Tag: gospel

Brew the Gospel

The Heart is a Brewery

The heart is the place where our identity is forged. From it flow the very streams of life (Prov 4:23). It is a brewery for identity. What we brew determines who we are. What are we brewing? Are we brewing grace and truth? Or are we brewing judgment and deceit, legalism and license? Are we brewing the gospel or are we brewing religion or irreligion? What we brew determines who we are.

Where is Your Identity?

Who are you? What will you brew today? Colossians 3:3 tells us that we “have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.” Are we hiding in Christ for life and value and identity OR are we hiding from Christ, from truth, and from grace? Are we striving to perform or resting in Christ’s perfect performance? Your identity is in Christ. In fact, your identity in divinity—filled with the Spirit, united with Christ, beloved of the Father. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. Remember that your identity is sinner redeemed by grace; your role is to serve by grace!

Brew the Gospel

How do we avoid the extremes of legalism and license, hypocrisy and idolatry? How do we escape misplaced identity? Brew the gospel. Get drunk on It. Everyone is intoxicated with something, but are we intoxicated with Christ? Our inebriation determines our identity. What we brew is what we become. What we drink determines who we are. How do avoid legalism and license, working for God or running from God? We get drunk on the Gospel. We take in Christ, Christ crucified for our sin and raised for our life. Take in Christ today. Drink deeply of his Word and brew the Gospel of grace.

(Adapted from the sermon Gospel Identity)

The Gospel and Social Action

Is social action part of the Gospel or merely an important implication of the Gospel? This is an issue I have been working through biblically, theologically, and practically. I am working on a short paper to address this issue for our Acts 29 Region. Today I came across a conservative lecture “The Gospel and Social Action” by D.A. Carson that addresses the issue head-on. For those interested in understanding these important distinctions, and wanting to clarify just what the gospel is, this will be a helpful resource.

Andy Naselli provides a helpful summary of the 60 minute audio.

Fight Clubs Book Released!

My first book, Fight Clubs: Gospel-centered Discipleship, is now available! Click here for an explanation of the book and the Table of Contents. You can get it in the following formats:

This book was written for the church, for disciples who struggle to follow Jesus well. It’s intended to equip you to fight the fight of faith in the power of the gospel, and to do so as Jesus intended, in community. My hope is that it will strengthen your resolve to fight the good fight of faith well (1 Tim 6:12), and in the strength that God provides (1 Pet 4:11). I hope it helpfully dismantles legalistic and loose patterns of discipleship and frees you to follow Jesus by grace. May it inspire you with the rich gospel motivations God has given us in the Son and the Spirit to follow hard after God!

Fight Clubs @ Resurgence

Over the next three days, The Resurgence will run three excerpts from my forthcoming book Fight Clubs: Gospel-centered Discipleship. I’m excited to announce that on August 1st the booklet will be available in three forms:

  • eBooklet Download
  • Print on Demand @ LuLu
  • Online Viewing

Check out the first excerpt here. Keep an eye out for the Fight Club website. Also, check out the unrelated but a similar vision of gospel-centered discipleship among men at the Fight Club conference.