To Whom Shall We Go?

I got this idea from Tony Reinke at the desiring God blog, where he occasionally posts 20 quotes from a good book. I thought it would be a helpful way for me to share some of the interesting things that I've gleaned from my reading. I just finished this great book and I thought I'd share 20 quotes from it. Schaeffer on the Christian Life: Countercultural Spirituality, by William Edgar. Note: If you see no quotation marks it is a direct quote from the book. If you see quotation marks it means it is a direct quote from Francis Schaeffer that William Edgar is quoting. Fran stopped at nothing to defend the objective reality of a true religious experience over against mysticism and liberal theology. If you had been there at Calvary’s cross, he said, and had rubbed your hand against it, you would have gotten a splinter! 66 “Sanctification is a process, not an act, and yet there are often one or more crises along the way as a Christian gains new knowledge of the

18  And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  One of the things that really struck me in our recent sermon series came in the text from the final sermon. In it, we explored the question and answer: “Who needs the gospel? The world does.” The text was Matthew’s Great Commission passage, Matthew 28:16-20. Here’s what smacked me right between the eyes: every disciple can teach. It needs to be said that some disciples are gifted to teach in a way that others are not (elders, for example in 1 Tim. 3:2). But every disciple can teach in some way . Otherwise, it makes little sense that Jesus would give the Great Commission to all (not some of) his disciples, and then call them to

Who Needs the Gospel? Seeking to make the gospel central in our lives, in our church, and in our mission to the world 1. I do—1 Corinthians 15:1-5         *Big idea: Each one of us has a personal, daily, ongoing need for the gospel         A. Old news, but not dead news (1-2) ·       The word for “gospel” simply means good news. A message that is proclaimed. News of victory in war or something like that. ·       Confusion in the church at Corinth means Paul needs to clarify what the right gospel actually is. He goes on to do this in verses 3-5 ·       The Corinthians received this gospel, stand in this gospel, are being saved by this gospel. In other words, it’s still relevant. It’s not dead. ·       They must keep on believing, and never give up the hope this gospel offers         B. Old news, but still critical news (3-5) ·       Critical because it’s the same news taught by Jesus, and it’s the same news taught by all the other Apostles ·       Critical be

In the following post I'm going to give an outline of the four sermons we just heard at our church. The hope of these sermons was to draw our attention to the importance of a gospel-centered life as individuals, and a gospel-centered mission for our local church. Also, I’ve compiled a series of links to all the books that were recommended over the past month as part of the series. I mentioned in one sermon that C.J.’s book is a must-read for every Christian, and I reiterate that here. Who Needs the Gospel? Recommended Reading I do The Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert Note to Self , by Joe Thorn The Church does The Church: The Gospel Made Visible , by Mark Dever What is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile The Trellis and the Vine , by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne My Neighbors do Evangelism , byMack Stiles Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God , by J.I. Packe