Favorite Books of 2015

I was able to read a number of books again in 2015.  Below are 10 that stood out for various reasons including great writing, thought provoking, and imagination capturing.

1.  The Great Christ Comet, Colin Nicholl.

2. The Wright Brothers, David McCullough

3. The Road to Character, David Brooks

4. Dead Wake, Erik Larson

5. Job, Christopher Ash

6. Under Our Skin, Benjamin Watson

7. Rejoicing in Lament, Todd Billings

8. Preaching, Tim Keller

9. Saturate, Jeff Vanderstelt

10. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel

Merry Christmas!

Star of Wonder

Here is the song we sang Sunday...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have had a great day and have enjoyed your family, friends, and the many blessings that you have been given.

Thanksgiving is always a great time to:

1. Pause
2. Reflect
3. Give thanks to God and others that have impacted your life.
4. Plan ahead

Friendship

Proverbs 13:20 (ESV)
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Andy Stanley & Stuart Hall: “Friendships determine the quality and direction of your life.”

Ray Ortlund: “A true friend knows who you really are and does not walk away.”

C. S. Lewis:  "Friendship is born the moment when one person says to anther "What!  You too?  I thought I was the only one."

Douglas Wilson: “Friendship is defined by willingness to sacrifice.  Ultimate friendship is seen in the sacrifice of Christ for His people.”

John 15:13 (ESV) 

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

A GOOD FRIEND IS SELFLESS AND SACRIFICIAL

Application:  Want a friend?  Be a friend.

Something Bigger

Here is a Tim Keller quote I used this morning.

Role of the Church

From Kevin Vanhoozer's book, The Drama of Doctrine (page 355)

The church has a prophetic ministry of forth-telling, forth-showing, and forth-doing the gospel, thus projecting the world of the biblical text into the public square and onto the stage of world history.

If successful, the church would certainly leave its community better than it found it!  That would truly be loving your neighbor as yourself!

"I am not alone"

Song from Sunday at Explore Church...

Happy New Year!!!