Valley Girls Unite!

Okay, so this is so applicable to many diverse groups of people, not JUST valley girls, haha.

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on the Sovereign Grace Ministries big February Sale!!! It starts February 1^st; that's in three days… (I thought valley girls might be appropriate, because everyone knows how valley girls love to shop, and find the perfect item at the perfectly reduced price!) I found out about it on the Worship Matters blog… You can check out that site's blog post to see the specifics of the sale…

If there are specific books I could recommend for you to purchase it would be Cross Centered Life, for sure, as well as Living the Cross Centered Life and Humility: True Greatness. I have not read the book Worldliness, but I did read bits and pieces of it that CJ Mahaney has posted online for free, and I know someday, hopefully soon, I'd like to read that book as well. Something else that caught my eye is one of the studies in the Pursuit of Godliness series—it's called Disciplines for Life: Steps to Spiritual Strength… However, the whole book is available online in pdf form for FREE… The Worship Matters blog says that 23 books (I'll post an update blog when I find out exactly which books) will be available for $7, while everything from the Pursuit of Godliness series will be $4… So I guess I'd better start saving up!

Also, all the music albums are $6! I don't have much from music from Sovereign Grace Ministries, but all of what I do have has incredible lyrics, all solidly based on Scripture; many times it will even be Scripture itself put into song. For some free downloads to sample their music, check out "I Have A Shelter" from the Come Weary Saints album, "Praise the Lord" from the Psalms album, "Glory Be To God" from the Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man, "You Are Good" from the album You and You Alone, and the orthodoxy "What A Savior" from the album Looked Upon.

By the way, the sale only lasts until February 29^th, so hurry over to the site and make your choices quickly! Did I mention that they always give FREE standard shipping for all orders in the continental US?

Fireproof

The movie Fireproof came out on DVD today!

I am excited because this Christian film will have the chance to impact many people-- many more than it has already impacted in theaters. It is the story of a young married couple, a fireman and his wife, who are struggling through their marriage. The main character must learn what love truly is if he is to salvage his dying marriage (Romans 5:8)… I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to any who have not seen it!

I love the Scriptural truths that fill this movie, and I truly and greatly appreciate that Fireproof gives a clear gospel message. I must admit that I have not seen many Christian films, but I have not been very impressed with their presentation of the gospel, or their inclusion (or lack the thereof) of how that gospel message should affect their characters' metamorphoses. I feel that too often Christian films glaze over the gospel, which is ridiculously ironic, because if it were not for that precious Truth, there would be no need, desire, or basis for Christian movies! Isn't the very purpose of the Christian film industry to open doors to reach the lost, as well as to strengthen and encourage believers to live out what it means to be a Christian?

Why does this bother me so much? Because the gospel should be the most important thing in our lives as Christians—Let's follow Paul's example when he says that the gospel is the MOST important thing in his life (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)! And I admit that, like many Christian movies, I leave out the very basis for my existence when I go out into the world, and even when I am in my own home. But I don't want to just sit and ponder what my life might be like if the gospel truly permeated everything I believed, said, and did… I want to go, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, live out the gospel in my life, as a testimony to the glory of Jesus Christ and of God the Father!

Help!!! Please ;-D

I want you all to help keep me accountable and ask me how I'm doing with my reading… questions like how much I've read, and what I've learned from what I've read so far. It would be NICE to finish all… or some… lol… before I go back to school, but this is a very ambitious list! So ask me if I've wasted more time watching television or going online that I could have spent reading. I want to invest my time so that what I do will actually count for eternity, rather than frittering this vapor of a life away on things just as transient as I am. So without further ado, here is the list!

Showdown, Ted Dekker

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, John Piper

Desiring God, John Piper **Reading

Spectacular Sins, John Piper **Reading

The Passion of Jesus Christ, John Piper

Living the Cross Centered Life, CJ Mahaney **Reading

A Practical View of Christianity, William Wilberforce

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce, John Piper

Twelve Extraordinary Women, John MacArthur

Competent to Counsel, Jay E. Adams

Living by the Book, Howard & William Hendricks

Counseling: How to Counsel Biblically, John MacArthur (& staff)

30 Days to Understanding the Bible, Max Anders **Reading

Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders

Don't Waste Your Life, John Piper **Reading

I’m Back!

First of all, sorry for the incredibly long hiatus… But it sure was nice to take a break for Christmas!

I have SO MUCH that I want to write about though… within this next week at least I would like to take some time to go through the notes for each of the sermons given at my college group winter camp retreat; they were amazing and I want you all to experience that!

But for now, I want to do a small recap of what we talked about in cell groups last week. Last week, we went through John 19:17-30 and the corresponding passages in the other Gospels (Matthew 27:31-34; Mark 14:26, 32-42; Luke 22:39-46). There is so much to learn in these passages, but one question that I had was— How much of the account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is predicted in the Old Testament, that we consistently miss? I don't know about you, but I've always just taken the word of other's that Jesus fulfilled hundreds upon hundreds of prophecies, so last week, I wanted to find some of those for myself… So here are a few of the details given in these four passages from the Gospels that show either Jesus fulfilling Old Testament prophecies Himself, or God the Father, in His sovereignty, making these prophecies that He planned before time began come true in His beloved Son Jesus, the Messiah.

Prophecy Fulfilled	Gospel Accounts	Old Testament Passage
Christ bearing His own cross	John 19:17 Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26	Deuteronomy 21:23 (see the Apostle Paul's commentary on this verse in Galatians 3:13)
Crucified between two thieves	John 19:18 Matthew 27:44, Mark 15:27-28, Luke 23:33	Isaiah 53:9
Christ mocked while on the cross	Matthew 27:39-44, Mark 15:29-32, Luke 23:35-39	Isaiah 53:3, Psalm 22:6-8
Soldiers take & cast lots for Jesus' clothing	John 19:23-24 Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24	Psalm 22:18
Jesus given sour wine	John 19:28-29 Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36, Luke 23:36	Psalm 69:21
"IT IS FINISHED"	John 19:30 Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37, Luke 23:46	Psalm 22:31, Isaiah 53:11-12 (see John 10:18 for one of Jesus' own prophecy of His death)
Jesus bowed His head (as an act of submission to the Father)	John 19:30 Matthew 27:50, Luke 23:46	Psalm 40:6

 

One of the reasons I set out to do this was because I have been taught time and time again that the best tool to interpret Scripture is… Scripture! It was so amazing to see how many prophecies the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ were fulfilled in just this short, 6 hour span of Jesus' life on earth. I encourage you to always use Scripture to interpret Scripture, because God knows the intended meaning of His Word better than any man can discern, of course!