Social Justice - A Counterfeit Of The Real Things: This is our role as Christian leaders. This is our role as artists, songwriters, pastors — to lead the charge for seeking justice, renewal and redemption. We demonstrate gospel justice primarily in three steps. I am going to discuss the first of the ways in this post, and I’ll get to the last two in part 3.

What's The Problem With Christian Books: I have a recurring problem in my reading. It is this: that too often I find Christian books uninspiring, compared with how interesting I find so many secular ones.

Why Pray? Because God Is A Forgiving God: Yes, you’re going to get this wrong. Yes, you’re going to pray like a proud idiot sometimes, but that’s no reason to stop praying. It’s only as you go to God with confidence that he hears your prayers even as he forgives them, that you will grow in your walk with God. As you grow in prayer, and you grow in your knowledge of God’s forgiveness, and eventually lose your pride and begin to pray to him the way you ought to. It’s a virtuous cycle. So, why should you be confident in prayer? Because God forgives them.

Your Deepest Identity: More than anything else, your new identity hinges on this one simple truth: You are in Christ. You are united to Christ, and identified with him. Many Christians through the years have said that of all the blessings you receive as a Christian, none is greater than this. Why?

When Prayer Comes Out Of The Closet: Good corporate praying is not just directed to God, but has our fellow pray-ers in view. Which means, like Jesus, we pray most often with “we,” “us,” and “our,” and both with authenticity and with candor that is appropriate for those assembled.

A Prayer For Preaching The Gospel To Yourself: Lord Jesus, these are just verses and doctrines, but my life and joy, peace and liberty. Because the gospel is true, I want to live and love to your glory, until the Day you return to finish making all things new, including me. So very Amen I pray, in your merciful and mighty name.

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What Does It Mean To Be Gospel Centered?: John Piper explains what it means to be gospel-centered or cross-centered.

Resolve To Be A Life Long Learner: The Christian faith is not a finite course of study for the front-end of adulthood. Our mindset shouldn’t be to first do our learning and then spend the rest of our lives drawing from that original deposit of knowledge. Rather, ongoing health in the Christian life is inextricably linked to ongoing learning.

Choose Hospitality Over Entertainment: It revealed my own lack of understanding about the nature and purpose of hospitality. In my self-righteous desire to offer advice, I had confused hospitality with its evil twin, entertaining. The two ideas aren't the same. 

12 Struggles Singles Face: When we hear the word “single” we usually think of one kind of single – someone maybe 25-50 who has not married. But there are other kinds of singles: widows, single parents, divorcees, those who suffer with same-sex attraction, and even those who are in loveless marriages – perhaps the most painful singleness of all. But for all singles, there are twelve struggles that must be faced at different stages and to different degrees.

Does God Have A Purpose In My Life?: Most people want to know God’s purpose for their lives, but they simply don’t know where to look. Is it possible to even know God’s purpose for our lives? And how do we discover what it is? Psalm 57 teaches us three truths about our God-given purpose.

How Can A Mature Christian Be Fed In A Missional Community?: There is much that can be said on this, but it is best to focus on the most mature Christian that ever lived, Jesus Christ and what He has to say and even demonstrates about being fed. I’m well aware that not everyone is Jesus, and that many people far from God and new to Christianity need to be taught the bible. But we must also be careful to teach them to feed themselves, not make them dependent on someone else to teach them.

4 Dangers For Complementarian's: Of course, many people will disagree with complementarianism—often quite vehemently—no matter what we say or do. But the truth is offensive enough without our help. We don’t need to add to its offense with our own faults and foibles. I therefore list four dangers to which we should be particularly sensitive, even while we stand firm in the face of pressure from our more aggressive critics.

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Does God Harden A Believer's Heart?: In the end, each of us must answer one question above all regarding the condition of our heart: Do I embrace Jesus Christ as the greatest treasure in the universe?

Saved By A Community For A Community: So let's radically love the brother in Sunday school who drives us crazy. Let's invite into our homes the awkward sister no one else approaches. Let's walk into the sanctuary seeking to engage the visitor in conversation. Let's go beyond sports and weather and politics to discuss how the gospel intersects with our lives, our marriages, our families. The more this interaction happens in our churches, the more we will be drawn into the lavish love of the triune God.

Outrage Porn and the Christian Reader: The fact is, so much Internet-based outrage is manufactured outrage, carefully structured to achieve the end of luring eyeballs to articles. This is the worst kind of outrage because it is designed to attract readers, not to bring about change. It serves us, not the other person and not the church or the Lord of the church. And in that way, the “porn” label fits it very well.

Real Forgiveness: A rebuker will make sure that his rebuke is fair enough to stand a chance of being received.  So it is wise to avoid the verb “to be” (“You are . . .”) or the words “always” and “never” (“You always/never . . .”).  Those categories are too absolute to be fair.  They blast the offender to smithereens, with no dignity left.  They presume to redefine what another human being is, and no one but God has the right to do that.  A wise rebuke limits itself to observable behavior.

Lesbian Professor's Fall To Grace: “I still felt like a lesbian, but what is my true identity, I wondered?” she said. “The Bible makes clear the difference between real and true. What is bigger, my lesbian identity… or God’s authority over me?” God won.

Genuine Repentance: I have sinned against you. I have apologized. But how do you know if I mean it?...Here are 12 signs we have a genuinely repentant heart.

Gospel-Centered Reduction: If the gospel isn’t an actor that accomplishes things, we should not speak about it as if it is. Rather, we should speak of the God of the gospel who works through the gospel to accomplish his purposes. If we insist on making the gospel itself an actor in the drama of redemption, we are engaging in a kind of gospel-centered reduction. I doubt anyone intends to do this, but it is an unintended consequence of buzzwords. They can be helpful, but often are not. Instead, they shortchange clear thinking by leading to reductions in our language. We rely on them as shorthand, but in this case, what gets left out is what is really of first importance.

Was Jesus a Celebrity Pastor?: This is important to say: just because so and so happens to be very popular, have a big name, sell books, and so forth, that doesn’t mean they’ve fallen into the celebrity pastor trap. They may just be attracting a lot of attention in the midst of a faithful and smart ministry. I’m struck with the fact that the for the first part of Jesus’ ministry, judging by numbers and popularity alone, Jesus was a celebrity pastor–for a bit.

5 Parenting Opportunities When Our Kids Sin: Sinful behavior in our kids is not an opportunity to war against them, but an opportunity to proclaim the gospel. Here are five ways God can take what was meant for evil and use it for good.

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Gospel communities are built on the truth of the gospel that saves and restores people to God and brings them into His family as a group of people commissioned by King Jesus to go into the entire world and make disciples of all nations—starting right in our own city and neighborhoods as GCs on mission for Jesus. Gospel Communities is a place where people grow as disciples of Jesus, while growing to make disciples of Jesus. 

We are doing a mini blog series on Gospel Communities (Theological Foundation, GC for an Individual, GC for a Family, GC for a church) 

Mini Blog Series:

• Theological Foundation: The Church Church Not On Sunday
• GC for an Individual: 6 Ways Gospel Communities Are Helpful For Individuals 
• GC for a Family (2 Blog Posts): In Sickness And In Health, Desperation And The Love Of Discipleship Groups; How Is A Gospel Community A Safe Place For My Family?
• GC for a Church: 

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The Following Blog Post is from Ariel Bovat 

How Are Gospel Communities For A Family?

I hate that my first reaction, my first response, my default mode is not what it's supposed to be as a redeemed woman in Christ.

Let me explain.

The toll of living isolated lives for years with no like minded Christian fellowship, hubby's transfer being approved, selling a house, moving across 6 states over 7 days, living in temporary housing for 2 months, a drastic change in weather, looking for a house, buying a house, the overwhelming relief of finding an awesome church, all of this while trying to keep a somewhat structured  home school schedule finally took a toll on my body and my mind. 

I WAS TIRED!! EMOTIONALLY. MENTALLY. PHYSICALLY. PSYCHOLOGICALLY.

ALL OF ME WAS TIRED. 

My body showed it by getting sick with a re-occurring sickness that 3 rounds of antibiotics over 2 months was not touching. I don't do well while on antibiotics. I don't do well while I am sick. I took it out on the people around me and it was not good. 

Funny thing about getting sick. I expect to be served. I expect...period. 

I don't know if its the lack of sympathy or empathy I received as a child growing up, or the ugly feminist culture that I bought into in my twenties, or just plain good old fashioned sin, what ever the cause of my entitlement was, I felt it deep down inside of my person. I feel entitled when I am not feeling well. I expect it. I demand it even ( i know...it is horrible to even admit)

When I am not served when I am sick,  I get angry. 

When I am not served when I am sick,  I get hurt. 

When I am not served when I am sick,  I get bitter.

I shut down mentally and can't think straight. I operate in pity-party mode all the time. 

I am like a resounding gong. (1 Corinthians 13:1) In my bitterness, in my resentment, in my anger, I cause those around me to sin in reaction to my own sin. 

I know, I cannot control when others sin against me. However, when I am faced with the reality that MY sin causes others to sin, it breaks me into a billion little pieces. 

In steps the reality that God did not create us to live isolated Christian lives. 

It has been years.....eons even, since my family has had the love and support from Bible believing people. Sure, we have had Christian friends in our lives but for some reason, Paul and I felt like something was missing in our relationship with Christian friends. We just didn't know what it was.

Even though we had no idea what that something was, both my husband and I desperately wanted that something, yet had no earthly idea what it would even look like.  

We have been attending our new church since mid November and we absolutely love the preaching. They have, what I have always known as, small groups, but at our new church they call these groups Gospel Communities. They also have a smaller set up that they call discipleship groups. These discipleship groups are a group of people, broken down from the larger Gospel Community group, that meets together regularly to discuss the sermon from the previous Sunday or just discuss and share life stuff. Paul meets with the men's discipleship group every Wednesday morning at 5:30 am at a local coffee house. I meet with the women's discipleship group every Thursday evening at the same coffee shop.

After each session, Paul and I come home really refreshed and encouraged. It's a beautiful thing to experience. There are no other words to describe it.

Even though I have only been attending my discipleship group a short time, there is something about my group that makes me feel safe. I love that when a question or topic is posed, there is great reflective encouraging conversation and no condemnation. 

At my previous group meeting, I shared with the ladies that Paul and I could use some prayer. The toll of moving, sickness and all that comes with it had worn a hole in our communication and it was showing almost daily. It came to a head this past Sunday after an awesome sermon on the 6th commandment, "do not murder" was preached. Ironic huh? 

You can listen to that sermon here. Scroll down to Deuteronomy 5:6, 17 Being Christian: The Meaning of Life

Basically, Paul and I realized we were murdering each other with our thoughts and our words. It was not pretty. I cannot speak for him, but for me, the toll of dealing with my sickness was heavy. It was a heavy burden and I was not carrying it well. I wanted to be comforted in my sickness. I wanted to be served in my sickness. I was tired of being sick. I wanted to be well. I was tired of dealing with physical pain in my body.

I prayed to God for healing so that I could get back to "normal".  It was not happening. 

I had been trying to figure out, through my many conversations with God, why He was not making me better. I was trying to figure out, what I was supposed to be learning about myself through my sickness. I was stumped and my sin and selfishness blinded me.

My depleted emotional capacity to figure it out had me spent. Really Spent! 

In a moment of sheer desperation, I reached out and shared my struggles with a new friend from my discipleship group. (Thank you Janine) I wanted to reach out to her most of that afternoon, but my pride would not have it. I didn't want to seem like I was one of those "needy" chicks. I didn't want to give the impression that Paul and I didn't have it all together all the time. I didn't want to give the impression that we needed help. We were "new" at the church for heavens sake.  

Paul and I read our Bibles daily, pray daily, teach our children the Bible daily, go to church regularly, tithe regularly, and we still didn't have it all together and that was embarrassing.

I felt that the Holy Spirit was telling me to share my struggles, but my pride fought it desperately all afternoon. 

Finally about 8:30 pm, I contacted her and let her know what was going on. Instead of blowing me off with a superficial "we will pray for you", she told her husband and her husband offered to come to our house and pray/talk with us. I was stunned. Humbled.

I immediately started to believe a lie that I had become a burden and I shouldn't want to burden them any longer. To top it off, we were dealing with the biggest, windiest snow storm I had ever seen. I surely did not want this man, my new friend's husband, to have an accident on account of me and my hubby having communication issues. They persisted. I asked Paul. Paul agreed and we conceded to him coming over to pray/talk with us. He is also a part of Paul's discipleship group and I am thankful that my hubby did not have an issue with pride and how he would be perceived. My hubby's humility in allowing another guy to come pray and talk with us helped me with my own personal pride. 

Let me stress how humbling this was for us. We had been accustomed to dealing with personal and private issues on our own for so long, we had forgotten what it felt like to share our struggles with others. We were walking into foreign territory. It was scary. 

He showed up at our house about 10:00 pm. He stayed until almost midnight. He prayed for us. He talked with us. He prayed again. 

Here is what he did and did not do-

1. He didn't condemn us. 
2. He didn't side with either one of us. 
3. He told us what we needed to hear
4. He reminded us of things we already knew but needed desperately to hear again because we had forgotten.
5. He told us some "new things" we had never heard before that rocked the world of both Paul and I. (Later Paul told me what rocked him and I told Paul what rocked me...and it was GOOD)

When he left, the hubby and I knew something changed. We went to bed and I woke up at 5:30 a.m. while Paul was getting ready for work and we talked. We talked and talked and talked some more. He called in to take a day off from work and we talked the entire morning.

Whatever it was that happened, we knew things were different. I can't write about what changed in my hubby, but I can write about what changed in me. 

I came to the stark reality that in my sickness, I was not being Christ like at all. I was allowing the pain in my body to dictate how I treated people, which included my husband. I felt justified in treating him harshly because I was in pain. I felt owed. 

I would cry out to God to take away the pain and sickness because I wanted to go back to being the "selfless sacrificial loving wife and mother" that I thought I was. God showed me that in my pain and sickness the reality was that I was far from that "selfless, sacrificial loving wife and mother".

I used to believe that the marriage vows "in sickness and in health" meant that when I got sick, I needed to be cared for and doted on. When I was not cared for and doted on, I became bitter, angry and resentful. 

Through the conviction of the Holy Spirit I NOW believe that "in sickness and in health" means that I need to love my husband, my children, and anyone else, in a way that is Christ honoring, despite whether or not I am sick or healthy. 

I think back to when Christ was suffering and dying on the cross. He looked down and told John to look after his mother. He continued to serve her and love her in the middle of his excruciating physical pain and suffering. He served in spite of His pain. He served in spite of His suffering. 

I realized that I cannot, in my own strength, serve offers when I am suffering. However, because Christ has served others in His suffering, I am given Christ's strength to do what in my own strength I am unable to do. 

The words to the famous hymn, Amazing Grace, are given fresh meaning to me. Why in the world would my Savior choose to save me is a mystery. I seem to be more of a mess than I thought I was. 

But Ephesians 2:8 tells me: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God

I am thankful beyond words that my salvation is a gift. He saved me in spite of my messy, prideful, angry, bitter, resentful, broken sinful heart. I am thankful that my Savior continues to show me who I am and then gives me the power and the strength to be better....to be more like Him. 

I will continue to pray that I grow in my ability to love and serve others, even when I am in pain or sick. I will continue to repent when I don't do it. 

We are not commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, only when we feel like it, or when we are healthy. We are commanded to love them always, despite our circumstances. 

I am thankful for my discipleship group. I am thankful for our new church that equips believers to handle the messy situations of life in marriage. I am thankful for Spirit led, Spirit filled believers who go whenever help is needed and do not pass judgment or condemnation, but instead show love and support and encourage others to walk firmly in the life we are called. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit reminding me and my hubby who we are in Christ.  

"He lived a life I can not live and died a death I clearly deserve"!!! 

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Church Colson writes a great blog post about the benefits Christians have joining in Lent:

Five Benefits To Joining In Lent

That said, let's explore five benefits to observing Lent.

1. Lent affords us the opportunity to search the depths of our sin and experience the heights of God's love.

With Good Friday approaching, visions of Jesus' gruesome death remind us of the dreadful reality of sin. Here, our individual and corporate brokenness is on display as the Lord of glory dies under the weight of our just judgment, inspiring personal introspection. Though self-examination can turn into narcissistic navel gazing, such abuses should not foreclose on a godly form of self-examination that encourages humility, repentance, and dependence on Christ.

But for such introspection to remain healthy, we must hold together two realities that converge at the cross—our corruption and God's grace. If we divorce the two, then our hearts will either swell with pride and self-righteousness, losing touch with our sinfulness, or sink into anxious despair and uncertainty, failing to grapple with mercy.

Confident of God's grace in Jesus Christ, we are free to probe the inner recesses of our hearts, unearthing sin's pollution. God's grace liberates us to explore our soul, facing its filth, rather than suppressing or succumbing to its contents. With David, we are free to pray,

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Ps. 139:23-24)

Searching us, God discovers nothing unknown to him (Ps 139:1-3), but discloses the secrets of our hearts, allowing us to know ourselves. Under his tender scrutiny, God exposes, not to shame, but to heal. Thus, turning inward, we are led upward to find consolation, hope, and transformation through Jesus Christ. Certainly, such piety isn't the exclusive property of any church season, but Lent provides a unique setting for this self-examination.

2. Lent affords us an opportunity to probe the sincerity of our discipleship.

Jesus bore the cross for us, accomplishing our salvation, yet he also bestows a cross on us (Mt. 10:38-39; Lk. 9:23). Following him, Jesus guarantees unspeakable comforts and uncertainties (Jn. 16:32-33). Frequently, these uncertainties test the genuineness of our discipleship. Consider the following examples from Jesus' ministry.

In Matthew 8:18-22, two people approach Jesus, proclaiming their desire to follow him. One, a scribe, offers his undying devotion saying, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus responds by instructing the scribe about the rigors of following him, explaining that foxes and birds enjoy more comfort than he does. Perceiving selfish ambition, Jesus reminds the scribe that following him is not a means for advancing in the world, but rather involves forsaking it. We don't know how this scribe responded to the challenge, but Jesus leaves us with the question, "Will we follow him when it is inconvenient or only when comfortable and to our advantage?"

The second, a disciple, requests to attend his father's funeral before going on with Jesus. Jesus takes the opportunity to reveal the disciple's heart, unveiling his ultimate affections. He says, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead." Remember, Jesus warns us that we cannot love father and mother, or anything else, above him (Mt. 10:37). Obviously, Jesus does not forbid loving our parents or attending their funerals, but he does insist on being first in our hearts. Jesus is not a commitment among other commitments, but rather the commitment of our lives. Therefore, as Augustine points out, we must take care to order our loves properly, ensuring that our affections are set on Christ and not another.

In this way, Lent provides opportunity to question and examine ourselves, exploring the integrity of our discipleship.

3. Lent provides us an opportunity to reflect on our mortality.

Pursuing eternal youth, our culture seems to live in the denial of death. But ignoring death does not erase its impartiality—everyone who draws a first breath will take a last one. It is a certainty we can't escape (Heb. 9:27). Fortunately, death is not the last word. For all who belong to Christ, there is a promise stronger than death—we will die, but Jesus will return to raise our bodies, wiping the tears from our eyes and making all things new (1 Cor. 15:12-28; Rev. 21:1-8).

The most difficult moment I face each year, as an Anglican pastor, is to apply the ashes, in the sign of a cross, to the foreheads of my wife and children on Ash Wednesday. It is an intimate and haunting moment. Echoing the words of Genesis 3:19, I say, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." It is jarring. Every year, I cry.

Yet the ashes are applied in the shape of Jesus' cross—the only means for escaping the dust of death. When God raised Jesus, he raided death, destroying its power. Jesus' resurrection marks the death of death and welcomes us into a living hope (1 Pt. 1:3). This is our consolation and joy in the midst of our mortality.

Lent provides an unmistakable opportunity for disciplined reflection on this neglected certainty and God's radical solution.

4. Lent gives us the opportunity to move towards our neighbor in charity.

Long misunderstood as a form of works-righteousness, Lenten fasting is not about scoring points with God, but rather emphasizes simplicity for the sake of others. By temporarily carving away some comforts or conveniences, good gifts from God himself, we hope to de-clutter our hectic lives, allowing us to focus. Simple living allows us to reserve time for others while also serving to curb our expenses. It is fitting to allocate these savings, along with other gifts, for charitable purposes, especially directing those funds to the poor and marginalized.

So search your heart and go simple. Consider fasting from types of food, technology, and/or sources of entertainment. Live frugally, and do so for the sake of charity. Find a cause, or better yet a person, and give sacrificially. And, in so doing, may you know the joy of Jesus who gave himself fully to us.

5. Lent prepares us to celebrate the wonder and promise of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Here, Jesus trampled down sin and death, defeating the Devil (Heb. 2:14-15). After a season of depravation, highlighting the grim reality of our broken creation, Jesus' resurrection floods our grief with life and light. In other words, Lent prepares us to join the disciples in their joy and bewilderment on that strange morning long ago (Mt. 28:8;Mk. 16:8; Lk. 24:12). Our Easter worship is a dress rehearsal for our Lord Jesus' return when he comes to unite heaven and earth, making all things new (Eph. 1:10; Rev. 21:1-8).

And so, I invite you to a holy Lent. Take up the opportunity to dwell upon the grief of our broken world, the sin within your heart, and the deep love of God that exceeds these realities. Reflecting on the hospitality of God, consider the needs of your neighbor, especially those without life's basic needs. And, most importantly, in the gritty details of Lent, don't forget—Easter is coming!

Read The Rest. Follow Chuck Colson on Twitter 

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Goal for Weekly Once-Over

Weekly Once-Over is our weekly recap of some great blog posts that we've seen this past week that have been helpful. Our hope is that they would benefit you in someway. Each Thursday of every week you will see a post that has links to different blog posts. Enjoy!

Weekly Once-Over (09.26.13):

One of Our Favorite Series on Manhood: Matt Chandler did a Men's Bible Study back in 2008 at the Village Church titled The Image & Glory of God. We thought it's a great series on manhood so we wanted to repost it here as a resource. 

A Prayer for a Fresh Stirring and Filling of the Holy Spirit:  Everyone should read this blog post. Scotty Smith writes a wonderful prayer for our souls to catch a fresh stirring and filling of the Holy Spirit.

Implementing Discipleship Groups within your Gospel Communities: Most small groups have a regular gathering where they study the bible, fellowship, and pray.  As a leader wanting to implement LTGs, this is a great place to start!  Rather than immediately breaking people up into twos and threes, however, I think it is critically important to model what you want to see happen for the whole group...

What to Do With "Some People Are Saying...": The pastor (Or any Christian for that matter) must not tolerate gossip. When he hears it, he ought to stop it and check it. When he hears of it, he ought to intervene and check it. Gossip often is disguised as concern. Some concern isn’t gossip, but a lot is. Gossip is when we say things about someone we won’t say to them. If you have a concern about someone that you aren’t wiling to take to them, it should be forgiven or forgotten. Any serious concern—about sin, about error, about immodest associations—ought to be brought to the person for discussion.

Social Media in Real Life: Look at the picture below. Funny but true...