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This term we’ve been reflecting on God’s wonderful love for us: the love that moved our heavenly Father to send his Son, Jesus, to lay down his life for our sins (1 John 4). And we’ve also been considering how our triune God’s divine love ought to shape our affections and love for one another, particularly as we meet together as members of God’s church.

To that end, here are two excellent books to help you continue reflecting both on the depth of expressions in which Jesus shows his love for us, and therefore how we ought to be living out our spiritual reality as Christ’s church as we meet together.

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Gentle and Lowly

The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

by Dan Ortlund

Through the Bible we have many opportunities to observe how Jesus loves; yet when Jesus takes the occasion to describe his own heart, he describes it so with two words: “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:28-29) Jesus is meek and humble, thrust downwards through his humanity to associate with the lowest of the low, and so accessible to anyone who calls on him.

Looking not only to what Christ has done, but to the expressions of Christ’s affections, Ortlund seeks to mine the heart of who Jesus is, unpacking the above verses and countless others with beautifully rich insight. We learn the meaning of Jesus’ compassion, joy, and sympathy with our weaknesses; that he will not cast us out, and yet recoils from sin; that he lives to act as an intercessor and advocate for us before the Father, and much more. Ortlund draws on the rich writings of Puritan authors who have meditated on such passages, and has composed this book of bite-sized and easily digestible chapters amounting to 200 pages and change (you could read this as a devotional over a few weeks).

I was struck when first reading this at how powerfully Ortlund’s Biblical case builds together, reaching a poignant sucker punch as he describes from Ephesians how we as the church are made ready to enjoy the gracious kindness of Christ through eternity, to the glory of the Father: “The creation of the world was to give vent to the gracious heart of Christ. And the joy of heaven is that we will enjoy that unfettered and undiluted heart forever.” What more wonderful saviour to come to as he bids us!

Unmissable Church

Why you need church and church needs you

by Richard Sweatman & Antony Barraclough

Many of us will enjoy a good story about assembling the team for the job (for instance The Fellowship of the Ring, Ocean’s Eleven, or The Avengers). Even Jesus has gathered his team: us, the church! …But why? “The big purpose is not a heist or a performance; it is the glory of God.”

In Unmissable Church, the authors explore the purpose Jesus has given his church as a ‘here-and-now’ expression of the whole body of Christian brothers and sisters gathered in the heavenly places (Heb 12). Sweatman and Barraclough dive into the many rich images which are used to describe our church: Christ’s body (Eph 4), God’s flock (1 Pet 5), his temple (Eph 2), a family (1 Tim 5), and Christ’s bride (Eph 5). They spend time diving deep into 1 Corinthians 12 “[God’s Spirit] gifts his people so that they might be able to contribute to the good of the church,” and Hebrews 10 “Our purpose as part of the body is to encourage one another to stay fixed on Jesus [… ironically, as we do so] we will find ourselves encouraged to run the race and stay focused on Jesus.”

Drawing on their own research with members from Sydney churches, the authors note that the average church attendee believes that they are significantly more regular than they are in reality. The authors reflect that this can be due to a number of (often complex) reasons, and spend time unpacking challenges of: guilt, time and priorities, tricky relationships, and mental health issues. “Whether it is sin or weakness or a combination of both, there may well be times when you find yourself at home wrestling with a sense of failure. In these bleak moments, we need to remember the love and compassion of Jesus.”

The authors help us to rightly feel the pain of not meeting with our Christian brothers and sisters weekly in our congregation, yet remind us that “if we remain committed to meeting with God’s people, we can expect God to work in us and through us in ways that are good for our faith and our church, and which ultimately bring glory to God.” This is a great book to remind us of the glorious purpose of our church, and how we each contribute to loving and growing one another up in Jesus, so that church is truly unmissable!

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A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:
just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.

John 13:34-35