good to great in read...good to great in god’s eyes 10 practices great christians have in common...
TRANSCRIPT
Good to Great in
God’s Eyes 10 Practices Great Christians
Have in Common
NDCBF Summer Bible Study
Romans 12:2
July 11, 2012
Lesson 2:
Read Great Books
Thesis Statement
•True greatness is in
the eye of the
beholder
Purpose Statement
• To demonstrate that we
can not be great
Christians in the eyes of
God until we have
experienced a renewing
of our minds
Romans 12:2a
•And do not be
conformed to this
world, but be
transformed by the
renewing of your
mind,
In Romans 12:1…
•…Paul issues an
exhortation that
should be understood
as an imperative…
•…present your bodies
In Romans 12:2…
•…Paul issues another
exhortation …
•…be transformed by
the renewing of your
mind
God has…
•…commanded us to
stop conforming to
the world but be
transformed by the
renewing of our
minds.
The Message…
•…saturate yourself
with godly thinking by
exposing yourself to
godly teachers, writers
and other influences…
How can we do…
…this?
By reading great
books.
Mortimer J. Adler
• “In the case of good
books, the point is not to
see how many of them you
can get through, but rather
how many can get through
to you.”
Reading books…
•…require that you use
your brain
•…help you to develop
important skills
Reading books…
…help you to improve
your vocabulary
…help you to learn to
think critically
Reading books…
…gives us windows
into other cultures
and places
…can change your life
“Some books…
• …are to be tasted,
others to be swallowed,
and some few are to be
chewed and digested.”
• - Francis Bacon
Great books…
•…help you
understand what
shapes your thoughts
and beliefs
Robert M. Hutchins
• These books are the means
of understanding our society
and ourselves. They contain
the great ideas that dominate
us without our knowing it.
There is no comparable
repository in our tradition.”
Great books…
•…can cause a
little genius to
rub off on you
Sir Richard Livingston
• “We are tied down, all our days and
for the greater part of our days, to
the commonplace. This is where
contact with great thinkers, great
literature helps. In their company we
are still in the ordinary world, but it is
the ordinary world transfigured and
seen through the eyes of wisdom
and genius.”
Great books…
•…can help us
learn from past
mistakes
Mortimer Adler • “People who question or even scorn the
study of the past and its works usually
assume that the past is entirely different
from the present, and that hence we can
learn nothing worthwhile from the past.
But it is not true that the past is entirely
different from the present. We can learn
much of value from its similarity and its
difference…
• We and the ancients share a common
human nature and hence certain common
human experiences and problems.”
Great books…
•…can improve
our ability to
comprehend
Robert M. Hutchins
• “If many great books seem
unreadable and unintelligible…it
may be because we have not for a
long time learned to read by
reading them. Great books teach
people not only how to read them,
but how to read other books as
well.”
“Some books…
• …are to be tasted,
others to be swallowed,
and some few are to be
chewed and digested.”
• - Francis Bacon • “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders
are readers.”
• - Harry S. Truman
When I read…
…Great Books,
they broaden my
world.
Broadening My
World… – …The Content of Our Character: A New
Vision for Race Relations in America
• Shelby Steele
– Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process
for making Disciples
• Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger
– Unleashing the Church: Getting People Out
of the Fortress and Into Ministry
• Frank Tillapaugh
When I read…
…Great Books,
they sharpen my
mind.
Sharpened My
Mind… –Evangelism & the Sovereignty
of God
•J. I. Packer
–The Gospel According to Jesus
•John F. MacArthur
When I read…
…Great Books,
they inflame my
heart.
Inflamed My
Heart… – My Utmost for His Highest
• Oswald Chambers
– Knowing God
• J. I. Packer
– The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the
Art of Spiritual Direction and
– Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastor
Integrity
• Eugene H. Peterson
When I read…
…Great Books
they help to
develop my skills.
Developed My
Skills… – The Road Less Travelled
• M. Scott Peck
– Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
• Stephen Covey
– Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical,
Financial and Time Reserves
• Richard A. Swenson
Developed My
Skills… – Fighting for Your Marriage: Positive Steps for
Preventing Divorce and Preserving a Lasting
Love
• Howard Markman, Scott Stanley, Susan Blumberg
– His Needs, Her Needs: Building An Affair-
Proof Marriage
• Willard F. Harley, Jr.
– Intended For Pleasure
• Ed Wheat
When I read…
…Great Books,
they help to
shape my
character.
Shaped My
Character… – Disciplines of a Godly Man
• R. Kent Hughes
– The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding
How God Changes Lives
• Dallas Willard
– The Delicate Art of Dancing With Porcupines:
Learning to Appreciate the Finer Points of
Others
• Bob Phillips
When I want to
read a book that
heals my soul…
…I read the Bible
The Greatest Book • “By reading the scriptures I am
so renewed that all nature seems
renewed around me and with me.
The sky seems to be a pure, a
cooler blue, the trees a deeper
green. The whole world is
charged with the glory of God
and I feel fire and music under
my feet.” ______Thomas Merton