Showing posts with label David Platt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Platt. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
"We need to eat our unexciting meatloaf in our boring, single-family homes with a few more outcasts around our table."
Matthew Loftus writes well about the "boring" Christian life and the hope of the nations. How do they fit together? Here is his conclusion, but read the whole thing. It's full of insight.
It is important for those of us who have grown up in cultures with strong churches & Christian institutions to recognize the concept of church-planting movements in foreign missions, particularly in regard to three self and unreached people groups principles when discussing foreign missions. For not only is there a larger percentage of faithful, boring Christians in Missouri than in Somalia, but the Christians in Missouri have developed the cultural, theological, and ecclesiological resources necessary to create new churches in their culture and language. This is not true for thousands of people groups that do not know Jesus and have no human means to learn about Him. People in North America certainly need evangelism, discipleship, and theological formation just as much as people in Central Asia. The difference is that the institutions and churches carrying out those works in North America are not merely present, but have the ability to self-sustain, self-fund, and self-reproduce in their own cultural milieu. Such institutions aren’t just virtually absent elsewhere, but often lack the resources and personnel to propagate and persist. If we are serious about the value of these institutions, we should work slowly yet tenaciously to establish them everywhere and send enough Christians to places without them so they might be strengthened.
There are needs everywhere, of course. Not only are the suburbs of America full of lost people, they are full of Christians who need one another to stay and build one another up through fellowship, prayer, service, and worship. Raising families in an increasingly hostile and materialistic culture is hard work requiring great spiritual resources, and we ought not minimize its importance. However, if we look at the needs of the world and the concentration of wealth, power, education, health, and Biblical knowledge that we’ve been blessed with, it looks a little disproportionate—especially when it comes to the institutions that drive the growth of the church and help to keep her witness faithful. We need to be quiet and patient in a few more places. We need to use the dividends of our thrift a little more intentionally. And we need to eat our unexciting meatloaf in our boring, single-family homes with a few more outcasts around our table.Read the rest.
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
The Complexity of the Will of God
Radical.net:
Books by David Platt:
If God always accomplishes His will, why is there so much sin in the world? How do we put these realities together? Pastor David Platt tackles this difficult subject in Secret Church 4: “Who is God.” To view this message in its entirety, visit the Secret Church page.
Books by David Platt:
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
More Discussion on the "Ordinary" vs "Radical" Discussion
Well said. Read the rest.Loving God supremely and loving your neighbor sacrificially are what ordinary Christians do. We don’t do it perfectly, but we do pursue it intentionally. We make disciples where we are with all that we are. We may not turn the world upside down, but Jesus has turned us inside out–and that makes a difference in how we live by faith, step by step, for the glory of God. We pray for His kingdom come, for those dead in sin to be made alive by the power of His Spirit–prayers that are filled with expectant faith in the One who said we would “do greater things than these” because He ascended to the Father.
At the end of the day, I don’t want to be ordinarily ordinary, but ordinary in every sense that Jesus defines ordinary. It just seems that such a notion is, well, a radical thing to do.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The Nature of True Discipleship
-David Platt, Follow Me, p. 3,4In Jesus, these men found someone worth losing everything for. In Christ, they encountered a love that surpassed comprehension, a satisfaction that superseded circumstances, and a purpose that transcended every other possible pursuit in this world. They eagerly, willingly, and gladly lost their lives in order to know, follow, and proclaim him. In the footsteps of Jesus, these first disciples discovered a path worth giving their lives to tread.
Two thousand years later, I wonder how far we have wandered from this path. Somewhere along the way, amid varying cultural tides and popular church trends, it seems that we have minimized Jesus’ summons to total abandonment. Churches are filled with supposed Christians who seem content to have casual association with Christ while giving nominal adherence to Christianity. Scores of men, women, and children have been told that becoming a follower of Jesus involves acknowledging certain facts or saying certain words. But this is not true. Disciples like Peter, Andrew, James, John…show us that the call to follow Jesus is not simply an invitation to pray a prayer; it’s a summons to lose our lives.
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
"Radical" Three Years Later
Furthermore, I also believe it may be helpful, three years after writing Radical, to address some of the most common questions that I’ve received in response to the book. So over the next couple of months, I want to post some brief interviews and excerpts that address questions like:
Read the rest and stay tuned for this series of posts. Should be interesting.
- Why do you use the word “radical?” After all, isn’t all this talk about radical obedience to Christ really just normal obedience for any follower of Christ?
- Is radical living just a new form of religious legalism?
- How does radical living coincide with ordinary, everyday life?
- Does an emphasis on concern for the poor end up leading the church away from the gospel (the primary message of the church) and distracting the church from making disciples (the primary mission of the church)?
- Are all college students supposed to stop their studies and move overseas, and are all businesspersons supposed to quit their jobs and become missionaries?
These are just some of the questions that I’d love to help people think through biblically over the next couple of months. I don’t suppose that my answers will be completely sufficient for all, but I do hope they will be pastorally helpful for some.
- Are you saying it’s wrong for people to pray a sinner’s prayer?
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Neighbors AND Nations
David Platt:
Book by David Platt:
We must change the ways we’re praying, giving, and going so that all the peoples of the world might hear Christ’s gospel and exalt Christ’s glory. This won’t happen by simply creating a missions committee, taking a missions offering, or tacking a “missions week” onto our annual church calendar. This will happen when we infuse God’s zeal for his global glory—both in our neighborhoods and among all nations—into the very fabric of our churches on a weekly basis, calling persons to pray, give, and go with a special view to those who’ve never heard. Local ministry is totally necessary, no question. But global missions is tragically neglected. So we must give ourselves to both—and call all followers of Christ to give themselves to both. This is the only obedient response to a King who’s commanded us to make disciples of all nations.Read the rest.
Book by David Platt:
- Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
- Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God
- Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live.
(HT: Chris Brauns)
Friday, March 08, 2013
What Is God's Will for My Life?
David Platt:
Books by David Platt:
It's quite possibly the most commonly asked question in Christianity today: What is God's will for my life? We have questions and face decisions all the time, and we find ourselves constantly wondering about God’s will in them.Read the rest.
Some decisions are small and seem less significant. What book should I read this month? Do we want Mexican? Chinese? Burgers? Italian?
Other questions involve large, life-altering decisions. Should I date? If so, whom should I date? Should I go to college? If so, where? What should I major in? What career path should I choose? Should I marry? If so, whom should I marry? Should we have kids? If so, how many kids? Where should I live? How should I live?
We find ourselves buried under questions and decisions, and in the middle of it all we keep coming back to one question: What is God’s will for my life? What does God want me to do? How do I find God’s will for my life?
We operate as if God’s will were lost. And we’ve devised an assortment of methods for finding it.
Books by David Platt:
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Money, Missions, Possessions, and Eternity
I resonate deeply with these thoughts. We need to wrestle with these questions in prayer and our open Bibles. We need to also be very wary of judging one another and feelings of superiority in this discussion. It is always right around the corner.
Resources to consider:
Resources to consider:
- Radical by David Platt
- Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
- Piper's money chapter in Desiring God.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Friday, August 03, 2012
Comparison With Other Christians. Good or Bad?
Wise words here from David Platt.
Books by David Platt:
Books by David Platt:
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