Moody Press, 2011, 197 pgs.
Summary: An encouraging word about the sufficiency and efficacy of God’s Word in the local church. Accessible, biblical, bold, transparent, and thoughtful.
Exemplar Quotes:
Let me sum up all of this in four points: God created Adam, you, and me to image Himself. To image God, we must listen to God. God’s people, by definition, are those who listen… (John 10:2, 25-26). God’s Word, therefore, divides. It divides the Christian from the non-Christian. It divides the Christian in half, separating the “old man” and the “new man” (35).
In the last chapter, we saw that the Word sets us free as individuals. The electric current of the Word and Spirit enters through our ears, jolts our hearts to a pulse, and bursts the iron shackles of sin. The Word saves us. Yet its work does doesn’t stop there. It doesn’t leave us as detached individuals. Rather, the Word gathers the church. Or, to say it the other way around, the church on earth is the fruit of the Word, just like a plant is the fruit of a seed that’s been sown (Mark 4:14). (95)
Our prayers reveal what our hearts want (166).
Discipleship in a church: First, discipleship works through affections, instruction, and imitations (182). Second, discipleship affirms differences. Third, discipleship is church-wide (183).
Detriments/Benefits: Incredibly edifying. Would make an excellent undergraduate textbook. Especially good for fortifying a pastor’s resolve to stick to Scripture. Recommended for all.
Shane Walker is preaching pastor at First Baptist Church in Watertown, Wisconsin. This post appeared on the blog of Andover Baptist Church in Linthicum, Maryland.