Recommended Reading for What's Killing Me

Jon Ludovina, the author of this post, serves as a pastor at our Downtown church. He serves as one of our primary teaching pastors. To find out more about our leadership, visit our Leadership page.

There are many helpful books and resources available to dig deeper as our family works through the What’s Killing Me? campaign. As always with books, sermons and teachings we receive their instruction in light of 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22:

Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Paul provides us with four aspects of gospel discernment:

1. Practice gospel humility. Don’t scoff at teaching with a critical spirit that thinks you know everything and are smarter than everyone.
2. Test everything. Do however take what is being taught and hold it up to the lens of scripture and the gospel.
3. Keep the good. Is it Biblically sound? Is Jesus the hero? Does it point to Jesus’ finished and final work for us in the cross? Does it stir your heart’s affections for Jesus?
4. Throw out the bad. Does it blatantly contradict scripture? Does it emphasize you as the decisive power for change? Does it encourage moralism instead of gospel dependency?

General help during What’s Killing Me:

• You Can Change by Tim Chester
• Counsel From the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Denis Johnson
• Death by Love: Letters from the Cross by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
• The Mortification of Sin by John Owen
• How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp

Week 2: Guilt & Shame

• Shame Interrupted by Edward T. Welch
• Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler
• Rid of My Disgrace by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb
• (specifically for shame connected to sexual abuse)
• The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes

Week 3: Envy & Greed

• The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
• The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs
• Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

Week 4: Anger

• Uprooting Anger by Robert D. Jones
• Anger: Escaping the Maze by David Powlison
• A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationships by Paul Miler

Week 5: Worry & Anxiety

• Overcoming Fear, Worry and Anxiety by Elyse Fitzpatrick
• Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest by Edward T. Welch
• All Things for Good by Thomas Watson

Week 6 - Apathy

• To Live is Christ: To Die is Gain by Matt Chandler
• Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey
• The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, and Self-Image by Jay E. Adams
• Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper

Week 7: Busyness

• Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung
• What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Stuff Done by Matt Perman

Week 8: Lust

• Undefiled by Harry Schaumburg
• Sex and the Supremacy of Christ John Piper
• Finally Free by Heath Lambert
• Purity is Possible by Helen Thorne (purity for women)

Week 9: Fear of Man

• When People Are Big and God is Small by Edward T. Welch
• Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
• Knowing God by J.I. Packer

A Fix-a-Flat for our Broken Finances

The following post is part of our Treasure Hunting series. Find out more about our Treasure Hunting series

here

.

On one of the worst days of my life, I made a terrible error by seeking relief at a doc-in-the-box for a nasty ingrown big toenail.  Problem #1: The well-trained doctor didn’t shoot up my toe with enough lidocaine so I could still feel it when he started to surgically remove rip out part of my toe. Problem #2: I had a nauseas reaction to the pain and the extra lidocaine he was shooting into my toe almost causing me to pass out. Problem #3: After listening to a nasty storm rage throughout the entire awful procedure, I walked outside to the parking lot to find out my car had a flat tire. . . which I had to change. . . in the rain. . . standing in a puddle . . . feeling nauseas. . . with half of my big toenail missing.

In America, personal finances are rolling about as smooth as a square wheel.  Our financial tires are flat.  And to many of us, fixing the problems sound as fun as changing a tire while standing in the rain with half your big toenail ripped off.  Graciously, the Bible gives us a balanced wealth of insight to help us proceed. Understanding these biblical principles provides us with multiple spokes to help our tires role smooth.

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1. Give. Most of the teaching in the Bible about money involves glad and sacrificial giving because we are greedy and blind to our own greed. (Matthew 10:42, Acts 20:35, 2 Corinthians 8-9, 1 Timothy 6:17-19)
2. Earn. The Bible also talks a good bit about ethical and unethical ways to work and earn money. Are you lazy? Do you run a fair business? Are you prone to taking shortcuts or looking for get-rich-quick schemes?  (Proverbs 6:6-11, Proverbs 11:1, Ephesians 4:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:10)
3. Enjoy. God created every good thing on earth and every gift He created is designed for us to enjoy while we turn our hearts toward Him in thanks. It is right and worshipful for some of our money to buy things God has provided for us to enjoy. (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10, 1 Timothy 6:17, James 1:17)
4. Manage.  Along with his other gifts, God gives us wisdom to wisely manage His money and to save some up for a rainy day so that we can be a blessing to others.(Genesis 41:34-36, Proverbs 21:20, Proverbs 22:7, Luke 16:10-13)
5. Multiply.  Because all money is Gods, wise investment and multiplication reflect a heart that understands the purpose of God’s money and wants to grow His money so it can be used effectively for His kingdom and mission.(Ecclesiastes 5:13-15, Ecclesiastes 11:2, Matthew 25:14-30)

If you only understand one or a couple of these, your tires will be perpetually flat, but all together these principles work in tandem to help free us for long lasting sustainable financial health.  Give. Earn. Enjoy. Manage. Multiply.