Renovation beginning…
So, I’m really excited that you are all going to join our discussion with regards to the book. Renovation of the Heart is a great book that is packed with good stuff through and through. Here’s my hope in doing this book study over the summer: (1) We would learn more of how we have been formed and how it is that we can cooperate with the Spirit of God to see transformation of our own heart. (2) We would be well equipped to lead discussions on this topic for our HS students — helping them see how the various parts of their heart has/have been formed and see transformation in them as well. (3) The language of this book is helpful for us to understand the Gospel. The Good News that Jesus proclaimed is that His Kingdom is available to us — this book helps us to understand what that actually means. Our incomplete understanding of the Gospel as only taking our sins away from us so that we can enjoy Heaven doesn’t do much for the formation of our character. So all the talk about formation is good for “some” but not necessary. This understanding of the Gospel is incomplete. As Willard says another place, “There is absolutely nothing in what Jesus himself or his early followers taught that suggests you can decide just to enjoy forgiveness at Jesus’ expense and have nothing more to do with him.”
A few ground rules as we go into this study/discussion…
(a) Please be up on the reading
(b) I will post a few questions once a week. Respond as many times as you’d like to any/all of the questions
(c) If there are questions that you have and I don’t ask them … just realize that your questions aren’t valid and move on. No, seriously, please ask any question you’d like!
(d) In responding to other people’s comments/questions, please refer to them by “@shawn” or “@amber”
This is a bit of an experiment, so let me know if there’s other things we can do to better the experience. I did notice that you can check a box or two that notify you whenever someone comments … that could be helpful…just sayin
ENJOY!
