Two new books on Counseling and Community in the Church



	Friends: We wanted to take a moment to tell you about the release of two new 9Marks books, both of which we think will help pastors and church leaders in their ministries. Churches and pastors labor over building an attractive "community" but all too often that "community" is built on foundations other than gospel. This kind of community results in something that would likely exist if the gospel were true or not. To that end, Mark and Jamie wrote The Compelling Community to refocus pastors' efforts to center their church community around God and the gospel. As the title makes clear, this book is aimed at all pastors—not just biblical counselors—so that they can think through how they can better counsel their members in times of personal crisis. With this book, Reju and Pierre have given the church a gift that will help countless pastors and church leaders shepherd their people more like Jesus. *You can buy both of these books from our website here before* they're available on Amazon and other outlets.** We pray you find them useful. Thanks so much for your time! We are honored to labor alongside you. 9Marks Team

Garrett Conner

Pastor- La Plata Baptist Church

9400 Old Stagecoach Rd.

La Plata, MD 20646

www.laplatabaptistchurch.org

http://pastorgarrett.blogspot.com/

The cross shows the seriousness of our sin, but it also shows us the immeasurable love of God. - Billy Graham

Comments

Repackaging the gospel? It's more like obscuring the gospel!

Preface : I recognize this post may make me unpopular with some, but I think it is an important issue to blog about here. I’ve had time to reflect on this video and in my opinion, I think what is in this video raises some questions. This gentleman featured below is slotted to speak at the SBC's 2020 Pastors' Conference and it prompted me to think more about this illustration. I want to note that I don't know him and I have no personal issue with him. I assume he is a brother in the LORD. Having said that, I see some significant issues here that relate to this type of preaching being clear on the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it appears to be obscuring it in my observation. Concern: Should the SBC or churches, in general, be in the habit of holding this up as a good and healthy example? Let's think about it some together. (Watch this clip below here first.) Context: The clip was posted to stand on its own as if it were wise and sound on it

Smith: "Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back...".

Jonah 2:9 “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” God’s dramatic intervention in the life of Jonah is full of hope—not only for those who seek God, but also for those who, like Jonah, have determined to shut him out. Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back, leaving it up to us to decide if we want to come in. But if God made salvation possible and then stepped back, refusing to interfere with our choice, then the entire life of believers would be about us—our believing, our serving, our following, and our choices to live a good life. In the case of Jonah, imprisoned in the whale’s belly, God was claiming someone who was quite incapable of performing any redeeming work to compensate for his sin. God was not relying on Jonah to save Jonah. The message remains the same for each of us today: if you have trusted God for salvation, he has done more than simply make salvation possible; he has actually saved you. Colin Smith, “Jonah,” in Gospel Transformation B

Men stirred, boys exhorted, and Jesus exalted!

Neh 8 v 13 (CSB) 13 On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law. Notice the feel of the scene. After that long day in the Word, it appears that the women and children were, understandably, exhausted and urged to stay home on this occasion. And, among the men, there is a growing interest of “What else are we missing right now as it pertains to obeying God's Word?”. So clear is the fact that the family heads, the men, came back to get more. The real sense of enthusiasm starts with the men here. If you were an able-bodied man here, you stayed behind to get instructions so that you might be a good instructor at home. The text says these men came together to study the words of the law . That means to give attention to and ponder. This is the process of thinking through complex things, resulting in wise dealing and the use of good practical common sense. Here in

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