Thankful Thursday

My thanksgiving list for this week:

• I’m thankful for my two bouquets of spring tulips. 
• I’m thankful for that I’ve had some very productive days this week.
• I’m thankful that it’s warm enough that I can open the windows to let a little fresh air in. 
• I’m thankful for music.
• I’m thankful for my family, both near and far.
• I’m thankful for the indwelling and interceding Spirit.

What about you? What are you thankful for?

Book Review: The World-Tilting Gospel

Embracing a Biblical Worldview & Hanging on Tight by Dan Phillips.

If I were to sum up the message of The World-Tilting Gospel in one sentence, I’d say it explains what it REALLY means to be a Christian. That this task takes 300 pages is a measure, I suppose, of how wrong we’ve got it—and by we’ve, I’m referring to present-day evangelicals.

Too often, says Phillips, modern evangelicals don’t have a biblical worldview. We can’t give a proper explanation of what the gospel is and why it’s needed, and it’s bad teaching that stands in the way.

So what’s the solution?

The greatest need of the church today is a strategic, full-orbed, robust, biblical grasp of the Gospel fo Jesus Christ and its transformative implications. We don’t need more glitz or glamour, better marketing or programs, snazzier decor or entertainment. We do need a whole-Bible grasp of the Gospel. 

That’s what The World-Tilting Gospel gives us: the whole-Bible Gospel in an energetic, easy-to-understand, earnest-but-never-preachy style. 

There’s nothing more important or profound than what this book unfolds for us. The first part is about us and our big problem. As it turns out, our big problem is us. When it comes to our spiritual condition, we are dead. In other words, we “don’t and can’t help ourselves.” Outside help is our only hope.

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Round the Sphere Again: Youthful

Not Enough Gospel
“Based on my experience in youth ministry, if I had to identify the greatest theological problem in the field, it would be the absence of the gospel in teaching on sanctification. … A legalistic tone frequently characterizes the theology of sanctification in youth ministry.” Cameron Cole lists four possible reasons that youth ministries tend to be legalistic (The Gospel Coalition Blog).

Looking back, I’d say I was in my thirties before I really understood that true sanctification isn’t accomplished by simply following moral directives. I don’t think I was unusual. It’s no wonder, I suppose, that many youth ministries teach performance based sanctification.  

Never Too Many Books
Emily has a list of books suitable for graduation gifts, and there are even more suggestions in the comments. The World-Tilting Gospel by Dan Phillips1 would be number one on my list. Next would be The God Who Is There by Don Carson.

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1 I’ll be reviewing this book tomorrow, if tomorrow unfolds as planned.