Secret Church

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• Matt Mason’s Family Worship Resource List
• Honoring a Special Brother this Good Friday at Secret Church
• Janet Parshall Interviews Pastor David
• Register This Week for a Study Guide
• The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul

Matt Mason’s Family Worship Resource List Posted: 02 Apr 2014 10:01 PM PDT In our recent interview with Matt Mason on family worship, we asked him for some resource recommendations. He gave us a boatload of good suggestions, so we decided to include those separately in the post below. Here are some books Matt recommends for you and your family along with some brief descriptions… Family Worship: In the Bible, in History & in Your Home (Donald Whitney). I brought it with me on a personal retreat several years ago, and God used it to awaken me to the biblical call and the beauty of family worship. I read it through many tears. A short, but potentially life-changing book. Once you're convinced of the value of family worship, here are some resources we've found useful for family worship… The Big Picture Story Bible (David Helm).  If you have young children, this is a must have resource. Simple but gospel-rich storytelling. Great pictures. The Jesus Storybook Bible (Sally Lloyd-Jones).  Another must have for those with young children. Beautiful pictures and writing. Like Big Picture, the author connects each Bible story to the Bible's central character and central message, Christ and His saving work. Mighty Acts of God (Starr Meade).  Much like the previous, except that it gives more detail and tells more stories. It’s a good Bible to let your reading-age son/daughter take to bed and begin his/her personal times of reading Scripture. Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing (Sally Lloyd-Jones).  I heard someone say that one of the great signs of maturity in faith is seen in one's increasing ability to connect the gospel to everything in life. This book is a primer on seeing how the gospel relates to everyday life. Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God (Marty Machowski). A one-stop-shop resource. Gives brief Bible reading, brief devotional thought, asks good questions for family discussion. Offers helps for family prayer. Gospel-centered. The Big Book of Questions and Answers: A Family Devotional Guide to the Christian Faith (Sinclair Ferguson).  Ferguson does a good job making big truths accessible to little children. God’s Mighty Acts in Salvation (Starr Meade).  A study through the book of Galatians. Begins with a brief Bible reading (a verse or two) followed by a devotional unpacking of the significance of that verse or verses for our lives as people who love Jesus and want to keep the gospel central in our thinking and living. Readings take roughly 5-10 minutes. The Real Story books by Paul Maier:  The Real Story of the Creation; The Real Story of the Flood; The Real Story of the Exodus; The Very First Christmas; The Real Story of Easter; The Very First Christians. Our family has enjoyed the books in this series. Sometimes we’ve read them aloud during family worship as we approach a holiday (Christmas/Easter). Sometimes we’ve read them to individual children at bedtime. Note to Self  (Thorn). Gospel meditations based on the reading of a verse or brief passage of Scripture. Good for older kids. The devotional readings take roughly 5-10 minutes. Grandpa’s Box: Retelling the Biblical Story of Redemption (Starr Meade).  Meade uses a story of children visiting their grandpa as the backdrop for teaching the one big story of the Bible. In one biblical episode after another, the Grandpa shows the unfolding progression of how the serpent-conquering Seed of the woman (prophesied about in Gen 3:15) peeks through throughout the OT and then appears in living color in the NT. Readings can take (if memory serves) 10+ minutes, so it’s probably better for older kids (maybe 8 and up). Big Truths for Young Hearts (Bruce Ware).  Devotional chapters written to unpack major doctrines (God as Creator, etc.). Can be doctrinally heavy (in a good way). For older kids. Readings take about 15 minutes. Some resources for bedtime reading, road trips, etc…. Dangerous Journey (Hunkin/Bunyan). An easy to read (and with pictures!) version of Bunyan’s classic, Pilgrim’s Progress. Younger ones will have a hard time comprehending it all and (warning) some pictures are gruesome. Keeping Holiday (Starr Meade).  A Christian allegory akin to Pilgrim’s Progress. Excellent portrayals of how temptation works and many other biblical motifs. Great refrains about “the Finder.” Older kids (maybe from 8+) will get the most out of it. The Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale (Elena Pasquali). Great story and beautiful pictures. The way of God is upside down. He saves not by force of domination but through humility and death. The Priest with Dirty Clothes (R.C. Sproul).  Great story and beautiful pictures. Helpful teaching and conversation starter toward understanding the vital doctrine of imputation/justification. The Lightlings (R.C. Sproul).  Great story and beautiful pictures. A retelling of the big story – creation, sin, salvation. The Prince’s Poison Cup (R.C. Sproul).  Great story and beautiful pictures. Helps teach the truth that Christ took our curse for our salvation. The Barber Who Wanted to Pray (R.C. Sproul).  For centuries the main go to’s for family worship were the Lord’s Prayer, the 10 commandments, the Apostle’s Creed (see Westminster for some help here as well). So when Martin Luther’s barber asked him how to pray Luther went to those three. This is a storied and kid-friendly version of what Luther wrote to his friend the barber. The King Without a Shadow (R.C. Sproul).  Like the other Sproul books, the content is very good. The concept of God’s holiness/otherness is a bit more difficult to capture in story form. So this is abstract at times and would be more difficult for young children to grasp. I’d buy it all over again and still read it to the kids, but I’d do it after some other things. Mr. Pipes Series (Douglas Bond).  A series of books (historical fiction) wherein an older man named Mr. Pipes teaches two children some of the great things about hymn-writers from church history. Good family read aloud material. Not much action or tons of humor but it has many inspiring moments. Good for history-loving families. – Go here to register or to find out more about Secret Church 14, “The Cross and Everyday Life.”

Honoring a Special Brother this Good Friday at Secret Church Posted: 02 Apr 2014 10:01 PM PDT Secret Church 14 is just over two weeks away now. As people are continuing to register, study guides are going fast, and our team is working hard, we thought we’d take a moment to let you in on one of the things that will take place during the simulcast. We’re going to take a few minutes to honor someone who is very dear to us, Brother Andrew, author of God’s Smuggler and founder of Open Doors, a ministry devoted to serving persecuted Christians around the world. Here’s an excerpt about Brother Andrew from the synopsis of God’s Smuggler: As a boy he dreamed of being a spy undercover behind enemy lines. As a man he found himself undercover for God. Brother Andrew was his name and for decades his life story, recounted in God’s Smuggler, has awed and inspired millions. The bestseller tells of the young Dutch factory worker’s incredible efforts to transport Bibles across closed borders-and the miraculous ways in which God provided for him every step of the way. We hope you’ll join us for the simulcast on April 18 as we study “The Cross and Everyday Life,” pray for an area of the world where the message of the cross is sadly missing, and honor a man who has risked his life to take the gospel into areas that were hostile to it. Below is a video in which Brother Andrew talks about the importance of remembering persecuted believers.

Janet Parshall Interviews Pastor David Posted: 02 Apr 2014 01:43 PM PDT We've mentioned before that Moody Radio will soon be airing a new broadcast featuring the teaching ministry of Pastor David called "Radical with David Platt." The show is scheduled to begin on May 5th, 2014. The 15-minute audio clip below contains Janet Parshall's interview with Pastor David concerning the sufficiency of God's Word and the upcoming Secret Church simulcast. The interview appeared on Moody's "In the Market with Janet Parshall" (April 1, 2014). – For more information about Secret Church 14, "The Cross and Everyday Life," or to register for the upcoming simulcast on Good Friday, April 18th, go here. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Register This Week for a Study Guide Posted: 02 Apr 2014 08:30 AM PDT Imagine it’s the week of Christmas and you are trying to send a package to your grandmother who lives far away… like over-the-river-and-through-the-woods far. There’s not a lot of time to waste, but it’s doable. Now suppose that instead of one grandma, you had 1,000 such grandmas (just go with it), and they were all expecting a gift from you later this week on Christmas Day. That’s less than a week to send 1,000 packages to 1,000 eager–and dearly loved–recipients during the time of the year when the post office lines look more like the lines at Six Flags in July. The week before Secret Church poses an opportunity for us to feel like you in the ridiculous scenario above. But not if you place your order before the end of this week. We are encouraging everyone to register and/or order more study guides by Friday so that we’ll have a two week window to get study guides to you. While we’ll do our best if you must order after Friday, but the longer you wait to order, the harder it will be for us to guarantee you receive this critical component of the Secret Church experience. Plus, you’ll save money by not having to expedite shipping and the Secret Church team will be spared from a potentially brutal spike in their stress levels the week before April 18. To register for Secret Church 14, “The Cross and Everyday Life,” HERE. Learn more about ordering additional study guides (if you’re already registered) HERE.

The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul Posted: 02 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Over the next couple months, we'll be sharing a wide range of information (including food and culture) about the Secret Church 14 prayer focus, the Peoples of Turkey. Read more at the prayer focus website, HopeForTurkey.com. There’s still time to REGISTER for the Secret Church 14: “The Cross and Everyday Life” simulcast. One of the biggest tourist attractions in Instanbul is the Grand Bazaar.  The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world.  It has over 60 streets, over 5,000 shops, and attracts over 250,000 visitors daily.  It is made up of thousands of stalls with merchants selling everything from spices to massive carpets.  The colors, smells, sights and sounds engage all of your senses.  You can easily get swept up into a sea of people bargaining and shopping for the best deal. "bustling hallways of the Grand Bazaar" We were able to visit the Grand Bazaar twice on our visit.  The first time we went we took some time to sit at one of the café tables, drink Turkish coffee, and just take in the sights and sounds of the market.  The café was located in an "intersection" of the market where we could observe people coming and going. Because Turkey straddles the east and the west, Europe and Asia, it is a hub of activity from both regions drawing people from all over the world.  We couldn't help but be struck by the amazing opportunity this is for the spread of the gospel.  However, Turkey is still largely unreached with only about 4,000 believers amongst a population of 75 million. When we think about statistics like that we can't help but be overwhelmed.  But it is also what compels us to pray.  Turkey is ripe for the harvest.  Let us not lose hope! Take some time today to pray for the believers in Turkey.  Pray that they would be bold in their witness and that the Lord of the Harvest would strengthen them and sustain them as they share the good news. Will you pray in the spirit of Ephesians 3: 20-21 for the people of Turkey today? Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work with us, to him be glory the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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