Encouraging, Edifying, & Enjoyable Resources from 2023

From Pastor G

I recently came across an article encouraging pastors to become “pastor-curators.” The rationale being that while pastors are often only with God’s people for about an hour and a half each week, we ought to “Strive to maximize the time [we] are not with them by pointing them to resources that will fuel their joy in Jesus.” In my estimation, this becomes all the more important in light of the fact that many church members are being daily inundated with social media algorithms, news platforms, and less than edifying tv shows and movies. Some of us, at times, might risk having more fellowship with Silicon Valley and Hollywood than the very people we covenant to follow Jesus with. Therefore, in an effort to fuel our joy in Jesus and cultivate a shared culture in our church, I’d like to take some time to share some resources that I’ve benefited from in the past year. My hope is that you’ll take up and read/listen, and that these resources are encouraging and edifying for you.

Additionally, these are just things I genuinely enjoyed and hope you do, as well. As Lewis has said, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with..” Indeed. In addition to your encouragement and edification, I hope you enjoy what I have so enjoyed.

*Disclaimer: Although these are all things I’ve enjoyed in the last year, some of the resources that follow were from the past year and some were from years previous. Additionally, the amount of suggestions in each category varies. I didn’t follow too many rules here. I just wanted to share some helpful things to read and listen to.

BOOKS
(NON-FICTION)

Jesus, Lover Of My Soul: Fresh Pathways To Spiritual Passion by Julian Hardyman

This book is based on a sermon series through the Song of Songs that Hardyman preached at his church. Read it if you want to be refreshed by the fact that you are deeply loved by Jesus.

The Character of Christ: The Fruit of the Spirit in the Life of Our Savior by Jonathan Landry Cruse

This book is also based on a sermon series. Cruse preached a sermon series on the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5—but particularly how we see the fruit of the Spirit in the character of Jesus. It helped me behold and more appreciate the loveliness of Jesus.

The Power of Revival: Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Baptism in the Spirit, and Preaching on Fire by Dongjin Park

This book is a little longer than the previous two and might be a more difficult book to read. Perhaps most would not be too interested in reading it. But for those interested in historical theology, particularly as it pertains to the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life, you might find this book as fascinating as I did. I did not come away agreeing with Lloyd-Jones’ beliefs on the subject at every point. But I did come away with a deep appreciation for his emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the life of the church and with a deeper desire to experience the Spirit’s ministry in my own life.

Your Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World by Alan Noble

Noble takes the precious words of an old reformed catechism and brings them to bear on life in our cultural moment. Well researched, Noble shows something many of us feel to be true: Life in our time and place is uniquely inhumane. In contrast, Noble shows the sanity and humanity of living life as those created and redeemed by God.

BOOKS
(FICTION & POETRY)

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Gilead is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite living authors. It is not a new book, but it is a book I read every year. It is written from the perspective of an elderly congregationalist minister in a fictional town in Iowa, who is writing something of a long letter/memoir to his young son. Some of Robinson’s joyful descriptions of creational life and sobering reflections on death might bring you to tears. She is a walking celebration.

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

This is also one of my favorite books by one of my favorite living authors. I also read this book every year. The way Berry can describe the inner life, as well as the importance of place and community, is riveting. Reading about the town of Port William and it’s people, make me want to better love Dayton and Veritas.

A Year with George Herbert: A Guide to Fifty-Two of His Best Loved Poems ed. Jim Scott Orrick

Herbert is one of my favorite poets. But don’t just take my word for it. People like C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, and Richard Baxter all joyfully imbibed of Herbert. This year, the Veritas staff began our weekly staff meetings by reflecting on Herbert’s poetry together. Herbert’s poetry deeply devotional and beautifully cultivates affection for Christ. If you’re not really big on poetry, this book would serve as a great introduction, as Orrick includes the subjects, thesis statements, introductions, and footnotes for each poem.

ARTICLES

The American Church in the Fourth Republic by Jake Meador

Mere Orthodoxy is a great blog and resource. Meador is a clear and helpful thinker. In this article, he casts vision for how a church might live faithfully in this pivotal moment in American history. I still have some questions about what he means at certain points in the article. Yet, his application for reparenting the lost, overcoming distance, and overcoming distraction resonate deeply with me as great needs for this hour.

Make It Easy for Your Kids to Love God: Proverbs for a Happy Home by Ray Ortlund Jr.

This article was actually written years ago, but I didn’t discover it until this summer when we were preaching through Proverbs. In typical Ortlund fashion, the article is simultaneously convicting and filled with life-giving encouragement.

The Medium Is the Mania: Anxiety as a Feature, Not a Bug, of Digital Media by Caleb Wait

Echoing Marshall McLuhan’s famous quote, “The medium is the message,” Wait seeks to show how our current digital media diets are shaping us today. While many of us might be tempted to think that many of the digital mediums we use are neutral and can be used for good or ill, the reality is much more sinister.

Attentive Parenting in the AI Age by Scott Hurst

In light of the previously suggested article, this article approaches the subject of technology from the perspective of parenting. How can we wisely model and raise children toward attentiveness to ultimate things in an age wherein we’re constantly tempted toward distraction?

Do You Know Where Your Kids Go Everyday? by Jonathan Haidt & Rikki Schlott

This article is not written by Christians. However, I have found Haidt to be preeminently helpful in understanding our culture moment. Having read his books, blogs, and listened to him interviewed, I feel he has an unrivaled clarity concerning many of the issues facing us in this cultural moment.

PODCASTS

Life and Books and Everything with Kevin DeYoung

I’ve really enjoyed this podcast through the past couple of years. My favorite episodes are the ones in which he interviews someone about their life and ministry. Check out his interviews with H.B. Charles, Alistair Begg, and Sinclair Ferguson.

Truth Unites with Gavin Ortlund

Ortlund is an excellent, rigorous, and charitable apologist. Any episode is worth listening to. Yet, again, I always enjoy his interviews. Check out the episode titled, Talking With My Dad About Revival.

Help Me Teach the Bible with Nancy Guthrie

This podcast hasn’t actually had a new episode posted for a over a year. However, it’s one with episodes that I have come back to several times. Almost every time I am about to start preaching through a new series, I try to find an episode on whatever book we will be in. The Ortlund interview was extremely helpful for our time in Proverbs over the summer. Likewise, the interview with Derek Thomas on Mark was helpful to me for our journey through Mark’s Gospel. Give either of those two episodes a listen if you’re interested in a refresher on those books.

Eight Fights Worth Picking With Your Kids on The Anthony Bradley Show

Amy and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. In a stage of life wherein it’s so easy to get bogged down in the day to day, this article offered some useful perspective from a guy who’s been there.

MUSIC

Simple Songs For the Young and Old by City Alight

I understand that this is kind of an album for children. However, He Calls Me Friend and Jesus, Strong and Kind are songs any Christian can appreciate. How do the cool kids put it these days? They are bangers.

Vibes with Aquinas by Catholic LoFi

According to Spotify, this is one of my top albums listened to this year. It is often playing in our house, in my car, or during sermon prep. It is good to listen to while praying, studying, or working.

Hymns in High-Fidelity by sxxnt.

Pleasant instrumental lofi beats. Also good to listen to while praying, studying, or working.

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What about you? What have you enjoyed this past year that you think might be edifying, encouraging, and enjoyable for others in the coming year? Please feel free to share with me and with others in the church.

The Cry of the Oppressed

Some time ago, I preached on Nehemiah 5:1-13. This text provides us with a vivid example for how God’s people ought to respond to the plight of the exploited and oppressed. In verses 1-5, we see that the poor are crying out in anguish because of the oppression of the Israelites. As verse 1 says, “Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.” The following verses explain the ways in which they're being oppressed and exploited. But then in verses 6-13, we see Nehemiah’s Christ-like response to their cries. 

First, Nehemiah listens (vs 6). He doesn’t dismiss them. He doesn’t try to explain away their suffering. He doesn’t tell them that they should have been more responsible. Instead, he opens his ears and listens. Likewise, we are called to listen to the cries of the exploited and oppressed. We ought not dismiss the oppressed as if they can’t be relied upon to testify to the injustices they’ve experienced. They know more about their own experiences than we do. 

Second, Nehemiah gets angry (vs 6). Anger is a dangerous emotion. It is a sneaky and intoxicating thing. And yet, there is such a thing as righteous anger. God gets angry at injustice and so should we. If we don’t get angry at injustice, something is wrong with our moral compass. Our anger should never be inordinate or misdirected, and we should never let it control us or cause us to sin. But we should be angry over what makes God angry. 

Third, Nehemiah defends (vs 7-13). He holds a great assembly, rebukes those who oppressed their brothers and sisters, and establishes reforms the city of Jerusalem. This reflects the hearts of our God as the one who is the “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows” (Psalm 68:5), the Refuge of the poor (Psalm 14:6), and who rises to the defense when the poor and needy groan (Psalm 12:5). 

Church, how we treat the poor and the exploited is a true and telling test of our character. Do we listen to the poor and exploited? Do we get angry about the injustices they face? Do we defend them? These are important questions because ultimately they’re questions that reflect the heart and character of God. As a community we’re called to reflect the character of God. And he is the God who is the defender of the poor, who listens to the cries of the weak and oppressed. 

And not only that, but realize that we a worship a God who became poor, needy, and helpless. We worship a God who subjected himself to injustice so that we could be forgiven, restored, and included in his family. He heard our cries as we sat under the oppression of satan, sin, and death. He came to us, as Mark 10:45 tells us, not be served, but serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Now, he commissions us to go tell the world that good news and to reflect his care and concern for the oppressed and exploited as we do. And as we do so, our service is counted as service to him (Matthew 25:40). May we hear and heed this call.

- Pastor Garrison Greene

Love is Owed

Do you owe your neighbor love? The Apostle Paul says yes: 

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other.” - Romans 13:8

“Owe no one anything” is in reference to the verse above it, where the Apostle Paul exhorts God’s people to pay taxes and others debts they’re obligated to pay. He wants God’s people to have integrity in their financial obligations. However, he says that one thing we will always owe others is our love. Love is a debt we will never pay in full. This flies in the face of the way that many of us think about love in our society. We often think of love for neighbor as a favor or a mercy, not an obligation. But in fact, the testimony of Scripture would condemn this. 

Going all the way back to the beginning, in Genesis, we find that humanity is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28) and that we all descend from the same first parents. One implication of this, as Herman Bavinck put it so well, is that “Humanity is not an aggregate of individuals but an organic unity, one race, one family.” This is the basis for why we owe love to one another. John Calvin reasons this way when he wrote, “whatever man you meet who needs your aid, you have no reason to refuse to help him. Say, ‘He is a stranger’ but the Lord has given him a mark that ought to be familiar to you, by virtue of the fact that he forbids you to despise your own flesh (Isa 58:7).”

No doubt, by now you have heard the news about George Floyd and his being mercilessly killed by a Minneapolis Police officer several days ago. And no doubt, you have heard the cries of lament resounding from the mouths of many black Americans across the United States. The fact that George Floyd was, along with all our black neighbors, created in the image of God, demands that we respond with listening ears, compassionate hearts, and hands ready to act. To do so is not a mercy; it’s not a favor. It is an obligation. It is owed.

- Pastor Garrison Greene

Pillars of Truth

“A pillar and buttress of the truth.”  (1 Timothy 3:15)

This is what the Apostle Paul calls the church. Admittedly, if this were not in Scripture and I heard someone refer to the church as such, my inclination would be to correct them by letting them know that the Scriptures are the pillar and buttress of the truth. Not the church. However, the Apostle’s view of the church is that she upholds the truth concerning our God and our Christ which is found in the word of God. She upholds it by understanding it, defending it, and propagating it throughout the world. This is a high calling, and one that we still must aspire to today. And today, there are a couple matters of application that we should consider:

First, as a pillar and buttress of the truth, we must be people who spread truth instead of lies. In our cultural moment, the truth is a precious commodity. Social media has made it far too easy for lies and half truths to be propagated. Because this is true, we should refrain from propagating conspiracy theories, news reports that are so obviously swayed by extreme bias, and unverifiable claims. If we can’t be trusted to propagate the truth in these matters, we won’t be trusted concerning the truth of Christ and his gospel. Furthermore, these fast paced forms of communication have decreased our capacity for nuance and multi-perspectival understandings of complex realities. This should give us pause before hitting the retweet button or publicly sharing our thoughts prematurely. Our failures on this front compromise our witness as a pillar and buttress of the truth. 

Second, as a pillar and buttress of the truth, we must be people who are primarily concerned with communicating and defending the truth concerning Jesus Christ. As God's people, we're called to be more passionate about sharing the truth of the gospel than we are our opinions on political issues or current events. If we find that the content of our conversations and our posts on social media are dominated by politics and current events, we can be confident that our hearts are not dazzled by the beauty and goodness of Jesus Christ like they should be. The gospel of Christ is the truth the church upholds. But we won’t seek to uphold the truth concerning Jesus Christ if our hearts are not compelled to do so by love and adoration of him.

Friends, we’re called to be a pillar and buttress of the truth, even in the midst of a relativistic age. If we have failed in this, then we must again return to Christ, set the eyes of our hearts upon him through his word, and be dazzled by his beauty and goodness.

- Pastor Garrison Greene

Talk to Yourself

In a recent sermon, I gave the application that sometimes we need to talk to ourselves. We need to address ourselves and give ourselves a heavy dose of truth—especially when we’re most tempted to believe in the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil. This is not an idea that originated with me. It’s something the Psalmist does:
 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.  (Psalm 42:5-6)

The great expositor, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, wrote a wonderful book called Spiritual Depression wherein he advises those of us struggling with depression to begin practicing this discipline. He says:

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.

No doubt, many of us are experiencing seasons of darkness and difficulty. In such seasons, we must remind our hearts of the truths and promises of God’s word. And in order to do that, we must occasionally talk to ourselves.

- Pastor Garrison Greene

Pray Without Ceasing

Rejoice always, 
pray without ceasing
give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thess. 5:17-18
 

“A prayerless person is ungrateful because he doesn’t thank God. He is self-righteous because he doesn’t confess his sins to God. He is self-centered because he doesn’t ask God to bless other people. He is presumptuous because he doesn’t pray for his daily needs. He is irreverent because he doesn’t praise God. And he is unfriendly to God because his prayerlessness evidences that he doesn’t enjoy being with God.” - Greg Nichols

Meditation

In our first blog post, you were encouraged from Psalm 1 to base your life on and to meditate upon Scripture. This invitation included the promise that, by doing so, you will truly flourish as a human being. Even in the midst of bleak circumstances and desert conditions, you can be like a tree whose leaves never wither and who’s spiritual fruit is yielded in season (Ps. 1:3). 

Returning to this particular text, we would do well to reflect on the nature of meditation. The flourishing human is one who “delights in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2). What is meditation? The biblical concept of meditation is much different than what many understand meditation to be, in that it is often conceived as the pursuit of emptying the mind. In contrast, the biblical concept involves filling the mind with Scripture. J.I. Packer defines it as “prayerfully [reading] and [reflecting] upon Holy Scripture according to its intended meaning, with openness to personal spiritual direction from God.”

Such a practice would involve marinating in Scripture. Marinating is slow work. Some poultry can marinate for even up to 24 hours. For you vegetarians, I imagine tofu takes even longer because it tastes so bad. Similarly, marinating your mind in Scripture would take a slow, repetitive, gentle reading of Scripture. Read it over and over, reflecting on every word and phrase. It could also include memorizing. Reading and repeating a text over and over again, and thereby committing it to memory will help you return to it throughout the day. Which will help, lastly, with minding the text. We don’t simply meditate on Scripture to receive new information, but for the purpose of transformation. In it, we receive spiritual direction from God which we’re to apply to our lives. Is there a promise to trust, a statement to believe, or a commandment to obey? The text we’ve marinated in and memorized, ought to always lead to our minding what it says. 

And if we do marinate in, memorize, and mind the Scriptures, we can rest assured that even in the desert of this pandemic, we can bear spiritual fruit for our good and the good of our neighbors, and for the glory of God (For further reflection, read Psalm 1 and Galatians 5:16-26).

- Pastor Garrison Greene

Lament

I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
(Psalm 77:1-3)

Psalm 77 belongs to the category of Psalms often referred to as “Psalms of Lament.” If you’ve been at Veritas for any length of time, you are likely familiar with these Psalms and with the practice of lament. The idea is basic enough: we bring our sorrows to God in prayer and song. Sometimes this takes place communally, and sometimes individually, like in Psalm 77. 

A significant question put to us when we read such Psalms is this: What do we do with our sorrows? The reality is, we all face adversity and affliction in this life. We all face what is often referred to as “the dark night of the soul.” We are in the midst of a kind of collective dark night of the soul right now. The entirety of the globe is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. So, in the midst of this valley, what do we do with our sorrows and sadness, our difficulties and distress, our fears and feelings of brokenness? 

The Psalmist, here Asaph, shows that the proper place for our sorrow and sadness is not in the driver’s seat of our lives, nor in the trunk. We might all have our particular proclivities: some of us are tempted to put our feelings in the driver’s seat, letting them control our thoughts and lives. Others might be tempted to put them in the trunk, and pretend they’re not there or that they’re not significant. Here, Asaph shows that the proper place for these feelings is in dialogue with the Triune God. If you are scared, sad, or suffering, your God and Savior invites you to bring your troubles to him and lay them at his feet.

- Pastor Garrison Greene

Spiritual Warfare

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might (Ephesians 6:10)

For several weeks, I have been reflecting on Ephesians 6:10-20. If you’re not familiar, this is a passage of Scripture that speaks to our calling as Christians to engage in spiritual warfare. Now it might be tempting for your mind to immediately think of The Exorcist and extraordinary phenomena that typically is associated with the phrase. However, to think of the term in that way is to define it too narrowly. 

We should, rather, think of spiritual warfare as part of our vocational call as Christians to push back darkness and to battle against the schemes of Satan. Those schemes could at times involve extraordinary encounters. And yet, more often than not, the tactics of Satan and demons are far more subtle and subversive. As Dallas Willard once pointed out, when Satan attacked Eve in the garden, he didn’t hit her with a stick but with an idea. His sly tactics usually involve undermining the word of God and calling into question the truths therein. During these difficult times, he might be calling into question the truth that God is your ever watchful Shepherd; that God has promised to always care for you, provide for you, and protect you. He might be calling into question the certainty of your salvation in Christ, and thus trying to steal away your assurance and joy.

What then shall you do? Engage in spiritual warfare. How do you do that? Read Ephesians 6:10-20 and see exhortations that involve prayer, taking up God’s word, living in obedience to God’s word, enlisting others in your church family, and more. But it all begins with the most foundational truth of living and fighting from your union with Christ. Notice how Paul says to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Where does your strength to fight come from? Christ. To whom are you covenantally and spiritually united forever, through the Holy Spirit? Christ. He is with you. He is your strength. And he fully equips you. Therefore, as you battle to believe God’s word and to be assured of your salvation in these troubled times, let your union with Christ be your foundation.

- Pastor Garrison Greene

A Good Friday Meditation

Psalm 22 describes the sufferings of Jesus of Nazareth on a Roman cross. The Psalm begins with the cry of dereliction, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (22:1)—words we hear from Jesus’s mouth while he hangs on the cross, arms stretched wide (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). Despised and rejected, mocked and mutilated, he says of himself, “I am a worm and not a man” (22:6-8). His enemies surround him, his strength dries up, his body declines (22:14-18). Suffering. Asphyxiating. Tortured. He finally breaths his last and dies on a Roman cross like so many before him. 

And yet this is no ordinary death. Psalm 22 was written around a thousand years before the actual event of Christ’s crucifixion and death, reminding us that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). This was planned. Who would plan such a thing? The One dying. Why? Because this is the penalty that we deserve for our rebellion against the God who created us, and his dying in our place is the only way that we can be forgiven, reconciled, and saved. As a fourth century pastor named Ambrose once said about Psalm 22, “[Christ] became all these things so that he might dull the sting of our death, that he might take away our state of slavery, that he might wipe away our curses, sins, and reproaches.” He became a slave so that you might be free. He suffered so that you might flourish. He died so that you might live. Therefore, on this Good Friday, remember him, turn to him, and worship him as your Savior and Redeemer (22:27). 

- Pastor Garrison Greene