A WHOLE MAN

I am back from "Spring Break"! For those of you in the book club, here is your next reading guide. I am praying for you all to be safe during this time and rejoice that you are growing in sanctification. Recommended Reading: Chapters 9- 13 (28 pages) Because this book is divided up into so many chapters, I am grouping chapters into like themes rather than creating reflective meditations on each chapter. Section 5: Public vs Private Temptations includes chapters 9-10 Section 6: Why Fear Temptations? includes chapter 11 Section 7: Detecting and Resisting Temptation includes chapters 12-13 Bible Study Questions Section 5: Public vs Private Temptations Read Proverbs 30:7-9 Why do you think the psalmist asked for those two specific things in his prayer? How do they relate to public and private temptations? What, in this prayer, is revealed to be the highest desire for the psalmist? What is yours? Section 6: Why Fear Temptations? Read Proverbs 6...

Recommended Reading: Introduction-Chapter 8 (40 pages)  Because this book is divided up into so many chapters, I am grouping chapters into like themes rather than creating reflective meditations on each chapter. Section 1: Introductory Remarks includes the Author's Preface and the Introduction (Chapter 1) Section 2: Testing vs Temptations includes chapters 2-3 Section 3: Identifying Temptations includes chapters 4-5 Section 4: Our Duty and our Folly includes chapters 6-8 Bible Study Questions: Section 2: Testing vs Temptations Read Hebrews 2:14-18 Knowing that Jesus also has endured temptations and is able to help those who are being tempted, are there any places where you have not fully trusted in Christ to come to your aid? How does your worship to the Lord change knowing that he came to "help the offspring of Abraham"? Section 3: Identifying Temptations Read James 1:12-15 Considering the text, where do the sources of temptation come from ...

Hey everyone, New month, means new book! And I am really excited about reading this one with you all. Check out the description below. I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the new reading guide format, the book selections, as well as anything you learned/applied from the previous books! You can send those to me by e-mail: OverflowBlog@outlook.com Book Description In this abridged and easy to read edition of John Owen’s classic work, the famous Puritan theologian opens up Matthew 26:41, carefully explaining what temptation is and what is involved in entering into it. He then shows how Christ teaches two means for Christians to use to guard against this danger, namely watching and praying: ‘These two’, Owen says, ‘comprise the whole endeavour of faith for the soul’s preservation from tempation’, and he insists that it is the duty of every believer to follow diligently Christ’s instructions to avoid falling into temptation. Owen helpfully applies his teaching, showing us how we ...

Recommended Reading: Section 2; Chapters 3-Conclusion (51 pages) Bible Study Questions Chapter 3 Read Acts 7:51-53 Do you think that the Jewish people had any legitimate reasons for why they would be excused by God for having hardening their hearts and resisting the Holy Spirit? What would be their consequence for doing so? Why do you think that they did so anyways? In what ways have you resisted the Holy Spirit when He has convicted you to do something? Chapter 4 Read John 15:1-17 What sort of instructions are given to those who would like to remain in Christ and to bear great fruitfulness? Where do you see those items most clearly in your own life? In what ways have you depended on yourself for fruitfulness apart from Christ? What steps will you take to remove that idol of self? Personal Reflection Questions: Chapter 3 What other objections have you heard been given for why a person will not submit themselves to Christ? What were your responses? In what ways you can...

Recommended Reading: Part 2; Introduction- Chapter 2 (30 pages) Bible Study Questions Introduction Read Romans 1:18-21 Do you think that it is fair for God to punish all mankind even if they have never heard of the Bible or much of its content? What does this passage reveal about man's knowledge of God? Chapter 1 Read Matthew 7:21-27 Many today declare Christ to be Lord of their lives, but many will find that they were never truly saved. How can you examine yourself to ensure that you are of the faith? When you hear the Word proclaimed each Lord's Day, would you say that you are a wise builder who hears the Word and does them? What two things this week could you do in order to apply the sermon you heard this week? Chapter 2 Read Isaiah 55:1-3 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 What does it mean to come and "buy wine and milk without money and without price"? In what ways have you been buying bread that does not satisfy? What areas need a reorientation back to G...

Recommended Reading: Chapters 4-6 (38 pages) Bible Study Questions Chapter 4 Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 From the reading, what sort of activities does Paul express that new creations are engaged with? Do you find that you are attempting to accomplish all of those things on your efforts? Is this right? Is this wrong? What does verse 18 say? Chapter 5 Read Luke 18:9-14 What differences do see between the Pharisee and the tax collector in their prayers and approach to God? What does this parable seem to stress as God's desire? How can you grow in this area? Personal Reflection Questions: Chapter 4 What areas in your life needs further pruning from the Lord? Have you come to depend on the Spirit and His Word on these matters? We all know that we fall short of the glory of God. In what ways have you made that an excuse for you to not live the renewed life that God has called you into? Chapter 5 Why do you think it can be so difficult at times to differentiate bet...

Recommended Reading: Introduction-Chapter 3 (42 pages) Bible Study Questions Chapter 1 Read 2 Corinthians 13:1-10 Why is it important for us to "examine ourselves, to see whether [we] are in the faith"? By what measure are you examining yourself? As we are all called to make disciples, do you have this much boldness to call them to examine their own hearts? Have you lacked in obedience in making disciples? Have you lacked in standing firm on the Scriptures with them, gently leading them to truth? Chapter 2 Read 2 Corinthians 7:10 and John 16:4-15 Why is it so dangerous to confuse temporary convictions with true Spirit-led convictions? If the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts the world of sin, does the world need more knowledge, information, or experiences in order to learn that they are sinners? Chapter 3 Read 1 John 5:13-21 What promises do you find are given to those who believe in the name of the Son of God? How can we walk with greater confidence that ...

Hey there everyone, I hope that you have been reading a lot of good books this year! I alluded in my last post that I have restructured the format for the Reading Guides and I will talk about the new format at the end of this post. But for those who are ready to get started on the next book club pick, go out an grab a copy of The Christian's Great Interest  by William Guthrie. Below is a description of the book itself: Book Description All of Guthrie’s teaching and pastoral experience were poured into The Christian’s Great Interest – his only book. The remarkable fact that it has gone through more than eighty editions and been translated into several languages testifies to its value. This book describes in a clear and attractive style what it means to be a Christian, and how to become one. This book is all about Christ: the Christian’s great interest should be Christ; the unbeliever needs to develop an interest in Christ. It describes in a simple, clear, and attractive st...

Recommended Reading: Chapter 7- Conclusion (32 pages) Key Quotes:   Chapter 7 "[God] possesses an intrinsic moral right to rule, make judgments, exercise power…Human authority, however, is always relative and limited. It's not something we are . It's something we must be given …Our authority is borrowed from God, which means God always sets its limits and purposes." (136) "Good authority binds in order to loose, corrects in order to teach, trims in order to grow, disciplines in order to train, legislates in order to build, judges in order to redeem, studies in order to innovate." (142) "A good leader knows he or she is constrained by God's law, constrained by the rules of his or her office, constrained to the specified objectives of that office, constrained by a profound understanding of people as Gods-imagers." (148) Conclusion "…if you cannot figure out how love and judgment, or love and authority, or love and holiness work tog...

I know that we are going very slowly through this book. I have not had as much time as I would like to read this one (I am reading three books simultaneously), but do not worry we will always have a book guide each week. Recommended Reading: Chapter 6 (20 pages) Key Quotes: Chapter 6 "…it's the daily life of the average Christian that ultimately forms the world's perception of Christ and his gospel." (115) "All of God's judgments are good and right. Our fallen selves don't recognize the good because our fallen loves demand different judgments." (123) "We all make judgments all day. It's called decision making. We tell ourselves we don’t like the idea of judgment, of course, because judgment always involves excluding something, and someday that something just might be us. Therefore…we tear down whatever walls we can…We dispense with moral boundaries, blur gender, topple every authority we can find. What's left? Our tribes, our idols,...

Recommended Reading: Chapter 5 (22 pages) Key Quotes: Chapter 5 "God's saving love for us, then, is an incorporating love, a covenantal love. The Father loves the Son, and we are then incorporated into it by marital covenant. "I will betroth you to me forever." (98) "Biblical love always begins with the love of God, and therefore it will affirm only what is from God…Biblically, godly love takes pleasure in the other person's good, and that good is always God. Biblical love therefore gives itself to seeing God exalted in a person's life." (104) "If God-centered love seeks both to affirm that which is from God and to see God exalted in the lives of others, church members will increasingly view their gathered and scattered lives as opportunities to display God's glory." (109) Engagement Questions: Chapter 5 1. In what ways have we twisted God's love for sinners? 2. In what ways this week can you display God's glory...

Recommended Reading: Chapter 3-4 (26 pages) Key Quotes: Chapter 3 Speaking of the love of a parent towards their child: "These are not Christian instincts; they are human ones. God has programmed them, in varying measure, into all of us. Why? Among other things so that we might know something about him." (60) "For Jesus the Son, love leads to obedience, and obedience is a sing of love. For God the Father, love depends upon obedience, and obedience is a condition of love." (67) "though we don't share one nature with the heavenly Father the way Jesus does…we can follow their example. Two human beings cannot "indwell" one another the way the divine Father indwells the eternal Son, but we can… share the same faith, the same ambitions, the same character, the same love. We can give ourselves to one another so that Christ might be exalted in and through one another." (68) Chapter 4  "This is how culture works. We love something and then...

Recommended Reading: Chapter 2 (17 pages) Key Quotes: Chapter 2 "One group of theologians will talk about God's love as universal, undiscriminating, and unconditional, but at the core we find man-centeredness. Another group will talk about God's love as God centered, and that's where the offense lies." (43) On Defining and Displaying God's Love: "A God-centered view of love combines both desire and gift. We most desire God, and we give God…A God-centered love draws lines between whoever loves God and whoever does not. " (47, 48) On Agape-only love: "Here's the problem: repentance, holiness, and right belief are eventually cast to the side with agape-only love. Such love softens or even dissolves doctrinal, ethical, and church boundaries…Think about it: what can I do if I want to call myself a Christian but also accommodate the culture's moral drift, particularly in matters of sexuality and family? Easy: I define God's love as ...

Recommended Reading:  Introduction-Chapter 1 (26 pages) Key Quotes: Introduction  "When [the Bible] says, 'God is love' (1 John 4:8), it's not saying there is a thing out there called love and that God measures up to it…Rather, God in himself provides the definition, the reality, of what love is." (13- Author's emphasis) "The world presumes to understand love and authority, like it presumes to understand God. Yet it understands these things only in their fallen forms, not in their created or redeemed forms…The local church serves, therefore, as a three-dimensional display of God's love and God's authority." (20-21) Chapter 1  Speaking on how individuals are portrayed in many of the Romantic writings-- "What matters is who they are in themselves- what they want, what they feel. Every relationship is a contract that can be ripped up. What's nonnegotiable is whatever my individual heart tells me is true." (27) Speaking on Con...

"In the final analysis, you cannot separate love and rule. It's only a question of which love will rule: the love of God, or the love of self?" Jonathan Leeman, The Rule of Love , pg 40 As you know, every Wednesday we take some time and meditate on whatever it is that we would be reading that week in our Bible in a Year Plan. More specifically, on Wednesdays we examine a book or passage from our Wisdom reading (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, etc) and seek to understand what the text is saying, what it is demanding of us, and how we can glorify God for the truth we read. However, at times we will take an intermission from our Wisdom Wednesday articles to examine what wisdom can be found from reading good, biblically-sound books. For the next several weeks, I invite you to join us in our digital book club as we read and meditate on Jonathan Leeman's book, The Rule of Love. You can grab your copy from most bookstores, including the Nine Marks Store . I'm looking f...

Recommended Reading: Chapters 6- Conclusion (~48 pages) Key Quotes: Chapter 6  "The burden of Isaiah 58 prevades the ministry of Jesus -- and more and more it should prevade out ministry as well…If your fasting leaves you self-indulgent in other areas, harsh toward your employees, irritable and contentious, then your fasting is not acceptable to God….Hypocrisy is a terrible blight on the worship of God." (121;123) "Most of our life is a gorging of one artificially inflamed appetite after another. Any alteration of this pattern for the sake of ministry is a "fast"--and one that would please God more than a hundred skipped lunches with a view to more pizza at supper." (127) Chapter 7  "There is a hunger for God that goes beyond the desire for private experience. It longs for the public display of his glory in the world. It longs for the great dishonors against our God to be set right." (142) "God rules the hearts of kings and emperors…Th...