10 Oct 2017 - The Multiplying Community (pt 1)

Radical ch 5 - The Multiplying Community (pp. 85-93)

"He was not only optimistic enough to think he could actually affect the world around him, but he was also confident enough to know how he was going to do it. He really believed that in obeying Jesus' command to make disciples, he was going to impact the world." - p. 86

Man, what happened to us as the American church? This is a kid in Sudan speaking with such confidence and assurance that he would make an indelible mark on the world following Christ!

"I am concerned about a general vagueness that has existed in contemporary Christianity regarding the next step." - p. 87

"You don't need to have inordinate skill or unusual abilities to make disciples. You don't need to be a great communicator or innovative thinker to make disciples. That's why Jesus says every Christian must do this." - p. 90

 Acts 2:1-13

"When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven and it filled the whole place where they were staying. And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech. ... And they [the crowds] were astounded and amazed, saying, 'Look, aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language?'" - vv. 1-4, 7-8

God didn't leave us on our own on this work of obedience in discipleship. He provided His Spirit to empower and guide us. We're not going blind or running on our finite energy. God is in the business of seeing His work through.

9 Oct 2017 - The Great Why of God (pt 3)

Radical ch 4 - The Great Why of God (pp. 78-84)

"I have blessed you for my glory. Not so you will have a comfortable life with a big house and a nice car. Not so you can spend lots of money on vacations, education or clothing. Those aren't bad things, but I've blessed you so that the nations will know me and see my glory. - p. 84

Acts 1:15-26

8 Oct 2017 - The Great Why of God (pt 2)

Radical ch 4 - The Great Why of God (pp. 69-78)

"The message of biblical Christianity is not 'God loves me, period," as if we were the object of our own faith. The message of biblical Christianity is "God loves me so that I might make him - his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness - known among all nations.'" - pp. 70-71

"It's a foundational truth: God creates, blesses, and saves each of us for a radically global purpose. But if we are not careful, we will be tempted to make exceptions. We will be tempted to adopt spiritual smoke screens and embrace national comforts that excuse us from the global plan of Christ." - pp. 71-72 

"But where in the Bible is missions ever identified as an optional program in the church? ... We have taken this command, though, and reduced it to a calling - something that only a few people receive." - pp. 72 -73

"Certainly there are great needs here. But must we insist on dividing the Great Commission into an either-or proposition? Who told us that we had to choose to have a heart for the United States or a heart for the world?" - p. 76

 Acts 1:9-14

"All these were continually united in payer, along with the women, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers." - v. 14

7 Oct 2017 - The Great Why of God (pt 1)

Radical ch 4 - The Great Why of God (pp. 61-69)

"God blesses his people with extravagant grace so they might extend his extravagant glory to all peoples on the earth. This basic, fundamental truth permeates Scripture from beginning to end. Yet I wonder if we unknowingly ignore the great why of God." - p. 69

 Acts 1:1-11

6 Oct 2017 - Beginning at the End of Ourselves (pt 2)

Radical ch 3 - Beginning at the End of Ourselves (pp. 53-60)

"The church I lead could have all the man-made resources that one could imagine, but apart from the Holy Spirit, such a church will do nothing of significance for the glory of God." - p. 54

"God our Father delights in this. He delights in giving us himself. He puts his very power in us so we might have all we need to accomplish his purposes in the world." - pp. 58-59 

"Surrounded by the self-sufficiency of American culture, we can convince ourselves that we have what it takes to achieve something great. In our churches we mimic our culture, planning and programming, organizing and strategizing, creating and innovating - all in an effort that will show what we can accomplish in our own ability." - p. 59

Titus 3:1-15

5 Oct 2017 - Beginning at the End of Ourselves (pt. 1)

Radical ch 3 -  Beginning at the End of Ourselves (pp. 43-53)

"This is how God works. He puts people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness." - p. 48

Titus 2:1-15

3 Oct 2017 - Too Hungry for Words (pt 2)

Radical ch 2 - Too Hungry for Words (pp. 33-41)

"At the Cross, Christ drank the full cup of the wrath of God, and when he had downed the last drop, he turned the cup over and cried out, 'It is finished.'" - p. 36

"You will not find a place where a superstitious sinner's prayer is even mentioned. And you will not find an emphasis on accepting Jesus. We have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced him to a poor, puny Saviour who is just begging for us to accept him. Accept him? Do we really think Jesus needs our acceptance? Don't we need him?" - p. 37

"Biblical proclamation of the gospel beckons us to a much different response and leads us down a much different road. Here the gospel demands and enables us to turn from our sin, to take up our cross, to die to ourselves, and to follow Jesus. These are the terms and phrases we see in the Bible. And Salvation now consists of a deep wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness of our hearts, the depth of our depravity, and the desperation of our need or his grace. Jesus is no longer one to be accepted or invited, but one who is infinitely worthy of our immediate and total surrender." - pp. 38-39

"We realise that we are saved not just to be forgiven of our sins or assured of our own eternity in heaven, but we are saved to know God. So we yearn for him. We want him so much that we abandon everything else to experience him." - p. 39 

Titus 1:1-16