Day: January 18, 2011

Gospel-Centered Lives

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

From time to time I am asked by some in our church what I mean when I repeatedly declare that we are – and we must be – a Gospel-Centered Church. I think it may be the hyphen that confuses people.

To be “something”-centered is simply to focus on the relation an individual or a church has to a central value.  While there could be any number of things at the center of a persons or organizations values, in our case the point of emphasis is the Gospel (or the Cross).

As for what it means to be Gospel-centered, as an individual or as a church, I don’t think I could answer better than Joe Thorn did in a post titled: Gospel-Centered.  One of the things Joe points out is:

[T]he gospel-centered life is a life where a Christian experiences a growing personal reliance on the gospel that protects him from depending on his own religious performance and being seduced and overwhelmed by idols.

Don’t Waste Your Sports

/ Dennis Griffith / 5 Comments

There are seemingly few resources that help the athlete and the fan channel an enthusiasm for sports to the glory of God.  Many misapply Philippians 4.13, taking it out of context, disconnecting it from it’s gospel purpose, and using it as if it is merely a self-help positive thinking slogan.  Others assume that sports are just “worldly” banality that, while enjoyable, have no redeeming spiritual value, except perhaps for the platform provided to accomplished Christian athletes in this sport idolatrous culture.

As a life-long sports enthusiast, and former coach and athlete, I have longed for a substantive bridge that connects athletic endeavors with spiritual formation, yet that avoids the shallowness usually exhibited.

Two relatively recent resources provide the connection and substance I have long looked for:

Both these resources help show us how we can redeem our involvement with sports to God’s Glory and our spiritual development, whether an athlete or a fan.

Two related audio resources:

Bible Reading Plans for 2011

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

New Years Day has come and gone, and 2011 is trudging along.  You want to do some things different this year.  You’ve always wanted to read through the Bible, but you’ve never been quite sure how to do it.  Or, you have read through the Bible before but you are looking for a different approach.

If one of your Resolutions for 2011 is to make Bible reading a regular part of your daily disciplines, you are in luck (err, you are in Providence)!  It is not too late to get started. (It’s never too late.) There are several plans available from the publishers of the ESV.

Click: Bible Reading Plans