesh and against sin? Now think of a time when you defeated sin and rose victorious over the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil? What was different about that situation?

Last week, we looked at the crafty serpent and how he tempted Eve into eating the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. While it is good to know the anatomy of temptation so we can recognize when we are being tempted, it is essential to know how to actively fight temptation the way scripture commands. Jesus, being our great High Priest, has been tempted in every way like us and yet withstood. Who is better to teach us how to fight temptation?

In Matthew 4:1-11, we can see at least 5 ways Jesus fought temptation. By His grace, we too can fight temptation as Jesus did. It’s a lifelong fight, and much of what we see happened long before Jesus was in the moment of temptation. By implementing these strategies in reliance upon the Holy Spirit, we will be able to overcome the whispers of Satan, the lustful draw of fleshly desires, and the enticements of the world.

1. Know Your Identity

When you see Satan’s attempts to draw Jesus into sin, it is clear that Satan tried to confuse Jesus about His identity as he did Eve in the garden. He begins his tempting words with “If you are the son of God…” (v. 2 and 6). In verse 9, Satan was so bold as to try to subject Jesus to idolatrous worship in exchange for earthly glory.

However, Jesus is so confident in His identity as the Son of God that He isn’t moved by Satan’s attacks. Instead, He launches counter attacks that shift the focus from the Satan’s questioning to the most important matters. Instead of making a stone become bread, Jesus points to something greater than bread—the Word of God. Instead of jumping from a building to test God’s miraculous provision and care, He reminds Satan not to put God to the test. Lastly, instead of bowing down to Satan to receive “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory”, He knew He was the Son of God who is appointed the “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2, Matthew 28:19).

As Jesus rested in His identity as the Son of God, we need to rest in our identity as adopted children of God who are in Christ. If we are in Christ, we are “dead to sin” (Romans 6:11) and “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). We can consider ourselves crucified and risen with Christ because He has nailed our sin and record of debt to the cross (Colossians 2:12,14). We are no longer “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3) for we are “saints… in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1). We could go on and on about who we are as new creatures in Christ. If you don’t know who you are, the enemy will try to entangle you in a web of lies and accusations. Let the Word untangle that web by taking you directly the cross of Christ.

2. Know the Meaning of the Word

Satan attacked Jesus using the Word of God in Matthew 4:6. He did the same to Eve. The ancient serpent has seen and heard God’s Word far more than any human on this planet. That should humble us! This knowledge allows him to twist and turn it in more ways than we could ever imagine. Having hearsay of biblical concepts will not suffice for us. Christians need to know the Word of God and its true meaning.

This is not to say that God will not also graciously protect those Christians who are weak and feeble in the Word. He surely will! But mature saints must, by grace, imitate the Bereans and the blessed man of Psalm 1 through searching and meditating on the Word day and night. With an enemy so knowledgeable and crafty, knowing the Word is not an option.

Through the Spirit we can know the Word:

In context, because Satan loves to twist God’s Word to the destruction of those who hear them. If he can’t snatch them away, he will use corrupt men to make the scriptures say something other than it says. Flee far from any teaching that leads away from faith in Christ and His redemptive work to bring glory to His Father through His finished work on the cross. Let any other gospel be accursed except the gospel of Jesus Christ!
In its fullness, because Satan will often take half-truths and make half-Christians. A half-Christian is no Christian at all. Men are not saved by half grace and half law. We are not justified by half faith and half works. We can’t worship God with half of our hearts, and we can’t give half of our lives as a living sacrifice. Rather, we are saved by grace alone through faith. We are justified by faith alone, but faith without works is dead. We strive by the grace of God to wholeheartedly worship God, and when we fail we seek the forgiving and transforming grace of God. We give our whole lives as living sacrifices for Christ because we don’t want to gain this world and lose our souls. We need the full gospel and the full scope of God’s redemptive plan.
In obedience because those who are hearers of the Word only are deceived (James 1:22-25). We are called to Spirit-empowered obedience to God’s Word. It bears repeating that faith without works is dead faith. It is no faith at all. To be defined as a disobedient Christian is to make a mockery of the holiness of God and the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in regenerating and renewing the hearts of men. May we never be defined more by our disobedience than gospel-fueled obedience!

Photo by Wendy van Zyl from Pexels

3. Hide the Word in your heart

It is clear from Matthew 4:1-11 that Jesus knew the Bible and knew it well. He had the Word hidden in His heart and he didn’t sin against God. We should long to say with the Psalmist, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). Temptation is a major reason to take up the task of memorizing scripture on a regular basis. If you want to use the sword of the Spirit and fight as Jesus did, you’ve got to have it memorized. Jesus didn’t use Google or the Bible app, He used His memory. This is spiritual work even for those who feel that they don’t have a good memory.

Memorization and meditation go hand-in-hand. As you memorize, you can meditate on the meaning, depths, and applications of a passage. As you meditate on the words, phrases, and structures of a passage, you begin to memorize the passage. As you memorize more passages, they begin to come together to bring deeper and fuller meditation than ever before. As you meditate more, your mind is renewed and you become more Christlike because you are beholding Him. The Word begins to slowly move from your mind to your heart. As hot water seeps through coffee grounds picking up the scents, flavors, and characteristics of the beans, we absorb the Word of God and become conformed to it through meditation.

Applying the Word to your life will also hide it deeper in your heart. Think of those times when you made a concerted effort to obey God’s specific teaching in your life. Do you have to go back and open your Bible to remember what it said? Instead, you are able to give yourself counsel directly from the Word of God because you’ve been there before. You may have used directions to get to work the first few times, but by the hundredth time, you recognize the streets, houses, mailboxes, cars, and know exactly where to go. The more you apply the Word of God in everyday life, the more you will be able to use it fight temptation. The Spirit will bring it to remembrance at the perfect time.

4. Walk by the Holy Spirit

It is easy to miss the seemingly insignificant detail that Jesus was “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). Jesus was not alone! He was walking “full of the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1). As believers, we too must be filled with and led by the Spirit, especially during times of intense temptation (Ephesians 5:18). How often do we fail to pray “lead us not into temptation” and then walk aimlessly as though Satan has taken a day off?! We aren’t conscious of our enemy or the Spirit of Christ within us.

If we are going to walk by the Holy Spirit, we need to:

Read in the Spirit because the Word of God is spiritually discerned, and if we are reading in the flesh, we don’t have the ability to understand, believe, or apply God’s Word to our lives. How much less will we be able to use it to fight against sin and temptation?
Pray in the Spirit because we often don’t know how to pray as we ought. How many times have you tried to pray and just felt as dry as a leaf in November? We need the Spirit to give life to our prayers as we seek the Lord. We need His help in humbling us as we approach the throne of grace. We need His cry of “Abba, Father” so we can remember that we indeed approach the Father as beloved children rather than hated enemies.
Obey in the Spirit because apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have no power to do good. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing, and it is through the “Spirit of Christ” abiding in us that we are able to draw from the strength of God to do good (Romans 8:9). It is through the Holy Spirit that God both wills and works in us for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

Photo by asim alnamat from Pexels

5. Fight with the Word as your sword

If it isn’t obvious yet, Jesus’ primary weapon in his war against temptation was the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Each time He refuted Satan, He used the Word of God powerfully to pierce His enemy. Each deceptive attempt to lead Jesus into sin was met with living and active Word of God. It should bring us great confidence to know that we have access to the same sword used by our Savior to defeat satanic temptation! How great it is to have the heaviest artillery ever wielded against temptation!

The culmination of knowing your identity (through the Word), knowing the Word, hiding the Word in your heart, and walking by the Spirit who inspired the Word of God is found here. When you’ve believed the gospel, you can counter attacks on your faith with the truths of the gospel. When you know the Scriptures, you can use them to dismantle the corrupt arguments crafted to deceive you. By hiding the Word in your heart, you can be armed and ready at any given moment. If Satan is prowling like a lion, we better be ready to defend ourselves! If we are walking by the Spirit, He will guide us in what scriptures to hide, what prayers to pray, and give us the power to walk in obedience.

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The Serpent Is Still Crafty

1/11/2019

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Holy Watchfulness

As you begin the new year, it is wise to look back at last year to see areas of success, failure, and the need for improvement in your spiritual life. Regardless of how great your year was, you have sins that need to be repented of. There are temptations that need more diligence in guarding against.

Being watchful against sin means knowing when temptation arises and having a plan for how to fight. One way is to look closely at the cycle of temptation in order to develop a battle plan. Since temptation is a part of the fabric of life for the believer, it is wise to understand a general pattern for temptation.

5 Steps In The Path of Sin and Temptation

In Genesis 3:1-7, we see Eve faced with temptation from the "crafty" serpent who is later called "the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan" (Rev. 20:2). Taking a closer look at his tactics will reveal a lot about the process of temptation. As you read, consider how you’ve seen this progression in your own life.

1. The Word of God is twisted and contradicted. (Gen. 3:1-4)

Satan asks Eve tricky questions to trip her up and bring confusion: "Did God actually say?", "You will not surely die". Sometimes—because our flesh is weak—Satan doesn't even have to prompt such twisting. Men often twist the scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). This first layer of temptation is especially dangerous for those who are lax in their devotional lives, especially Bible reading and prayer. If we don’t have a steady diet of daily bread, we will be anemic Christians in times of temptation.

2. A convincing argument is made against God and the meaning of His Word. (Gen. 3:5)

Satan offers a convincing argument for his contradiction and paints God as keeping something from Eve. This happens so often and so subtly. For example, "Be angry and do not sin" gets turned into, "you have the right to be angry, so your response can't be sinful! Even Jesus turned over tables and beat people with whips!". See how assumptions turn into facts and allow us to justify sin?

You can also see Satan sneakily throw shade at God: “For God knows that when you eat...you will be like God.” It’s like Satan said, “See Eve! He’s keeping something from you! He doesn’t want you to be happy or live your life to the fullest! Break free from this bondage and really find out what it means to be in the image of God!” Again, craftiness at it’s best.

3. The contradiction and argument are embraced. (Gen. 3:6)

Eve thought enough about Satan's argument to change her mindset about the tree. She set her mind on the flesh (Rom. 8:6). She began to covet what she didn't need rather than appreciate the forest around her, leading her into idolatry (Col 3:5). The fruit appealed to the flesh, eyes, and pride of life (1 John 2:16).

How often are we settled in our convictions about a sin only to conjure up some strange reason for why we might not have to fight it after all. For example: "It's only lust if you look twice, right?". We hear the lie, consider the serpent’s logic, and then embrace the contradiction.

4. The sin is committed. (Gen 3:6)

Eve took of the tree and ate. She embraced the lie of Satan so much that she threw away God's command like yesterday’s trash. When we get to the point of committing sin, it may not always be as conscious and certainly not as willful, but we all still take this step and make this choice. We can never say, “the devil made me do it!”. James 1:14 is clear that when we sin, it is due to being “lured and enticed” by our “desire”. Eve demonstrated this clearly when she saw that the tree was “to be desired to make one wise” (Gen. 3:6).

Sadly, we often sin with that anxious feeling in our stomachs because we've wrestled with it, but ultimately saw fruit that seemed more glorious than God. We must fear this lest we be "hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. 3:13).

5. Others are invited to partake in, or are supported in, their committing of the sin. (Gen 3:6)

Finally, Eve gave some fruit to Adam (who was with her!), and he ate. Even in our “secret” sins, we often try to convince others that it’s not such a big deal, or we partake in sins that involve others. In turn, we "give approval to those who practice them" (Rom 1:32).

Consider the sin of gossip. You’ve heard more than you should have, or you know about a situation more than others. You know you shouldn’t ask for more details or get into the nitty gritty of what you know. In that moment you could be honest and say, "You know, this is moving into gossip, I’m sorry. Please forgive me." Instead, you give the details with a perceived sense of concern or righteous anger, but you really just enjoy the conversation. Now you’ve brought others into sin with you. Replace with gluttony, along with many other sins, and you can see the same outcome.

A Beam of Hope

While some Bible readers spend much time trying to determine what the fruit was, what it meant for Eve to talk to the serpent, what the nature of her sin was, etc., it is more important to realize that we are weak and need help in the time of temptation. Jesus, our great High Priest, was "in every respect, tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). As we behold the glory of Christ, we are being transformed into His image (2 Cor 3:18). We are only able to fight temptation if we have trusted in Christ as our Savior and are walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In your temptation, rely on the Spirit and look to Christ. Before your temptation, behold Christ’s glory by drinking deeply from the rich well of scripture. If you fall into sin, trust that He is interceding for His sheep and has paid for sin once-for-all for those who have placed faith in Him. Christ is the headcrusher of the serpent, and He is our very present help in time of need (Ps. 46:1).

Next time, Lord willing, we will look at fighting temptation the way that Jesus did.

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A Jesus Christmas

1/5/2019

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*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to leave a positive review. Also, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

You may be wondering why I'm still talking about Christmas books in January. For many parents and grandparents, Christmas is a wonderful and exhausting time of year. If you're like me, you're too tired to even think about Christmas 2019!

However, before you put Christmas 2018 on the shelf, I want you to ask yourself some questions: Was your Christmas a "Jesus Christmas"? Was Jesus as much at the center of your Christmas as you desired? Did you make time to emphasize Christ during your family's devotional time last month?

Whether you're disappointed with the Christ focus of your Christmas or just want to keep up the steam from this Christmas, A Jesus Christmas: Explore God's Amazing Plan For Christmas by Barbara Reaoch is something you'll want to add to your bookshelf for Advent 2019.

Barbara Reaoch has made this book friendly for families of all ages and sizes. Each day families are called to explore, explain, engage, and enter in to a passage of scripture. The "engage" questions are keyed to different age groups so that all of your children can get in on the discussion. There is even an answer sheet on thegoodbook.com so parents can be confident that they give their children the correct answers to all the questions!

This isn't your average children's Christmas devotional guide. It is gospel-centered, richly theological, and sound in doctrine. Children will be exposed to biblical Christology as well as the amazing Christmas story throughout the month of December.

My most favorite aspect A Jesus Christmas is the family journaling space. Parents and older kids can journal directly in the book, bringing the experience even closer to home. Younger children and those with some artistic flair even have a large blank page to draw a picture or word art.

If you want a more Christ-centered Christmas for you and your family in 2019, get your copy of A Jesus Christmas today!

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The First Noel

12/24/2018

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“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us…” Titus 3:4-5a

Since the day sin entered the world, we have been searching and waiting. Our relationship with God has been broken, not only by Adam’s sin but by our own sin as well. When we look at the world around us, we see the painful evidence of our brokenness and our fallenness. We see suffering, sickness, sadness, and death. This isn't how things were supposed to be on that sixth day of creation, but that's what came when we chose to go our own way rather than trusting God.

In Titus 3:3, we see vividly what life is like without Christ. We are foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others, and hating one another. We can simply turn on the news, scroll on our newsfeed, or look in the mirror to see this.

We need a Savior. We need something more than a list of laws and good works to fix this. And that's exactly what God gave us in Jesus’ birth. Titus 3:4-5 show us the hope and reality that came on that first Christmas morning.

Let’s look at how glorious this first Noel (which means Christmas) truly was:

Our Savior entered into time and space. "But When... God our Savior appeared". God the Son took on flesh and submitted Himself to 24 hour days and the womb of His virgin mother Mary. Could you imagine the God of the universe entering a womb that He created? Let the awe of that mystery sweep over you this Christmas. Consider that the Son of God allowed His skin to be warmed by the sun he created. The stars He made would shine in the right place and the right time to serve as a sign that He would burst into creation to show us His Father's glory!

Our Savior brought goodness and loving kindness. When God the Son came into such a sin-sick world, He could have brought wrath and judgment to the wickedness He saw. He could have given us the wages of our sin, which is death. We have all fallen short of His glory and deserve the just penalty. One day He will return for this very purpose. But in His first coming, Jesus brought compassion and love for dead sinners. He brought good news and freedom to the captives. He brought grace; the kind of grace that binds up the wounds of the broken, gives sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf. He brought the kind of grace that brings dead sinners to life.

Our Savior brought salvation. Some of the most amazing words ever spoken are found in Titus 3:5: "He saved us". We didn't save ourselves because we couldn't. We wouldn't have saved ourselves if we could because we love this world too much. God knew sin would do this to us, so He sent His Son, at the right time, to save us from our sins if we cast off our pride and self-righteousness.

If our Savior didn't appear on Christmas morning, salvation wouldn't have appeared either.

But He did on the first Noel.

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Add These Books To Your Last-Minute Christmas Shopping List

12/21/2018

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*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you're anything like me, you love to buy good books for the people you love, but you've somehow missed someone on your list. If so, I have a few books that will make great Christmas gifts for the people you love:

Diehard Sins by Rush Witt deals with those pesky, seemingly smalls sins that just seem to never let go. These diehard sins are the ones that take constant daily attention to destroy because they aren't always loud and visible public sins, but they always seem to show back up in our lives. Witt takes readers through the process he has used to help himself and his counselees destroy those diehard sins.
Images and Idols by Thomas Terry and J. Ryan Lister is all about God-centered creativity. It is part of their Reclaiming Creativity series. Images and Idols explores the foundations of creativity (as found in the Genesis creation story), the destruction of pure creativity in men due to sin, and how the gospel redeems our creativity for God's glory. See my full review here. This one in on sale right now for $1.99 if you like the Kindle version!
In Praise of Old Guys by Nicolas Alford and Nicholas Kennicott is something for a pastor or other ministry leader in your life. Better yet, get it for any young guy on your Christmas list! It's a not-so-subtle nudge for young men to seek older, more godly mentors who have been around the block a few times. Also, there's a really nice appendix with other recommended readings from some of the greatest authors in Christian and literary history!
Reformed Preaching by Joel Beeke is another great gift idea for the pastors and preachers in your life. This is a summation of Joel Beeke's many years of preaching and teaching on experiential preaching. Beeke's aim is to help preachers, by the Spirit, reach the heart of their hearers with deeply applicable sermons that preach the Biblical text faithfully while also reaching into everyday life with the sanctifying power promised by God Himself. This one is well worth the money and the time it will take to read it!
The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield is a great gift for the moms and wives on your list (though husbands will greatly benefit, too!). Butterfield takes the phrase "love your neighbor" literally and shows how her life was changed by some hospitable Christians who shared their lives and the love of Christ with her. More than just merely giving a theological treatment of hospitality, Butterfield gives examples—both successful and painful—from her efforts to show radical hospitality and reach people with the gospel.
The Gospel In Color by Curtis Woods and Jarvis J. Williams is a gift for both parents and children. Their desire is to show that true racial reconciliation can only come through God's glorious work in the gospel. The gospel doesn't save people so they can continue to accept cultural norms and remain in segregation and hatred of one another. Rather, the gospel allows us to talk about and move forward from these things. Though each can be purchased separately, it's valuable to grab the box set so parents can engage their children in this vitally important discussion. It's sure to be a blessing this Christmas and throughout their lives.

If you waited this long, you better hurry! If you're buying in store, you'll be fine, but if you're an online shopper, it looks like you've only got about a day to ensure that your gifts arrive before Christmas day with one or two-day shipping!

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Categories

Archives

The First To State The Case

The Kid Who Enraged Social Media

Murky Details

Sunday Morning

A Change Of Perspective

A Biblical Path Forward

Run To Jesus

Fighting Temptation Like Jesus

1. Know Your Identity

2. Know the Meaning of the Word

3. Hide the Word in your heart

4. Walk by the Holy Spirit

5. Fight with the Word as your sword

The Serpent Is Still Crafty

Holy Watchfulness

5 Steps In The Path of Sin and Temptation

1. The Word of God is twisted and contradicted. (Gen. 3:1-4)

2. A convincing argument is made against God and the meaning of His Word. (Gen. 3:5)

3. The contradiction and argument are embraced. (Gen. 3:6)

4. The sin is committed. (Gen 3:6)

5. Others are invited to partake in, or are supported in, their committing of the sin. (Gen 3:6)

A Beam of Hope

A Jesus Christmas

The First Noel

Add These Books To Your Last-Minute Christmas Shopping List

Categories

Archives

The First To State The Case

The Kid Who Enraged Social Media

Murky Details

Sunday Morning

A Change Of Perspective

A Biblical Path Forward

​Run To Jesus

Fighting Temptation Like Jesus

1. Know Your Identity

2. Know the Meaning of the Word

3. Hide the Word in your heart

4. Walk by the Holy Spirit

5. Fight with the Word as your sword

The Serpent Is Still Crafty

Holy Watchfulness

5 Steps In The Path of Sin and Temptation

1. The Word of God is twisted and contradicted. (Gen. 3:1-4)

2. A convincing argument is made against God and the meaning of His Word. (Gen. 3:5)

3. The contradiction and argument are embraced. (Gen. 3:6)

4. The sin is committed. (Gen 3:6)

5. Others are invited to partake in, or are supported in, their committing of the sin. (Gen 3:6)

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