"Dying to Live Again"

I recently read a book by Tom Riley on the subject of baptism, called "Dying to Live Again." While the book didn't fully live up to what I was expecting, it was very helpful in allowing me to use Paul's letter to the Romans to understand a little better just what role baptism plays in a Christian's life. I would certainly encourage anyone to read the book. It's a fairly quick/easy read. My only critique of the book in regards to what I feel it to be lacking, is that I wish Tom had gone into more detail and listed out the various views of baptism that various Christian denominations hold and the major differences between them. I know that would be more commonly found in a theology or a doctrine textbook, but I'm the type of person that likes to look at what certain groups believe and how they come to believe (what Scriptures support their position, interpretations, etc). I think after reading Romans a little more closely and intensely, the idea of baptism is that it is the point at which a person fully becomes Christ's. It's a way for a person to die, with out physically dying. Looking at Paul's words surrounding this section of Romans, he references, as examples, the fact that in a marriage, the only way for the covenant to be broken, is for someone/something to die. Either that's the husband/wife dying, releasing the other from the covenant, or a person breaks the covenant and kills the relationship (adultery/unfaithfulness). Likewise Paul also uses the illustration of a slave and how after a slave dies, his/her master no longer has any say over him/her. In the same way, until we accept Christ, we are still subject to sin and are considered to be slaves to sin. Through the act of baptism, we identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, meaning that we die and then are 'raised to a newness of life' (a new life). After our 'death' we are no longer slaves to sin and sin can no longer keep us from pursuing an intimate relationship Jesus. That's not to say a person who has accepted and been baptized into Christ won't struggle with sin. However a Christian who has given his/her life over to Christ and has been united with Him in baptism, has the greatest advocate that anyone could ever have on his/her side, and if any of us who have this status find ourselves in a particular sin, Jesus will continue to wash us clean and forgive us if we turn to him and confess/repent. The entire book of 1 John really captures this concept as well as the life of a new Christian (any Christian for that matter), but I'll end with quoting three specific verses.

"⁸If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."         - 1 John 1.8-10 (NLT)

Preparing for "Love, Sex, and Happily Ever After"

I recently had the chance to read and review Craig Groeschel's book, "Love, Sex, and Happily Ever After." Let me just start by saying that this book is absolutely phenomenal! Craig writes in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even though I myself am already married, there were still plenty of practical pieces of advice that I have taken from this book and have implemented within my own life and marriage. I HIGHLY recommend this book for ANY and EVERYONE in the age range from Junior High to Adult!! Whether you’re just starting to become interested in the opposite sex or have been sucked into one bad relationship after another, this book will definitely challenge you to reconsider your top priorities in your relationships and will challenge you to become a better person! I’m a campus minister at a secular university, and I’m going to purchase a hard copy for my wife to read and to have on hand when she meets with college aged girls and deals with counseling concerning love, sex, and relationships! I can’t really say enough about this book that will do it justice, but I can say that I’ve read plenty of other books on relationships and this one is arguably in my top two of all time! Do yourself a favor, get a copy and read it!

- Author's Website
- More Info
- Read Chapter One
- Author Bio

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."

The Gospel of Yes

I received a book from the publishing company that I am doing a blogging for books program for last month in order to do a promotional video for it. The book was called "The Gospel of Yes." Even though at times this book did seem to remind me of the movie 'Yes Man,' I think the overall premise behind what Mike Glenn was getting as was an important one that we can all can be reminded of. In 'The Gospel of Yes' Mike grabs on to the idea that when we are created by God, we are given a special 'yes', a special destiny within our lives that can only be unlocked by turning to God and walking in faith. This 'destiny' isn't a pre-scripted, step-by-step manuscript that your life follows, but a hidden gateway to a new way of living that's hidden in Christ. While I think the idea that Mike is getting at with his book is one that is nearly identical with the fact that we get a new life through Christ, born from above/again, it is a very interesting book to read and see how Mike sees this new life in Christ unfold in the lives of the people around him and in his own, which has led him to understand the new life in Christ in a new light. Overall if I had to rate 'The Gospel of Yes,' I would probably give it 4 out of 5 stars. If you are looking for a book to mull over and to help you think more about the new life that Christ unlocks for those who give their entire lives over to Him, this book might be a good one or an interesting one for you to read. This book is set to be released tomorrow, June 5, 2012.

- Author's Website
- More Info

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for review."

How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

I've recently been reading a lot, and so I need to catch you all up on the books that I've finished so that you guys might become interested in reading them for yourselves! =)

A very close friend of mine bought me this book recently and told me to read it. It's called "How Do You Kill 11 Million People?" by Andy Andrews. At first, I couldn't help but think to myself, "OK, why is Seth sending me this book? Is he trying to recruit me to some vigilante task force?" Then I read the book, and let me tell you, if there is any book that I think you should read this year before the month of November, this should be it! Andy talks about how throughout history there have been many, many different movements that have led to the deaths of many, many people, but the one question that always came to mind is the question of how this was possible? In nearly every case, the number of those who would eventually be killed, was vastly superior to that of the people who were killing them. Why couldn't these poor people simply rise up and overthrow this other group? How were these people able to succeed in killing 11 million people? The answer is simple, contents Andrews. They were lied to. The main reasoning behind writing the book, Andrews explains, is to in essence 'light a fire' underneath the rears of people in America when it comes to actually knowing what these people we are electing into political office to lead us are promising us. There are so many cases where a candidate will promise one thing, only to do the exact opposite once they received the necessary votes to win. The pleasant surprise for me from this book, was that in spite of its primary focus on politics and voting, there are many illustrations that have stuck in my head as a preacher/teacher. I highly recommend that you take some time out of your day to read this book, as soon as you can! It's very quick read (I read it in about 30-45 min), but it's packed full of interesting thoughts and convicting truths. If you have any other specific questions about the book that you would like to know about before you read it, feel free to ask me! =)

Early Summer Update

Hello all! I just wanted to pop in and write a few updates for you all I've been busy over the past three weeks and still had time for a wonderful vacation. Emily and I spent a week down in North Carolina with my side of the family, and it was a blast! =) Two Sunday's ago, I was asked to preach out at a supporting church, First Christian Church of Montoursville. It was a lot of fun and it went really well. It was also a little humorous that I was preaching because being that I'm a younger fella, and that I speak and minister on a regular basis to other younger people, I said some things that I thought were understood only be later told by my wife that there some people who looked at each other and asked, "What did he mean by that movie was a smash?" Haha. But all in all, it was a blast to be able to serve a local supporting church. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to preach at my in-law's church, although the pressure to do well for that one will be a little higher. ; ) haha

As of this very moment, I am halfway done with my sermons for both weeks of camp. I had made a schedule with which I was planning to be done today, but I got a little off of my plan because my wife had some extra time off of work and we were able to spend some time together and actually go out on some day-dates (something we really hadn't been able to do for a while). Needless to say, to me it was a good reason to get off of my plan. =) But this week, it's back to the grindstone, and I have 5 more sermons to complete, the process of which has been slow, but very enjoyable. For a while I was trying to be a preacher/teacher that I wasn't, and so I was becoming unmotivated and stuck on the first sermon I was doing. I finally just started to write them the way that's most natural to me, and I produced nearly 2 sermon manuscripts a day! It's really cool to realize how God is using me and revealing stuff to me as I type and think and piece together different revelations with how today's Jr. High and High School students would be thinking about them.

I only have about 2 more weeks until it's off to the first camp, and then from there it's off to Iowa for another camp, preaching at a church, off to Florida for the NACC, and then back here to move to our new apartment. On top of all that, I'm starting a new master's class today, so I'm going to be keeping up with my reading and research for this class as well! Needless to say again, I'm going to be pretty busy, haha. However for most of you who have known me for a long time already know that I would have it no other way. =)

I hope all of you are doing well, and that your summer is already starting off to a be a great one! Hopefully Emily and I will be able to update you guys on here as we go throughout our weeks this summer, and share with you all what God's doing with us, through us, and in us! Until next time! =)

Pat

Enemies of the Heart

I recently just finished Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with Andy's book. It was previously released as It Came from Within, and during my last few years of high school I remember my youth minister using the video curriculum from it for some of our  Student Life sessions. In the book, Andy takes a look at four emotions (Guilt, Anger, Greed, Jealousy) and dissects them so that we can see just how destructive they really are. I'll admit that I never really took these emotions as serious as I should have, but after reading the book, I have a better understanding of them and now realize that the spiritual health of one's heart really does affect more than just a person's spiritual walk. Andy explains how each of these emotions work through a person's heart, bringing hardship and destruction on the relationships and people who are close to the 'infected' person. The 'cure' for these emotions include making a habit and practice of confession, forgiving, giving, and celebrating. I would encourage everyone who is serious about evaluating his/her heart's health to read this book. It's a fairly quick read and Andy writes in a way that's engaging, entertaining, and informative!


- Author's Website
- More Info
- Read Chapter One
- Author Bio

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."

Bittersweet...

Well, it's a little weird to say, and still a little hard to believe, but this past Wednesday was the final CSF Wednesday night of the school year. We had 42-43 people show up and it was a huge blessing. It's crazy for me to sit here and think that my first year in college ministry has already come and is one week away from going. This semester was full of joy, sadness, excitement, stress, ups, and down, yet it was all worth it. I truly think it is bittersweet that it's finally the end of the semester. I'm excited about the chance to enter into the summer season and speak at two camps, and prepare/grow for the next college school-year, but I'm also a little sad at the fact that four of my students are graduating next week and they are moving on to the next stage of their lives. I'm excited to keep in touch with them and hear about what God's doing in them and through them, and I pray that each and every day they will grow even closer to God than they already are!

This week I spoke on how as disciples of Jesus, we of all people, in fact we are the only people, who can and have good reason to rejoice whenever hardships and tribulation comes our way in life. I explained that trials can be divided into/seen in three categories:

1. Persecution/Hardship that comes from sharing the Gospel with someone and introducing someone to Jesus...
2. Hardship that comes from events that God allows to happen to test you...
3. Hardship that comes from events that God had nothing to do with but happened because we live in a fallen/broken world...

I'll briefly touch on the points that I made for each of these. First of all, if we are a disciple of Jesus, we are expected to share our faith with people. At the end of Jesus' parable of the sower, He said:

“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” (Luke 8.16-18)

In his gospel account, John calls Jesus the light of men, who's so powerful that darkness can never overcome him. Also it is from this light, from him, that all live comes from. If we have this light, Jesus, in us, we can't keep it hidden. Just like you can't light a light and then stick it under a bucket, we who are true disciples of Jesus can't keep Jesus 'bottled-up' inside of us so that no one can see Him. Another scary part of this passage is the end. Jesus says that to those who have, more will be given and from the guy who doesn't have, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away. This can relate to evangelism in a huge way! Those who have a real, personal relationship with Jesus in the end will receive more, which specifically is our inheritance of eternal life. Those who don't have that real, personal relationship with Jesus think that they have everything that they need. They don't want Jesus, because that would mean that they don't have everything that they need and they don't want to acknowledge it. In the end, every person is going to bow before Jesus. Some will do so willingly, some will be forced. It's in that moment that those who accepted Jesus, who have Jesus, will be given more, their inheritance. Those who never accepted Jesus, who don't have Jesus, the lives that they thought were theirs, will be taken from them.

Evangelism is an essential part to the life of a Christian, but it's not easy. You will run into hardship with some people. You might even be ridiculed or have to endure some trying times. But Paul gives encouragement for us.

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." (Colossians 1.24-29)

The reason we as Christians can rejoice when we suffer when we share Jesus with others, is because we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ.

The reason we can rejoice in our hardships whenever we experience the second category of suffering, is because God's testing brings about positive construction. Many people confuse this aspect of God. They see this as an area where the Bible shows contradiction, because they don't understand that testing and tempting are two completely different things. Testing is constructive, while tempting is destructive. Temptation leads to sin, which then leads to death, while testing leads to an accurate assessment of growth or progress, and shows areas that person has grown in and areas that a person needs to grow in. God's tests helps our faith grow stronger. Peter explains it well.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1.3-9)

We can rejoice in the trials that are God's way of testing our faith because we know He's doing it because He loves us and because it will help us grow. The third and final category of hardship that we face as Christians comes simply because we live in a sinful/broken world. Yet we still have reason to rejoice. I think Paul shares with us the reason why.

“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8.23-28)



“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

                         It is God who justifies.

Who is to condemn?

                          Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right   

                          hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

                      Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or  

                      sword?

As it is written,
                          “For your sake (Jesus,) we are being killed all the day long; 

                            we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him (Jesus) who loved us.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8.31-39)

We have good reason to rejoice in every circumstance. Whatever the reason we might be facing a tough time might be, because of Jesus we have a GREAT reason to rejoice. I hope that you can get some encouragement from this and that you will remember these Scriptures the next time that you find yourself going through a really tough time. Well, I know it's been a long read for some people, but if you've made it this far, thanks for reading! =) I'm going to try to continue to post updates and stuff on here for you all about the exciting, busy summer ahead! I guess that's it for now! =) Until next time!

Pat