All Posts Tagged With: "Breakthrough"

Breakthrough - Week 4

September 24th, 2008 • stephenlawes • 1 comment • Related • Filed Under

This month on Christian Book Club we are reading “Breakthrough” by Derek Morphew. As we enter Week 4 we will be finishing up this book by reading; Israel, Confusion about the Kingdom, A Final Perspective, and Studying the Theology of the Kingdom.

I am not sure that reading a book like this is something that everyone enjoys. It is a theological book. I personally have enjoyed it very much. Thank all of you for reading it along with me. The subject of the Kingdom is fascinating to me. I would suggest that you take time to read Appendix III. It is a fascinating look at the Kingdom of God through the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah takes all the major themes of the Kingdom and weaves them through the chapters of his book. It is absolutely amazing. If you have enjoyed the study on the Kingdom, you may also want to read a book by G.E. Ladd called “The Gospel of the Kingdom”. Next to the Bible, it is perhaps my favorite book. I look forward to your comments on the reading this week. It is an amazing journey to be “Already-Not Yet” people.

October will soon be upon us and we will be reading “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell. I have heard a lot of different things about the book so I am looking forward to checking it out for myself. I will include a link so that you can order it if you need to. Have a good time reading this week and I will be praying for you!

273081: Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
By Rob Bell

Breakthrough - Week 2

September 9th, 2008 • stephenlawes • 1 comment • Related • Filed Under

This month on Christian Book Club we are reading “Breakthrough” by Derek Morphew. As we enter Week 2 we will be reading;The Implications of the Kingdom, Bringing in the Kingdom, Acts of Intervention, The Parables of the Kingdom, Kingdom Lifestyle.

In the chapter on Kingdom Lifestyle there is an excellent discussion on the sermon on the mount. I look forward to your comments on that section as well as any other portion of the book you would like to talk about.

(Most of you know that I live in the Florida Keys. We were under the threat of Hurricane Ike all week and so this update is a couple of days late. Fortunately for us and yet unfortunately for Cuba (I planted churches in Cuba for ten years and I have a lot of friends on the Island) Hurricane Ike passed to the south of us and we are now getting tropical storm force winds. Sorry for the delay.)

In case you don’t have the book yet I will include a link here for you to get one. They have copies available at Amazon.

Breakthrough - Week 1

September 1st, 2008 • stephenlawes • 5 comments • Related • Filed Under

This month on Christian Book Club we will be reading “Breakthrough” by Derek Morphew.  I really enjoy books about the Kingdom of God.  My all time favorite book on the topic is by George Eldon Ladd called the Gospel of the Kingdom.  This book is a close second.  Having said that, please don’t feel under any pressure that you have to enjoy the book.  For me it is enlightening and fascinating, but it is a subject that I enjoy talking and teaching about.  I realize that it might not be as interesting for everyone else.  Still, I hope you find it interesting!

Here is how we will read and discuss the book:

Week 1 - Pictures of the Kingdom, Promises of the Kingdom, Fulfillment of the Promises, The Mystery of the Kingdom, The Centrality of Christ

Week 2 - The Implications of the Kingdom, Bringing in the Kingdom, Acts of Intervention, The Parables of the Kingdom, Kingdom Lifestyle

Week 3 - The Messianic Banquet, The Kingdom and the Church, Already-Not Yet People, The End of Cessationism, Healing

Week 4 - Israel, Confusion about the Kingdom, A Final Perspective, Studying the Theology of the Kingdom

I think you will enjoy the description of the Spiritual Battle on page 18 and 19.  I particularly like the explanation of how each of the plagues addressed one of the false gods of Egypt.  Great stuff!

In case you don’t have the book yet I will include a link here for you to get one.  They have copies available at Amazon.

What’s So Amazing About Grace - Week 3

August 21st, 2008 • stephenlawes • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

We are now in week three of our reading of Philip Yancey’s “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” here on Christian Book Club.  For me, I would say that this book is really quite amazing.  I am constantly stopped by the stories.  It is quite a challenge to the church to truly become a dispenser of grace.  As a Pastor I am often presented with situations in which I find myself wondering what grace looks like.  I loved something that was said way back on page 32 of the book.  A little girl prayed, “O God, make the bad people good, and the good people nice”.  It seems to me that some people demand grace, wanting a bad decision they have made to somehow be justified.  Then there are others, who don’t believe they could ever receive grace for the things that they have done.  I think it is much easier to dispense grace to the second group, but even the people in the first group need grace.

In the third part of the book, Yancey will begin to talk about “grace abuse” which I think you will find interesting.  I appreciate and look forward to your comments!

If you haven’t ordered September’s book yet, you may want to get your copy soon.  Our next book is called “Breakthrough” and it is a little more theological in nature.  It is written by a man named Derek Morphew who is from South Africa.  I have had the privilege of hearing him speak several times and I think he has a tremendous way of teaching on the Kingdom of God.  I will include a link at the end of this post if you need to order the book.