Follow: Reflect - Week 4
Check out these resources gathered by our Resource Team!
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES:
Desiring God - What Will Make You Resilient?
“Now, if you’re like me, you don’t feel indestructibly resilient. But our capacity to be “afflicted in every way, but not crushed” does not depend on our self-perception or self-determination. According to what Paul says just a few verses later, our resilience (or lack thereof) depends on where we look for hope.”
Desiring God - Welcome Whatever Keeps You from Pride
“We should not be afraid to plead with God, and then plead and plead again. But he also would have us cultivate a heart that can receive, embrace, and even boast in his all-wise, always-loving No — knowing that our trials and weaknesses reveal his grace far more than our triumphs and strengths do.”
Gospel Coalition - You Must Be Weak to Be Sanctified
“A person may say “I need to be more disciplined” or “I need to work harder. I need to build my spiritual muscles, to create new habits and stick to them.” This isn’t altogether wrong. But the Bible tells us sanctification isn’t primarily an act of the will. Instead, it’s rooted in acknowledging our weakness and depending more and more on the Spirit’s power to transform our lives.”
Ligonier Ministries - God Still Uses Clay Pots
“Thankfully, the gospel is not from us. The great reality is, God’s clay-pot strategy is essential to the gospel, because it makes crystal clear where the power really lies. We are unworthy servants, but God has given us the treasure of the gospel. What an inestimable privilege!”
Gospel Coalition - I’m a New Creation in Christ… What Is That?
“The gospel or “ministry of reconciliation” is the powerful force that drives the new creation in the present. For by it we are both reconciled to God and the work of restoration is begun. Therefore being a new creation in Christ means being reconciled with God through Jesus Christ by faith. God extends this invitation to the rest of the world.”
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS:
John Piper - Change the Way You Think About Weakness
“Pain and suffering in this life really hurt, but God never leaves us to wallow in hardship on our own.”
Joni Eareckson Tada Shares Her Story
Joni Eareckson Tada is a mouth-painter, singer, writer, disability activist, and a quadriplegic. But how did she get here? What left her paralyzed? And how did she develop a faith in Christ and a passion to serve those in need? In this video, Joni opens up to share with you her life testimony—from her childhood, to her diving accident, to her faith in Jesus and His plans. She is the perfect example of God’s power being made perfect in our weakness!
Gospel Coalition - What Does it Mean to Be a New Creation?
“In this episode of TGC Q&A, Rebecca McLaughlin and Taylor Turkington answer the question, “What does it mean to be a new creation?”
Tim Keller - God's Faithfulness In My Weakness
“Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and vice president of The Gospel Coalition, tells us of a time in ministry when in his weaknesses God demonstrated his faithfulness.”
Lauren Chandler - God's Faithfulness Amid Spiritual and Physical Weakness
“Lauren Chandler shares two key moments of weakness when she was spiritually broken and opened up her heart to her children and when she felt the physical demands of needing to be in two places at once–and how the Lord met those demands through the Church.”
RECOMMENDED SERMONS:
John Piper - The Glory of God in the Sight of Eternity
“What is this promise? What is this unseen reason that you should put in your head for the sake of your heart, so that you will be renewed day by day? Answer: It’s the promise that all your affliction, even if it lasts a lifetime (which it did for Paul — no season of rest and retirement to reward his suffering at the end of his life — he was executed by Nero) is light and momentary and totally meaningful. So we do not lose heart.”
Tim Keller - Christian Hope and Suffering
“The Christian hope is a life-shaping certainty that our ultimate future is the eternal love and glory of God, the new heavens and new earth. The uniqueness of the Christian hope means every area of our lives is shaped by that belief, that future. And so the Christian hope has an enormous impact on how we face and process suffering, disappointment, difficulty, troubles.”
Matt Chandler - Love and Knowledge of Self
“Accepting the grace God freely offers is the only way to reconcile the New Testament’s command to both deny ourselves and love ourselves. We do this by closing the gap between “hearing” and doing”.
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 - Chronic Pain & Disability in Motherhood
“In this episode, Emily and Laura sit down with Vaneetha Risner to discuss the topic of chronic pain in motherhood. Whether you suffer from chronic pain or disability, or simply find yourself wondering if you have what it takes to make it through another day of mothering, Vaneetha provides gospel encouragement and perspective for the mom who wonders if she’s ‘enough’ for her children. When we trust that our sufficiency is in Christ, our hearts are freed to steward the gift of motherhood faithfully with what God has given us today.”
With the Perrys - Grieving with God
“Grief is hard to describe but when you’re in it, you know it. It’s something everybody will have to endure at some point in time, so how can we endure it “well”, if that’s even a thing? We're joined by Davy Blackburn, a man who knows what grief is and how God is faithful to show up in it.”
Ask Pastor John - Your Suffering is Not Meaningless
“That was God’s purpose: to help Paul trust utterly in God by knocking all the props out from under his life so that there was only one place to fall — on God who raises the dead. And he trusted God. He trusted this profound knowledge of the role of suffering in the life of the believer.”
The Overcomers Podcast - Overcoming in Prolonged Suffering
“Matt Chandler interviews Katie and Matt as they share their decade-long journey of battling with endometriosis, Lyme disease, multiple physical ailments and surgeries– not to mention the emotional toll of losing a loved one in the midst of it all. They've faced wave after wave or trials with courage – leaning on each other, their community, and an unshaken faith who God says He is.”