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Author: John Piper

Quote: One of the great diseases of our day is triviality. The things with which most people spend most of their time are utterly trivial. And what makes this a disease is that we who were created in the image of God were meant to live for magnificent causes. None of us is really content with the trivial pursuits of the world. Our souls will not be satisfied with trifles. Why is there a whole section of the newspaper devoted to sport, and almost nothing devoted to the greatest story in the universe, the growth and spread of the church of Jesus Christ? It is madness, sheer madness, that insignificant games should occupy such a central role in our culture. It is simply one of many signs that we are enslaved to trivialities.

Webpage: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/45/448_Ruth_The_Best_Is_Yet_to_Come/

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Book: "The Father you've been waiting for" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: Mark Stibbe

Quote: You may never have had a dad who loved you so. You may never have had a dad who felt for you, who ran to you when you were in trouble. If present social trends are anything to go by, it's rather unlikely that you have a dedicated dad who is physically and emotionally present. It's unlikely that you have a dad you could run to when you're in trouble, or even better, who would run to you. So many people in this fatherless society have never known such love. This is bad news indeed. But there is good news, and the good news is that there is a Father in heaven who loves us with such dedication. By painting this picture of the father in the parable in Luke chapter 15, Jesus was saying somthing immensely significant to us. He was saying God is a father who runs to sinful people, even though they rebelled against him and deserve nothing.

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Book: "Desiring God" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: John Piper

Quote: Citing a cigarette advertisment with the slogan 'Where a man belongs', John Piper erupted, 'To hell with such lies! Where a man belongs is on his knees beside his wife, leading in prayer. Where a man belongs is at the bedside of his children, leading in devotion and prayer. Where a man belongs is in the drivers seat, leading his family to the house of God. Where a man belongs is up early and alone with God, seeking vision and direction for the family. Men I challenge you in the name of Jesus Christ our King, be where you belong!'

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Quote: "Baptism is like a wedding ring: both [a wedding ring and baptism] symbolize transactions. A wedding ring symbolizes marriage, just as baptism symbolizes salvation. However, wearing a wedding ring does not make you married any more than being baptized makes you saved." A small six-year-old child can wear her mother's wedding ring, but we know that she's too young to be married. And in the same way, a person can be baptized without having accepted Jesus Christ into his or her heart.

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Book: "Knowing God" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: J.I.Packer

Quote: Justification is a forensic idea, conceived in terms of law, and viewing God as judge. In justification, God declares of penitent believers that they are not, and never will be, liable to the death that their sins deserve, because Jesus Christ, their substitute and sacrifice, tasted death in their place on the cross. But contrast this, now, with adoption. Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship, and establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God is a greater

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Author: Max Lucado

Quote: The Holy Spirit - the living water that Jesus offers - does for our souls what H2O does for our bodies. "You don't have to live with a dehydrated heart," writes author and pastor, Max Lucado. "God invites you to treat your thirsty soul as you would treat you physical thirst.... Just drink. Let Christ be the water for your soul. Come thirsty, and drink the water of life." Like the morning dew on dry grass, the gift of God's Spirit refreshes, revitalizes, and renews dry and thirsty souls!

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Author: Mark Driscoll

Quote: … Hospitality is not just hanging out with Christians. The word "hospitality" in the Bible literally means to welcome the stranger. Fellowship is when you hang out with all your Christian friends. And that’s great and it’s good and you should. Hospitality is when, in addition to your friends, you invite strangers to hang out with your friends so that they too start to become friends. That’s exactly what Jesus is talking about here. Hosting a party, hosting a banquet, hosting a feast, having a generous menu, having a generous guest list. And as we do these things, what we’re showing is something of the character of God, that we can party to the glory of God. We can have a great time and laugh deeply and eat well to the glory of God. And as we do, we’re showing something of the character of our God and something of his heavenly kingdom.

Webpage: http://marshill.com/2011/02/15/you-rsvped-are-you-coming-sermon-notes-luke-62

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Author: Stephen Sizer

Quote: It must also have been the idea in the minds of the disciples, when, before the ascension, they asked, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Acts 1:6. John Calvin comments, "There are as many mistakes in this question as there are words." Jesus reply shows him correcting not only their concept of time but also their view of ministry. 7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:7-8 The nature of the kingdom of God now re-defines the meaning of chosenness. The extension of the kingdom of God throughout the world necessitates their exile from the land and indeed the turning of their backs on Jerusalem for ever. They are sent out into the world but never told to return.

Webpage: http://www.cc-vw.org/articles/dispen4.html

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Author: Stephen Sizer

Quote: Those who hold to a Covenant Theology see in the process of redemptive history a dramatic movement has been made from type to reality, from shadow to substance. The Land that once was the specific locale of God\'s redemptive working served well under the Old Covenant forms as a picture of paradise lost and promised, lost then promised, but under the New Covenant fulfilment this Land has been expanded to encompass the world, indeed the entire cosmos. The exalted Christ rules from the heavenly Jerusalem demonstrating His sovereignty over all the nations. A regression to the limited forms of the Old Covenant must not be encouraged. The reality must not give way to shadow. Why should we want the shadow when we have the reality? It is more than this though. Some would suggest that the warning contained in the calling to persevere found in Hebrews 10 is addressed to Jewish believers tempted to remain loyal to their legalistic Hebrew roots, locked into a theology based on land, temple, law and sacrifice. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:19-29) The choice before us is ultimately a choice between two theologies. One based primarily on the shadows of the Old Covenant and one based on the reality of the New Covenant. An exclusive theology that focus on the Jews in the Land and an inclusive theology that focuses on Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world. It is a choice between an exclusive Armageddon theology of racial segregation and war and an inclusive theology of justice, peace and reconciliation.

Webpage: www.cc-vw.org/articles/dispen4.html

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Book: "Preach The Word" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: Michael Eaton (Ed. Greg Haslam)

Quote: It is instructive to remember how Paul described his coming to Corinth: "I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling..." We can be certain he was not afraid of the Corinthians. He was arriving in Corinth, the second most intellectual city of the ancient world, having come from Athens, the most intellectual city. If he was tempted to be clever, if ever he was tempted to preach with Greek wisdom and use the kind of arguments that would appeal to philosphers, it would be in Athens and it would be in Corinth. He had already preached on the Aeropagus in Athens to one group of philosphers (see Acts 17:22); now as he arrived at the next most intellectual city in the ancient world, he made a crucial decision about the manner of his preaching: "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. He resolved not to come with "plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power". He was anxious to avoid looking learned or philosphical.

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