books, classes, and the word-centered church
god gave us words
Have you ever thought about how our faith is centered on words? Christianity is marvelously different from any other worldview in that we are centered on the study of the Bible, exhortations through sermons of the Bible, mutual encouragement from verses found in the Bible, and the list goes on! We believe that God gave us his very words for all of life (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:3). We don’t have to take a pilgrimage to know God. He didn’t give us movies to watch or pictures to look at to see what God is like. God is a communicative being and revealed himself through word.
God spoke, and creation came into existence from nothing.
How does John describe Jesus in John 1? He describes him as the Word. Out of all things to teach us about Jesus, John chose to bring to the front the reality that Jesus is the Word of God.
All that to say: We love God’s Word! Our faith is built on it, our community is shaped by it, and our worldview is informed by it.
christians love words
But along with this aspect of our faith comes a unique quality and culture of Christianity that has been observed since the New Testament. We don’t go on pilgrimages, but we do read and study. We love to use our minds to inform our hearts of the gospel God gave us.
And yet, we do this as a word-centered church. Christianity is not an individual thing; God saved a people. So, I read and apply my Bible as an individual, but I also do this in community. The Sunday sermon, community group, good Christian books, and Sunday classes are all ways we are a word-centered community.
It is for this very reason that we announced this past Sunday morning several Pastor-Recommended Books for 2023 and the launching of our Sunday Classes beginning this month.
pastor-recommended reading
In the front of the bookstore at KingsWay you will find a display table of eight highly recommended books from the pastors. You may buy a copy or borrow the loaner copy. Here is a list of those books:
Strange New World, Carl Trueman
God and the Transgender Debate, Expanded and Updated, Andrew Walker
The Epic Story of the Bible, Greg Gilbert
I Have a Psychiatric Diagnosis, Ed Welch
The Gospel at Work, Gilbert and Traeger
Newton on the Christian Life, Tony Reinke
The Ten Commandments, Kevin DeYoung
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer
sunday classes 2023
Along with the recommended books, we have Mario T. teaching a class in Spanish on Marriage, starting this upcoming Sunday, January 15, from 8:30 - 9:45 a.m. No sign-up is necessary; we would love to see you there! We will meet in the seminar room just outside the auditorium.
For February, we will have a class on Evangelism starting Sunday February 12. Then in April, beginning on Sunday April 16, we will offer a class on Biblical Counseling taught by Matthew, and this Fall there will be plenty more classes to sit in on!
Maybe you look at this list of books and classes and think, “no way, no time, can’t do it”. Let me offer a challenge for you in 2023: 1 book, 1 class. Or maybe for 2023, it looks like 3 or 4 books and integrating Sunday classes into your Sunday schedule with that “necessary” coffee run before church. Find a rhythm that works for your season of life and give your word to do it… Sorry, couldn’t resist.
May God richly bless you through his Word. See you Sunday.
Caleb Collins