Have you ever been confused about the topic of spiritual warfare? What is this battle the Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians chapter 6? And, what resources does God provide for us to deploy in this warfare?

The following ebooklet titled, "A Call to Arms" by Jeff Purswell addresses these questions and many others while calling us to stand firm in what God has done for us, what God has done in us, and what God promises to do for us.

A Call To Arms (276.19 kb)

This ebooklet is based on Jeff Purswell's second general session message at our 2012 Pastors Conference. You can download that message (right click), or listen here:

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Take Words With You, a compilation of 1,500 Scripture promises and prayers, is now available as an ebook on the Amazon site for kindle and other formats.

Over Holy Week it will be available as a $0.99 download. After that the price goes up to $2.99.

All profits go directly into new editions. The heart of this project by Tim Kerr is to get people praying by praying Scripture! 

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Have you ever noticed how much the gospels slow down as they approach Jesus’ death and resurrection?

The gospels begin with Jesus’ birth (except Mark which begins much more quickly). They then march along, gaining speed. Jesus makes repeated stops. He calls disciples. He preaches constantly. He heals blind, deaf, paralyzed, demon-possessed people at every stop. He can hardly rest.

This pace continues and gains steam.

But, as he enters Jerusalem, everything slows down dramatically. Much a train slows as it approaches its destination, so the gospels slow down as Jesus reaches his destination: death on a cross.

Consider this. In the gospel of Matthew, of twenty-eight total chapters, eight are devoted to the final week of Jesus’ ministry.

This week has historically been called “holy week.” It is simply a designation used to capture all that happened in the final days and week of Jesus’ ministry. It begins with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and ends with his resurrection day.

This is what the gospel slow down to consider.

And, perhaps, so should we.

With celebrating Easter on March 31, I want to encourage you to take a few moments individually or as a family to consider this important week and its all-too-important climax in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

A Few Suggestions

Read through the gospel accounts of each day - This chart is fantastic. It organizes all that occurred each day of holy week, beginning with his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before Easter. Take a few minutes to talk through this as a family each day.

Read these daily devotions from Desiring God Ministries - In this short e-book Love to the Uttermost, Desiring God has collected excerpts from various messages by John Piper to go along with each day of holy week.  

Rejoice in the wonderful truths of the gospel - To name a few:

• We are reconciled to God—Ephesians 2:11-22
• We are forgiven of our sins, as the debt has been cancelled—Colossians 2:14, Isaiah 53:6
• We are counted righteous in Christ—2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 3:23-26
• We are adopted as sons and daughters—Romans 8:15-17, Galatians 4:4-7
• We are born again, becoming new creations in Christ—John 3, 2 Corinthians 5:17
• We are kept in the love of God, which nothing can disrupt—Romans 8:28-39, Jude 1
• We are look to the hope of heaven—Romans 8:24-25, 1 Peter 1:3-5

Remember his death on Good Friday, March 29 - Good Friday was an agonizing day for Jesus, as he endured the agony of the cross and the wrath of God. Take time to remember his sacrificial death. Take time to read the accounts of that day—Matthew. 26:57-27:61, Mark 14:53-15:47, Luke 22:54-23:54, and John 18:13-19:42. Take time to listen to this Crucifixion Narrative by pastor Rick Gamache.

Celebrate his resurrection on Easter, March 31 - Christ has risen; He has risen indeed. Jesus has triumphed over sin and death and risen from the dead. He is alive and, because we united to Him, we too are alive and are new creations! Celebrate Easter and rejoice in what Jesus has done.

* This post first appeared on the Cornerstone Church of Knoxville blog. 

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Walt has been a member of Cornerstone Church of Knoxville since the spring of 2002. He graduated from the Sovereign Grace Pastors College in June, 2008. As student at the University of Tennessee, he discovered Cornerstone Church through Volunteers for Christ (VFC). He serves the church by overseeing the worship ministry, the Care Group ministry, men's ministry, and tending to various administrative duties. He married Kim in 2007. They welcomed their first child, son Rev, in September of 2010.

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The Sovereign Grace Store has added free mp3 sets for Next 2012 and our Pastors Conference 2012. General sessions, break-out sessions, and "conversations between friends" are listed below with relevant detail. Download today and enjoy.

Next 2012

General Session Messages:

1. Jeff Purswell, "The Church and the Purpose of God"
2. Jared Mellinger, "The Church and Membership"
3. Ian McConnell, "The Church and Sunday"
4. Kevin DeYoung, "The Church and Friendship"
5. Kevin DeYoung, "The Church and Holiness"
6. Matt Chandler, "The Church and Culture"
7. C.J. Mahaney, "The Church and Disappointment"

Conversations Between Friends:

1. C.J. Mahaney with Kevin DeYoung
2. C.J. Mahaney with Matt Chandler
3. Bob Kauflin with Devon Kauflin

Pastors Conference 2012

General Session Messages:

1. Dave Harvey, "Forgiveness: Debtor No More" (Mt 18:21-35)
2. Jeff Purswell, "A Call to Arms" (Eph 6:10-20)
3. Ligon Duncan, "God and Your Ministerial Discouragement" (Dt 34, 1 Kings 19, 2 Tim 4)
4. Ian McConnell, "Gospel Men on Gospel Mission" (Mt 6:13-21)

Break-Out Sessions:

1. Matthew Wassink, "What Polity Can, Can't and Shouldn't Do For Us"
2. Paul Buckley,"Godly Speech - The Power of the Words We Speak, Write and Read"
3. Phil Sasser, "Effective Elderships: Fostering Clear Roles, Healthy Function, and Strong Leadership"
4. Jon Payne, "Union with Christ and Everyday Pastoring: Reinforcing an Important Doctrine"
5. Craig Cabaniss, "Leading through Change: How to Address Sin, Mistakes and Growth in the Church"
6. John Loftness, "Evaluating Pastors: Common Mistakes, What We've Learned, and What Scripture Calls Us To"
7. Mark Prater, "Loving and Leading Those Who Criticize"
8. Dave Harvey, "What’s Our Role? Elders and the Global Mission"
9. Mickey Connolly, "Discerning Holiness: Legalism, License and the Principle/Practice Distinction"
10. Bob Kauflin, "Parenting and the Grace of God: Has Our Understanding Changed?"
11. Nancy Guthrie, "Pain that Can't be Prayed Away"
12. Nancy Guthrie, "Learning to Walk with Each Other Through Loss"

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The Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary hosted the 20/20 Collegiate Conference this past weekend. Hundreds of college students gathered to consider this year’s theme, “Gospel and Mission.”

Along with Danny Akin, Darrin Patrick, and Bruce Ashford, C.J. Mahaney had the opportunity to address these college students from God’s Word on two occasions. The audio and video have been made available.

The Profile of a Church Planter
1 Thessalonians 2

Called and Kept for Christ’s Purposes
Jude

For a fuller description of 20/20 2013, watch this introduction by Tony Merida.

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The busyness of life shouldn't keep us from prayer over the Scriptures but it often does. Though this is primarily a spiritual problem, sometimes there are practical obstacles in the way as well. This year, our church is working on a practical resource to help jump start peoples fellowship with God in the word and prayer. We are calling it "Meditations on Mercy."

These meditations are a short spotlight on one or two verses with a few brief comments and a question or two. For those with a regular quiet time, this will hopefully serve as a healthy supplement. To those with little or no quiet time, this resource will hopefully "jump start" their batteries and get things moving once again. I also think these brief mediations are well suited to times of family worship.

January's theme was "Steadfast Love." February's theme is "Simple Patterns of Prayer." Simple one or two verse prayers are presented each day. Some are so short they can be easily memorized and spoken throughout the day in short bursts of prayer and vocalized trust. The primary intent of this month's mini-prayer focus is to show us that prayers need not be long to be effective. Becoming acquainted with the hundreds of prayers in the Bible is one of the best ways to learn how to pray powerfully and with faith!

Download the PDF: Meditations On Mercy - Simple Patterns of Prayer

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Tim Kerr is the senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Toronto. Tim grew up in Kolkata, India where his missionary parents were involved in church planting and teaching at the Calcutta Bible College connected to the historic Carey Baptist Church. After marriage, Tim and his wife Joanne served in Japan for 12 years as church planters. When they returned to Canada, Tim led a one-on-one mentoring ministry for several years that greatly impacted Christian businessmen, pastors, and church planters in Ontario. This strong mentoring ministry has continued in the Sovereign Grace Church, which he planted in 2004. Tim and Joanne have 4 children, ages 17-24.

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We are bringing back the ever popular February Sale for 2013. Most items (excluding Proclaim items and items found on the Clearance page) are up to 40% off, while supplies last. So now is your time to stock up on books and music! Take advantage of these discounted prices starting February 1st, as we will not be restocking inventory until after the sale is over.

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Prayer. It’s a discipline of the Christian life that we all agree is important yet few believe they sufficiently practice. When measured against God’s Word we all too often miss the mark.

• “pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
• “praying at all times in the Spirit…making supplication for all the saints” Ephesians 6:18
• “pray for one another…” James 5:16
• “in everything by prayer…let your request be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

Perhaps considering these passages, along with others, leads you to resolve or re-resolve to grow in the discipline of prayer in 2013. 

For your encouragement, Tim Kerr has written many helpful posts this past year on the topic. We've linked to these below for your benefit: 

• Prayer and the Busy, Distracted Life
• If Prayer Is Such A Good Thing, Why Does It Seem So Hard?
• The Rhythm of Prayer
• Receiving Grace Through Prayer
• How We Receive the Grace to Keep Praying
• 10 Practical Ways to Cultivate Prayer in Your Church
• Pastors, Devote Yourselves to the Word and Prayer 

May we further "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" this coming year. (Philippians 3:14)

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With registration for our Transfer Conference now open, we want to make you aware of some of the resources you can benefit from over at TheTransfer.org:

• Messages from past Celebration, New Attitude, and NEXT conferences are all available for free download.
• Pastors of Sovereign Grace churches are contributing to the Transfer Blog Monday through Friday. Their posts highlight relevant messages, books, and articles that further inspire us to transfer what we treasure to future generations. Read the latest post from Jon Payne about transferring the gospel to future generations.
• A promotional video and a filmed conversation between Ian McConnell and Bob Kauflin discussing Transfer are available to view and share with others.
• Check us out on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.

We hope you'll join us Memorial Day Weekend 2013 in Orlando, Florida for Transfer!

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One solitary blog post on procrastination. That was the extent of what C.J. Mahaney intended to write. But not long after spreading out the contents of his “time management” file folder over his desk, useful old resources surfaced, old themes returned, and new ideas emerged. A series was born. 

Biblical Productivity

With the help of Tony Reinke, C.J. began weaving his thoughts into blog posts and what later became a free ebook on the topic. This resource covers the following topics:

1. Are You Busy?
2. Confessions of a Busy Procrastinator
3. The Procrastinator Within
4. Just Do It
5. In All Thy Ways
6. The Sluggard
7. Time. Redeemed.
8. Roles, Goals, Scheduling
9. Roles (Part 1)
10. Roles (Part 2)
11. Goals (Part 1)
12. Goals (Part 2)
13. Goals (Part 3)
14. Goals (Part 4)
15. Scheduling the Unexpected
16. The To-Do Lists Are Never Done
17. Self-Sufficient

Finishing Your To-Do List

C.J. concludes this ebook with the follow section, appealing that our joy not be found in our self-sufficient efforts but found in what Jesus has already accomplished for us.

No matter how much planning, scheduling, and discipline is present in my life, I will never completely redeem the time. I am a finite creature, limited in what I can accomplish, and further limited by my sin. So it should surprise nobody that I leave to-dos undone each and every day. My joy is not derived from the flawless execution of my goals. My joy each day is derived from the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Only God gets his to-do list done each day. I need the cross of Christ each day.

May this whet your appetite to read, consider, plan, and apply the material from Biblical Productivity. 

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