Week 5 - Verse of the Week

Psalm 56:3-4 - When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Church Planting Boot Camp

Though I'm one year into church planting with Immanuel, I know that I have a lot to learn in order to lead the church plant more effectively. In light of this, I signed up for a Church Planting Boot Camp being sponsored by the Acts 29 Network. Here is a rundown of the sessions and speakers :

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Session #1: "Leading the Mission" - Darrin Patrick
Session #2: "Preaching the Mission" - Mark Driscoll
Session #3: "Missional & Biblical Church Planting" - Ed Stetzer
Session #4: "Kingdom-Focused Church Planting " - Ed Stetzer

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Session #5: "Church Planting Evangelism" - Mark Dever
Session #6: "Gospel-Centered Theology" - Mark Driscoll
Session #7: "Vision for Church Planting" - Scott Thomas
Session #8: Question and Answer with planters Darrin Patrick and Scott Thomas

Darrin Patrick is Pastor and Founder of The Journey in St. Louis, MO
Mark Driscoll is Pastor of Mars Hill Church and President of Acts 29
Ed Stetzer is Director of Lifeway Research
Mark Dever is Pastor of Captiol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC
Scott Thomas is Pastor of Global Church Missions of Mars Hill Church & Director of Acts 29

I really want to be sharpened through this experience, and despite some of these men being relatively young, I know that they bring with them plenty of experience in missional thinking and gospel-centered theology. Since Immanuel's desire is to be a gospel-centered, missional church, I think this conference will be especially helpful.

John Piper and Michael Jackson agree - We're Bad

I came across this humorous YouTube video that lightheartedly expresses the important Christian doctrine of the depravity of man :



Apparently, when John Piper was asked if he sanctioned the video, he said, "No, but neither do I disapprove of it." Hilarious and humble!

Week 4 - Verse of the Week

1 Timothy 4:12 - Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

The Gospel Is For Believers Too -- Always

I read the following quote by B.B. Warfield on Justin Taylor's blog recently and it really blessed and challenged me on why I must not stray from the Gospel :

There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God.  We must always be accepted for Christ's sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all.  This is not true of us only when we believe.  It is just as true after we have believed.  It will continue to be true as long as we live.  Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be.  It is always on His "blood and righteousness" alone that we can rest.

B.B. Warfield, Works 7:113

A New Years Resolution

One of the disciplines that I believe the Lord desires me to grow in for 2008 (and perhaps for the rest of my life) is Scripture Memory. The biggest benefit I have found in memorizing Scripture is that it helps me to pray. Many times I feel so direction-less in prayer, and it causes me to simply stop praying. However, when I can recall the promises of God, the character of God, and the commands of God that are found in His Word, it "fuels" further prayer. And it also gives me confidence that I am not just praying according to my selfish desires or interpretations, but according to His will revealed in His word. Furthermore, I have found that committing Scripture to memory is a good weapon in the fight against sin. After all, in Psalm 119:9,11 it says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

My aim is to memorize one verse per week. I've memorized a good number of verses in the New International Version (NIV), but since I've transitioned to the English Standard Version (ESV), I'm going to have to do some back-tracking. I'm going to be following the Fighter Verses list put together by Bethlehem Baptist Church. Why am I posting this? The discipline of posting it publicly helps to keep me accountable. Furthermore, the discipline of typing out the verses causes me to reflect on the verse that much more. Therefore, I'm going to try to post one verse every week. It's third week of January, so I'm going to list the first three verses :

Week #1

Isaiah 41:10 - Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Week #2

Isaiah 43:1b-3a - Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Week #3

1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 - And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.