Book Review: Captivated by Thabiti Anyabwile

Captivated by Thabiti Anyabwile is the product of a series of sermons preached at First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman where he pastors.  Each chapter is based on a sermon that was preached as a part of the series.  It definitely had the feel of reading a sermon at times, especially in the way the book was organized.  I am not sure if this is a fault or just a reality that is not surprising due to the nature of the book.

Thabiti intends to motivate the reader to think deeply about the cross and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The introduction states, "Genuine contemplation of these questions requires we set aside our early lessons about politeness for a while and stare into the mystery of the cross and resurrection.  What follows is an attempt to do just that—to stare at Jesus and be captivated by Him."

Pastor Anyabwile, at the beginning of each chapter, presents a question from the Scriptures that charts the direction of the chapter.  1) Is there no other way?  2) Why have you forsaken me?  3) Where, o death, is your victory?  4) Why do you seek the living among the dead?  5) Do you not know these things?  The author answers these questions with thorough attention to Scripture and the heart of a pastor for his people.

The section of the book that ministered to me the most was in chapter four where the author talks about redirecting our attention from the cross to the resurrection.  There is no denying the importance of the cross.  However, we must not forget that the story does not end with the cross.  He writes, "If we get stuck on the cross without contemplating the resurrection, then our faith feels like death rather than life.  Our faith remains stuck on tragedy without triumph.  The resurrection adds triumph to the tragedy!"  While it is certainly not an either/or, this section perhaps offers a helpful corrective to a tendency to neglect the importance of the resurrection.

I found myself asking the question throughout, "To whom would I recommend this book."  Though in some ways it seems to be geared toward unbelievers, it uses a lot of churchy language that most unchurched people would find difficult.  Yet, it is far from a theological treatise intended to greatly challenge the thinking of the mature believer.  None of this is surprising since the book is based on sermons the author preached in his church.  I think Captivated is best suited as a devotional that a believer may use to help him meditate upon the riches of what Christ accomplished through his death and resurrection.

While there is nothing that particularly stands out about this book, it is theologically sound and would make a good resource for churches to make available to their members in the weeks leading up to Easter.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher as a part of the Cross Focused Reviews program. 

Praising God for the Storm

Though I wasn't going to blog this week about my sermon, I can't help but share this.

I have been so ministered to by the text for my sermon last Sunday.  The sermon was from Joel 1:1-12.  You can find the audio here.  Normally I am most ministered to by the text of my sermon in the week preceding that sermon rather than the week following.  This week has been different.

Joel 1 presents a locust plague that ravaged Jerusalem and Judah.  It was so bad that the elders couldn’t remember anything like it ever happening, the drunkards didn't have anything else to drink, and the farmers were left with nothing from their crops.  It was devastating.

It is clear from the passage that this locust plague was an instrument of God's judgment on His people.  They had undoubtedly wandered far from Him, though we aren't really given a lot of specifics concerning their sin.  God intended this locust plague to wake up His people and draw them back to Him.

The beautiful thing is that God did not send this judgment and then leave His people to their own devices.  He gave them His Word through the Prophet Joel.  The book opens with these words: "The word of the Lord that came to Joel," (Joel 1:1).  He gave them His Word because He had not forgotten about them and intended to use this locust invasion to draw them back to Himself.

That's great, but how does it apply to us today?  We aren't facing a locust plague.  The predicted 12+ inches of snow falling outside my window right now is the closest we have to a natural disaster at the moment.  Granted, that much snowfall cannot be taken lightly in rural Southside Virginia.

While we are not experiencing a disaster anywhere near what the people of God experienced in Joel's day, we do face troubles and difficulties in our lives.  I was reminded of this reality in a conversation I had after the worship service.  I was particularly reminded of this on Monday as I thought about various things that were currently going on in my life.  During that moment, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Remember how you told my people on Sunday that I use trials to draw them back to me?  That is what I am doing in your life right now.  Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you."  The Spirit of God enabled me in the moment to not only praise God in the midst of the storm, but I was able to praise Him for the storm itself.  God was and is drawing me to Him through the storm.

I was able to share this truth with a couple in my church on Monday night.  After that, I was able to share the same truth with a friend over the phone.  Today I sat with a member of our church who is in a nursing facility experiencing chronic pain, and shared this truth.

I hope that this blog post is another way for me to share this truth.  What difficulties are you facing?  God desires to use them to draw you to Him.  Will you praise Him not only in spite of the difficulties, but because of the difficulties?  Will you allow Him to draw you to Himself through the trials and troubles?  My hope is that this post is an encouragement to do just that.

Gospel Unity

All believers know that the local church should be marked by unity.  The New Testament is full of teaching on unity in the body of Christ.  Unfortunately, many believers have stories about the discord that they have experienced in church life.

I commended my congregation on Sunday for the unity that we enjoy together in our church.  It has been a blessing in my life over the last 4 ½ years.  But I also offered a warning to us that we must be careful lest the enemy sneak in and destroy the very thing of which we were so sure.

My sermon Sunday concluded our series on gospel commitments as we considered the topic of gospel unity.  It was a big day for us as we reaffirmed our commitment to each other with the signing of our church covenant.  During the sermon we looked at John 17:20-26.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

I find it absolutely stunning that Jesus prayed for me in this passage.  John 17 contains a prayer of Jesus to the Father while on His way to Gethsemane where He would be arrested.  Jesus prays for Himself in the first part of the prayer.  He then directs His attention to His disciples.  The final section of the prayer is prayed on behalf of all believers.  What a beautiful reality; Jesus prayed for our unity together.

One of the interesting things about Jesus' prayer for unity is that He describes both the model for and foundation of our unity.  The Godhead experiences perfect unity together.  This unity is an example to the church.  It is also the very foundation on which our unity is built.

I stressed in the sermon that our unity in the body of Christ is not something that we can artificially create.  It already exists because of who we are in Christ.  No other club or community organization can make this claim.  Clubs and community organizations are bound together by similar interests.  The church is bound together by shared faith in Jesus Christ despite differences in age, experiences, physical appearance, economic status, interests, and ethnicity.  We are one body, and have one Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, and Father (Ephesians 4:4-6).

I also stressed that though our unity is not something we create, it is something that we have been instructed to maintain (Ephesians 4:3).  We must be devoted to loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We also should trust each other.  Too many believers are skeptical of the motives of their brothers and sisters in Christ.  Gossip is another issue that destroys unity.  We need to be willing to talk to our brother or sister that we have an issue with rather than discussing it with everyone but them.  Finally, we must pray for each other.  There is simply no way to avoid being united with someone that you are devoted to praying for.

Jesus in this prayer prayed for the unity of the universal church.  He also prayed for the unity of each local church as expressions of the universal church.  May we always be eager to maintain the unity that we have in Christ Jesus.