Last week Justin Taylor posted the following quote from C.S. Lewis.  It is a great reminder of the need for God to reign supreme above all other loves in our lives.  If He does not then we are loving the gifts and reflections of Him rather than Him as the giver and the substance of all that is good and excellent.

“When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. Insofar as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.”

- C. S. Lewis, Letters of C.S. Lewis (8 November, 1952)

This year daylight savings time begins on March 11th, so don’t forget to turn your clocks forward by one hour.  Have a wonderful, Christ-centered rest of the week!

A total of 10 of the men of our church have or are making their way down to the L.A. area for the annual Shepherd’s Conference.  We will hear lots of great preaching, listen to numerous seminars, and spend time fellowshiping and sharpening one another. 

Please pray for our time.  Pray that this time would be strategic in building up the leadership and men of our church.  Pray that we would be able to take in and digest the large amount of teaching we will take in.  Pray that we would sharpen each other and develop edifying relationships through this time.  Pray that we would treasure God and cherish His gospel more as a result of this time.

If you would like to get a taste for what we will be experiencing you can check out the livebloggin entries from Tim Challies.  He always provides thorough and helpful summaries of the messages.

Josh Winans introduces a new series on the book of Colossians.

 

 Colossians 1:1-2 [52:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This last Saturday I saw the movie “Amazing Grace” on the life of William Wilberforce.  I enjoyed the movie and was challenged as it portrayed the compassion and perseverance of Wilberforce.  Social action and justice, rather than being seen as contradictory to true Christianity, should and will be seen as vital and necessary when rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Wilberforce is a compelling figure and his life is worth investigating more deeply. 

To that end I would like to point you to a couple of resources available from John Piper.  For me the background knowledge provided by Piper served to make the movie that much more powerful. 

Audio Message- Pecuilar Doctrines, Public Morals, and the Political Welfare: Reflections on the Life and Labor of William Wilberforce- Message Transcript and Audio 

Book- Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce- based on the audio message- this 76 page book is available for purchase or for free download.