Knowing the God of the Gospel

In his book, Bowling Alone, Robert T. Putnam, talks about the shifting American landscape and how our definition of community has changed so drastically over the past decades.  In Bowling Alone, Putnam makes the comment that Americans traditionally have been communal people, bowling together, going to church together, serving in community clubs together.  Yet in recent years, this has all shifted.  The individuality of the American experience, enhanced by technology, travel and mobility, has increasingly made us disconnected from each other. Yet as I meet people in Madison, Wisconsin and other places, I see people longing for friendship, for a sense of connection to other like minded people and given to something bigger than themselves.   When Jesus came to earth and lived, his ultimate purpose was not to help people improve their moral behavior so they could have improved relationships and get along better.   Ultimately Jesus came and died to connect us to God and to each other i

The Fuel of Death Defying Missions One of the books that has recently impacted Brenda and me is "Radical" by David Platt.  Brenda and I went through this book in a small group several years ago and it deeply challenged us to more fully give our lives to Christ's work and make decisions, especially financial decisions, that reflect at eternal perspective. This book has challenged not only our lives but our former small group as well as the staff here at Monona Oaks Community Church.   Platt recently spoke at the T4G conference on global missions and his sermon is continuing to gather a large following.  As you think about your commitment to global missions, I encourage you to listen to David Platt's message as you consider how you might participate in God's global mission.

God Speaks Through What He Has Spoken Recently I was reading a book by John Stott called "Between Two Worlds" which is Stott's classic book on preaching.  Yet in the early pages of the book, I was struck by one of Stott's phrases that doesn't just apply to preaching, but to Bible reading and Bible study in general.  Stott makes the pronouncement that God has spoken through his Word, which is absolutely true, but just as importantly, God continues to speak through what he has spoken.  When the writer of Hebrews says that God's Word is 'living and active' what the writer is saying is that God has spoken and is continuing to speak, yet sadly, people harden their hearts to God's Word and don't heed his voice (Heb 4:7).  It is an ongoing problem for humanity.  But another spiritual problem relates to not rebellion, but neglect.  Some of us don't hear from God and our spiritual lives are stale and boring, not from rebellion, but neglect o

The Prodigal God A Third Way to Live One of the books that has been a great encouragement to me the past several years is the book "Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller.   Dr. Keller pastors a church in New York City called Redeemer Presbyterian Church and he has written and taught extensively on the centrality of the gospel as the foundation for the Christian life and the Church.  His book Prodigal God has blessed me and challenged me because of my innate sense of legalism.   As Martin Luther once said, legalism is the default mode of the human heart and this is certainly true of me. When I placed my faith in Christ my senior year of college at UW-Eau Claire, there was a lot of things going on my my life that I would just as soon forget.  Without mentioning them all, some of the patterns in my life were easy to break and some were hard.  While living a life far separated from God in college, it was as though my life was a car and I had the left tire of my car stuck in a

How To Read The Bible One of my spiritual heroes is Howard Hendricks, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary.  Although he is a brilliant teacher, he constantly sticks to the basics of inductive Bible study and never tires of teaching it and training others to study the Bible for themselves.  His book, Living by the Book, covers these basics of inductive Bible Study.   The Basic Principle of Biblical Interpretation :   Seek the plain, natural, intended meaning of the text.   What did the original author intend for his original audience to understand, and therefore what is implied for Christians today. As we seek to interpret the Bible, we go through a three step process:   1.   Observation 2.   Interpretation 3. Application 1. Observation What does this passage say?   A.. What is the context of the passage? B.   Who is writing/speaking and to whom?   What is their rel

UNSTUCK! I recently heard a radio spot by a man named Dr. Arnie Cole, who is CEO of Back to the Bible.  He has done a lot of research on spiritual growth and Christian maturity.  In his research, he has studied thousands of people in churches and finds that a large number of people in church behave in exactly the same manner as people in the world who are non-Christian.  This is probably not a complete surprise to most people.  But here is what he said that I find so fascinating... He said that people that read their Bibles are often people with behavior similar to the world.  As he studied people in churches that were truly transformed spiritually, hearing from God, actively obeying and living life differently than the world's values, there was one defining practice that separated them from other people.  The defining practice that gave them a distinctive life as a Christian was the practice of "reflection" on their Bible reading.  People in churches that read the

Upending your spiritual apple cart  Occasionally we come across a circumstance that sort of upends the apple cart of our comfort and self protective mechanisms.   Missions trips can have that effect on us.  When I took my first missions trip to Mexico in the 80's, I was profoundly struck by the economic needs that are so great, and it was humbling to see people working so hard just to scratch out a meager subsistence.  It upset my  paradigm of what I think I deserve and it challenged me to rethink about what it means to live sacrificially.  Books can have that effect on our lives too.   One of the books that has had an "upend the apple cart" dynamic on small groups that I have led is the book "Radical", by David Platt.   The cover of the book features the symbol of the American dream, a house, that is turned upside down.  To put it bluntly, this book challenges our American Christianity as too comfortable and pushes the reader to evaluate what it means to

Living Inside God's Circle of Blessing On Sunday morning, my wife Brenda and I taught Sunday School together.  Here at Monona Oaks, we are going through the Desiring God Sunday School curriculum and teaching through the Ten Commandments this summer.  Brenda and I were in charge of teaching the 5th Commandment, honoring your father and mother.  Tedd Tripp, in his book Shepherding a Child's Heart, makes the great observation that as parents we are not seeking to shape our kids behavior, but shape our kids hearts.  We have no power to change our kids hearts, but we can use the transforming power of the Gospel to let God change our kids hearts.   The goal of parenting is to help our kids love God more deeply and help them understand the deep love of God.  Parents are placed by God in the line of authority between kids and God.  For a child to obey their parents, in turn they are also obeying God.  The 5th Commandment says that when kids obey, it goes well with them and they

Trophies of God's grace This past weekend, trophies were in the news a lot because of the NBA championships and other sporting events. When the NBA trophy was temporarily misplaced after the NBA championship game, LaBron James went on a desperate search to find the trophy and bring it to the locker room for the celebration.  A trophy is special, it is treasured, it is put on display to be admired and viewed.  Paul describes the gathered church as trophies of God's grace in Christ in the Book of Ephesians. Harold Hoehner in his commentary, introduces the theme of Ephesians as "sinners who deserve nothing but God's wrath but have become trophies of God's grace" through the gracious work of Jesus Christ.  A trophy is something that is displayed prominently and purposely so that others might see it.  It reveals something that has been achieved.   Throughout the Book of Ephesians, Paul talks about the Church as people who are trophies of God's grace and p

God our Heavenly Father One of the things that has struck me lately is the purpose of forgiveness.  In the Christian life, forgiveness is talked about a lot, but the end purpose of forgiveness is sometimes neglected.  The whole purpose of forgiveness is restored relationship.   When Jesus died at the cross, he made possible for a sinful man to be forgiven before a holy God.  Yet, forgiveness is not an end in itself. The purpose of forgiveness is that we might enjoy a restored relationship with our heavenly Father.    Through the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, I am adopted into God's family and therefore enjoy all the riches of Sonship.  As J.I. Packer writes, " Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love...where God takes us into his family and establishes us as children and heirs.  Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship.   To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the father is greater.&

One great books that has impacted my spiritual journey is "Knowing God" by J.I. Packer.  Packer writes that the chief end of our study of God is to know God better.  Not merely by understanding the doctrine of God's attributes, but to study to ultimately know the living God.  As one German theologian once remarked, the great travesty of theological study is that pastors and scholars often begin to talk about God in the third person, rather than the first person.  Meaning, its easy to talk about God like a specimen in a petri dish rather than talking to God in prayer.  Packer states that the great rule for increased knowledge of God is mediation.  It is the business of turning truth about God into a matter of mediation before God, leading to prayer and praise.  He continues, "meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promise

Often our focus is on praying longer.  When we read the prayers that Paul wrote in the New Testament, we are reminded that God also wants us to pray better.  One of my favorite books on Paul's prayers is "Spiritual Reformation" by D.A. Carson.  Books like this one keep me encouraged, challenged and praying biblically.  As Carson writes in his book, there are many great problems in the world and many urgent needs.  "But there is a sense in which these urgent needs are merely symptomatic of a far more serious lack.  The one thing we most urgently need in Western Christiandom is a deeper knowledge of God.  We need to know God better."  As Carson continues, "one of the foundational steps in knowing God, and one of the basic demonstrations that we do know God, is prayer-spiritual, persistent, biblically minded prayer."  Dr. Carson's book has challenged me not merely to pray more but to pray more biblically.  This book has served to remind me that