Need some Weekly Wisdom? Here are my favorite resources of the week.
VERSE OF THE WEEK
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin [1 John 1:7].
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Sermons on Several Occasions by John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield. Methodism in both forms was a highly successful evangelical movement in the United Kingdom, which encouraged people to experience Jesus Christ personally.
Wesley’s teachings, known as Wesleyanism, provided the seeds for both the modern Methodist movement, the Holiness movement, Pentecostalism, the Charismatic Movement, and Neo-charismatic churches, which encompass numerous denominations across the world. In addition, he refined Arminianism with a strong evangelical emphasis on the Reformed doctrine of justification by faith.
Great quotes:
- And being saved from guilt, they are saved from fear. Not indeed from a filial fear of offending; but from all servile fear; from the fear what has torment; from fear of punishment; from fear of the wrath of God, whom they not longer regard as a severe Master, but as an indulgent Father (6).
- Such a love is this, as engrosses the whole heart, as rakes up all the affections, as fills the entire capacity of the soul and employs the utmost extent of all its faculties (21).
- He sleeps on still and takes his rest, though hell is moved from beneath to meet him; though the pit from whence there is no return has opened its mouth to swallow him up (28).
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
Questions, Answers, and a Little Bit of Debate by Knowing Faith
On this episode, we answer theological questions from our listeners. Listen to the crew discuss (and debate) topics like how we should read passages about Israel in 2018 or why God seems to be silent about the treatment of women in the Old Testament.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The life of religion, and the welfare and glory of both the Church and the State, depend much on family government and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all. -Richard Baxter
SONG OF THE WEEK
Music video by Matt Redman performing Sing And Shout. (C) 2013 sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records
POST OF THE WEEK
Willow Creek Elders and Pastor Heather Larson Resign by Christianity Today
This is a hard read but an illuminating one:
Ten years later, Willow Creek’s leaders confessed even more mistakes. On the eve of the 2018 GLS, they admitted in a special congregational meeting that church leaders had failed to appropriately handle recent allegations of sexual misconduct against their founding pastor.
Lead pastor Heather Larson announced that she was resigning immediately. The church’s elder board announced that its members would also step down in an orderly fashion by the end of 2018.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Prune for Growth.
If the branches from bushes and the limbs from trees grow too much too fast, the base will be unable to carry the weight. Due to the pressure, they will snap. That’s why the discipline of pruning growing things is so important. Unfortunately, after you prune something, it doesn’t always look as good as it did before. A good gardener knows that a temporary eyesore will provide long-lasting growth.
The same is true with us as individuals and as groups in churches. Jesus said it this way, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). Pruning our groups may look unhealthy at first. What once was full is now smaller. But to continue growth, we aren’t taking away, we are simply pruning back.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
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