Follow: Reflect - Week 3
Check out these resources gathered by our Resource Team!
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
“Who am I becoming?” That was the question nagging pastor and author John Mark Comer. Outwardly, he appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren’t pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words: “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life.” Martha needed to hear this in Luke 10, and we do too!
M Is for Mama: A Rebellion Against Mediocre Motherhood by Abbie Halberstadt
“Motherhood is a challenge. Unfortunately, our worldly culture offers moms little in the way of real help. There has to be a better way, a biblical way, for mamas to grow and thrive. This book offers advice, encouragement, and scripturally sound strategies seasoned with a little bit of humor to help you embrace the challenge of biblical motherhood and raise your children with love and wisdom. It connects to this week’s sermon as follows: we cannot be the moms our kids need if we prioritize our busy schedules or check-lists over our spiritual health!”
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
“Many spend their lives on trivial diversions, seeking earthly comfort and pleasure above all else. But Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it,” calling us into the eternal purpose and God-exalting life for which we were made. In this book, Piper uses the story of Mary and Martha to emphasize the importance of delighting in God and prioritizing a deep, personal relationship with Him over mere busyness or religious activity. He argues that true joy and fulfillment are found in knowing and loving God above all else.”
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES:
Desiring God - You Have Time to Sit with God
“Satan will try to make everything feel more urgent than sitting down to be with Jesus. But in the end, only one thing is truly necessary.. One thing is necessary — today, tomorrow, next Tuesday, and every day after — to know, obey, and enjoy Jesus.”
Desiring God - Whom Are You Really Serving?
“Jesus’ gentle rebuke of Martha was an act of love — to her and to us. We are all Marthas at times. And through this correction Jesus is asking us: whom are we serving in our serving?”
Gospel Coalition - Spiritual Imposters and the One Thing
“Mary was doing two very simple things: (i) sitting at the feet of Jesus and; (ii) listening to His teaching.
You see, Mary recognized that Jesus—the Word who became flesh, God incarnate—was in her house. Rather than falling into the trap of ritualistic ‘doing’, she listened to God’s Word and let that shape her service.”
Gospel Coalition - Good News for the Marthas Among Us
“When the stuff of life pulls us in twenty different directions, the good news is this: only one thing is necessary. The rest is transient. Like Martha, our role may be to serve, but when we choose to prioritize close communion with the Lord first, it allows us to relinquish our control-anxiety to Him.”
Desiring God - One Thing Worth Everything
"Jesus let Martha give herself to lesser resolves, resolves that looked outwardly commendable but revealed inner anxiety and trouble, until Martha finally said something. We should not assume we’re giving ourselves to the best things, and that Jesus will tell us if we’re not."
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS:
Our Daily Bread - Picking Your Priorities
“What has your attention? So many things, good and bad, distract us from enjoying what really matters. We can focus on what's best for our lives when we pick our priorities.”
Our Daily Bread - The Distraction Dilemma
“What is the distraction dilemma? Even a good thing can distract you from a better thing. Martha, Mary’s sister, shows us this at dinner with Jesus. Martha was distracted by many things and missed an opportunity to just be with Him. What do we allow ourselves to be distracted by that keeps us from spending time with Jesus?”
RECOMMENDED SERMONS:
"Serving others is an important virtue in the Christian life, but it is not a greater priority than hearing the Word of Christ. R.C. Sproul continues his series in the gospel of Luke to consider an important lesson that Jesus gave to a friend named Martha."
Albert Mohler - One Thing Necessary
Albert Mohler preaches from Luke 10:38-42 during the Heritage Week Chapel at Southern Seminary.
Charles Spurgeon - Martha and Mary
This is a transcript of Spurgeon’s sermon over Luke 10:38-42. He says, “Martha’s actions were good, but, if I may use the word, they were commonplace…the spiritual nature of Christ she had forgotten, she was providing nothing for it; but Mary’s estimate of Christ was of a truer order ; she looked at him as a priest, she viewed him as a prophet, she adored him as a king.”
RECOMMENDED PODCASTS:
Welcome to The Warehouse! Has a Sunday sermon ever left you running to Google with new theological questions? Have you ever wished that you could peer behind the curtain to see how the message comes together? That’s where we come in! Here at Cornerstone Church, we spend hours every week talking about the Bible. This is the place to learn about Scripture, dive into its context, and study the Bible’s cultural background. Come to the Warehouse–where we’ll extend the stuff you learn from the stage.
Risen Motherhood - The Thing You Really Need in Motherhood
“When we’re struggling with mom guilt, burnout, keeping up with housework, and more, where should we turn for help and hope? While fresh resources, support from others, creative hacks, and advice from other moms are helpful and important, one source of truth outlasts and supersedes all others: God’s Word.”
Ask Pastor John - I'm Tired and Busy: How Do I Make Time for the Bible?
“I think if Jesus visited our homes and watched our schedules, he would probably point to some things and say, “No, that doesn’t have to consume quite that much time. No, you don’t have to devote that much time and energy to that. One thing is needful — more needful than your pattern of cooking, more needful than your pattern of cleaning, more needful than your pattern of exercising, more needful than your pattern of errand-running and shopping — it’s just plain more needful.”
With the Perrys - Fighting Distractions Upon Waking
“In this episode, the Perrys highlight a few things that compete for our attention and take away from adequate time in God’s Word. They want to help us all cultivate a daily habit of seeking the Lord before anything else.”
RECOMMENDED SONGS:
"One Thing is Needed" by Boyce Worship Collective
Based on Luke 10:38-42 and Psalm 27 and performed at Southern Seminary.