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Video: Justin Taylor and Jonathan Dodson on “Gospel-Centered Discipleship”

The terms “disciple” and “gospel-centered” are thrown around often in Christian circles these days, but what do they really mean? Join Justin Taylor and Jonathan Dodson as they discuss Dodson’s book Gospel-Centered Discipleship and discuss these oft-used terms. You can watch the whole conversation below or jump ahead to these highlights:

0:10 – In an ideal world, if Gospel-Centered Discipleship accomplished exactly what you wanted it to accomplish, how would churches, disciple-makers and disciples look different?

2:31 – What does it mean to be a disciple?

5:08 – So many people are using the term “gospel-centered” that it can seem like a buzz word or a fad. Why did you choose to use this phrase in the title of your book?

7:44 – You talk about not only sharing your faith but also your failures. Looking back at the last ten years of discipling others, how has your disciple-making changed? What are the differences? Where did you drop the ball?

11:35 – How are “Fight Clubs” different from the typical accountability partner or accountability group?

14:50 – Justin Taylor: “I had a hard time putting the book down, and I hope other people not only pick it up but read it and then apply it.”

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March 16, 2012 | Posted in: Sanctification/Growth,The Gospel,The Holy Spirit,Video | Author: Lindsay Tully @ 1:34 pm | 0 Comments »

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7 Steps to Walking the Spiritual Walk

Life in the Spirit is a journey, and while there are many great passages throughout Scripture that discuss the role and person of the Holy Spirit, Romans 8 is perhaps one of the most insightful. In his book, Walking in the Spirit, Ken Berding provides 7 suggestions that will fuel a passion for the things of the Spirit and further educate how to live a life directed by him.

7 Steps to Walking the Spiritual Walk
(Modified from Walking in the Spirit by Kenneth Berding)

  1. Walk in the Spirit – (Rom. 8:4)

    2. There is no shortcut to learning how to walk with the Spirit. It’s not just for ultra-spiritual people nor is it reserved for charismatic Christians. Life according to the Spirit is not simply trying to do the right thing, nor is it trying to live according to God’s Law. Walking in the Spirit is the central metaphor for describing what it means to live as a Christian. The person who walks according to the Spirit will in fact have the essence of the Law fulfilled in his life.

  2. Set your minds on the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5)

    3. The question “how does one overcome the pull of the flesh?” sounds like an old riddle: How can someone extract all of the air out of a drinking glass? The most direct way to get all the air out of a glass is by filling it with something else. You cannot extract thoughts that displease God from your mind. Like [the solution to the riddle], you need to be filled up with thoughts—indeed with an entire mindset—that is oriented toward the things of the Spirit (e.g. Gal. 5:22-23).

  3. Put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Rom. 8:13)

    4. The person who has been regenerated by the Spirit is not stuck in sin. By the Spirit, the pull of the flesh can be resisted. To ‘put to death the deeds of the body’ is pretty much the same thing as ‘saying no to sin,’ but unlike the anti-drug campaign among youth many years ago, ‘Just Say No’ by itself will never be successful. Just saying no will never allow you to consistently overcome sin. Then what must you do? You must say no by the Spirit. Read more.

  4. Be led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:14)

    5. The Holy Spirit leads us broadly (always) and more specifically (sometimes). He always leads us through his written Word, which was revealed to the prophets by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20-21). We are to prayerfully, carefully, and humbly apply broad biblical wisdom to the situations we face in our lives.

    Sometimes the Holy Spirit leads us directly.  The Holy Spirit can choose to act in any way and according to any timetable that he wishes; we do not dictate to him how or when he will move. Since the Bible gives many examples of him acting more specifically, we should anticipate that he will sometimes choose to lead us directly if we are open and available to his guidance.

  5. Know the Fatherhood of God by the Spirit (Rom. 8:15-17)

    6. Without the Holy Spirit, we would never know our freedom and identity as God’s adoptive children. Thankfully, God has freely given us his Holy Spirit, and these verses from Romans 8 display three amazing things the Spirit does:

    1. He acts as the go-between who takes us out of a place of slavery and fear and brings us into a place of adoption and acceptance.
    2. He helps us to cry out to God as Father.
    3. He testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

  6. Hope in the Spirit (Rom 8:22-25)

    7. The biblical concept represented by the English word ‘hope’ is so strong that it is almost a synonym for ‘eager expectation.’ The focus of the expectation isn’t that life will get better here; it is absorbed with the glorious life to come.

    What is the role of the Holy Spirit in all this? Rom 8:23 says: ‘ We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.’ Paul claims that it is because we have the Spirit, not despite it that we groan. In this passage, it is precisely the presence of the Spirit within you that causes you to feel this particular kind of suffering—the longing for final redemption in the midst of a fallen world. In this way, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives reminds us of the stark contrast between the wonderful things God has prepared for us who believe and this fallen world that is so full of sin, suffering, and futility.

  7. Pray in the Spirit (Rom. 8:26-28)

    8. These two verses (Rom 8:26-27) are so rich and helpful in our lives in the Spirit.

    1. We learn that we are weak when we come to prayer. We often don’t know what to pray for in any given situation. The concern is not about the manner of prayer (the ‘how’), but rather the content of our prayers—what do we actually pray about?

    2. We learn that the Spirit joins to help us when we are struggling to know how to pray by interceding for us with wordless groaning. It is not, as some propose, that we should just pray whatever we want since we don’t have any idea how to pray, and that the Spirit fixes them up and prays on our behalf to the Father. Rather, the verb often translated as ‘helps’ has a preposition attached to the front of it, which suggests that it really means ‘joins to help.’

    3. The Spirit is searching our hearts and knows that we have a mind-set that is focused on him, even if we do not know exactly what we are supposed to pray.

    4. The result is that our prayers are prayed ‘according to the will of God’ because the Holy Spirit is moving us thus to pray and is presenting the prayers that he is guiding us to pray to the Father.

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March 13, 2012 | Posted in: Adoption,Hope,Prayer,Sin & Temptation,The Holy Spirit | Author: Ted Cockle @ 8:00 am | 1 Comment »

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Posted in Adoption, Hope, Prayer, Sin & Temptation, The Holy Spirit | 1 Comment »

Personal Actions of The Holy Spirit

Last week we blogged about the cementing effect of communing with the Holy Spirit and offered some practical steps we can take to commune daily with Him. Today we wanted to meditate on who the Holy Spirit is and what he does.

The Holy Spirit is a personal being with definite characteristics.

The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and Son in his deity and personhood. He’s not merely an impersonal force or an emanation of the power of God. The baptismal perspective of Matthew 28:19–20 puts the Spirit on an equal plane with the Father and the Son in his deity and personhood—“baptizing them in [or into] the name [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  (See also Matt. 3:13–17; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:4–6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4–6; 1 Pet. 1:2).

The personal nature of the Holy Spirit is evident in his title “Comforter” or “Helper” (Greek, Paraklētos) found in John 12:26; 14:16, 26; 15:26; and 16:7. Jesus says he will send the Comforter, who will take his place as his disciples’ helper: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). An impersonal force could never provide comfort as Jesus did. The Holy Spirit must be personal in order to fulfill this most personal ministry.

Scripture speaks of several activities of the Spirit that can be performed only if he is a personal agent:

Comforts:

John 12:26; John 14:16; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7

Teaches:

John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13

Speaks:

Acts 8:29; Acts 13:2

Makes Decisions:

Acts 15:28

Grieves Over Sin:

Ephesians 4:30

Overrules Human Actions:

Acts 16:6-7

Searches the Deep Things of God & Knows the Thoughts of God:

1 Corinthians 2:10-11

Determines Distribution of Spiritual Gifts:

1 Corinthians 12:11

Interprets & Brings Prayer Before the Throne of the Father:

Romans 8:26-27

Assures Believers of their Adoption:

Romans 8:16

Bears Witness to & Glorifies Christ:

John 15:26; John 16:14

Questions for reflection:

  • Am I communing with the Holy Spirit on a regular basis?
  • What steps can I take today to do so?
  • What do I tend to disbelieve or forget about who he is and what he does daily in my daily life?

Content modified from Life’s Biggest Questions by Erik Thoennes.

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March 12, 2012 | Posted in: The Holy Spirit | Author: Angie Cheatham @ 11:44 am | 0 Comments »

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Video: The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler

You think you know it… But then again, maybe you don’t.

Popular pastor and worldwide speaker Matt Chandler writes his first book to remind the church of what is of first and utmost importance—the gospel. Chandler explains that many Christians forget the importance of the gospel and simply assume it. They grow up in church and can be just as confused about what the gospel is as those who have never even been to church. The antidote to the assumed gospel then is to make the gospel explicit. While some understand the gospel only as a means to salvation, Chandler asserts that the gospel is more than “I believe it so I’m saved.” The explicit gospel bears weight on the transformation of our lives, increasing our joy, and changing the way we see the world around us.

Learn more about The Explicit Gospel (releasing April 2012) or see how you can join Matt Chandler and Shane and Shane on The Explicit Gospel Tour.

March 8, 2012 | Posted in: Event,The Gospel,Video | Author: Angie Cheatham @ 7:39 pm | 0 Comments »

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Join John Piper & Tim Keller for “Race & The Christian”

Join John Piper and Tim Keller on March 28 as they team up in New York City for a conversation about the gospel and race, moderated by Anthony Bradley.

Register for the Event in New York

If you live in NY or are planning to be in NYC on March 28th, registration opens on today at 2pm EST. The event is free, but there are limited seats available. You will be able to register here.

Watch the Live-Stream

For those of you who won’t be in NYC, the event will be live-streamed from 7:00–9:00PM (EST) at desiringgod.org/live. We encourage you to gather with friends or a small group to watch it together and continue the conversation.

Submit Questions for the Discussion

If you have any questions for John Piper or Tim Keller about the topic of race and the Christian, please email them to raceandthechristian@redeemer.com. The Q&A will interact with some of your questions as well as those from the live audience.

This event is sponsored by Crossway and hosted by Redeemer’s Grace and Race Team.

| Posted in: Ethics,Event,Race,The Gospel,Video | Author: Angie Cheatham @ 10:45 am | 0 Comments »

Posted in Ethics, Event, Race, The Gospel, Video | No Comments »