If you missed Pastor John’s latest blog post, I encourage you to pause and read it HERE.
This entry serves as a practical supplement to his exhortation for us to walk rigorously to God’s cadence in 2021—disciplined Bible intake, prayer, and fellowship. Perhaps we could call these God’s “left, right, left” commands.
As we traverse the unpredictable terrain of life, we must be sure to take up our spiritual MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment). God in Christ has given to us all we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pt 1:3). I would venture to say we are graciously spoiled with resources. Nonetheless, Bible intake, prayer, and fellowship are our standard issue MOLLE items for Christlike growth. This means we need to take serious God’s call to develop these disciplines.
One of the aims of the Providence pastors is to abundantly resource those under their care. This is why a plethora of resources can be accessed anytime on Providence’s website. In addition, however, I would like to offer a couple new resources followed by a brief list of existing resources. It is my prayer that we would learn to enjoy Christ more in the upcoming year as we become more disciplined followers.
NEW RESOURCE #1
Enjoying Christ Journal
This free resource provides a method for developing more effective journaling habits. With daily, weekly, and quarterly components, the journal’s design is to help you think deeply and practically about the goodness of the Lord and your role under His authority. Bound copies will soon be available, but for now access and enjoy the digital copy HERE.
NEW RESOURCE #2
Holiness Study Guide
One of the most helpful, extrabiblical resources to my own spiritual growth has been J.C. Ryle’s Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots. To add, it has been one of the most helpful tools utilized in seeking to educate others about the Christian faith. To make the reading experience more meaningful, a new study guide now exists (click HERE to access). Keyed to the abridged version found HERE, this resource will serve well anyone who desires to know Christ more clearly and aid in others’ spiritual development. The study guide can be used in personal, one-to-one, small group, large group, and even family worship settings.
OTHER RESOURCES
For General Spiritual Disciplines:
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life Study Guide by Donald S. Whitney
Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines by David Mathis
Habits of Grace Study Guide: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines by David Mathis
For Bible Intake:
Click HERE and HERE for a myriad of Bible intake resources.
For Fellowship:
Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Crisis of Caring: Recovering the Meaning of True Fellowship by Jerry Bridges
The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Butterfield
Encouragement by Gordon Cheng
For Prayer:
Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney
A Guide to Prayer by Isaac Watts
A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller
The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions by Arthur Bennett
Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans by Robert Elmer
A Method for Prayer: Freedom in the Face of God by Matthew Henry
To borrow the words of Pastor John, let's form up and walk well in 2021.