Partnering to Remember: Philippians

Great Idea here from Timmy Brister:

Let’s face it. Memorizing Scripture can be a difficult discipline, especially memorizing long passages of Scripture.  In our fast-paced lives of multi-tasking with any number of things vying for our attention, there is a real danger for the Word of God to get squeezed out of our daily lives.  More than any other time, Christians need to partner together for the purpose of internalizing Scripture, encouraging one another to abide in the words of Christ, and remembering the weighty truths that center us in God’s work in our lives. To do this, a system for memorizing Scripture has been created called the memory moleskine.

Starting in 2011, I am beginning a project called P2R (Partnering to Remember).  The goal is to memorize the entire book of Philippians by Easter Sunday (April 24, 2011) through partnering with other believers using the memory moleskine.  Paul praised the church in Philippi for their partnership in advance of the Gospel, and in the spirit of that partnership, this project intends to bring Christians together for the deepening work of God’s Word in their lives.  Simply put, I believe we should partner to remember.

Using the Cahier moleskine, I have created a pocket-size notebook that provides a practical and accessible way to memorize Scripture.  Through collaboration with The Resurgence, a customized PDF has been created for you to download with a week-by-week outline for memorizing the book of Philippians in 16 weeks using the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible.  On one side of the moleskine you simply paste the week’s verses to memorize, and on the other side you write your reflections on the verses while indicating how many times you rehearsed them each day.  Included in this PDF are encouragements and helps to memorizing and retaining Scripture from Donald Whitney, Andy Davis, and John Piper.

How to Make Your Own 2011 Philippians Memory Moleskine

1.  Purchase your own Cahier Moleskine (3.5×5.5 size) - or a suitable alternative
2.  Download the PDF provided by the Resurgence
3.  Cut the weekly Scripture reading according to the border
4.  Use double-sided tape to paste the weekly section of verses
5.  Find someone who you can partner with for encouragement & accountability
6.  Jump in starting January 1, 2011!!!

I'm in!  How about you?

Love in the Truth.

Not A Calvinist Church!

Love in the Truth.

HT / Z via Crummy Church Signs

Do Whatever You Want!

John MacArthur on the will of God - "You delight in the Lord and do whatever you want".



Love in the Truth.

HT / Challies

Just for Fun

Remember the old TV shows you - or at least I - used to watch?  I still find myself humming the theme songs.  Well, check them out with a little twist!  Pretty sweet, me thinks.

Magnum P.I.:


Hawaii Five-O (this one is sweet!):


Knight Rider:



Hunter:


That's it for now.  The one this guy has for "CHiPs" is pretty sweet as well, but it wouldn't let me embed.

Love in the Truth.

How Not To Listen To Sermons

John Newton:

“As a hearer, you have a right to try all doctrines by the word of God; and it is your duty so to do. Faithful ministers will remind you of this: they will not wish to hold you in an implicit and blind obedience to what they say, upon their own authority, nor desire that you should follow them farther than they have the Scripture for their warrant. They would not be lords over your conscience, but helpers of your joy. Prize this Gospel liberty, which sets you free from the doctrines and commandments of men; but do not abuse it to the purposes of pride and self.”

Then Newton explains how not to listen to sermons:

“There are hearers who make themselves, and not the Scripture, the standard of their judgment. They attend not so much to be instructed, as to pass their sentence. To them, the pulpit is the bar at which the minister stands to take his trial before them; a bar at which few escape censure, from judges at once so severe and inconsistent.”

Excellent balance.

Love in the Truth.

HT / Sean Crowe via Tony Reinke

If you Can't Beat Em...

That one made me really laugh out loud!  I wonder if the wife will let me do this one year?

Love in the Truth.

HT / Kevin DeYoung

What Does the Word Mean To You?

How often do we - how often do I - neglect this great "weapon in {our} hands?"

"The month that you had set, the day that you had set, has come to pass today. Oh my Father, my Father, the Promise that you gave Simeon that he would see Jesus Christ and hold Him in his arms before he died. I also have been waiting under that same promise, O God. You looked at all the different languages and chose which ones will be put into Your Word. You thought that we should see Your Word in our language. Today, the day you had chosen for this to be fulfilled, has come to pass. You have placed it here in our land. And for all this, O God, I give You praise."

Love in the Truth.

HT / Challies

Review: What is a Healthy Church / Member

What is a Healthy Church, IX Marks, Mark Dever:

This is a smaller work based on the larger Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.  The book is very easy to read and it's size makes it an easy, essential read for every church member.  It is concise, convicting and completely biblical unpacking of the statement, "If you call yourself a Christian but you are not a member of the church you regularly attend, I worry that you might be going to hell."  Dever makes this statement right off the start in chapter one and then takes the rest of the book to explain it.  I had that quote as my facebook status for a day...the results were...well you can imagine!  It is meant to both shock and induce thought. 

In the book, Dever outlines what a healthy church is in the first four chapters or part one, the essential marks of a healthy church in part two, and the important marks of a healthy church in part three.  For those that don't want to take the time to read the larger (and better IMHO) Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, this is your solution.  This is more for the church member than the pastor - "You and all the members of your church, Christian, are finally responsible for what your church becomes, not your pastors or other leaders - you."  Do you want to know if your church is healthy - biblically healthy - read this book!

What is a Healthy Church Member, IX Marks, Thabiti Anyabwile:

This is the companion work to the above mentioned What is a Healthy Church.  In an age when sheep are hopping from church to church looking to tickle their ears, this is a much needed book.  It dove tails nicely to its companion with the focus shifting from the corporate to the individual.  These days it seems there is a lot of people doing a lot of talking about what is wrong with the Church corporately.  Finally there is a book that helps us to realize the main problem with the church is staring each of us in the face when we look in a mirror!

Indeed, the truth hurts, and not just sometimes - most of the time.  All ten chapters are a spiritual kick in the pants to help wake the sleeper in all of us.  Everywhere you look today people want to be called "a community", "missional", pretty much anything but a church.  Most, however, don't know what that is supposed to look like biblically.  This book says Don Carson, "closes the gap."  "The health of the local church (missional community) depends on the willingness of its members to inspect their hearts, correct their thinking, and apply their hands to the work of the ministry." This one is for everyone!

As a side note, this is really another must for all the men out there.  As Anyabwile states in his dedication of the book, "for the church that lives in my home."

Love in the Truth.

New Design...Help!

For those of you that stop in from time to time you'll notice the new design of "Love in the Truth."  You will also no doubt notice a few bugs here and there.  Please bear with me as I try to figure it out myself - I am technologically inept!  That said, feel free to offer any help you can.  Such as...the link to the twitter account - I don't know how to make it work.  And the "undefined" comment bubbles are a mystery to me as well.  Also, feel free to let me know what you think.

Love in the Truth.

Who's the Seeker?

Love in the Truth

HT / Eddie Eddings