by Kimberly | Jul 6, 2011 | Books
I am grateful for brilliant men who teach at seminaries who write in such a way that is engaging and not so jargon-filled. That is one of the characteristics of Redeeming Sociology by Vern Poythress (Westminster) that I enjoy the most. Very engaging, readable, applicable, and understandable.
Poythress starts with the best premise for the book: how to look at the complexity of sociology and relationships: the WORD of GOD. The sufficiency of all we need for how to live in right relationships with others and with God is found in the Word – God’s very breathed words of life. Starting in Genesis and following through to the end of Revelation – the Bible is about relationship. Relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Relationship with husband and wife. Relationship with parents and children. Relationship with friends. Relationships to authority. Relationship to the world and missions, evangelism. Poythress hits on all of these with the same guideline: the Bible has the answer.
The Gospel heals what sin has torn apart. Relationships are hard because of sin. God wants to bring them into harmony and that is only accomplished by the Gospel. Similar to Paul Tripp’s book Broken-Down House, Poythress also believes that the Gospel holds the answer to what ails our relationships.
So, if you are in any relationship at all, I would suggest picking up this book. You’ll be pleasantly surprised and how applicable it is to your daily life and ministry.
by Kimberly | May 20, 2011 | Books
Top 3 parenting books: EVER. Give Them Grace.
You don’t even need to be a parent to sit and just drink in the focus on grace in this book by Elyse and her daughter. I finished it being encouraged in my personal life and also more to want to be a parent one day and how hard that task is going to be!
Elyse focuses on grace: that undeserved richness that God has given to us through Christ by His life, death, resurrection, and glorification. All He has we have: His righteousness and holiness. How important it is that we live in this reality – in our daily lives and men and women, and also in how we parent.
Elyse is doctrinal and theological in this book: but she also gives you very practical conversations, prayers you can pray for your children. One of the conversations I heard recently while attending a parenting seminar was “who really thinks of these things in the heat of disciplining your child – when they are throwing a temper tantrum?” That is true – but that is where grace first needs to be applied to your life as a parent – to my life. Then to our kids’ lives! Even in the heat of the moment when they are screaming because they didn’t get to play the last game on the Wii.
I underlined so much in this book: but I’ll just pick out the good ones.
“Every way we try to make our kids good that isn’t rooted in the good news of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ is damnable, crushing, despair-breeding, Pharisee-producing law.” – pg 36
“Every responsible parent wants obedient children. But if we’re confused about their ability to be good, we’ll end up lying to them about their desperate lostness outside of Christ. We’ll tell tehm they are good and that they can obey God’s law.” – pg 47
“Yes, God commands us to train our children, but care needs to be taken that this training doesn’t morph into something more important to us than God Himself.” – pg 56
“The humility that acquiesces to being led, managed, and trained flows out of an understanding of one’s own lostness and a growing understanding of and trust in God’s great offer of life. Only the good news of the gospel produces a truly submissive humility of heart.” – pg 86 – I thought this also applied to work relationships and marriage relationships. Really any relationship: if we choose to live our Philippians 2.
“Management charts may help you run the home more smoothly. They may also become your god. Management is simply your effort to control outward behavior. It is not meant to get to the heart, although a child’s obedience to the outward rules may be evidences of faith. Every parent has to manage her child’s behavior.” – pg 89 – What is your end goal in your home management?
Anyway…you get the drift. Elyse does a great job at engaging her readers and pointing them to the Son.
So, for every parent, person in ministry who works with parents, people who might be parents one day, people who just like kids – or anyone who knows parents or kids. I think that is everyone! 🙂 Go buy this book when it comes out!
Thanks Elyse and Crossway!
by Kimberly | Apr 5, 2011 | Bible, Books, Events
This past Friday night I had the opportunity to attend two lectures centered on Christ and the arts. It was really neat to see how the two went back to back, different venues, and were so perfectly tied together.
Makoto Fujimura spoke at Duke Divinity School on his work of The Four Gospels for Crossway. Bruce Ashford, from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, spoke at First Baptist Church of Durham’s Disciple Now Weekend.
Mako’s work on The Four Holy Gospels is astounding. If you haven’t seen this short video of his work on this project, watch it. His understanding of theology is much deeper than I would have ever given him credit. Here are some takeaways from the 90 minute lecture and Q/A:
“Why don’t we stop trying to find everything wrong with contemporary art or culture and highlight what is right?” I think Christians have a tendency to knock anything that is possibly different. Fujimura’s art isn’t my primary style, but it is still beautiful and exquisite. It is still done for the glory of God. We as a Christian, conservative subculture (if you will) definitely have our opinions and would almost rather tear down culture and art rather than see the beauty in it – knowing that all beauty originates from the Beautiful One.
“The antidote for anxiousness in Matthew’s gospel: use your senses. Glimpse the eternal purposes of God.” He was referring to the passage that says do not worry, look at the lilies, look at the birds. On a conversation on the way to FBCD, I was talking about this comment. How the lilies don’t even have a brain to be able to worry if they are going to grow or not, the birds just fly and nest and eat, etc. Can we live in that much dependency upon our great God or do we have a natural way of leaning on ourselves and fretting.
The speaker settled on John 11. I took much away, but one thing I wanted to share here is about compassion. Jesus’ compassion: he meets us where we are, takes us where He wants us to be. My prayer: Teach me Lord to be more compassionate, to know people, to be a studier of people’s hearts, not just what I want them to be. This takes listening more than speaking, gazing instead of passing quickly, hearing instead of running thoughts through my head.
Best takeaway of the night, and still need to ponder this thought and revel in its beauty: “Restrictions and limitations actually give you more freedom.” I am thoroughly enjoying this right now. Anxiety doesn’t creep in as much. But, such mornings as this, I need to be reminded of who God made me and what His Son did for me on the cross. I’ll be writing more about this in the coming weeks.
On to Bruce Ashford…few miles away from Duke Divinity, lecture 2. Dr. Ashford is a friend, husband to Lauren, dad to two little (cute, adorable) girls. He loves to speak on this topic of engaging the culture with the truth of Christ.
He spent about 25 minutes going through the metanarrative of the work of God in the world (creation, fall, redemption, new creation). This set his stage for everything else he was going to talk about as the evening progressed.
How is fashion, food, photography, writing, and music all grounded in the meta narrative of the Bible? He said all art finds its answer in the meta. The meta shows a strikingly beautiful truth on every part of life.
How did sin corrupt: “spirituality, morality, rationality, creativity, relationality.” Every one of these relationships are marred and scarred by sin.
Society is made up of families. Genesis 1-2 says we are to build families, grow families – of worshipers. Only problem with this is that we tend to grow families of worshipers of other things than Jesus. What are we training our families to worship? (More on this later for my job.)
“Basis of every question in the world can be answered in the meta.” God’s truth resounds to everything.
“All beauty should guide you back to the one who is most beautiful.”
Bruce gave 4 criteria for judging art:
1. Technical excellence.
2. Validity (is the artist true to himself)
3. Content
4. Integration of Content and Vehicle
How do you study art? How do you anticipate and participate in art? How are you an artist? How do you see God in art?
by Kimberly | Feb 24, 2011 | Bible, Books, Women
You know some of those statements that are said to you at a point in your life that stick with you? Whether they be good or bad, you always remember them? Those cutting words, those words of joy and praise, those wounding words. Well, about 10 years ago I heard some words spoken to me that have been cutting ever since. Not all the time, but at certain moments I remember them, and God at least allows me to use them for my good now instead of my harm.
Those words were: “Kim, one thing you are not is a gentle and quiet spirit.” Ok – now. After reading that, think through it biblically – where that is one thing Scripture commands women after God’s own heart – for them to be gentle and quiet. This probably is in the top 3 statements that have hurt me over the course of my life.
So, how is God using this statement even today. He grows me. He strengthens me. He enables me to not let that statement have control and wounding power over me, but allows me to use that statement for His glory by allowing the Spirit to sanctify my heart and spirit.
Am I there yet? Good gracious, no. But, here are some thoughts I read this morning on the subject by my favorite author, Jerry Bridges.
In The Practice of Godliness, Bridges talks about gentleness as being a person where people find rest. Basically, do people find rest in your presence or not? As I even wrote last week that I want my home to be a place of rest for people, a place of quiet and enjoyment for people, I also want my presence to be that way. When people are around me, when they leave me – who are they? Are they rested? Are they encouraged? Are they pointing more to Christ than they were before they got to me? Do I press them into the gospel or do I drag them away from the gospel with my spirit?
“Christ’s whole demeanor was such that people were often restful in His presence. This effect is another outworking of the grace of gentleness. People are at rest, or at east, around the Christian who is truly gentle.”
“George Bethune said, ‘Perhaps no grace is less prayed for, or less cultivated than gentleness. Indeed it is considered rather as belonging to natural disposition or external manners, than as a Christian virtue, and seldom do we reflect that not to be gentle is isn.”
Gentleness is a gift of the Spirit – it is not a personality trait. we are giving these and therefore should back away from sin in order to manifest these. We quench the Spirit when we do not manifest gentleness.
Style…clothing…accessories…I read many blogs. But, how often do I stop to think about “clothing myself with gentleness.” (Col 3.12). When I awake in the morning I’ve usually at least pondered my outfit for the day – but have I thought about how I’m going to display gentleness with the people I deal with and meet that day? Usually I’ll answer that question – no.
How does being around gentle people affect me? I can think of a men and women in my life who display a great deal of gentleness and kindness. I LOVE being around them. I come away from them rested, more joyful, and relaxed. Not busy. Not hurried. I love that. That is what I crave and desire. I desire rest and ease in relationships. Comfort, gentleness, kindness. Me being around those type of people makes me want to be that way.
So, I should study Christ more. I should study and see how Christ is gentle. Jesus gives rest. I want to be like him in my relationships. Thankful for people in my life who manifest already (though imperfectly) the gentleness of Christ. I am grateful that you are pouring out that grace in my life. For however long I know you – know that you have invested in my life.
You take wounds: and make them whole. That is the salve of Christ and His Word and His covering with His own precious blood shed on Calvary for me.
“The Christian who truly seeks to obey God through gentle character will actively pursue gentleness, striving to close himself with it. He will place this godly virtue high on his list of spiritual traits and LOOK TO GOD the HOLY SPIRIT to PRODUCE this fruit in his life. We should also ask the Holy Spirit to make us aware of specific situations in which we fail to act with gentleness and considerateness. Only then will we be driven to pray fervently for the grace of gentleness.”
What books have you read on gentleness that you think would be good to offer for the discussion?
by Kimberly | Feb 22, 2011 | Bible, Books
Commentary and Gospel to preach to yourself: does it get any better?
Josh Moody, pastor of College Church in Wheaton (which I love by the way, just the city, the college, the grounds), took his sermons from Galatians and poured it into a readable, short-chaptered, book you can read in a month (as long as the month has 31 days).
His only goal is to give a hard look at what it means to live our lives by ONE GOSPEL: The Cross, what the Bible says the Gospel is – and not let anything else interfere with that. He succeeds. The first couple of chapters were so highlighted I knew this would be a book I would pour into for years, and use readily as a resource when writing or studying or speaking at a conference, etc. Such depth and insight. Both scholarly and pastoral.
“We are practical atheists if we limit God’s usefulness of us to our personality. God did not greatly use Paul because he thought Paul had all the right credentials. It was not “Oh, Paul, he knows the Bible and has good connections, let’s get him.” No, it was the religious terrorist. How unlikely is that? God delights to take unlikely people and user them because then the focus is on God, not on the unlikely people.” – 16
In thoughts of planning worship services: “When we plan, it is the Bible that must guide. Our worship must be Bible-centered in order to be God-centered.” – 17
Just in case you ever wonder what you had to do with your salvation: “Our salvation does not start with us. We do not initiate the process. We did not come up with the plan. We did not start it. God did.” – 25
These are but a small taste to the rich truths that Moody brings out of Galatians into sermons and then puts them in your hands as a tool for you to know the gospel better. Use this as a secondary source when studying/memorizing/learning Galatians. It will be a blessing to your soul and life and ministry.
by Kimberly | Feb 16, 2011 | Books
Libraries are so fun to look at. Man, I could spend days reading or looking at others’ libraries. They inspire. They encourage. Yes, the libraries themselves, but also the books themselves. They inspire thinking, writing, and action.
I will be ultra spiritual and say my Top Book ever is The Bible – but I’ll leave it with Colossians 3:16
Top Books for Women/Wives (all of these are in no particular order unless otherwise stated)
1. Helper By Design – Elyse Fitzpatrick
2. When Sinners Say I Do – Dave Harvey (great book for pre-marital counseling)
3. Feminine Appeal – Carolyn Mahaney
4. Radical Womanhood – Carolyn McCulley
5. Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye – Carolyn McCulley
6. Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild – Mary Kassian
7. Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God – Noel Piper
8. Biblical Foundation for Manhood and Womanhood – Wayne Grudem
9. Sacred Influence – Gary Thomas
Here are my top authors – so you could really read this to say: anything by these authors are in my top books!
1. Jerry Bridges – yes, my favorite author – EVER – fave book is Respectable Sins
2. John Piper – his Swans series is my favorite
3. D. A. Carson
4. Paul Tripp – ANYTHING
5. C. S. Lewis – Narnia and the 4 Loves
6. Mark Driscoll
7. Wayne Grudem
8. Carolyn Mahaney
9. Carolyn McCulley
10. Elyse Fitzpatrick (hands-down favorite female author)
11. Mary Kassian
Now for some random books:
1. No Other Gospel – Josh Moody
2. Valley of Vision
3. Mortification of Sin – Owen
4. Esther & Ruth Commentary by Duguid
5. Journals of Jim Elliot (and anything about his life)
There you have it – what are your fave books or top authors? And yes, I’ve only highlighted my “Christian reading”. I also love cookbooks, biographies, history, magazines, Jane Austen, classics, and John Grisham, and Charlie Brown!
