Book Review of "Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity"

The book "Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity" by Mark Batterson explores what it means to really follow what Jesus said is the Great Commandment: to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Mark Batterson is the lead pastor at National Community Church in Washington D.C.)



In regards to loving God with all of your heart, Batterson gives an illustration of when a person has a physical heart transplant, their way of living and their desires change. He shows that is also like that in a spiritual sense: When we love God with all of our heart, He changes how we live and what we desire--we see people through the eyes of Jesus, and are broken by what breaks His heart.



In regards to loving God with all of your soul, Batterson shows that we need to wonder at the Creation that God has made. Batterson did a hiking expedition with his son Parker at the Grand Canyon, and at the end of their hike, they did a helicoptor tour of the Grand Canyon. Batterson cried. The wonder of God's creation was overwhelming to him.



In regards to loving God with all of your mind, Batterson examines "holy curiosity." He also explores what it means to have "one God idea." Batterson writes of a "God idea" that ended up being used in his church: a Christmas catalog that consisted of missions projects. Multiple missions projects were done overseas, because Batterson's church took the ball and ran with the "God idea."



In regards to loving God with all of your strength, Batterson writes of being physically involved in the things of God. Batterson went on a missions trip to Jamaica, and he really felt as he was physically helping there that God saw it as an act of worship. He shows also that we need to walk in the strength of God.



"Primal" is a book that believers and ministers really nead to read. I also believe an unsaved person could be saved in reading this book, for it outlines what the "primal" core of Christianity is. This should be the first book that people read in the coming New Year. If you would like to purchase the book, please go to http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601421319.

FireWire

FireWire for young adults/young professionals is this Friday at 7 P.M. at Inspiration Bible Church (3939 N. Pearl St. Tacoma, WA). There will be food, fun, and faith! Shannon Streich will be speaking on the topic of grace.

Sacrifice

Will be speaking on Sacrifice on Wednesday night (Veteran's Day). I will be talking about spiritual sacrifice.

Harvest Party

The Harvest Party for Inspiration Bible Church is coming up on Friday, October 30th. It starts at 6 P.M., and will go to 9:30 P.M. There will be food, candy, inflatables, hay rides, and a costume contest! Come and have fun!

November FireWire

The next FireWire will be on Friday, November 13th. Shannon Streich will be speaking on the topic of grace.

Doug Jones Weekend

Doug Jones is coming this weekend to Inspiration Bible Church--Friday night at 7 P.M., Saturday night at 6 P.M., and Sunday at 9 A.M. and 11 A.M.

October 16th FireWire

The next FireWire for young adults (single or married are welcome) will be on Friday, October 16th at 7 P.M. There will be food, fun, and faith. You can come and relax! The message will be on "The War." There are many ways that our spiritual adversary tries to come against us, with things like temptations and discouraging thoughts. We need to come against that, but we can't do it in our own strength. Come and hear more!

September 11th FireWire

FireWire is coming up on Friday, September 11th, at 7 P.M. It is for young professionals. There will be food, fun, and a message on "Passion." It will be at the Annex Building at Inspiration Bible Church.

Prayer

Came back from our family vacation this morning. It was interesting last Saturday hearing a message on prayer at Saddleback Church. One of the things that the teaching pastor talked about is asking God to remove obstacles. Like if you are praying for a person's salvation, ask God to help remove the obstacles in their lives. Prayer is so important.

Focus

Focus on the most important things in your life that need to be worked on. Pick two or so, and spend most of your time working on those two things. John Maxwell would say it is the 80/20 principle. God can help us with the areas of our lives that need to be worked on. We can ask Him to help us.

Perseverance

We need to trust God and persevere, no matter what may happen. He is the One that can give us strength. Jesus is all we need.

Church on Wednesday

The Wednesday night service at I.B.C. is at 7 P.M.

May 8 FireWire

FireWire is coming up this Friday at 7 P.M.! There will be free pizza! I will be talking about "Keep in the High-Speed Connection with God." There are fundamental things that are so important spiritually. Have a blessed week everyone!

Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle has been quite popular on YouTube and such lately. It really show that everyone is special and important to God. Check out this quote:

"The way we see Susan Boyle is very nearly the way God sees us: worthwhile, special, talented, unique, beautiful. The world generally looks askance at people like Susan Boyle, if it sees them at all. Without classic good looks, without work, without a spouse, living in a small town, people like Susan Boyle may not seem particularly "important." But God sees the real person, and understands the value of each individual's gifts: rich or poor, young or old, single or married, matron or movie star, lucky or unlucky in life. God knows us. And loves us."(http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&id=61474897-3048-741E-3739258670171854, "Susan Boyle and the Love of God," James Martin, S.J.)

How very true. God told the prophet Samuel when he was trying to find a king to not look at outward appearances:

"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."(1 Samuel 16:7, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=9&chapter=16&verse=7&version=31&context=verse). God sees who we really are. Let us try to see all people through the eyes of God.

One Week to Easter

It is only one week to Easter! What Jesus did for us is so amazing! Next week, we will have two services at I.B.C. (9 A.M. and 11 A.M.). Check out the new look to the I.B.C. website (http://www.inspirationbiblechurch.com/). The media people at I.B.C. are amazing!

April 10 FireWire

The next FireWire will be on Friday, April 10 at the I.B.C. annex building at 5:30 P.M. There will be free pizza! We will talk about the last words that Jesus spoke from the cross. There will be a Passover Celebration at 7 P.M. in the main building.

National Day of Prayer

The National Day of Prayer is coming to Cheney Stadium (Tacoma, Washington) at noon on May 7, 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL_j1_VxvDE)!

One Step at a Time

It is interesting how God takes us one step at a time through life. God leads us to certain places in our lives, and many times it is gradual. When we do have those "big steps," God gives us the strength that we need through it. He is always there.

The U

Had a great visit at "The U" at Puyallup Foursquare last night! So cool seeing other young adults passionately worshipping God!

"Everything" (from my Facebook)

"Everything" is a compelling human video that has a lot of videos on YouTube. Jesus really is "everything." Nothing in this world can satisfy us. Only Jesus.

Moments

An interesting thing about time. We cannot go backwards. We cannot move forwards either. We just have today. We may have regrets in the past, and we may have things we look forward to in the future, but the reality is that life is made up of moments. Are we living right now in the moment? Are we letting God transform us into His image? We cannot go in a time machine, but we can make the most of every opportunity.

Men's Breakfast

Pastor Greg will be speaking at the Men's Breakfast at Inspiration Bible Church on Saturday, April 4. It will be at 9 A.M.

FireWire tonight!

FireWire is tonight at 7 at the annex building at Inspiration Bible Church (3939 North Pearl St. Tacoma, WA). We will doing a St. Patrick's theme tonight. We will have free food (baked potatoes)! It will be fun! Come and go deeper with God and have fun hanging out!

Today

It is neat that today is the only today we will ever have. Yesterday is history, and tomorrow has not happened yet. We can be used by God where He has put us TODAY!

Molding

When we are believers, God is molding us. We are the clay, and He is the potter. It does not always feel pleasant to be molded. However, God does it for our good. He knows what He is doing.

Snow!

It is snowing in the middle of March! Snow is such a great reminder of how Jesus washes us "whiter than snow" from our sins!

Tuesday

Today was a busy day, but it was a good day. It is so neat we can depend on God, whether we are having a busy day or not. God is our strength.

FireWire is coming up on Friday, March 20th at 7 P.M. The following FireWire will be Friday, April 10th at 5:30 P.M., for there will be a Passover celebration at 7 P.M.

Church

Church was great this morning! Pastors Greg and Starlene spoke about Visions and Dreams in a series they are in on hearing God's Voice.

Stepping Out

There are many times in our lives where God wants us to step out of our comfort zones. It is not easy to do, but when we do it, we are glad we did. In our lives, let us not settle for the daily routine, but let us step out and do what God wants us to do, no matter how we may feel.

A speaker named Paul Cole at a men's conference I was at today said that a lot of people do things out of convenience; they don't "feel" like doing this or that. However, God wants us to get out of living in convenience. He wants us to step out.

Today is Friday!

Fridays are so nice! Two weeks from today we will have the next FireWire at Inspiration Bible Church! Have a blessed weekend!

Learning

It is good to be always be learning in life. If we are not learning, then that is not good. Learning does not stop with formal education. Learning is something that should be lifelong.

Also too, our relationship with God should always be growing. If we do not grow with our walk with God, then then we go backwards. Let us seek God. Let us also be lifelong learners.

FireWire

FireWire, a ministry for high schoolers/college age is coming up again on Friday, March 20th. There will be free pizza! It will be at the annex building at Inspiration Bible Church (3939 North Pearl Street). Check it out on Facebook or on http://www.inspirationbiblechurch.com/.

Monday

When you think about Mondays, they are the start of the weekdays. A fresh start, if you will.

It is neat that when we ask Jesus to forgive us, that He makes us fresh and clean. When Jesus comes into our heart, it is like a Monday. We are starting over.

Two Services

Pastor Greg did a great job with communion this morning. Pastors Greg and Starlene preached a great sermon.

We will be going to two services next month! We are excited about what God is doing! The two services will be starting on Easter Sunday. The service times will be 9 A.M. and 11 A.M. There will be children's church for both services. Youth will be during the 11 A.M. service. God is so good!

Communion Tomorrow

Pastors Greg and Starlene will be doing communion tomorrow at Inspiration Bible Church. The service is at 10 A.M. Come and visit! Communion is a great time to reflect on what Christ has done for us.

Friday

It is neat that it it Friday. Definetely something to be thankful for! :)

Daniel's Concert

My friend Daniel Ouedrago is having a concert on Saturday, March 28th. It will be at the Super Hero Training Center (at Parkwood Community Center/Club) at 6 P.M. The address is 3045 Madrona Dr. SE. You can look it up on Facebook under "Daniel's Concert."

Joy

The joy that is in Jesus is not conditional. A lot of times we might feel happy or feel sad, but the neat thing with joy is it transcends our emotions. Let us rejoice in the joy of Jesus!

Be God's Vessel

When we are believers, we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Let us go out and let ourselves be used by God. We are His vessels, and He wants us to show the world that we have His Spirit living inside of us. Let us go and show His love. Let us represent Him. Let us be God's vessel.

Presidential Address

Saw the Presidential Address. I think it interesting that he used a lot of specific examples that were relevant. That is something that is important in preaching: using illustrations that are going to apply to people's lives. Showing how the Word of God applies to people's lives. In-depth doctrine in a sermon might be theologically sound, but it might not be the most relevant to what is going on in people's lives. Like the head pastors at I.B.C. would say, people need a "now" word. The prophets who spoke in the Old Testament were giving a "now" word. They were speaking what God was wanting to say to them about that time, and also about the future. It might not have been pleasant, but it was practical. Being relevant is so important.

I.B.C. Website

The website for Inspiration Bible Church is www.inspirationbiblechurch.com. Pastors Greg and Starlene Martin are the head pastors. I.B.C. is a great church! Church is on Sunday at 10 A.M. and Wednesday at 7 P.M.

Why wait?

Why wait for God to do something in your life? Now is the time to be used! Do not let life pass you by, and you come to the end of it, wishing you had let God use you to the fullest. Now is the time to stop holding back, and letting God just flow through you. Do not wait! You have nothing to lose, and all to gain. Why wait?

God is amazing!

When you stop and think about, God is so incredibly amazing! He made all of the billions of stars in the sky, all the creatures in the sea, all the land animals, all the plants, and He made...us! As amazing as everything is that God has made, we are special and unique! For believers, we can rejoice that we are forgiven and set free! God truly is amazing!

The Simple Things In Life

Saw a couple of "My Three Sons" episodes tonight with my mom and dad and sisters. We also had ice cream! Those episodes are such classics! I like the simple things in life.

Salvation

Nothing is more important than a relationship with Jesus. A person came to know Jesus at church today! The Bible says that the angels rejoice when one person comes to Jesus. If the angels rejoice, we should rejoice too!

Quote

There is a quote from Pastors Greg and Starlene Martin at Inspiration Bible Church used in a sermon series a couple months ago that I really like--"I am anointed on a level that this world is not familiar with." If you really think about that, that will change your life. If you are a believer, you can know that you have the anointing of God on you. You can walk in His anointing. Wow!

Twitter and Church

I joined Twitter. Twitter is a good idea!

Church was great today at Inspiration Bible Church. My uncle and aunt are amazing pastors! I am the Assistant Pastor there, which means I do a variety of things there. The church is located at 3939 North Pearl Street in Tacoma.