July, 2008
June, 2008
20 The Happiest Man In The World
19 Hanging with the guys!
19 Humility displayed through lopsided love
19 CJ's 8 most recommended books
18 Spurgeon quote from Sunday's Message
17 Heaven
01 Dad's and Summer holidays (Part 3)
01 T4G Session 3
01 Free ebook!!
May, 2008
29 Maria Sue Chapman Memorial Service
28 Dads and Summer Holidays (Thoughts from CJ Mahaney)
28 Dads and Summer Holidays (Continued)
22 "Where Is Your God?"
09 John Wesley's Accountability Questions
April, 2008
30 T4G Session 2
30 Singing at T4G
25 The Absolute Importance Of Doctrine
24 A Small Mind's Struggle For Retention
23 "Come and See" or "Go and Tell"?
22 Go On Being Filled With The Spirit!
18 America Trip (Final Part???)
15 America Trip (Part 2)
14 America Trip (Part 1)
10 C S Lewis on "5 Tips For Clear Writing"...and talking!
March, 2008
26 The Work of The Spirit in Seattle
25 Taking the Plunge of Grace
23 Jesus Is Alive
22 From A Desert To A Glorious Kingdom
19 Tim Keller @ Google
12 Great Worship Resources Going Cheap!
08 Motivation to Worship
06 The Reason For God - Book Review by Tim Challies
06 7 Characteristics of an Ingrown Church
03 The Reason For God "Doubting Your Doubts"
February, 2008
18 Tim Keller and The Reason For God
January, 2008
07 New Year's Resolutions?
December, 2007
24 Favourite Christmas Films - the Result!!
18 Richard Dawkins ... a Cultural Christian!!
14 Favourite Christmas Films
12 The Gospel and Suffering
05 The Unmarried Woman WIth Lots of Husbands
November, 2007
27 The Truth of Fantasy
23 Free Jonathan Edwards Classic
23 We’re Loving Merthyr! (Update)
22 A Nation in Mourning ... Why?
20 The Good Shepherd
15 Lest we forget…
12 We’re Loving Merthyr!
08 Religion verses The Gospel
08 What Is a Gospel-Centered/Missional Church...
07 No Rest For The Wicked!
October, 2007
29 Advertisers sure know how to grab our attention
15 Praying About Praying
08 Work: A Holy Calling
01 Baby Dedications
The Happiest Man In The World
20-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Gospel | Media »
If you were to ask me to give a definition of a Christian I should say that he is one who, since believing in Christ, feels himself to be the happiest man in the world and longs for everybody else to be equally happy!
(Dr. D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones, quoted in D.M Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years)
Gareth Lloyd
Hanging with the guys!
19-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Gospel | Application »
One of the greatest highlights of life in SGCM for me is the times I get to sit down with other guys and fellowship around the “joy news” of God’s plan of redemption and reconciliation. We do this both in organised and in spontaneous ways. We need both! My heart’s natural tendency is to drift away from and not toward the Lord and so I need to have intentional, structured gospel-centred activity to remind me of the glory of what I forget se easily.
On Saturday mornings, once a month we meet as men to fellowship around the core doctrines of the Bible. We start early to avoid eating into family time, we enjoy a greasy breakfast and then we are led into a Bible doctrine which is opened up for reflection and application. I don’t think there has been a time when I haven’t left refreshed and enthused in the Lord and grateful for the men I get to do life with in this church.
Also, once a month we break from our usual midweek small groups and split into small groups of men and women to study, consider and apply the gospel to our lives. As men we have just finished looking at Jerry Bridges’ “The Pursuit of Holiness” and have begun using C.J. Mahaney’s “Humility” as the basis of our interaction. One of the things that is becoming increasingly clear to me is that humility is the most appropriate characteristic of a heart that grasps the gospel. But furthermore, the ongoing pursuit of humility is a community project. I am excitedly anticipating what God is going to accomplish amongst us in the weeks ahead by the transforming power of the gospel applied.
Gareth Lloyd
Humility displayed through lopsided love
19-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
My wife has been reading Ed Welch’s book, "Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest"
In the book Welch gives an excellent description of humility displayed through love to others (pp. 184-185):
Which do we really need—to give love or to receive it? We resist the question because we want to say both. Yet Scripture seems to favor the imbalance. Not that we aspire to have our friend or spouse love us less, but that “in humility [we] consider others better than [our]selves” (Phil. 3:4). When the kingdom of God is ruling our hearts, we aspire more to serve than to be served, honor more than to be honored, and love more than be loved. This doesn’t mean that we don’t care about being loved; it simply means that we always want to outdo others in love.
Do we run the risk of a lopsided relationship? Absolutely. That is the relationship we have with God—he always loves first and most. . . . Throughout Scripture God is the one who loves more than he is loved. He always makes the first move. He advertises his extravagant affection for us even when we are indifferent or opposed to him.
When Jesus Christ, God incarnate, walked the earth, the pattern continued. Through his life Jesus was rejected by his people and misunderstood by his disciples. At the most difficult point of his life, he was betrayed, denied, and abandoned. But through it all his love was unwavering. In this, he established the pattern for true humanness. This is the way we were intended to be.
This is life in the kingdom. It wants love, but it wants even more to love others deeply. Its treasure is to grow in the fruits of the Spirit, foremost of which is to love others.
Gareth Lloyd
CJ's 8 most recommended books
19-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | books »
These are the books CJ Mahaney most recommends to be read in a lifetime.
Knowing God by JI Packer
The Holiness of God by RC Sproul
The Cross of Christ by John Stott
When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges
Holiness by JC Ryle
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul Tripp
(Taken from the Girl Talk Blog)
Gareth Lloyd
Spurgeon quote from Sunday's Message
18-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Gospel | Application »
"Oh, you are not dealing with trifles when you are dealing with the love of God to you. It is not a spare corner of the heart of God that He gives to you, as you may give a little love to the criminals in the jails, but the great, inconceivably vast heart of God belongs as much to every Christian as if there were not another being in the world for God to love! Even as Jehovah loves His Only-begotten, so does He love each one of His children."
C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of the Old Testament, III:568.
Gareth Lloyd
Heaven
17-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Gospel | The Gospel For Real Life »
Then the church shall be brought to the full enjoyment of her bridegroom, having all tears wiped away from her eyes, and there shall be no more distance or absence. She shall then be brought to the entertainments of an eternal wedding feast, and to dwell forever with her bridegroom, yea, to dwell eternally in his embraces. Then Christ will give her his loves, and she shall drink her fill, yea, she shall swim in the ocean of his love."
Jonathan Edwards, "The Church's Marriage to her Sons and to her God," in Works, II:22.
Gareth Lloyd
Dad's and Summer holidays (Part 3)
01-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Gospel | The Gospel For Real Life »
In part three of this series, C.J. continues explaining seven lessons he’s learned in leading his family on vacation.
6. Intentionally Together
Family vacations are FAMILY vacations! Ultimately family vacations are about being together as a family, deepening our relationships with each other, conversing together, laughing together and encouraging each other. It’s about telling the same stories (embellished still more) and laughing even harder than the last time. It’s about being together as a family. What a family does together is much more important than where a family goes together. It’s possible to invest some serious coin in a family vacation and not experience the deepening of relationships as a family. And it’s possible to have a low-budget vacation that is truly wealthy in what matters, developing close relationships as a family, and creating memories that make a difference, all for the glory of God. So the purpose of a vacation transcends the location and transcends an individual child or the personal preference of a family member. A wise father prepares his children for a FAMILY vacation, and he adjusts everyone’s expectations accordingly prior to the vacation and monitors those expectations during the vacation. This protects the vacation from merely becoming a context where each member of the family is selfishly pursuing their preference apart from consideration for the family. Remember, it’s a FAMILY vacation, intended to build the family together and deepen the relationships between family members.
7. Gratefulness to God
Most importantly, fathers should use their vacations as an opportunity to express gratefulness to God. Family vacations are only possible because of the kindness and generosity of God. Vacations are a gift from God. I want my family to perceive God’s kindness and generosity each day, and I want them to express their gratefulness to God each day. But in order for this to take place we need discerning hearts and eyes. So at the outset of a vacation I equip my family with theologically informed discernment, because it’s possible for us to be blessed by God but not perceptive of God or grateful to God. Fathers, it is our privilege and responsibility to model gratefulness to God for our family during vacations. Last year at the beginning of our vacation, I read the following quote by C.S. Lewis to my family and took a few minutes to prepare them for our vacation and the appropriate response to God each day during our vacation. Lewis writes,
Pleasures are shafts of glory as it strikes our sensibility … I have tried to make every pleasure into a channel of adoration. I don’t mean simply by giving thanks for it. One must of course give thanks, but I meant something different … Gratitude exclaims, very properly, “How good of God to give me this.” Adoration says, “What must be the quality of that Being whose far-off and momentary coruscations [I had to look this word up!] are like this!” One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun … If this is Hedonism, it is also a somewhat arduous discipline. But it is worth some labour.
I love this quote. It’s perfect for vacations. The content of this quote will give you new eyes, so you and your family can discern the kindness and generosity of God during your vacation. The content of this quote will inspire you to appropriately and specifically express your gratefulness to God for the many gifts you receive from him on your vacation. But don’t stop with gratefulness. Notice how Lewis distinguishes between thankfulness and adoration. I not only want my children to be grateful to God (“How good of God to give me this”), but ultimately I want them to be amazed by this God, amazed by “the quality of that Being” who has provided all these gifts, and adore him. I informed my family of all we had planned for our vacation and informed them that we not only wanted to give thanks to God for each of these gifts, but to ponder the God who thought up and created these activities, and realize what this reveals about God so that we can appropriately adore him. So let your vacation be filled with the sounds of gratefulness but also moments of appropriate adoration. Let us realize what everything we experience reveals about God himself! You can apply this to each and every moment and activity on your vacation regardless of where you go or what you do. This quote and the content of this quote became the theme for our entire vacation last year. I pray it serves you similarly this year.
Conclusion
Fathers, I hope some of the lessons I have learned over the years and the mistakes I’ve made and sins I’ve committed on vacation somehow serve you and make a difference in your vacation experience. Before you this summer is a sweet opportunity from God to deepen relationships between family members and create memories that your children will never forget, memories that will outlive you.
You can rest when you get home.
Gareth Lloyd
T4G Session 3
01-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Gospel | Application »
Still taking time out to reflect on some of the stuff learnt at this year's conference.
John MacArthur led the third session of the 2008 Together for the Gospel conference. His message, The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability, was a defense of the doctrine of human depravity.
MacArthur began by stating flatly that people hate the doctrine of total depravity. All other systems of belief hold that man has some good in them and can work their way towards salvation. In other words, we think we are basically good and can contribute in our own salvation if not outright save ourselves. We can earn salvation by doing good works, attempting to live good lives, etc. We can “bribe” God into letting us into heaven by our actions. He then took us on a tour of Scripture to prove the case that there is indeed none that is good, none acceptable to God.
As far as believers are concerned, MacArthur stated that, the doctrine of total depravity means that those who preach the Gospel should be the most humble! We should be, first of all, staggered that God reached down and overcame our enmity with him to save us. He could have rightly consigned us to hell and been done with us. Knowing this, we should humble ourselves before him in thanksgiving and praise. Next, this doctrine should remind us that we can’t change people’s hearts, nor can we solve their problems. Only God is powerful enough to do that! Behaviour modification is the best we can produce; it does not get at the heart change necessary to solve the problem. When we have a God who can save a person in their sins and from their sins, we should humble ourselves and look to him for the necessary change. We can take no credit for successes in our teaching and preaching; we can only take credit for the failures. God alone brings success.
He said that this doctrine gives him great relief in his preaching, counseling, and evangelism; simply because it helps him remember that a person’s salvation is not up to him. His preaching and teaching is powerless to save. If it were his responsibility to save people, he would be so burdened, overwhelmed, and depressed by this that he would leave the ministry! But if it is God who saves and not John MacArthur, he is free to simply proclaim the message that God has commanded him to give. God will take care of the results. This makes evangelism easier, because one does not have to worry about the result of evangelism as much of evangelicalism today worries. Instead, one can get the Gospel to as many people as one can, and if some believe, God is more glorified!
Gareth Lloyd
Free ebook!!
01-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Gospel | Media »
At SGCM we love to sing some wonderful cross-centred songs written by Mark Altrogge and more recently his son, Stephen Altrogge. Stephen has recently written a book entitled, "My Friend, My Hero, My Dad" which he is given away as a free ebook download. Click here for more details
Gareth Lloyd
Maria Sue Chapman Memorial Service
29-05-2008 | SGCM Blog | Culture | Media »
Click here to watch a news report of the memorial service for the daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman.
Gareth Lloyd