“I love that the Bible says the truth shall set you free (John 8.32). That’s a spiritual truth, but it can also be a physical truth.  The goal of the Made to Crave Action Plan is not to squeeze you into a rigid food plan or beat you up about what you are not doing right.  Our goal is to encourage and equip you with truth – spiritual and physical – so you can learn to make better choices…my dear friend, are you ready to take your first step on this amazing journey?  I promise God will meet you there – and I will be cheering you on every step of the way.”

As I mentioned yesterday, we will be giving away the Made to Crave Ministry Kit.  However, we will not be just giving away 1, but 5 of them.  The Made to Crave Ministry Kit includes Made to Crave, Made to Crave 6 week DVD and Participant’s Guide, Made to Crave Action Plan 6 week DVD and Participant’s Guide, and Made to Crave Devotional, plus all the tools you need to run a 12 week Made to Crave study in your women’s Bible study.

To enter to win 1 of the 5 Made to Crave Ministry Kits, answer this question below in the comments: What do you want to make more time for in the next 6 weeks to draw you closer to God (prayer, Scripture reading, serving the poor, etc)?

We will randomly choose a winner on Friday afternoon, so be sure to come back and see if you have won.  In the meantime, you can watch the first full session of the Made to Crave Action Plan on YouTube here:

EVANGELISM
The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited
By Scot McKnight (Zondervan); Scot’s blog, Jesus Creed

CULTURE
Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women
By Carolyn Custis James (Zondervan); Carolyn’s blog, The Whitby Forum

SMALL-GROUP CURRICULA
Muslims, Christians and Jesus (DVD-based study)
By Carl Medearis; CarlMedearis.com

CHILDREN’S OUTREACH
The Nature of God: Ocean Adventures Book and The Nature of God: Ocean Adventures Volumes 1, 2 and 3 DVDs
By Peter Schriemer (Zonderkidz); The Nature of God on FB

YOUTH OUTREACH
Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids
By Kara E. Powell and Chap Clark; Sticky Faith.org

This really is an honor for an author. Ask any writer you know and they’ll tell you that when their work is read, awarded, or otherwise noticed it means something really special to them. Books are like children to most writers: they require a lot of work, sacrifice, blood, sweat, and tears to “raise,” but in the end they are a source of great pride and joy. I encourage you to stop by these authors’ sites and congratulate them, or leave a comment of congratulations below and I’ll be sure to email them the link.

Busting with pride,

Andrew

Andrew and I had a conversation yesterday and too often when we or others think of giving up something for Lent, it is about us – giving up sugar, caffeine, Facebook.  But the idea of fasting or giving up something should make time for something else – time for prayer, Scripture reading, serving the poor – not just to give something up.

This is one of the reasons I love Made to Crave.  (And yes, while I am a guy, and this is soundly a book/group study for women, I did enjoy it).  In Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst isn’t just talking about giving up cupcakes for carrots.  Yes, there is the idea of healthy eating and exercise and such, but the end goal is not weight loss – it’s a deeper relationship with your Maker.

You can watch the full first session of Made to Crave on YouTube here, and be sure to come back tomorrow to enter to win a Made to Crave Ministry Kit.

Ed Stetzer interviewed Scot McKnight about his views of “gospel” – My favorite question of the interview: Why do you point to John Piper as one of the most poignant examples 
of a “soterian” in our day? Are you suggesting that John Piper doesn’t
 rightly define and present the gospel? …..I love interviews that pull no punches and ask the questions we’re all thinking. Here’s a link to McKnight’s video for The King Jesus Gospel  and here’s a link to some of his preaching on “Did Jesus Preach the Gospel,” in case you’re wondering what all the fuss is about.

Dave Gibbons on what our true measure of success should be: Pleasing the masses, or the maestro?

Conrade Yap at the Panorama of a Book Saint blog gave Organic Outreach for Churches a great review. If you’re looking to change the culture of your church to one that has outreach embedded in everything in does. Don’t miss this book. Conrade will tell you why.

The Preaching Today book awards were recently announced. – Included in this list is John Koessler’s Folly, Grace, and Power.

If you haven’t signed up for the Your Church is Too Safe blog tour, you can do so here.

Random: Facinating pictures of old buildings in NYC - I stumbled on this great blog, “Lost City.” Looks like the writer has been keeping it up since 2006. He photographs and posts the history of vintage buildings in NYC. I lived outside the city when I was younger, so this blog brought back a lot of good nostaligic feelings.

Bonus: Keeping up the “lost in new york” theme, the “Lost in York” blog recently posted reviews of The King Jesus Gospel and Barefoot Church.

Your Church is Too Safe

Another great aspect of this book, Buchanan is a real wordsmith. You can download a PDF sample of the book here, or read my blog from a few weeks back on Chapter 5: “Going to Mordor.”

The blog tour is the last week of March (25th – 31st). Here is the sign up form:

His comment was,

A “must” would be getting the point across without too many words. Some preachers rely too much on how much content they have and how to say all of it with the time they’re given. They try to fill in time with too much talking and the sermon becomes incoherent, and no substance. I love stories, but let’s face it, the meat of the sermon is the fact that it hit home even when it’s only 2 to 5 minutes.

Thanks to everyone who commented!

It’s facinating to hear Wayne’s story of building New Hope Oahu in Honalulu. Not because the ultimate goal of ministry is to build a big church, but because Wayne admits that church planting scared him to death. He talks about the spiritual warfare he’s faced, struggling with depression, and other hardships of ministry. Some of what he’s faced has been so intense it’s affected him physically as well as spiritually.

I also appreciated what Wayne says about the result of being sifted. He says that God will “never let go of your hand” and also that you’ll understand the pain of others so much better. He says ”crisis is a terrible thing to waste” because it helps you make changes that God wants you to make.

For a complete list of podcasts by Exponential see this list on iTunes.

Congratulations are in order for Dr. Koessler. Folly, Grace, and Power was just named the winner of Preaching Today’s annual book award in the category “Feeding the Preacher’s Soul”. (Woo Hoo!) Here’s a quote from Preaching Today:

“John Koessler’s Folly, Grace, and Power was a spiritual feast. His writing is top notch. His chapter on Preaching as Oral Theology warrants whatever the book costs. His brief anecdotes engage the reader, while his academic quotes never get in the way. I loved this work on every level. Well-crafted, true to the task, and deeply devotional in its slant. Folly, Grace, and Power gets the point across without being—dare I say it?—preachy.”

—Hershael York, preaching professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor of the Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky

See the announcement here.

To enter today’s giveaway leave a comment below telling us one thing that you consider a “must” for good preaching. What must take place in order for a sermon to be great?

If you tweet this link you’ll be entered twice. Winners will be chosen on Friday. Follow John Koessler @BibleExposition

My wife and I have gone through each of these together at some point in our 9 years together and really appreciated each one.  Most recently, we went through Sacred Marriage together.  In this small group Bible study, Gary Thomas helps you discover a deeper intimacy with God through your marriage.  He asks the question, “What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?”  Here is session 1:

How do you react to the idea that God may have designed marriage to make us holy even more than to make us happy?

Most all the comments fell into 10 things to remember so you stay in love (in order of number of comments):

1. Sacrificial love
2. Put Jesus first
3. Maintain a friendship
4. Communicate
5. Develop a forgiving spirit
6. Make a lasting commitment
7. Regard one another with mutual respect
8. Be open and honest with one another
9. Maintain a sense of individuality
10. Get naked

Grace. I wish I had something more lengthy to say, but that is it- the ability to remember how much Christ has forgiven you, then to extend that over and over to your spouse.

Thank you all for reading.  Here is the first full session of Staying in Love by Andy Stanley: