The Gospel Shaped Life - TGSL

Never equate generous giving to a sacrificial one—for the two are not one and the same. Generous giving comes from our abundance, but sacrificial giving comes from our poverty.

—Luke 21:2-4

Whenever you read the Scripture, what do you see first—Jesus or your felt needs?

"It is much easier to talk about the issues of the day—and our felt needs than to truly know and proclaim Christ." However, we must be willing to pay the price of proclaiming Christ at all times—no matter how difficult it is.

And just as pointed out by Alister Begg, "The real test of how deeply God’s word is dwelling within us is not our ability to articulate a story line but to see Jesus in all the Scriptures. He is not just the start of the Christian faith but the sum total of it."

Whenever you read the Scripture, what do you see first—Jesus or your felt needs?

"It is much easier to talk about the issues of the day—and our felt needs than to truly know and proclaim Christ." However, we must be willing to pay the price of proclaiming Christ at all times—no matter how difficult it is.

"The resurrection completes the inauguration of God's kingdom. . . . It is the decisive event demonstrating that God's kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven."

—N. T. Wright

"Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to sn**ch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about."

—N. T. Wright

"The message of Easter is that God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it."

—N. T. Wright

"If we desire to grow in our faith, we must seek the company of godly friends."

—Alistair Begg

Knowing God is the foundation for an "unwavering joy that does not melt in the face of difficulty."

“I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. . . . I will rejoice in doing them good.”

—Jeremiah 32:40–41

"Oh, precious fountain that saves from sin, I am so glad I have entered in; There Jesus saves me and he keeps me clean; glory to his name."

"The only refuge from God’s wrath is in God Himself."

It's delusional to believe that fiscal affluence will insulate us from needs.

"He is there and he is not silent."

—Francis Schaeffer

"Outward appearances are notoriously deceptive..."

—John Stott

I may not agree with your ideas—however, that does not (in any way) mean I not will treat them as deserving a place at the discussion table where ideas can be developed and tested.

"We must be—not just an imperative, but logically, it follows that we would be—a people who celebrate art and beauty and drama and music. We know that the powers of this world are not in charge, and that Jesus is in charge."

~N.T. Wright

“Humility is the soil in which everything good in the Christian life grows, and if that soil goes away, everything good withers.”

—John Piper

"Faith is not a question of shutting one's eyes, gritting one's teeth, and believing the impossible. It involves a leap, but a leap into the light rather than the dark."

—John Polkinghorne

"A thirst for the knowledge of God should drive us to drink deeply at the fountain of Scripture."

—Ligonier.org

"Forgiveness is not facile or cheap. It is a costly business that makes those who are willing to forgive even more extraordinary."

—TGC Australia.

"Yes, God accepts us as we are, but He accepts us to change us. He calls us to excellence. He also calls us to discipleship."

—R.C. Sproul, in TableTalk Magazine.

"The Resurrection is a giant receipt stamped across history saying your debt has been paid for and you don't have to pay it ever again."

—Timothy Keller

"In whatever approach they use, preachers should work hard to grow in the skill of preaching. Ultimately, we need the Spirit to blow, but the gifts and labors of the preacher are usually the kindling He uses to light a spark."

—Kevin DeYoung

"The challenge facing God’s people today is not primarily the challenge of ‘just preaching the gospel’ but of preaching the gospel while living the ethic."

—Thabiti Anyabwile

Nothing—not even a man's popularity could be as powerful as the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Voddie Baucham On Celebrity Christians Visit the BTWN Website - http://biblethumpingwingnut.com/ Support BTWN - https://www.patreon.com/biblethumpingnut

As anyone knows who has listened to my preaching over the years, I have always, incessantly, equally critiqued the positions of the Left and the Right, not one more than the other. To claim that I am mainly a proponent of one side or the other is amply refuted by looking at my books and sermons.

But I deny that this is middle-of-the-road centrism. The gospel critiques all ideologies, and all the main political platforms since the Enlightenment have been dominated by reductionism and idols. (See David Koyzis, Political Visions and Illusions.) Those who deny this are unaware of the genealogy of their own political thought. (See Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue and Whose Justice? Which Rationality?)

Ideologies force “ethical package deals” on Christians. (See James Mumford, Vexed: Ethics Beyond Political Tribes.) Biblically, Christians ought to be equally and energetically concerned about guarding the life of the unborn, about racial injustice, about the plight of the poor, and about promoting sexual morality and the health of the family. We should not have to choose among these. We should not have to play down (not talk so much) about some of them in order to promote others. But across the West, the dominant political parties call its members to do just that.

Nevertheless, since Christians can and must work for the good of society as our biblically-informed consciences direct us, they will often have to work in or support others in the dominant political parties. But because of the ideological nature of politics and the “package deals”, we must not identify Christian faith closely with any of them, insist there is only one truly Christian way to vote."

"Nevertheless, while believers can register under a party affiliation and be active in politics, they should not identify the Christian church or faith with a political party as the only Christian one."

Opinion | How Do Christians Fit Into the Two-Party System? They Don’t (Published 2018) The historical Christian positions on social issues don’t match up with contemporary political alignments.

Timothy Keller: “The early Christian church was a counterculture—simultaneously offensive and attractive.”

5 Features That Made the Early Church Unique Timothy Keller: The early Christian church was a counterculture—simultaneously offensive and attractive.

Nothing Is for Nothing: Accepting Loss and Finding Peace Anyone who has lost much has longed for peace. Those who have found it know that it comes only through acceptance.

My Suffering Feels Meaningless — What Can I Do? Sometimes pain seems meaningless, but in Christ, every millisecond of your suffering is producing for you an eternal weight of glory.

“Good works done from a heart with no satisfaction in Jesus are not God-glorifying good works. They are not putting God’s worth on display because the heart that is doing them feels no worth in God.”

Is Enjoying God the Same as Glorifying God? “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” Does that mean enjoying God and glorifying God are the same thing?

"Nothing but the love of Christ can make a truly faithful pastor indefatigable in the most self-denying duties of his offices."

–A. Alexander