Resources
for training in truth and love
Justin Taylor from The Gospel Coalition and Crossway interviews Lecrae and Trip Lee about their life stories and how that turned them to use their music talents to explain these great truths. The 49 minute interview contains a wide spectrum of content and categories starting with where both grew up, what kind of churches they grew up in, their personal lives, what they considered Christianity to be compared to now, rap music, and their music content doctrinally and socially.
God creates inspirational life stories for the world around to taste of his transformative work in people's hearts and lives. Traditionally, these are considered Christian testimonies, and a testimony is one confessing and testifying to the truth of God and their trust in him. We can find God working good in the world and anything good in the world is to be attributed to him and not humanity as God is the beginning and end of all goodness.
Meaning, he provides goodness in order for people to be redirected and end up trusting him as the source of all good, especially the good news of Christ Jesus -- the gospel. God works evil for his good, and the greatest and historical example of that is through the person and work of Jesus -- the epicenter of life, the world, scripture, and our life. Therefore, we are not good -- he is. These life stories have been inspired by and testify of this truth and love that works good in the world for all to hear, see, and taste of God and his goodness.
Post Photo Credit: www.teloscenter.org/credits/wikipedia
Dallas Theological Seminary's The Table Podcast with Dr. Darrell Bock interviewing Brian Fisher with Human Coalition organization with questions ranging from how Fisher began to work with the organization to how churches can be involved in practical ways to love women and the unborn children from being aborted (killed in womb).
Dr. Stanley Toussaint, Senior Professor Emeritus of Bible Exposition, Adjunct Professor in Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary, concretes God's word through an extraordinary classroom teaching style and learning experience. He teaches from the New Testament's original language of Greek as if he's using the normal English translation. His mastery of the text reveals the mastery of God's truth and love on his heart and life. His humble upbringing and God's humbling work in him carries over into his teaching. He adds fun and intriguing life stories that give realness to learning and application.
Watch and listen to Anchored North's video interview of the to the incredible life story of this young woman who was lured in through a stranger's social media message to later, on the second date, raper and impregnate her. Instead of aborting in the midst of recovering from this man's evil, she rested and became resolved the truth and love of Christ that changed her life. God's word is powerful and longer lasting than evil's impact on and in this world.
Watch and listen to the Anchored North's video interview of the incredible life story change of one man's whole life identity of Homosexuality and all that was connected to it like being part of the LGBT community and the Hollywood scene. The change came from a different truth and love he had not heard growing up and didn't care to know, content and fighting to love his life. Starting from elementary school, becoming open to a friend as a high school junior, led to dating and in college his lifestyle of homosexuality became a his "core identity."
He testifies to the truth and love of Christ being what changed him from seeing the world in a different light, through the proverbial light of the gospel that shines brightly though sometimes appearing dimly in a dark world and dark hearts. God intervened, opened his eyes to see, his heart to trust, and surrender his life wholly to the Lord.
Watch the incredible life story of this couple, testifying that Jesus is real, true, forgiving, and redemptive having revealed to them the brokenness of the world, the sin of being separated from him, the sinful choices they made like that of murdering their 3 unborn babies, onslaught of confusion about life, redefining truth and love, and discovering reconciliation.
The litany of questions create chaos in the mind like: How do you "atone" for this? Is this okay? What really is love? Fear and worry bring heaviness and conversations lead to redefining truth and love to get what we want like convenience, "If you love me enough, you will take me [relationship and abortion]. I will do this with or without you."
Our family along with supporting friends, and churches are excited to begin mailing out "A Unique Opportunity" letter to communicate and connect with churches and pastors across the nation! We hope people are interested in supporting to see this work expand in a sound, healthy way as it has been in and beyond the capitol region of Sacramento, CA.
Dallas Seminary's Dr. Bock interviews Steve Ramseur about the theology of work which informs and leads to living for the Lord in business or the workplace (i.e. the 9-5) as 'ministry.' Steve had been a bi-vocational pastor in Seattle for 5 years before transitioning "full time" to business. From this, Steve provides helpful insights for pastors to learn, preach, and train people to know that working for the Lord is not confined to helping during a Sunday service or "serving the church" in various capacities and that it includes working jobs throughout the week.
In a unique moment in time and place, U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina gave a convocational speech at Liberty University in March 2015 advocating for people's belief to mean something in life. Gowdy begins the message after an introduction that describes him as relational, loving, considerate, and humble. Gowdy is not speaking on behalf of the government, but he addresses real life issues from a biblical foundation combined with a government perspective on how American's dependency on the government for life issues has risen because of the steep decline of community and relationships in real life -- family, friendships, neighborhoods, towns, and cities.
The Master's University in Santa Clarita, CA provided a night to share how they discuss and consider American politics at the TMU Summit, "2016 Presidential Election and Current Events Summit." Jack Cox leads the discussion with lines of helpful questions many have been currently considering, and there are four interviewed including Soeren Kern, Dr. John Stead, Dr. Gregg Frazer, and Dr. John MacArthur. They provide helpful insights, discernment, and the confirmation that political vote is a means (i.e. "tool") and "not an end in and of itself."
Dr. Timothy Warren, Senior Professor for Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary, casts a deep care for people to hear God's word preached through pastor's lives, passion, and pulpits. He works hard to train young and old men to care for and shepherd people to taste of God's goodness. He listens well with sincere discernment on what is being said about what is being said. His historical and contemporary perspective on pastors and people heighten his ability to refine how pastor's grow in Christ and God's word along with any skill such as preaching.
We sent out our latest family update letter in September and to those that sign up for our families updates. We are planning on sending Christmas cards this year as well.
Pastor Scott Lehr teaches at Dallas Theological Seminary's annual week long Church Planter chapel series with a core topic of "Jesus is Stronger." Lehr provides the convictional core to any pastor servant-leading people in church planting, which is merely ensuring God's mission of making and training disciples of Christ in a local area to see people inspired by truth and love to make life, disciples, and churches all about Jesus." Typically pastoring to localize people around this mission involves difficulties common as well as uncommon to other work in life. We want pastors to be raised up and called to this heart and mission.
Dr. Darrell Bock and Bill Hendricks switch roles in this Dallas Seminary Table podcast, where Bill Hendricks interviews Dr. Bock about what the Bible reveals about money including misconceptions like "money is the root of all kinds of evil" or "money is a necessary evil." Dr. Bock helpfully answers by connecting biblical passages, history, and contemporary life.
Along with hundreds and thousands of retired teachers in the United States, Rick Young similarly reflects on his 25 years of public school teaching concluding amidst his seemingly indirect forced retirement during a recent NPR interview where "he says the profession of teaching has changed too dramatically."
More regulations and narrowed limitations within the classroom context, from liability issues to financial agenda driven measures, teachers are practically required not to teach as Mr. Young confirms about the teaching process and the paper piling:
"Everything's very time-consuming. In in my mind, it's not productive time," he says. "It's not helping my students. It limits the freedom of teachers to really freely teach and of principals to freely lead and evaluate."
When we set the end goals of unhealthy gains and measures for education, parents, teachers, and then students, we begin to hear less impact of mentors in young people's lives and their desires dwindle though they may have all the "skills" or "talents." Relationships are critical to humanity. Humans are not robotic or artificial, and more so, we are all in need of relationship dependency and help regardless of age. Hear one of countless results when an inspirational teacher affects receptive and teachable students:
"We students from Oakes were not the average students that ever had an easy life. We didn't quite fit the mold. But you as well as all of the teachers at Oakes, took us in and treated us as if we were your most prized possessions. It helped us want to become more."
Dr. Grant Horner is the Associate Professor of English, specializing in Renaissance and Reformation Studies at The Master's University. His extensive, impressive, and fun bio provides a glimpse into the breadth of personality, study, knowledge, skill, accomplishments, and relationships that deepen and sharpen the impact to students. His passion, precision, and perspective act like gravitational forces for student's attention. He brings the unaware student into the forefront of listening, discussing, and learning. He provokes intense and lively discussions as if one is no longer in a classroom but real life.
We look for song content for contexts to use for singing together, which is different than mere listening to a song for person reasons alike to entertainment. We found a few trusted resources so far, one being the Village Church from Flower Mound, TX, providing them for free use for others to use among their church community especially small gatherings, Bible studies, etc.
Remember, singing is one aspect of worship and not the definition to it.
www.thevillagechurch.net/resources/music/
“Training people in truth and love, knowing that what centers our hearts aims our life.”
Training Contexts
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