To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Hope your Christmas was amazing. Really enjoyed the Christmas Eve Service, and was the quietist that we have had as a family in the entirety of our ministry life. Great work by our kids min department and Elias...WELL DONE!
In view of the different 2020 this has been, I wanted to share my top 3 books from 2020. Reading a priority for me, and one of the ways that God speaks to my heart.
When you choose what to read in 2021, start and stay with your Bible. Usually my pattern includes two reads of the Bible and a number of smaller reads, but this year I struggled. Got the first read done easily, but never finished the second (first time in 24 years I think), for whatever reason reading was harder for me in COVID. Make sure that being Word saturated is a high priority for you no matter how many times you have read God’s Word, and try to get through it at least once this year.
Books are seasonal for me, and I try to read outside of my comfort zone. In College one of our professors suggested we read 4 a month, and that has been my target ever since, and again, I think for the first time in ministry, did not make it.
All of that said, in this season of my life, here are the top 3 books from those I read in 2020, and knowing that books hit people at different times and in different stages with value, share more as an overflow of my heart than a recommendation to read, although…might be worth the journey. Please don’t hear in my recommendations ever a full endorsement of the person or his work, (humans should all go through an Acts 17:11 filter), however, these were particularly helpful to me.
1. Ortlund, Gavin. Gentle & Lowly:
When we were new in ministry there was a large emphasis on Jesus humanity, and I thought it took it too far and made Jesus more like a buddy than the majestic Savior He reveals Himself to be.
That said, understanding His humanity, in its fullness and perfection is key to experiencing His majestic love and tenderness.
This is a book that did it for me intellectually and emotionally, and at many times moved me to tears. Well worth your time and SLOW READ. Usually I can read quickly, and move to another book, this one had heart information that slowed the read down, and savouring the heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers precious to me, particularly as I struggled through COVID GRUMPS.
2. Wilson, Jared. The Gospel Driven Church:
Recommended by a good friend, this is an easy read that emphasizes well the need we have to keep the Gospel our driving passion and delighted in reality.
This helps us to avoid the chaos of legalism and apathy, and live lives of unified devotion to Jesus.
Worth the read for Christian leaders, and any who want to be a part of a healthy, Gospel oriented church.
3. Piper, John: When I Don’t Desire God:
This is a must read if you are struggling with finding your joy in God. I have read it a number of times, but found this year it was particularly helpful to me as I struggled in staying JOYFUL and on track with my King!
It is very basic, although Piper’s style not always quick to read, and was very helpful to my heart as I struggled for joy and confidence in Christ now.
I found it practical, obvious, and well worth my time!
Honourable Mentions
A Christian Manifesto (Francis Schaeffer)
This one has long been on my list to read, and enjoyed it although really written for an American audience. Enjoyed the opening lines, and I think applicable to Canada, “The basic problem of the Christians in this country in the last eighty years or so, in regard to society and in regard to government, is that they have seen things in bits and pieces instead of totals”
His argument in the book is that we need a new pervasive worldview, and that this is the way to fight against the individual issues that we face in a culture that is distancing itself from Christianity. It was written in 1981, and is dated, but the basic message of worldview transformation desperately needed in our current setting! If you want to read a better worldview book for our time, get Mohler’s (The Gathering Storm).
Passion For Purity, a love story written by Elizabeth Elliott about her and one of my heroes has been another book I have long wanted to engage with. Found this one both sad (for the humanity it displays about one of my heroes) and delightful (hearing her heart and struggle dating a passionate follower of Jesus).
A quick and easy read, and one that introduces you to a very personal side of the one who said, “HE IS NO FOOL TO GIVE UP WHAT HE CANNOT KEEP, TO GAIN WHAT HE CANNOT LOSE”
Jones, Mark: Letters From The Womb:
I think in looking back at this era, history will judge much, but for me personally, the primary issue I think we avoid, or think wrongly about is abortion. As a product of our culture I don’t have a great answer for how we can protect precious children, but I do know that God loves babies in the womb, and as I read this book, written by a Cloverdale pastor, I wept. In fact bought a number for our congregation, so at some time will give them out, but it is a creative interaction from the perspective of the baby in the womb, and was at times hard to read, but worth it. I like most of what Mark has written and find his perspective on the puritans especially helpful, but this was excellent and timely for my heart. (His book, Knowing Jesus, is quickly becoming a book recommended on par with Packer’s knowing God, which is amazing).
Sunday Is Coming:
This week we enter a new year, and it is an opportunity for us to rededicate our lives to having a first love devotion to Jesus.
To live in a right relationship with Him.
This Sunday, our goal will be to have everyone seek to take a close look at their hearts and choose to love Jesus more, to seek personal renewal, that if we all honestly do in the power of the Spirit will lead to a revival.
Pray that your heart would be ready to submit fully to Jesus as LORD in every area of your life!
Psalm 85:6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
Excited about 2021…
Joyful to serve,
Pastor Rob
Communion:
Please prepare your home and heart for celebrating communion with us as a joined together family. Have grape juice and bread close at hand, and pray that you would experience the richness of His love afresh through this relational gift He has given the church. Communion is for the local church, and is a time of relational refreshment that we all need!
Staying Connected in COVID
Please check out our online bulletin that is updated every week: Keep Informed
cloverdalebaptistchurch.ca/
Other:
We are nearing the end of 2020, and we wanted you to have a reminder to end your year with thanksgiving and giving. If the church receives you gifts before December 31, they can count in this year’s giving.
The 2020 Christmas offering will be designated to the Langley Foodbank and will remain open until January 31, 2021. Please mark your envelopes accordingly as you seek God's will to know how to invest your giving above your tithes and offerings.
We long for 2021 to be A YEAR OF PRAYER. We are hoping that we begin this year in prayer and stay in prayer, for this is our time of need! We know this, and long to be a people who gather in His house of prayer. We will have a DAY OF PRAYER on January 16, and hope to see all of us who call CBC home increase in our prayers.
Every Sunday we have CONNECTION CAFÉ: Join us before the service in a time of sharing what God is doing.
Please don’t forget:
Invite 1, Encourage 3
If each of us takes this seriously, the impact will be massive!