Archive for August, 2009

1st Chapters Podcast | Ep. 152 “Organic Church” (Neil Cole)

Monday, August 31st, 2009

Churches have tried all kinds of ways to attract new and younger members – revised vision statements, hipper worship, contemporary music, livelier sermons, bigger and better auditoriums. But there are still so many people who aren’t being reached, who don’t want to come to church. And the truth is that attendance at church on Sundays does not necessarily transform lives; God’s presence in our hearts is what changes us.

Leaders and laypeople everywhere are realizing that they need new and more powerful ways to help them spread God’s Word. According to international church starter and pastor Neil Cole, if we want to connect with young people and those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate.

Cole shows readers how to plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed – restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms, and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows the practical aspects of implementing it.

Download the Podcast

1st Chapters Podcast | Ep. 151 “A Book You’ll Actually Listen To” (Mark Driscoll)

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Clear, biblical answers to some of the most difficult and controversial questions about God, the Old Testament, the New Testament and Church Leadership – each in one concise book you’ll actually listen to! Packed with big truth, each little book can be listened to, on average, in about two hours!

Each book is part of a series of inexpensive and accessible books that give clear, biblical answers to difficult theological questions and controversies. Through this series, readers will get a solid and simple introduction to a major doctrine by spending just a little time.

Includes:
- Who is God
- The Old Testament
- The New Testament
- Church Leadership

Download the Podcast

1st Chapters Podcast | Ep. 150 “Spectacular Sins” (John Piper)

Monday, August 17th, 2009

John Piper delivers powerful biblical reassurances to bolster readers’ trust in the sovereignty of God and the supremacy of Christ when evil and tragedy come. If God governs the sinful acts of men, then does the devastation caused by those terrorists, dictators, murderers, cheats, and abusers discredit Jesus’ words: “All authority in heaven and earth belongs to me”?

When heart-rending news comes of the latest accident, illness, or natural disaster, can we really believe that in Jesus, “all things hold together”? Though God has not answered all of our questions about sin and suffering, there are things he wants us to know, things he declares in his Word—such as what’s at stake in the “spectacular” sins of others and the horrible tragedies of this life; their global purpose, both historically and today; and what these events say to us personally. As John Piper works through these biblical truths, this book will bolster readers’ trust in the utter sovereignty of God such that they’ll be less timid in their witness and less afraid of whatever may come. It is also a joy-infused declaration that because everything occurs through Christ and for Christ and his glory, they are forever secure in him.

Download the Podcast

1st Chapters Podcast | Ep. 149 “Vintage Church” (Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears)

Monday, August 10th, 2009
Defines a biblical church as one that properly balances the eternal truths of Scripture with timely, relevant methods designed to engage the culture. The book in the popular Re:Lit series picks up where Vintage Jesus leaves off, beginning with a focus on the person and work of Jesus and then exploring the confessional, experiential, and missional aspects of his church. This study grows out of the vintage concept of taking timeless truths from Scripture—truths about church leadership, preaching, baptism, communion, and more—and blending them with aspects of contemporary culture, such as multi-campus churches and the latest forms of technology, to reach people with the gospel. While Vintage Church is helpful for pastors and church leaders, it is the kind of book you could hand to someone who has questions about ecclesiology but finds the very term ecclesiology intimidating. The authors put forth twelve practical questions about church doctrine and answer them in clear, biblical language that lay people and new believers can understand.

Download the Podcast

1st Chapters Podcast | Ep. 148 “This Momentary Marriage” (John Piper)

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Reflecting on forty years of matrimony, John Piper exalts the biblical meaning of marriage over its emotion, exhorting couples to keep their covenant for all the best reasons. Even in the days when people commonly stayed married “’til death do us part,” there has never been a generation whose view of marriage was high enough, says Pastor John Piper. That is all the more true in our casual times. Though personal selfishness and cultural bondage obstruct the wonder of God’s purpose, it is found in God’s Word, where his design can awaken a glorious vision capable of freeing every person from small, Christ-ignoring, romance-intoxicated views.

Piper explains in reflecting on forty years of matrimony: “Most foundationally, marriage is the doing of God. And ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It displays the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his people to the world in a way that no other event or institution does. Marriage, therefore, is not mainly about being in love. It’s mainly about telling the truth with our lives. And staying married is not about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant and putting the glory of Christ’s covenant-keeping love on display.” This Momentary Marriage unpacks the biblical vision, its unexpected contours, and its weighty implications for married, single, divorced, and remarried alike.

Download the Podcast