It’s a complicated time to talk about solitude.

• A percentage of Americans grapple with the fear of being alone, dubbed as “monophobia” or “autophobia”. (A global pandemic DIDN’T help us out much in this department!)

• The medical community has published findings that loneliness (and its destructive wake) in America is at an all-time high.[i] And yet, being “alone” doesn’t necessarily equal being “lonely”. (Ever felt lonely in the middle of a crowd?)

• Some suggest loneliness is less about who’s around, and more about the lack of healthy relational connection, a dilemma further complicated by the role of technology.

• We’re both dazzled by a new frontier of tech like we’ve never seen before, but we’re equally concerned about the dangerous physiological effects of excessive screen time.

• Terms like “mindfulness”, “grounding”, and “self-care” are circulating all over. It seems like outdoor recreation and mental health are making a comeback.

It feels like we, as a culture, are trying to figure out what we really need as it pertains to our humanity and our surroundings.

As followers of Jesus, what are we supposed to think about it all? What role does “solitude” play in our cultural moment? What is it? What isn’t it? Is it possible it’s the most underrated thing we all need?

WHAT IT’S NOT:

First of all, what ISN’T solitude?

1. It’s not merely being physically alone. It’s possible to have plenty of “solo” time in your daily routine and never truly experience solitude. Solitude, rightly understood, is about intentionally quieting your soul and your surroundings. Solitude doesn’t happen on accident.

2. It’s not being lonely. If we hope to embrace a healthy, Scriptural version of solitude, we need to recognize its distinction from loneliness. Loneliness is a negative emotion that reveals real or perceived unmet relational desires. Solitude is a state of intentional alone time for the positive purpose of renewal or reflection. Author John Thomas helps us with this:

   “…could it also be the case that the loneliness epidemic is not simply a result of being alone more often, but of being unprepared for alone time? Instead of conceptualizing alone time as healthy and productive — as solitude — it is viewed as a menace, a problem to be solved. If as a society we sought not to eradicate loneliness but to cultivate the capacity for solitude would we not be better served?”
   Sherry Turkle, Author and Professor at MIT, said it this way: “If we don’t know the satisfaction of solitude, we only know the panic of loneliness.”

3. It’s not the absence of community. Thinker and lover of God, Donald Whitney, provides this perspective:

   “Biblical reality calls us to family, fellowship, evangelism, ministry, and other aspects of life together in the local church for the sake of Christ and His kingdom. And yet, sometimes our souls crave separation from the noise and crowds into silence and solitude. Just as we must engage with others for some of the disciplines of the Christian life, so there are times when we must temporarily withdraw into the disciplines of silence and solitude…Without silence and solitude, we can be active, but shallow. Without fellowship we can be deep, but stagnant. Christlikeness requires both sides of the equation.”

   Jesus Himself taught us the value of solitude by example. Drawing away for solitude should not come at the expense of community. Instead, it is a discipline that should grow in tandem with the discipline of cultivating community.

WHAT IT IS:

Donald Whitney once again helps us out with this definition for solitude: “Solitude is the Spiritual Discipline of voluntarily and temporarily withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes.”

The value of solitude is its ability to clear off the mental clutter and set the table for spiritual renewal. Solitude isn’t an end in itself. Rather, solitude serves us by creating an atmosphere for our souls to finally commune with God.

CLEAR OFF THE CLUTTER

Solitude cuts through the siren calls of earthly pursuits. Author Greg Morse paints this (all-too relatable) picture:

“When I desire the world, when I grow too busy to be alone with God, when the world in my pocket entices me more than the world of the Scriptures, my soul stretches and thins, ‘like butter scraped over too much bread.’  My weakened desires take me away from God into my phone. I follow Jonah into the Tarshish of technology. And when I set sail several times, it becomes easier and easier to go again, and harder and harder to sit with God as before. My soul fidgets, anxious for something, anything to distract and entertain me. As I stick my hand in again and again for more and more salty snacks, my appetite for the great feast diminishes.”  

In his book, “Wisdom Pyramid,” author Brett McCracken describes our dance with social media this way:

“The sickness I feel – which so many people feel – is akin to that of the slot machine addict. We’ve been conditioned in a Pavlovian way to keep putting proverbial coins in the machine. The dings and flashes of our push notifications give us dopamine hits that keep us hooked, as they were engineered to do. We want to see who pinged us, what people are saying about our photos, and what’s getting the mobs riled up today. IT’s terrible for us, and we know it, but it’s like other vices – alcohol, tobacco, sugar – it’s addictive.”

The answer isn’t villainizing media or technology. However, we need to have a realistic grasp on whatever it is that distracts us, for it has the counterfeit capacity to consume our time and captivate our hearts.

SET THE TABLE

Distractions in check. Deep breaths taken. Now what? What actually happens in solitude?

For the believer, solitude is more about PRESENCE than it is about PRIVACY. Fellowship with God is the truest reward of solitude.

Author David Mathis gets to the heart of solitude here:

“…Merely getting away isn’t enough. There is benefit to be had in just letting your soul decompress and getting out of the concrete jungle, enjoying nature, and letting your soul breathe fresh air. But there’s nothing distinctly Christian about that. For those of us who are in Christ, we want to come back better, not only rested, but more ready to love and sacrifice. We want to find new clarity, resolve, and initiative, or return primed to re-double our efforts, by faith, in our callings in the home, among friends, at work, and in the body of Christ.

Getting away, quiet and alone, is no special grace on its own. But the goal is to create a context for enhancing our hearing from God in His word and responding back to Him in prayer. Silence and solitude, then, are not direct means of grace in themselves, but they can grease the skids…for more direct encounters with God in His word and prayer.”

Here are a few ideas:

• Be still. Acknowledge that, despite the contents of your day, your week, this month – God is sovereignly in control, seated on the Throne. He is not in a hurry, even though you may have been. You can find rest here.

• Recognize God’s glory in all that surrounds you. Apart from Him, nothing was made that has been made. (John 1)

  His ingenuity and brilliance are written all over the created world.

• Let the evidence of His glory lead you to praise. Give your mind space to reflect on His many attributes, one after another.

• Lean into gratitude. Start by thanking God for those blessings that easily come to mind (i.e. your family, a place to live, a job, a car to drive, etc.). Then, enter into thankfulness for the spiritual blessings He has given you in Christ. (Hint: You could use Ephesians 1 for this!)

• Meditate on and memorize a verse or passage of scripture.

• Pray. The “A.C.T.S.” method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) is a great place to start.

START SMALL; START SOMEWHERE.

Start small.

Susanna Wesley, wife to evangelist Charles Wesley, in a houseful of children, was known to pull her apron over her head when she needed solitude. Doubtless, the fabric did little to diminish the noise or the chaos around her, but in that small “tent”, Susanna found a haven from the distractions and met with God. Maybe you don’t have an hour every morning. Maybe you have 5 minutes on your front porch at the end of the day. Claim it. The Lord will meet you there.

Start somewhere.

As stated earlier, the world knows the value of being outside. There’s nothing distinctly biblical about it. However, there is something profoundly good about meeting with God in the middle of the created world He fashioned. Nature has a way of pointing us to Him at every juncture. Psalm 19:1 tells us that, “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” As a bonus, outdoor retreats have this advantage: they’re (usually) quiet!

However and wherever you start, we pray God uses the simple practice of solitude in your life to bring you closer to Him.

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WE ASKED OUR STAFF ABOUT THEIR favorite places to find solitude:

Andreya Miller: Pumpkin Vine Trail

Mackenzie Thornton: Boot Lake Nature Preserve

Travis Smith: My hunting properties, in the woods high in a tree, or out on the water before sunrise setting up decoys!!!

Alaina Roberts: Cobus Creek County Park, Pokagon State Park

Crystalin Trossen: Bonneyville Mill County Park, Notre Dame Campus (Especially around the lake / Grotto area)

Annie Bechtel: Potato Creek is always nice. Weko Beach / Indiana Dunes have nice areas to walk around.

Phil Byars: My answer is “The Woods”. Not a particular woods…it can be any woods! The Woodland Trails, P.J. Hoffmaster State Park, Dr. T.K. Lawless Park, Ox Bow Park, Sitting in a tree stand in “The Woods” in my backyard! These and many others have offered that place of solitude at differing times throughout the years.

[i] https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/1173418268/loneliness-connection-mental-health-dementia-surgeon-general#:~:text=The%20report%20released%20on%20Tuesday,experiencing%20measurable%20levels%20of%20loneliness.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“You are not your own.” It’s hard to imagine a statement more foreign to our society. In our cultural moment, self-discovery, individualism, and autonomy are applauded, and morality is relegated to the dictates of personal preference.  Our culture screams: “I AM MY OWN!”

…And yet…1 Corinthians 6 tells us that, as believers in Christ…we aren’t.

Why? And how does the believer living in the middle of an individualism-obsessed society understand that to be “good”? Thankfully, God’s sufficient Word speaks right into the heart of these questions:

1. WE’VE BEEN RANSOMED.

“… you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
1 Peter 1:18-19

The price for our ransom from death and darkness was the precious blood of Christ.

2. WE’VE BEEN TRANSFERRED.

“[God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 1:13-14

What a gracious change of scenery…of everything. In salvation, our whole atmosphere, our whole composition, was changed. Our heart of stone was replaced with a heart of flesh. We now live in a new Kingdom, with a new King, and a new mission.

3. WE’VE BEEN SET FREE.

“And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”
2 Corinthians 5:15

Our salvation fundamentally changes who we’re living for. If we’re honest, our calling to deny ourselves stings a little, and Scripture doesn’t shy away from that. The Bible teaches that, by default, our hearts bend toward self-gratification. We’ll be wrestling with that until we get to Heaven (Romans 7:14-25). But, Scripture is also clear that at the moment of salvation, the power of sin in our lives is broken, and we aren’t enslaved to our flesh anymore:

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life."
Romans 6:20-22 

The fruit of slavery to sin (and self) is bitter;
The fruit of serving Jesus is sweet.

“Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”
Romans 7:4-6

Scripture is clear that we’re always serving someone, period. But the goodness of the gospel actually transforms our perception of servanthood itself. Servanthood, through a gospel-lens, shatters all stigmas of bondage and oppression. Instead, the Spirit works in our hearts to give us the desire and capacity to please God instead of ourselves (Philippians 2:13). It is a joy to serve such a good King. And as we do, He transforms us into the most whole version of ourselves.

“I AM NOT MY OWN”

“I am not my own” isn’t oppressive or depersonalizing for the believer in Christ. “I am not my own” is actually profoundly good news, because living in the context of relationship with God liberates us to become the truest version of ourselves. The world contends that, to deny oneself is to deny goodness and self-expression. Far from it! As each of us is sanctified to look more like Jesus, we find ourselves increasingly able to walk in our redeemed agency, personality and individuality in a way that blesses the world around us. Belonging to Christ does not suppress our inherent personhood; it reclaims it! When we understand this, living “not our own” becomes a gracious act of liberation, not an oppressive stifling of our individuality. Jesus restores the very meaning of selfhood.

IN REAL LIFE 

So, what if, instead of viewing self-denial as a joyless, obligatory act, God’s Word is inviting us into something much better? Here it is:

“…Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”
Galatians 5:16

What if we started to recognize each impasse between our flesh and the Spirit as an opportunity to step into the liberty won by Jesus for us? We are not our own. We have been set free from captivity to our own agenda, and called to advance His agenda and His Kingdom instead. And in the end, we can trust that the fruit of this choice will be sweet, not bitter, as we allow God to make us look more like Jesus.

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Picture this: You’re driving to an engagement that you don’t care to attend. The strain of small talk just feels like too much on this particular day. As you get closer, you tell yourself it shouldn’t be a big deal, but you feel a low-key dread creeping in nonetheless. You console yourself with a game plan to slip in, look for familiar faces, check off a few conversations, and then slip out at the soonest appropriate moment. You pull into a parking space, put on your (social) game face, and walk in fueled by obligation and the coffee you drank on the way over. “Let’s get this over with.”

But what if it could look like this?

You take a moment on your drive to be gut-honest with the Lord. This event is pretty much the last place you want to be. Socializing and small talk feels way more intimidating than it should. You know your need for your Shepherd in this moment. You take a breath and ask Him to remind you what’s true, and what’s needed in this moment. The Holy Spirit reminds you that you’re not your own, and that you are not shackled to serving your own agenda. Instead, you have been invited to walk in the Spirit and serve a better agenda that transcends the demands of your flesh. Although your feelings and inclinations in this moment are valid, they hold no grip on you. Your thoughts shift to what Jesus’ agenda may be for this day, for this social engagement. Maybe you’ll encounter someone who can’t see past a crippling burden in their life and needs hope. Maybe there’s a conversation God has ordained for you that will unlock the unfolding of His will in someone else’s life, and He has chosen you to set it into motion. Maybe someone there really needs to be seen and heard and loved. Maybe you’ll walk in and uncover an opportunity to serve someone or walk in your calling as salt or as light (Matthew 5:13-16).

As you pull into a parking space, you still feel nervous, but you notice that the sense of dread has tapered off. You ask the Lord for grace to bless others and be kingdom-minded in this window of time. You don’t have to walk into this function with dread masked by a smile. You don’t have to wish the minutes by. You have been freed from social anxiety. You’ve been given a better agenda. You are liberated to look for the spaces Jesus wants to touch and transform. You are freed to look outside of yourself and your proclivities. And the whipped cream on top? You know that when you leave, you can trust that your surrender will yield the sweet fruit of adopting His agenda instead of your own.

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“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17

We were saved for more than enjoying eternal security while we live in bondage to our flesh. We were saved for something more abundant. (John 10:10) We’ve been invited into honesty. Dependance. Grace. Freedom. Wholeness. Blessing. Life in His Kingdom. Praise the Lord, we are not our own.

And that’s really, really good news.

“If I can help even one person, I think it would be worth it all.”

In 2022, Kathy was prompted to reach out to FBC and share her personal story of adoption. Her heart behind it is summed up perfectly in her remark above - helping others. In recent years, Kathy has unfolded the intricate story of her biological family. Realizing the position her mother found herself in before giving birth, Kathy made it a personal life mission to love and help young girls who find themselves in a similar place. We were thrilled to share Kathy’s story in our services on Sanctity of Life Sunday (January 22). It’s an honor to help Kathy reach others with the beautiful testimony of what God has done, and of His sovereignty, love, and purpose for each human life. If you know someone who may be encouraged by it, please consider sharing!

During our conversation with her, Kathy shared two passages that the Lord has written on her heart during her journey:

Jeremiah 1:5a (NIV)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…”

Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV)

13 “For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.”

Faithful God,
Creator of time and seasons,
In Your generosity, You have brought us to the dawn of another autumn. (Genesis 1:14, Psalms 74:16-17, Psalms 104:19)

As we mark the sunset of summer,
Fill us with gratitude for the good things You’ve given us to enjoy in its warmth. (James 1:17)

In this season marked by renewed academic pursuits of many,
Invigorate us also to renew our desire to be students of Your Word. (Psalm 119:103, Colossians 3:16)

In the changing routines of our family or of those dear to us,
In the flurry of lunch packing, evening sporting events, and homework assignments,
Give us steadfast hearts stayed on You as we trust in You. (Isaiah 26:3-4, Hebrews 13:8)

As new settings provide fresh opportunities for interaction,
Let us make much of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5:14, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

In the challenges we will face in this season, both known and unknown,
We rest in this: each challenge is foreseen by You, and bends to Your good purposes.
In your kindness, our challenges in this season will make us more like Jesus. (Romans 8:28-29)

In Your love, expose the mirage of our own strength.
Let us instead thirst for Your grace and wisdom, which are generously supplied, should we ask. (1 Chronicles 16:11, Psalm 121:1-2, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 15:5, Hebrews 4:15-16, James 1:5)

Amidst all that will surely fill our days,
Let us seek first Your Kingdom,
And there find every need supplied. (Psalm 84:11, Matthew 6:33)

There’s a fierce pursuit and gritty determination that burns in the spirits of God’s men.

There’s a mounting hunger for the type of work that’s dangerous to the enemy.

There’s a source of delight far superior to the fleeting comforts of ease and passivity.

There’s a steady strength unlocked by the exchange of self-reliance for God-dependence.  

There’s a vigilant loyalty to honor the lowly and protect the vulnerable.

And there’s an identity-forged confidence that’s unafraid to display tenderness, understanding that the Lion was also the Lamb.

The spirit in a man of God is to be prized and honored.

So, this Father’s Day, we rise up and we bless you, men. We bless you for the virtues this world disparages as cheap. We bless you for patterning your life after your older brother Jesus, while you lead others to do the same (Hebrews 2:11). A company of brothers has gone before - a company of the redeemed. May their legacy infuse your steps with strength as you pass down the heritage of biblical manhood to future generations.

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May you comprehend as tangibly as Adam, that you were made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:26)

May you lead as a man who walks with God like Enoch. (Genesis 5:24)

May you be found righteous like Noah, though the whole world rejects God. (Genesis 6:5-9)

May you, like Job, choose to bless the Lord in the middle of your affliction. (Job 1:21-22)

May you, like Abraham, let nothing cause you to waver concerning God’s promise. (Romans 4:20-21)

May your life, as Isaac’s, stand as living proof that God fulfills His word. (Genesis 21:1-2)

May you walk in the sovereign & undeserved blessing of God, like Jacob. (Genesis 35:9-12)

May you, with Joseph, witness God take what the enemy intended for evil and use it for good. (Genesis 50:20)

In the way of Moses, may your acts of obedience result in miraculous deliverance. (Exodus 3:10)

With the zeal of Joshua, may your knowledge of God’s presence vanquish fear and fortify you for battle. (Joshua 1:9)

May you join Caleb in history as a man with a different spirit, who followed the Lord fully. (Numbers 14:24)

May you walk in purpose with the valor God supplies, just as He bestowed to Gideon. (Judges 6:12)

May you determine with Samson that your strength comes from the Lord. (Judges 16:28-30)

May God use you, as He did Boaz, to epitomize His nature to protect, provide, and redeem. (Ruth 2:8-9, 3:9)

May you say often, with Samuel: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10)

May you, like David, chase the heart of God in the seasons of your exaltation, desperation, repentance, and redemption. (Psalm 63:1)

May you, conclude with Solomon, that God alone can satisfy. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

May you share, with Elijah, a singular and consuming desire for the glory of God. (1 Kings 18:36-37)

May you, like Elisha, yearn for a double portion of the spiritual zeal of your fathers in the faith. (2 Kings 2:9)

May you share Hosea’s profound certainty of God’s faithfulness to an unfaithful people. (Hosea 2:23)

Like Isaiah, may you spend your life stirring up the hope of God in the hearts of weary people. (Isaiah 40:31)

May you carry on Hezekiah’s legacy to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. (2 Kings 18:5)

May you stand with Josiah to read the words of God to the people He has entrusted to you. (2 Kings 23:1-3)

May God fortify you as an iron wall amidst opposition, just like Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 1:18)

May the sum of your life experience match the testimony of Daniel: God doesn’t abandon His own. (Daniel 6:21-22)

May you see yourself in Mordecai, whose influence God used to preserve His people. (Esther 4:12-14)

May you, shoulder to shoulder with Nehemiah, build your portion of the kingdom of God. (Nehemiah 2:17-18)

Like Joseph of Nazareth, may you trust God to do the unimaginable. (Matthew 1:20-25)

May you share in the joy of John the Baptist as your decrease becomes Jesus’ increase. (John 3:28-30)

May you live in the uncommon humility and honesty of an unnamed father who confessed, “I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

May your allegiance to Christ echo down through future generations with the words of Peter: “Where else would we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68-69)

May your most treasured identity mirror John’s as a disciple whom Jesus loves. (John 13:23)

Like Stephen, may you live your life full of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 7:55)

May you proclaim from the mountaintops with Paul that God can use anyone. (1 Timothy 1:12-17)

May you, with Timothy, be known for your genuine faith. (2 Timothy 1:5)

And may you, with Jude, become a living doxology, ever pointing to “the One who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.” (Jude 24-25)

Amen.

Last summer, I went to war in my backyard. The “front lines” were situated around a mulberry tree and some purple irises that blanket the grass around it. My enemy? Poison Ivy. Somehow, it had managed to wind its way under, over, and throughout the tree, iris leaves, and a nearby fence. It would multiply itself weekly. For a while, I tried treating it with a DIY Pinterest concoction. Sure enough, the leaves shriveled up, but never for long. After several topical attempts, I got serious. Someone with a greener thumb than I have told me it propagates itself with vines that grow underground, and the only way to truly eliminate it is to dig it out.

So, covered from head to toe and armed with double layers of protective gloves, I set out. I started with the sinister trios closest to me, wedging my fingers underneath to find their roots, without success; the tips of the vines were too young and too fragile to pull on without breaking. In frustration, I broke off all the leaves I could see – a far cry from a lasting solution. After regrouping, I tried to locate some of the vines closer to the base of the tree. There they lay, tangled and matted together in what seemed like an impenetrable above-ground network of burgundy cords. I started yanking on the vines until, drenched in sweat, muscles trembling, and mulberries embedded in my hair, I had filled up a garbage can of my leafy opponents.

I made a good dent in the poison ivy that day, but more rewarding than the blow I dealt it was the lesson God taught me along the way. The process became such a spiritual metaphor. As I took hold of those crimson roots and pulled, I watched what had been hidden under the surface of the ground become visible. My eyes traced the vine, leaf by leaf, as it sprung out of the earth, eventually dislodging the tip, until I held the entire strand in my (thoroughly gloved) hand. This method proved far more effective than merely plucking at the leaves in plain sight.

It dawned on me that the sin in our lives develops very much the same way. It thrives just under the surface. Its visible evidence springs up in our actions, tracing direct, underground lines all the way to the source. Scripture teaches that sin’s roots can be found in the heart – the command center of our lives – the very core of our thoughts, will, and emotions. The roots run deep. James 4:1 tells us that our passions are literally at war within us. We know the dangers of letting these vines grow unchecked. Sin not only poisons our own environment and chokes out our capacity to thrive in the space God has given us, but it poses a dangerous threat to those we invite into the environment of our lives. John Owen puts it this way: “Be Killing Sin, or Sin will be Killing You.”

So, with good intentions, we set out to remove it. If we’re overly ambitious, we even dare to pluck every visible “leaf” we can see. Things look better in the yard – at least for a few days. We’re disheartened, though, when we return to find the same sinful patterns growing even faster where we had labored before.

The truth is that we won’t make much lasting progress with behavioral modification alone.

It is in grasping the roots and digging them out that we find victory over the obstinate, insidious sin patterns in our hearts. It’s not easy. It’s messy and sweaty and frustrating and makes your spiritual muscles shake and you might find mulberries in your hair. We’re often not prepared for the grittiness and the strain that fighting sin involves. John Owen describes our tendency to underestimate the challenge:

“Men look upon it as an easy task and as that which will be carried on with a little diligence and ordinary attendance. But do we think it is for nothing that the Holy Spirit expresses the duty of opposing sin and weakening its power by mortification, killing or putting to death?...Everything will do its utmost to preserve its life and being. So will sin too; and if it is not constantly pursued with diligence and holy violence, it will escape our assaults. Let no man think he can kill sin with few, easy or gentle strokes.”

This realization humbles us. We quickly realize we are unevenly matched for both the volume of the earth, the complexity of the root system, and the tenacious hold it has on the soil. I love the way theologian J.C. Ryle describes this tension:

So deeply planted are the roots of human corruption, that even after we are born again, renewed, “washed, sanctified, justified,” and made living members of Christ, these roots remain alive in the bottom of our hearts, and, like the leprosy in the walls of the house, we never get rid of them until the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved. Sin, no doubt, in the believer’s heart, has no longer dominion. It is checked, controlled, mortified, and crucified by the expulsive power of the new principle of grace. The life of a believer is a life of victory, and not of failure. But the very struggles which go on within his bosom, the fight that he finds it needful to fight daily, the watchful jealousy which he is obliged to exercise over his inner man, the contest between the flesh and the spirit, the inward “groanings” which no one knows but he who has experienced them – all, all testify to the same great truth, all show the enormous power and vitality of sin. Mighty indeed must that foe be who even when crucified is still alive!”

 
As I followed the vines to their origin that day in the yard, I eventually landed on the root bundle about a foot underground. The main vine was as thick as a tree limb. Even with a shovel, I needed help to dislodge it.

This reveals another crucial spiritual truth:

Fighting our sin involves extreme personal dedication, but we cannot do it in our own power.

Paul, in Romans 7, gives a pretty vulnerable account of his struggle with sin:

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Romans 7:15,18)

Our hope of victory over the twisting roots of sin does not come from our efforts alone. We don’t have what it takes. This is where the precious Word of God meets us with a GLORIOUS and HOPEFUL reality:

• “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

• “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

• “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live…” (Romans 8:13)
  

God alone is able to fully uproot sin in our hearts, and He has CHOSEN TO DO IT IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR SPIRITUAL COMMUNITIES.

God has not only given His power, but has also given us unsearchable resources for the task – one of which is each other.

We put a high value on Biblical Counseling and the community provided by Life Groups at FBC because they allows us to partner together to do the hard work of uprooting sin in our lives with the strength that God supplies. Where simply plucking the leaves hasn’t been successful, we dig out the roots, shoulder to shoulder. As a tool, He has given us His Word, which alone is able to unearth the poisonous roots of sin below the surface. Behavioral modification might remove the visible shoots, but God’s Word plumbs the depths of what is hidden from plain sight:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

This is hard work. Messy and painful work. But it works. And it’s pretty amazing to watch as the Holy Spirit uproots a string of frustrating sin patterns that have always seemed impossible to kill. True Christian community is committed to the gritty work of laying hold of those vines and dealing with their roots. And freedom is found as sinister, crimson-tipped leaves fly upward.

There are still occasional and stubborn poison ivy remnants under the mulberry tree in our yard. I’ve learned that it’s a process that takes diligent and ruthless attention – the “holy violence” John Owen described. And on a heart level, it’s a process that won’t be finished until Heaven, when the Master Gardener perfects the soil of my heart once and for all. Until then, I’ll keep doing battle with the sin in my heart as God reveals it to me, in the context of the community He has given. 

And by His grace and because of the gospel, I can confidently echo Paul’s words:

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  Philippians 1:6

Alaina Roberts is the Administrative Assistant for FBC’s Worship Ministry. She is passionate about the importance of speaking truth, and she loves expressing that through worship leading and writing. She’s happiest when taking adventures with her husband Josh, or when she has a cup of coffee in hand. (Real mug, preferably.)

Today we’re sharing a worship playlist we’ve designed especially to complement this year’s Good Friday & Easter theme at FBC: “No Greater Love”. The songs in this playlist were selected because they beckon us back to the depth of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross, the soaring heights of His resurrection victory, and unrivaled love that motivated it all. Before you explore the playlist, here are a few bonus thoughts for reflection:

How can a worship PLAYLIST prime my heart for Easter?

This kind of question begs a deeper question that’s really healthy for us to mull over: “How does worship music affect my heart?” (Really…when you strip away the “Christianese” answer, What does it actually do?) Here are a few thoughts from other worshipers that can inform us:

1. WORSHIP PREPARES US TO WORSHIP.

We talk often about how worship is designed to be an overflow that springs from personal solitude with the Lord. Scottish Minister Alexander Maclaren wrote, “Fruitful and acceptable worship begins before it begins.” Much more recently, Worship Leader Andi Rozier said it this way: “The secret to worship is to worship in secret.”

The idea is that worship isn’t reserved only for corporate gatherings. Rather, it’s a lifestyle that continuously fuels and refuels the worshiper - each moment with the Lord priming and exciting the heart for the next.

2. WORSHIP IS COGNITIVE.

Pastor J.D. Greear tells us something we can ALL relate to: “Music gets lodged in your mind. It bounces around your head when you aren’t even thinking about it. In short, it sticks.” Sometimes we wish this reality had an “on/off” switch, right?!

It turns out that this pattern has biological backing. Author and Speaker Jen Wilkin explains:

“…Neuroscience backs this up. Pairing information with music helps our hippocampus retrieve that information with ease. Music is a powerful teaching tool, and before the discipline of neuroscience existed, the followers of Yahweh employed that tool.

Miriam’s Song of the Sea in Exodus 15 was composed to stamp the memory of God’s transcendence onto his people’s consciousness. The 150 psalms, whose words by themselves are perfectly potent, were written to be sung. The children of God understood their need to be reminded by sacred words set to melodies. After all, ours is a long history of forgetting and being summoned back to remembrance. Music plus words equals recall.”

3. WORSHIP IS EMOTIONAL.

Author and Pastor Bob Kauflin adds another layer:

“Music is capable of moving us in subtle and profound ways — in anticipated and unexpected ways — with or without words…Whatever the reasons, music can come alongside words and heighten their emotional impact in a way we may not have perceived with words alone. That has a number of advantages. First, singing can help us take more time to reflect on the meaning of words. It can stretch out words and phrases. It can allow us to repeat them or put space in between words. All these qualities can help us engage emotionally with the words we’re singing.”

While worship is far more encompassing than emotions, worship does include emotions. Listening to and singing worship music as part of the rhythms of our daily life helps us to bring our emotions into alignment with the truth.

4. WORSHIP IS SPIRITUAL.

Author Mike Harland combines the cognitive and emotional effects of worship on our souls and very lives:

“The correlation between how people think and what they sing is astounding to examine. In medical and scientific communities, much has been learned about the links between music, memory, attitude, and emotion. Unique in God’s creation, people are wired to create melody and rhythm and link them to thought and reason. And when those come together, something amazing happens to the soul of mankind. We are moved to action and stirred to response…

…The songs our people sing become the prayers our people will pray in their moments of deepest crisis. The expression of worship from the heart of God’s people turns into songs of worship sung in the congregation, in the waiting room of a hospital, and yes, even at the bedside of a soldier going home to be with the Lord…God gave us the gift of music. And with it, we can inform and inspire. We can take truths about God that transform hearts and lock those truths into our souls by singing them back and forth over each other.”

IN SUMMARY

Singing songs that echo God’s Word stirs our souls. The lyrics follow us into the furthest corners of our lives. One final thought from Charles Spurgeon articulates this beautifully:

“It is marvellous, brethren, how one sweet word of God will make many songs for Christians. One word of God is like a piece of gold, and the Christian is the gold-beater, and he can hammer that promise out for whole weeks. I can say myself, I have lived on one promise for weeks, and wanted no other. I had just simply to hammer the promise out into gold-leaf, and plate my whole existence with joy from it. The Christian gets his songs from God; God gives him inspiration, and teaches him how to sing: ‘God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night.’”

“Keep your mouth full of songs, and you will often keep your heart full of praises…”

— Charles Spurgeon

If you’ve done a significant amount of painting in your home, you know the value of a good coat of primer. While it can seem tedious, it’s a step that maximizes and enhances the final coat. It’s a foundation for the intended color that defines a space.

In our frenetic western culture, approaching a significant day on the church calendar can feel a lot like a hurried paint job. Our lives are buzzing with endless activity, and by the time we’re gathered together to observe it, we feel a disintegration between our lives and what we’re gathered to celebrate. Have you sensed this before? An awareness as you sit in the pew that there’s been no time to truly reflect on what this event means until this moment? A sense of urgency to remember how it’s supposed to make a difference in your life somehow? We can all relate.

We’re distracted, with “lots of irons in the fire”, and we’re spread thin. Sometimes, we’re spread too thin to experience the fullness of what is available to us if we could slow down and spend a few intentional moments focusing on these monuments of our faith.

As we approach Good Friday and Easter this year, we’re excited to share a few resources that are designed to act as a “primer” for our hearts as we prepare to meditate on the depths of God’s love demonstrated for us in the events of Good Friday and Easter. You can reclaim a few moments here or there to lay a foundation so that, later this month, you can sense the vibrancy of all that God has invited us to celebrate. Let’s not just fly by Easter as another Sunday in April. May it redefine the space of our hearts once again.

PRIME YOUR HEART FOR EASTER: AGAPE LOVE

This year’s Good Friday and Easter services at FBC will focus in on the scriptural idea of “No Greater Love”. The Greek word for the love that motivated God to extend salvation to us is “agape”. In order to see what’s unique about this specific meaning of “love”, we found this video by the team at The Bible Project super helpful:

John MacArthur defines agape love this way:

”Agape is the love that gives. There’s no taking involved. It is completely unselfish. It seeks the highest good for another no matter what the cost, demonstrated supremely by Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.”

Similarly, author Sam Storms offers this description:

“The preeminent expression of love is when the lover, at great personal cost, gives or imparts to the beloved the most enthralling, beautiful, and eternally satisfying experience possible. The latter, of course, would be the knowledge and enjoyment of God himself.”

This is the love of God. As His children, we find ourselves on the receiving end of a love that knows no bounds. The word “love” is such a casual term in our everyday experience; it’s good for us to be drawn back to the depth and unique richness of God’s agape love.

John Piper clarifies our concept of agape love by describing it as “love of benevolence”:

“…What I have found most helpful is to divide love into two categories. I got this first from Jonathan Edwards, but it goes way back before him. He divides love into “love of complacency” and “love of benevolence”.

Complacency would be, “I love pizza.” In other words, “I find myself pleased by the qualities I find in pizza — namely, its taste.” That would be love of complacency. Or you might love a place or a country or lots of things. You could say you love them because they are lovely. They are pleasing to you.

Whereas, the love of benevolence is not based on the loveliness of the object of the love, but rather your good will — benevolence — your good will toward the person or the thing that you are loving. Your aim in that kind of love is to do good, to bring about something beautiful, not respond to beauty.”

PERSONAL REFLECTION

With this understanding of agape love as a backdrop, let the following passages sink into your mind and heart. We’ve indicated where each passage uses the English translation of the Greek word “agape”. As you read, remind your own heart that you have been shown love in a way that’s wildly foreign to our culture. You have been shown a love that’s pure from even a hint of manipulation. A love that isn’t stained with sinful selfishness. A love that wasn’t caused by anything you did to secure it. A love that is genuinely “for you” more deeply than you can fathom, yet isn’t about you. A love that transforms you from the inside out. A love that doesn’t start with you, but that doesn’t stop with you either - flowing abundantly from the heart of God and cascading through you onto others. (Romans 5:5, 1 John 4:7-8)

John 3:16 (NIV)

“For God so loved (agapaō) the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8 (NIV)

But God demonstrates his own love (agapē) for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:9-10 (NIV)

This is how God showed his love (agapē) among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved (agapaō) us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved (agapaō) me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)

But because of his great love (agapē) for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved (agapaō) us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

How do we respond to a love like this? Charles Wesley put it so well:

And can it be that I should gain
An int'rest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

“How can it be?”…is right. As we set our hearts to reflect on this love that has no rival, may we rest in the wonder that we are the recipients of boundless grace, and that we have been invited to freely share it with everyone we encounter today.

It can seem difficult to find peace in our current cultural landscape (let alone our global one). Maybe you can relate. Our hearts break as we read headlines and scroll through social media feeds – and even these glimpses convey only a fraction of the turmoil present in human experience. The following meditation is shared with us by FBC’s Production Director, Josh Roberts. It’s a collection of his thoughts shaped by a recent experience in prayer while gathered with other believers. Our prayer is that you’re able to slow down and let this reality profoundly comfort you: “There’s Peace in the Throne Room.”

Revelation 4: The King of the Throne Room

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures… And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
 who was and is and is to come!”

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

Hebrews 4: Access to the Throne Room

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Philippians 4: Peace in the Throne Room

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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“Throne Room.”
Merriam-Webster says it’s “a formal audience room containing the throne of a sovereign”.
For us, it’s the presence of God.
It’s a place of honor.
In the Old Testament, it was the Holy of Holies.
Only the High Priest could enter in, once a year.
In the New Testament, Christ became our perfect High Priest,
tearing the veil so that we could enter in -
so that we could confidently
“draw near to the throne of grace”,
and “find grace to help in time of need”.

Because of Christ,
There’s not only reverance in the throne room;
there’s peace in the throne room.

There’s peace because, in Christ,
you’re not an intruder.
You’ve been welcomed in.
You have an audience with the King.
You’re not just venting to someone over coffee;
you’re speaking with the King of the Universe,
the One who alone is in control,
the One who can affect change.
(John 10:9, John 14:6, Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 2:18, Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 10:19, Hebrews 6:19-20)

There’s peace because, in Christ,
the King is also your Father.
There’s peace because, even though storms rage outside,
Dad’s at home. He knows what to do.
You are safe with Him.
(Isaiah 43:1-2, Mark 4:39, Psalm 62:7-8, Isaiah 41:10)

There’s peace because, in Christ,
peace is not dependent on the outcome.
Even when the answer is “no”,
He is looking out for you.
He knows what’s best.
He’s going to do what brings Him glory.
He’s going to work in your best interest.
(Philippians 4:11-13, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-8, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 145:17)

There’s peace because, in Christ,
whether or not your circumstances are shifted,
your perspective is.
Your eyes are fixed on the One in the seat of honor and holiness.
Your problems shrink smaller in comparison to Him.
(Psalm 27:4-5, Psalm 46:1-3)

There’s peace because, in Christ,
the throne room becomes a place where your worries can go to die.
It’s a place where you concentrate the same energies
that you did in anxiety or fear,
on making your requests known to God.
It’s dwelling there.
It’s lingering there.
And somewhere in that communion,
peace comes to life in the space where worry had been before.
(Philippians 4:4-7, Isaiah 26:3)

There’s peace because, in Christ,
you’ve been invited to cast your cares upon Another.
You’ve been invited to trade a heavy burden for an easy yoke.
You’ve been invited to let your Shepherd share your load.
You’re not carrying it alone.
(Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:28-29)

There’s peace because, in Christ,
the throne room is always available to you.
And entering isn’t limited to spoken prayer.
Communion is a frame of mind.
(John 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:31)

There’s peace because, in Christ,
we have been invited into relationship with the Sovereign King
who alone is in control, and who works all things out for the good of those who love Him.
(Romans 5:2, Romans 8:28-29)

JOSH ROBERTS | PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Josh Roberts is FBC’s Production Director. His passion at FBC is to lead his team in developing dynamic, creative environments where God is magnified, where people meet with Him, and where The Gospel is communicated without distraction. He would tell you that although he loves the technical world, at the end of the day, Production ministry is all about loving people by helping them encounter our truly glorious God.  

When he’s not in the booth mixing audio, you can find him scouting out the best barbeque around, hiking, disc golfing, or drinking coffee with his wife.

Over the last few Sunday mornings, we’ve touched on just how important it is to be a people that actively remembers. The break-neck speed of western culture, our growing instinct to “scroll” or “swipe” through new content as the old slips into the archives of the digital cloud, and even some political influences, are collectively lulling our memories to sleep. We’re not a culture that “calls things to mind” often. We’d rather race forward toward the next innovation, trend, life stage, etc. All the while, our diligence to do the sometimes mundane work of “remembering” starts to atrophy.

What is so important, then, for us to remember? It’s the soul-memory of what God has done that we’re getting at in this post. Scripture is drenched with the importance of this kind of remembering. Whether it seems like a game-changer or not, incorporating this discipline into your life can tether your heart to the Lord in ways that are proven over and over in His Word.

REMEMBER GOD’S PAST FAITHFULNESS

Scripture abounds with language like this:

Psalm 77:11-15
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah”

and…

Psalm 111:2-4
”Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful.”

God’s desire is for us to remember His works - what He has done. But it’s so much more than a textbook-style acknowledgement of these acts. When we “ponder”, “meditate”, and “study” what God has done, we trace the works of His hand back to the nature of His heart, where we find endless holiness, power, majesty, grace, and mercy. And once there, what else can we do but worship? This kind of remembering renews our intimacy with God.

Deuteronomy 4:9
“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children…”

Jewish culture in Biblical days placed a huge value on verbally teaching history and customs in the context of the family unit. The generation of grandparents and parents diligently reclaimed moments within the routines of daily life to tell stories and testimonies of what they had seen God do, and what their ancestors had seen God do. They set up altars and celebrated feasts and festivals and observed traditions where tangible object lessons and rituals engaged all of their senses in this sacred work of remembering.

The younger generation also had a responsibility in this; from early childhood, they received the teaching and learned about the God who had been faithful to their ancestors, metaphorically taking the baton to carry on to the next generation:

Deuteronomy 32:7
”Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.”

PRACTICAL POSSIBILITIES

Although we don’t share the same culture and customs in our context, we are still called to practice the Biblical mandate to “remember”. Here are a few possibilities for what this could look like in your family:

• Tell and hear the stories. Grandparents and parents, tell your stories of God’s faithfulness to your children. Children, ask your parents and grandparents to tell them. Some of our grandparents, aunts, and uncles lived through wars, national crises, and family tragedies. Next time you find yourself at a family gathering, ask them about the ways they saw God’s faithfulness carry them through.

• Document God’s faithfulness in your home. Keep a jar and add slips of paper as tangible evidences of God’s faithfulness as you observe it, and then read them on New Year’s Eve. Carve out a couple of minutes at the dinner table to talk about the great things God did that day. Whatever it looks like, embrace the discipline of remembering.

• Read missionary biographies & autobiographies. This is an incredible opportunity to see God’s hand at work in prior eras in history and in foreign contexts.

• Study the history of the early church. God has preserved and delivered His people and His Word through seasons of intense persecution and trial.

Remember what He’s delivered you from

Old Testament saints were quick to remember God’s deliverance from bondage to slavery in Egypt:

Deuteronomy 5:15
You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

Each of us have stories of deliverance. Every believer has been delivered from the bondage of slavery to sin.

Romans 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

We could fill books with stories of God’s deliverance from depression, disease, anxiety, tragedy, addiction, abuse, mental illness, deep disappointments, and even complacency.

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). He drew us up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set our feet upon a rock, making our steps secure (Psalm 40:2). He made us alive together with Christ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 5:5-6). He forgives our iniquity, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with steadfast love and mercy, and satisfies us with good, so that our youth is renewed (Psalm 103:3-5).

He has and still is delivering us from even that which we don’t know! The psalms tell us that He is our hiding place, preserving us from trouble, surrounding us with shouts of deliverance, keeping our soul among the living, and not letting our feet slip (Psalm 32:7, 66:9). Knowing our own weaknesses, temptations, and the proclivities deep in our hearts, where would we be apart from the mercy of God?

PRACTICAL POSSIBILITIES

• Journal it out. Find 10 minutes today, and intentionally remember what He has delivered you from. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, start with remembering how He delivered you from living for yourself (2 Corinthians 5:15). Explore the other bonds He has broken in your life since then.

• Tell someone. A personal testimony is simply telling what God has done for you.
  

REMEMBER HOW HE SATISFIES YOUR SOUL

Every instance of sin in our lives reveals that we’ve forgotten God. Our hearts have lapsed, and for a moment, we’ve suppressed the knowledge that God is more satisfying than any hollow offering of sin. Author Jackie Hill Perry describes that first instance in the Garden of Eden: “…Eve bypassed her Creator’s sufficiency and wanted to be satisfied apart from him.” When we bypass the knowledge of God’s sufficiency for our souls, we seek satisfaction apart from Him, which always leads to sin. If we reverse the logic, we realize that the work of remembering God’s sufficiency to satisfy our souls circumvents us from searching elsewhere, and sinning. This work of remembering is more important than we may realize.

Biblical authors cry out with testimonies of God’s ability to satisfy the soul completely:

• “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

• “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” (Isaiah 58:11)

• “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)

Our hearts need continual reminding that the best times, are the times we spend in God’s presence. May we say with the Psalmist, “But for me it is good to be near God” (Psalm 73:28a).

PRACTICAL POSSIBILITIES

• Make a list. Call to mind the specific moments where God has filled your soul to the brim and overflowing. Whether it was a worship experience, a moment outside as you drank in His creation, an instance where He made a passage of the Bible come alive in a new way, a time spent with Him in prayer, or a breakthrough moment He gave you. Remember how good it is to be near Him.

• Make small trades. In the moments you are tempted to fill your soul with entertainment, social media, or distractions, make a trade and choose something that will center your heart on God. Turn on a podcast, listen to scripture, read a book, talk with Him, or take a walk. Do the thing that brings you closer to His heart. You’ll be reminded all over again that He alone can satisfy your soul.

We asked our pastoral team which books they not only enjoyed reading in 2021, but which ones especially stirred their affections for Christ. (We asked them for one or two titles each, but this team LOVES to read, and you got some bonus recommendations!) To learn more or find a copy for yourself, click on the cover images.

ERIC SHELNER | TOP READS

LEAD

DARK CLOUDS, DEEP MERCY

THE GOSPEL FOR REAL LIFE

A GOSPEL PRIMER

PHIL BYARS | TOP READS

THROUGH THE EYES OF A LION

KINGDOM MAN

PROPHECY PROS' ILLUSTRATED GUIDE

MATT COX | TOP READS

HOW TO WORSHIP A KING

FRESH WIND, FRESH FIRE

THE BLESSED LIFE

AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE

THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE

SEAN FOX | TOP READS

GENTLE AND LOWLY

THOUGHTS FOR YOUNG MEN

JEFF ZIMONT | TOP READS

THE TRAVELER'S GIFT

SIMPLE CHURCH

THE LAST MAN AT THE INN

THE VISION DRIVEN LEADER

We pray these written resources nudge your mind and heart even closer to the Savior, as they have for our team!

“Looking back now, it’s easy to dissect what happened. We were naive. We weren’t sitting up at night thinking ‘something’s wrong here.’ It was just normal - you use a credit card; you go out to eat. It wasn’t even a second thought.” - Patrick and Kellie Fox 

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We’re really grateful to bring you a conversation we shared with Patrick and Kellie Fox focused on the “how” of giving. Around the family table in their home, we listened as they shared their personal journey with finances and generosity. Our prayer is that this post invites you into the room to catch a glimpse of how intention serves generosity in a real-life context. 

STARTING OUT 

Patrick and Kellie candidly described the first several years of their lives as newlyweds, fresh out of college: “If you look back at that time in our life, we had money, but if you would have known what was going on behind the scenes, you would be saying, ‘Where’d all your money go?’” They recounted the metaphorical burden that they carried during that season - a building sense of financial stress that grew bigger with time. “It’s unnerving to live like that,” they reflected. 

The introduction of Financial Peace University (FPU) came as part of a bigger move of God’s hand in Patrick and Kellies’ journey. Our God doesn’t touch only isolated “compartments” of our lives. Instead, He transforms us by the renewal of our minds. In a holistic, sweeping act of grace, He changes us at a heart-level, affecting the way we interpret every area of life. Romans 12:2 implies that this kind of renewal is the very agent that allows us to resist conforming to the world and its norms - including the financial ones.

Romans 12:2 (NLT)
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

“Certain people came into our lives,” Patrick and Kellie recalled, “and God worked on our hearts in MANY areas, not just finances. Whatever you do with your finances is just a reflection of what’s going on in your heart.” Together, they read one of Dave Ramsey’s books and started grappling with hard questions like, “Whose money is it?” and, “What are we really entitled to?” God was at work.

ENTER: FPU

A short time later, Financial Peace University was offered as a class at FBC. Patrick and Kellie dove in fully and described their experience as if the blinders came off. The practice of building monthly budgets and telling money where to go, rather than allowing impulse purchases to dictate, was the factor that unlocked the financial transformation they experienced. But far from merely changing their habits, they aligned their priorities with God’s Word until their budget reflected it. Looking back, their monthly budgets became a visual reflection of their changing spiritual priorities. They started seeing heart change on a spreadsheet.

Working through the Financial Peace University process wasn’t a quick fix. It took time and gritty effort. Kellie remembers making rice and beans for dinner - a lot. But as they kept at it, they started to see the return. As they paid off debt, God gave them timely opportunities to take on new callings made possible because of the financial freedom they had gained.

SINCE THEN

Ever since the class, Patrick and Kellie have been budgeting each month and carrying principles from FPU into the rhythms of their family’s life. Their kids know words like “budget”, “savings”, and “interest”. They each have personal savings accounts with Dad as the banker. (He’s offering a pretty great interest rate on their savings accounts!) They’re growing up seeing Mom and Dad sit down and plan a budget on the first Saturday of the month. And they’re being actively challenged and encouraged to be generous in their own contexts with the resources of time and energy that they’ve been given.

Patrick and Kellie have seen the transformation in their lives that started with a shifting of priorities in their hearts and worked itself out practically in zero-dollar based budgeting, among other habits. They’ve had the pleasure of teaching several FPU classes and are passionate about sharing what they’ve learned with others. And they’ve observed that intentionality paves the way for generosity. “Giving, for us, is one of the keys,” they reflected. “If you were to look at our life from when we first got married to now, you would see an almost parallel trend of increased giving to increased serving to increased blessing. It’s a privilege to be able to take the time and talents and treasures that God’s given us and to release those and to share that grace. That’s humbling, as it should be. I don’t think you’ll ever have more fun than giving money away.”

FREEDOM IS BIGGER THAN WE THINK

“The goal of the “American Dream” is SELF, but the end goal of God’s idea of financial peace is that we would be all about God and His kingdom. When you’re financially free, you can do so much more than write a check,” they explained.

There is a kind of freedom God wants to give His children that is far deeper than freedom from debt. 

“You can afford to either send somebody to Africa, or go yourself,” Patrick continued. “And maybe, you can retire a little bit early and invest in Kingdom things that you weren’t able to do when you worked full time.” 

Financial freedom maximizes our ability to further the Kingdom. That kind of reasoning as a catalyst for financial change is sturdy enough to withstand the growing pains of adapting to new budgeting habits. That kind of reasoning is backed by Romans 12:2. When we see finances with a Biblical lens, the way we manage our resources becomes yet one more way that we can make much of Jesus Christ and share His hope and love with our world. Kellie described it so well: “You can set yourself up through FPU so that you can have peace about giving and have the ability to do it. Your hands aren’t tied by other things.”

FPU THIS FALL

We’re thrilled to routinely offer Financial Peace University at FBC, but we don’t offer it so that more families at our church can become glittering examples of achieving financial stability. We offer it as another means to equip families to love God, love people, and influence our world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, with greater freedom. Like Patrick and Kellie experienced, we believe God is orchestrating some kingdom opportunities in the lives of FBC families that will be unlocked by financial peace. 

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To be one of the first to know when we will offer the next FPU class, and to learn about other opportunities at FBC, keep an eye on the MY FBC page of our website, and connect with us on social media!

Patrick and Kellie Fox have a deep love for Christ’s church and have invested their hearts in the weekly rhythms at First Baptist. Along with their 3 boys, they’re building an active and vibrant life, full of family time, adventures with close friends, playing sports, and enjoying northern Indiana. 

1 Thessalonians 2:8
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”

We know Paul’s affection for the Thessalonian church ran deep. He LIVED to bring others the message that had so deeply transformed him. He brought that message to a city named Philippi, but was imprisoned and later thrown out of the city. Desperate to keep sharing, Paul walked 94 miles east through Greece until he reached Thessalonica. Can you imagine the thoughts that flooded his mind as he walked? The conversations he had with God?  

Can you imagine the tears that likely filled his eyes when the people he found in Thessalonica received the gospel with sincerity (1 Thess. 1:5)? This time, Paul stayed in the city for weeks, teaching the new believers and kindling the flames of a first-generation church (Acts 17:2). When Paul later reflected on that time with them, he remembered being delighted at the chance to share the gospel. But he also remembered another layer of delight – the joy of sharing his life with them.

Maybe one day in Heaven, we can ask Paul about the moments that flickered across his mind when he wrote this down. Did he recount moments of patient reasoning in the Jewish synagogue? Or looking into the Thessalonians’ eyes and describing the love that led Jesus to the cross? Maybe sharing life looked like the meals he enjoyed in the homes of these new believers, trying the Greek food they fixed for him. Was there Tzatziki sauce back then? Maybe he remembered meeting little ones who tugged on his hand and begged him to let them show him around their town. Maybe he told them about meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. Maybe he just took it all in – letting these new spiritual brothers and sisters introduce him to their bustling, commerce-driven seaside culture. Those who were strangers only days before suddenly shared the most important thing in common – belonging to Jesus. And Paul got to spend time with them exploring what it would now look like to carry this new identity into their everyday lives - what it would look like to build the church. He shared his life with them.

What does it mean to share life today? If all the formalities and expectations of what “community” is supposed to look like were stripped away, what would be left? Hopefully, you’ve experienced it. If you want to know who you truly share life with, just ask yourself:

• Who are the first handful of people you share news with?

• Who do you call when you’re desperate to make sense of what’s happening in your life?

• When you need help with a project, who do you ask without feeling awkward?

• When you have an abundance of something good, who do you want to share it with?

• Which relationships in your life are sturdy enough to support more than small talk?

• Who would you drop everything for if they were in need?

Do you share life in Life Group? It’s all too easy to abandon the pursuit of life-sharing for fear we don’t have enough in common to experience real camaraderie. But because we belong to Jesus, we have the most important thing in common - regardless of the diversities in age, ethnicity, education, sports team loyalties, occupation, income, political affiliation, or music preferences.

A shared identity in Christ provides a deeper and more relevant platform for relationship than any other kind of solidarity.

With that understanding, Life Group becomes a context not only to meet together once a week, but to truly share life in the way that brought such joy to Paul in Thessalonica. Life Group becomes a celebration of our shared love of Jesus set against a vibrant patchwork backdrop of dynamic life experiences and personalities (complete with all of our personality quirks!). A group of wildly distinct people curiously united by their common love for Christ makes our world do a double-take. It’s the beauty of the gospel.

So, in the name of the beautiful and awkward and 1,000% worthwhile pursuit of life-sharing, here are 10 practical ways to actually share life in your Life Group this year:

1. Small but Mighty

   Don’t underestimate the power of a quick text or call to check in with someone in your Life Group. “Hey, just wanted you to know you’ve been prayed for today. Care about you.”

2. Wanna Join?

   Let’s say your family is grabbing ice cream on Friday night. In the spirit of spontaneity, check with someone in your Life Group who lives on that side of town to meet you there and share in the simple stuff. Relationships are formed over hundreds of small shared experiences.

3. Read Something

   Ask the girls or guys in your group if they want to read 1 book together over the next few months – 1 chapter a week. The time you dialogue with each other could be as simple as 1 takeaway each on a group text or a quick meet up for coffee. (P.S. You don’t need to be a Life Group Leader or Assistant to instigate something like this!)

4. Keep Praying

   Find a creative way to share prayer requests with your group. Group texts and Facebook groups are great, but the sky’s the limit here. Have the girls and guys find prayer partners of the same gender within your group to follow up with each week. Each night when your family prays for dinner, pick out one individual or family from your Life Group to pray for specifically. Don’t forget to follow up and ask about the requests that have been shared.

5. Share a Skill

   Most likely, there’s someone in your group with a skill you’d like to learn. Or, there’s someone that would love to learn a skill you have. Think: changing the oil, keeping a garden, painting your house, making sourdough bread from scratch, building a table, fixing a vacuum, navigating the toddler years, doing your own taxes, replacing a water heater, picking out a computer, learning hospitality, or cutting hair, just to name a few examples. You’ll benefit from sharing the skills, but you’ll benefit even more from the time spent sharing them.

6. SERVE TOGETHER

   Visit MY FBC and find a local community outreach opportunity that sparks your interest. Get your Life Group Leaders on board and give your group a day and time where they can jump in with you and bless someone. Whether you’re raking someone’s yard or serving meals to homeless families in our city, you’ll find an incredible sense of unity as you carry the love and hope of Christ into our community.

7. SPARK GENEROSITY

   Plan and pull off a random act of kindness together with your Life Group that no one will know about except for your group. Pool some extra cash together to anonymously bless someone. Or surprise someone in your group with free babysitting for a date night, a Starbucks gift card, or a surprise service like mowing their lawn. Gather your family and find one creative way to bless one individual or family in your Life Group each week. Think: handwritten notes and drawings from your kids, a surprise drop-off of their favorite snacks or drinks, their go-to coffee order dropped off at their workplace, etc. If you have kids, let them in on the spontaneity and watch them learn to love the practice of being generous.

8. Get Intentional with Sunday Mornings

   Next time you see each other on a Sunday morning, go a little deeper than the customary “how was your week?” Ask about what they’ve been reading in their Bible lately. Ask if there’s a way you can be praying for them specifically this week. If you’re not seeing someone in your Life Group at church for a few weeks, give them a call.

9. GET OUTSIDE

   Plan a walk together and bring the kids, find out if you go to the same gym, or meet up and walk a few laps around our church’s outdoor trails. Explore a disc golf course, take the dogs for a walk, host a bonfire, or find a playground for the kids.

10. SHARE WHAT YOU LOVE!

    Share your favorite music playlists, the best podcast you’re listening to right now, a favorite recipe you’ve tried, or something that brought joy to you this week. You just might find out you share more in common than your love for Jesus.

If you’re not currently part of a Life Group, we’d love to help you find your community and share life. Click on the link below to start a conversation with us!