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Monthly Wrap - January 2014

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting It's time! Time for my first Monthly Wrap on this blog. These posts showcase some of the best articles that I have come across over the course of the month. I hope you find them to be helpful for you in your relationship with God.

Digital Overload: Claim Back Your Life - "...Figures show that on average, Australians spend almost one day every week using the internet." One day a week? This article from the ABC highlights the worrying trend of people becoming increasingly digitally overloaded and provides some ideas to get your online time back in control. An article that rings true for anyone living, working and ministering in our modern world.

5 Ways To Teach Your Children To Hate The Ministry - "Pastors' kids are prone to hate the ministry. Why? How can it be avoided?" Another great article by Ed Stetzer encouraging anyone in a pastoral position to firstly be a parent, and then be a pastor. This is well worth a read.

Don’t Hate, Pray for Pro-Choice Champions - "...As Christians, we must not give in to the cultural tendency to denigrate and demonise people on the other side of the political aisle." Trevin Wax writes a great article exhorting Christians who campaign against abortion to pray and not hate people whose opinion differs from theirs.

Cynicism Doesn't Reach A Lost World - "It's worth remembering that your (and my) cynicism about certain evangelism methods is not actually evangelising a lost world. In that regard, cheesy does indeed trump unengaged cynicism. Yes, there might be better ways to share Christ, but too many cynics complain about how others evangelise while not sharing Christ themselves." Another fantastic article by Ed Stetzer who shares his reflections on evangelism in the sky.

The Effect of Your Life in 1400 Years - "...What we do in obedience to Christ in this life is never wasted. Our acts are like pebbles dropped in the pond of history. No matter how small our pebble, God rules the ripples. And he causes the design on the face of the waters to be exactly what he wills." John Piper writes an encouraging article about the sovereignty of God and His hand on every single thing we do with our lives.

January's video...

Each month along with my list of articles, I will also be sharing a video that I've come across during the month. This month's video is from David Platt and Francis Chan who recently collaborated to create an eight-minute video about the dangers of diluting discipleship and how the art of "making" disciples is intricately tied to the identity of "being" a disciple.

Thought for the month...

"When all your favourite preachers are gone, and all their books forgotten, you will have your Bible. Master it."
— John Piper

Posted by Joel Hawting at 18:15 No comments: Labels: 2014, Children, Cynicism, Digital Overload, Discipleship, Evangelism, Hate, January, Ministry, Monthly Wrap, Pray, Sovereignty of God


New Desiring God Website


Many of you would be aware that I admire the ministry of John Piper in many ways. To kick of 2014, Desiring God - the online home of John Piper - have launched a new website. The website could be described as a treasure chest full to overflowing of jewels for the Christian soul - quality sermons, books, blog content, audio podcasts and much more are offered online; many of them available for no cost.

Along with the new website for 2014, Desiring God have also released a short video clip to explain who they are and what they stand for. Take the time to familiarise yourself with Desiring God by viewing the above video.

I encourage you - check out the new Desiring God website and make it a regular place that you visit online - you will be blessed by the relevant and biblical content I'm sure! Posted by Joel Hawting at 15:30 No comments: Labels: 2014, Books, Desiring God, John Piper, Resources, Sermons

New Year, New Vision
 Well as you are no doubt aware I have not posted on my blog for some time; almost for six months in fact! Life is busy, our baby is soon to be born, and posting on Alive in Christ has not been at the top of my priority list. I have nevertheless for some time been thinking about how I can best utilise this blog and hopefully continue to provide encouragement to people through exploring the Christian faith together online.

So along with a new year, here is my new vision for the blog: Firstly, my Weekly Wraps are going to become Monthly Wraps. There are so many great articles that I come across every week however, with time constraints I think that it would be best if I provide just one wrap once a month. I'd prefer to take the time to read and then pick from a wider range of quality articles to share online. I'm also going to continue to write book reviews as I read them - this is a skill that I am interested in developing so what better way than to share here? I want to make a concerted effort in 2014 to share a wide variety of book reviews so you should see a couple of reviews here and there throughout the year. Also, I also want to commit this year to explore and hopefully explain (to some degree at least!) what various theological terms actually mean. We all hear and read words like substitutionary atonement, post-tribulation, election, dispensationalism but what do they actually mean? I'll humbly try to provide some insights into common theological terms. Finally, I'm keen to start reading through and studying a book of the bible and posting my reflections and notes online for discussion. To kick off 2014, I'm going to start with one of my favourite books of the bible: Ephesians. This should be a great way to engage with the bible and hopefully learn from one another along the way.

So I encourage you to stay tuned in for the all new blog content in 2014 - it should be a great year ahead!

Posted by Joel Hawting at 13:42 No comments: Labels: 2014, Alive in Christ, New Vision, New Year
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