by Bret Capranica | Mar 31, 2014 | Christian Living, Featured Articles, Reading
Studying the Scriptures directly is the most helpful pursuit you could pursue in deepening your discipleship in Christ. Reading and talking through a book of the Bible or pursuing a particular subject in Scripture is most helpful. A book like David Helm’s One to One Bible Reading is a very helpful resource to that end. At the same time, using biblically driven books on various subjects to stimulate your thinking and conversation are very helpful tools to use as well. In this post I will list a few books that I think any small group of Christians could begin to use to strengthen their walks with Christ. Obviously this is no exhaustive list. You can probably think of better and more books to add. Please suggest some others. These are some I have personally used and found effective. In choosing books to use, it would be helpful to stimulate your thinking by choosing different books in different sorts of categories. I will arrange some of my suggestions according to a few categories. Christian Living Desiring God, John Piper Future Grace, John Piper Trusting God, Jerry Bridges The Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges The Cross-Centered Life, C. J. Mahaney Humility, C. J. Mahaney Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney When People Are Big and God is Small, Edward Welch The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer Call to Spiritual Reformation, D. A. Carson A Gospel Primer for Christians, Milton Vincent Theology/Church Life Why We Love the Church, Kevin DeYoung The Trellis and the Vine, Colin Marshall The Gospel According to Jesus, John MacArthur 9Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark Dever Knowing...
by Bret Capranica | Mar 19, 2014 | Biblical Studies, Christian Living
A friend and I have recently been reading through Thomas Schreiner, and Ardel Caneday’s book, The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance. I have to say that this has been an enriching study that has challenged, deepened and, I pray, helpfully shaped my understanding and application of how the Bible uses warnings to encourage faithfulness to Christ. Over the next few weeks I’ll post some helpful quotes from this book. I highly recommend a carefully reading of it. Our central concern is to show how the Bible places side-by-side both God’s promises of complete and final salvation for all his people and God’s admonitions or warnings that call on his people to persevere to the end in order to be saved 21. Four Popular Views on Warnings and Assurance: 1. Loss-of-Salvation View. Though many Christians believe that the Bible addresses warnings and admonitions to believers, some insist that these warnings and admonitions indicate that believers can and sometimes do abandon their faith and consequently lose their salvation. According to the loss-of-salvation view, the Bible’s warnings and admonitions make it clear that heirs of God’s promise can, by forsaking Christ, fail to persevere in faithfulness and long-suffering, and thus lose the inheritance of salvation. I. Howard Marshall and Scot McKnight advocate this view 21-22. 2. Loss-of-Rewards View. This view advocates that the biblical admonitions and warnings threaten believers with a possible loss. However, the loss a Christian may encounter concerns “rewards” only, not salvation or eternal life, which comes to us only by faith in Jesus Christ 24. Zane Hodges and Charles Ryrie advocate this...
by Bret Capranica | Mar 17, 2014 | Christian Living, Featured Articles
One of the most helpful aspects of my regular meeting with others for the purpose of deepening my and their discipleship is memorizing Scripture together. I’m not necessarily “good” at memorizing. I’m definitely not as sharp with it as I was 20 years ago. It requires an immense amount of concentration and repetition for me, but those two elements (concentration and repetition) prove so fruitful in not only my meditation on the word but my conversation over the application of the word with others. Here are a few thoughts on how you could approach Scripture memory in a regular meeting with others for discipleship: Choose to memorize a large portion of Scripture, rather than smaller, random, unconnected verses. For example, the last portion of Scripture I memorized with a small group of people was the book of Colossians. Before that was the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). I learned the content of these sections very well. I saw how different portions of the book or section fit with previous or later sections. It was easier to memorize the verses as I thought of them in relation to what preceded and followed them. Our conversations about the larger section was more focused and full as we, together, thought through what the whole was saying. There is a flow and a purpose to what is being memorized that not only made it easier to remember, but easier to talk about. I found myself thinking through the content of these sections of Scripture more fully during the week and at random times through my day. Make sure that you not only...
by Bret Capranica | Mar 12, 2014 | Pastoral Ministry
Here are a few more quotes from Manetsch’s book Calvin and His Company of Pastors Regarding Spiritual Counsel and Consolation “Words fail to explain how necessary prayer is. . . . Surely with good reason the Heavenly Father affirms that the only stronghold of safety is in calling upon his name.” Through prayer, Christians are reminded of God’s providential care for them, experience God’s power to heal and help them, and receive assurance of God’s grace to forgive their sins and bring them into eternal life. In sum, Calvin believed, “it is by prayer that we call [God] to reveal himself as wholly present to us.” 290. Goulart’s ten principles to be followed by Christian pastors, or “consolers,” as they apply the medicine of Scripture to the needs of suffering men and women: The pastor should know and have true compassion for the person suffering. The pastor should encourage the ailing Christian to adore the judgment of God and be mindful of his mercy. The pastor should conduct a careful examination of the conscience of the suffering person, probing its condition, deportments, and passions, so as to apply the proper kind of spiritual consolation. The pastor should have at hand a variety of examples of faithful Christians who faced similar afflictions and yet trusted in the grace of God. The pastor should remind the afflicted Christian that other believers have remained faithful as they faced similar, or even worse, trials. The pastor should listen to and affirm what the suffering person says, while gently expanding upon or correcting opinions that are confused or inaccurate. The pastor should encourage the ailing...
by Bret Capranica | Mar 10, 2014 | Christian Living, Featured Articles, Reading
One helpful way to spur others on to growing deeper in your discipleship is meeting together with other Christians. I’ve previously given some suggestions on what such a regular gathering might consist. One tool to deepen discipleship in a regular meeting with others is to choose a book to read together and discuss it. What is involved in such a commitment? Here are a few suggestions on how to make the most of reading a book (outside Scripture) together. Commitments in Reading Material Together Determine exactly how much you will read and discuss each week. Make sure everyone involved is committed to complete the reading each week. Commit to not only read, but think through specific applications of what is being read. Commit to read the material chosen carefully, not merely complete the portion agreed upon each week. Don’ts for Good Discussion Don’t commit to something you cannot consistently contribute to significantly. Don’t allow each other to remain general in what they are applying to what they are reading. Don’t merely read quotations that you thought were good. Why were they good? How are they impacting you? Don’t only consider applications for yourself – but consider applications for the church and how what you are reading could build up others. Don’t dominate the time so that others can’t participate. Be mindful. Do’s for Good Discussion Mark up the book you are reading, including notes in the margin to remind yourself how/why what you marked has impacted you. Quickly glance over the the assigned section of reading and your marks before the discussion. Determine the most impactful element of the...
