A few years ago, Jen Wilkin coined the term ?celebratory failurism? to describe an acceptance of the thought that Christians will never be able to fully obey because of total depravity. Wilkin pushes back on that idea, and she and Mike Kruger discuss why there seems to be a misunderstanding on total depravity, legalism, and obedience to the law. 

They discuss the struggle between antinomianism (lawlessness) and pharisaical tendencies (lawfulness) and find that the relationship between law and grace is: obedience that pleases God has right motive combined with right action.

?We can?t love Christ and love his word and ignore the gospel imperative to love each other.? ? Courtney Doctor

In our polarized world, Christians should be constantly demonstrating a better way toward unity. In this panel discussion at TGC21 (moderated by Vanessa Hawkins), Courtney Doctor, Suzanne Bates, Ruth Chou Simons, and Dennae Pierre discuss the barriers to gospel-centered racial unity and practical ways we can move forward.

Some of these barriers to racial unity can include: fear of people who are different from us, lack of awareness of others? experiences, and the cost of investing time into these hard conversations. In foolishness and pride, we might see these as simple problems that need to be fixed. In humility and grace, we can listen to and learn from each other?s complex experiences.

If we are going to build a diverse church, we must be intentional. The panel discusses that reading books on ethnic and racial diversity, attending an ethnic church different from your own, and creating local spaces to have hard conversations, are some practical ways forward with Christ at the center.

?Go online for a purpose, go for a reason. Stay online only as long as you need to, and then go offline.? ? Brett McCracken

In his message at TGC21, Brett McCracken addresses an issue of today's generation of quick information?how to develop wisdom in the midst of all that is being thrown at us, online. He shares three things that are making us sick:

We have too much informationWe receive it too quicklyThe information is too focused on the individual (self)

As an antidote to these problems, McCracken forms a ?wisdom pyramid? which is similar to the food pyramid. In each level of the pyramid, he describes how much time we should be spending in relation to the other levels. For example, most of our time should be spent in the Bible, which is the foundation of the pyramid, and the least amount of time should be spent on social media and the internet, which is the top of the pyramid. Like a healthy diet, The Wisdom Pyramid  is a guide to lead us into better spiritual and physical health.

Along with his other brothers and sisters, James started out as an unbeliever?though he was a half-sibling of Jesus?until Christ's resurrection. Nancy Guthrie takes us through verses from the Gospels, the Book of Acts, and historical writings to show us James's journey as the leader of the church in Jerusalem, a pastor, peacemaker, doer of the Word, and a man who remained steadfast under trial. In all this, we learn the significance of why James refers to himself as ?a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.?

?God?s eternal plan for your life includes your physicality.? ? Sam Allberry

At TGC21, Sam Allberry gives five reasons why our bodies are good and how we should treat them as we wait for bodily redemption.

Our bodies are not accidental, for we were ?fearfully and wonderfully made.? (Psalm 139)Our bodies are not incidental. God created Adam in the flesh and then breathed life into him. The flesh is not just a casing for our soul.Our bodies are not straight-forward. We are broken and have been subjected to futility with the rest of creation. (One common example of this brokenness is idolatry of the body.)Our bodies are not ours, for we were ?bought with a price.? (1 Cor. 6:19)Our bodies are not yet finished. One day, Jesus will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body.

As believers, we can honor our physical bodies by seeing ourselves through a gospel lens, remembering that one day, God will?like all things?make our us new. 

At TGC21, Michael Horton explains how we, as sinners, can take our sin to a holy God without fear because of our sympathetic high priest, Jesus. 

Horton takes Friedrich Nietzsche?s writing on ?the ugliest man,? who claimed to kill God because he couldn?t bear to have someone know his dirtiest corners, and parallels it with how we can bring our dirtiest sins to the Father through Jesus, without shame. Using Hebrews 4, Horton shows how Jesus is a glorious High Priest, a sympathetic High Priest, and a gracious High Priest.

In the person of Christ, we have advocate who can actually sympathize with us because he became like us, yet without sin. This is the greatest news of all?that we can take our dirtiness to the Father, knowing we will be met with grace because the Son fully understands what it is to be human.

If we want our kids to love Jesus, we must also want them to love the church. In her message at TGCW21, Megan Hill gives five ways to practically teach our kids to love the local church.

Acknowledge our kids? experiences. Know that church isn?t always easy for them, and talk to them about it.Remove practical obstacles. Sometimes what they don?t like about church isn?t spiritual and can be changed.Teach them that church is good. Disciple children at home so that practices at church don?t feel foreign or awkward for them.Affirm their Kingdom value. Make sure kids don?t feel like an afterthought, but know they are valued and can be used by God.Invite them to participate. Call them to serve and invite them to love others with you in tangible ways.

Hill closes with an encouragement to parents who are feeling overwhelmed. ?Sunday by Sunday, seek to show your kids how good it is to love God?s people and to worship alongside them?you have an advocate in the heavenly places.?

?At the core of our identity as Christians is this thing that says, ?Jesus is more important to us than anything else,? and it causes us to lean toward one another, not away from each other.? ? Mark Vroegop

At TGC's 2021 National Conference, Mark Vroegop, Kori Porter, and Irwyn Ince discuss why lament is a key component of racial reconciliation. The panel answers tough questions: What is racial reconciliation? Why is it so important? Why is it so difficult?

Lament is a tool Christians must use in order to enter into each others? pain. We must not be tempted toward denial or despair, but instead, we embrace brokenness together as the gospel heals racial wounds.

?We don?t persevere in order to be saved. We persevere because we have been saved. God has made it possible for us to maintain faithfulness to Jesus, and God is invested in our faithfulness to him.? ?? Glenna Marshall

At TGCW21, Glenna Marshall delivers a practical message on how to be faithful in the small things, noting that it takes time to see spiritual growth. This perseverance and faithfulness are only possible in the Christian life with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Teaching through Hebrews 10, Marshall outlines three calls to action in pursuing and maintaining faithfulness:

Let us draw near to God and pray.Let us hold fast to the gospel?we cannot grow apart from the Scriptures.Let us not neglect meeting together and encouraging one another.

Being faithful in these ways allows us to remain connected to the vine and continue growing in Christ as we wait for his return.

?Whatever [sin] it is, God is still gracious to redeem you and to keep you. He will never leave nor forsake you.? ? Kori Porter

Kori Porter outlines the steps of sin through King David?s adultery and murder: sin always starts with desire, sin leads to more sin, and sin produces death. Through this progression, Porter teaches that we have many points of escape when we?re in sin?God will give us a way out and give us the power to fight sin through prayer and the reading of his Word. Just as David was restored through repentance and grace, so will we be restored as we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit and die to sin in order to have true life

In their breakout session at TGC21, Kevin DeYoung, Ligon Duncan, Melissa Kruger, and Nancy Guthrie discuss what it means to have a healthy, biblical view of complementarianism.

Melissa Kruger defines complementarianism as understanding men and women to be ?equal in worth and dignity, and different in how we live that out in the world.? The panel answers questions like ?What does healthy and unhealthy complementarianism look like?? and ?How do we graciously argue for it when others disagree??

As the panel discusses the differences in the roles of men and women, they also encourage us to keep the gospel central and to follow the example of Jesus in how he treated both men and women.

Megan Hill, Lauren Hansen, and Lindsey Carlson discuss what the wives of pastors and elders need in order to thrive as they support their husbands and churches. The panel answers questions like: How do you handle being seen as a spiritual giant in the church? How do you encourage your husband during a difficult time of pastoring? How do you transition out of relationships into new ones when you move for ministry?

Lindsey Carlson closes by encouraging women, ?Model to your congregations that you are a work-in-progress, and give yourself grace and compassion to be the creation that the Lord made you to be in the marriage that he placed you in.?

?I believe we need to read, interpret, and preach Christ and his gospel from all the Scriptures.? ? Julius Kim

At TGC21, Julius Kim explains how to deliver a sermon with wisdom and grace for the growth of God?s kingdom.

Kim says that it is critical to preach Christ through every passage, and he gives four specific ways to prepare a sermon, with key tips on how to preach it once prepared:

Discover the truth about the text according to the human author.Discern Christ in the text according to the divine author.Design a sermon according to truth, goodness, and beauty.Deliver the sermon for maximum attention, retention, integration, and transformation.

Kim gives further tips like how to ask the right questions, how to pay attention to body language, and how to use patterns for retention of the message being proclaimed. The preacher must preach Christ, but ultimately, it is up to the Spirit to transform.

?If we were to delight in the Ten Commandments, we would begin to live on earth as a citizen of heaven, anticipating that future sweetness when we, like Christ, fully obey the law.? ?? Jen Wilkin

Jen Wilkin delivers a message at TGCW21 on expanding our understanding of and obedience to the Ten Commandments. Wilkin emphasizes the importance of delighting in God?s law and explains the good that comes from it: ?Personal obedience always results in collateral benefit. When one of us obeys God's law, it is good for all of us.?

As Wilkin walks through each commandment, she explains how to look for expansive obedience instead of just rote instruction. Obedience was always intended to be worshipful, and if we meditate on the law rightly, it can become that once again.

?At the end of the book of Revelation, we see that Jesus, the second Adam, will not fail to lead us into a garden that will be even better than Eden?where we will enjoy fellowship with him for all eternity. So, don't be afraid of Revelation.?

Nancy Guthrie gives four common fears we may have when approaching the book of Revelation:

1. We fear that we?re not going to understand it and, if we?re teaching it, that we?ll get it wrong.

2. We fear the controversy that surrounds the book.

3. We fear the suffering and persecution Revelation tells us to expect.

4. We fear the judgment, blood, and wrath described in the book.

As Guthrie explains each fear, she also offers encouragement and wise, biblical help for reading the book of Revelation with joy. The central message of Revelation, according to Guthrie, is that we are called to patient endurance in suffering for our allegiance to Christ, and that we are called to refuse to compromise with the world as we wait for the return of our King.

?The end of the ages has indeed broken into history. Christ is the perfect Adam . . . who has come to achieve what all those before him have failed to achieve.? ? Benjamin Gladd

In their message at TGC's 2021 national conference, Greg Beale and Benjamin Gladd explain the importance of eschatology in the Christian's understanding of all of Scripture.

The storyline of Jesus?his death, resurrection, and ascension?is crucial to equipping the Christian for all of life. As we understand the Old Testament more fully, the person of Christ is magnified. As we understand that we have the same resurrection power of Christ in us, we?re enabled to obey his commands and conquer sin.

In her message at TGC's 2022 women's conference, Nancy Guthrie delivers a strategy on how to teach the Bible with both passion and personality.

She encourages us to teach with passion?in a way that our love for the Scriptures is evident. And with personality?where the aim is to develop a relationship with our audience.

Guthrie then provides 12 practical tools to help us overcome the fear of inserting ourselves into Bible teaching:

1. Use humor as a way to break down barriers and unite the audience.

2. Use story to serve the main thing, not be the main thing.

3. Use drama in your reading and teaching of the passage.

4. Use song or lyrics to drive home the point of the passage.

5. Use emotion genuinely to prick the ears of your listeners.

6. Use confession of your own sin and inability to follow the message perfectly.

7. Use voice variation to keep your listeners' attention.

8. Use body language to get their visual attention.

9. Use unmentionable applications, like unmentioned but common sins among your audience.

10. Use eye contact and get out of your notes in order to deliver the message effectively.

11. Use prayer to infuse passion and an active dependence on God in the teaching.

12. Make it your aim to get to the gospel and Christ?s passion.

?We don't live in a moralistic age where we need to prove people to be sinners, we live in an anxious age, where we need to prove to people they're worth something.? ? Sam Allberry

Brett McCracken, Sam Allberry, and Trevin Wax discuss how Christians should gracefully and biblically engage our current sexual culture, specifically with the rapid progression of LGBTQ and transgender identity. 

A. Craig Troxel expounds on what Scripture says about the heart, and teaches how to re-orient the heart towards Christ. Troxel explains that the word ?heart? in Scripture actually refers to three different parts of our inner selves: the mind, the desires, and the will. The mind?s heart is what you know, the desire?s heart is what you want, and the will?s heart is what you choose.

The goal of the Christian life is not duty, but joy, and in order to get there, we need the Holy Spirit to teach us how to love what God loves. To love God whole-heartedly, we must look to Christ who has perfectly loved the Father. 

 

 

In his message at TGC21, Lloyd Kim defines social justice as giving equity, fairness, and inalienable rights to all people, and he explains why the gospel is included as a right. Kim gives five objections and solutions for why Christians might not be answering the call to global missions.  In addressing all these roadblocks to missions, Kim provides encouragement to answer the call to the Great Commission and bring Jesus to the unreached.

At TGCW21, Ligon Duncan taught from the book of Romans on the Holy Spirit?s ongoing work in the Christian life to conform us into the image of Jesus. 

Duncan encourages Christians to endure the work of sanctification through God?s Spirit, even when it?s discouraging. He gives five truths about sanctification that help anchor the soul: 

1. Justification and sanctification both ground our sense of freedom in the Christian life, providing a way to obey.

2. God?s grace always produces heart change in the believer, which leads to seeing God?s delight in us.

3. Worldliness doesn?t subject itself to the law of God, and when we pursue worldliness, the Spirit?s work in us can feel like death.

4. Worldliness is unable to subject itself to God?s law. We are actually in bondage when we follow our own way, but when we submit, we are free.

5. It is impossible to please God in worldliness. But the Christian walking in the Spirit is at peace, subject to the law, and able to obey because of the Spirit?s work within.

Duncan closes with the reminder that God?s purpose from the beginning has always been and will always be to conform us into the image of his Son, through the work of the Holy Spirit.

A lot of the advice we hear about how to use social media?don?t be mean, don?t humblebrag, share Bible verses?is good. But it also doesn?t feel like enough. Social media is a huge beast, and we need more than ?set a timer? (as helpful as that can be) to help us navigate the world of social media in a gospel-centered way.

Pulling in part from TGC's book, Social Sanity in an Insta World, panelists Amy Gannett, Blair Linne, and Laura Wifler explore ways of using social media to the glory of God. They cover a wide range of ideas, from the big picture (figure out why you're logging on) to the daily details (to re-ground yourself after scrolling, try concentrating on your five senses), all while offering encouragement to those who might be burned out by social media.

Teaching from Romans chapters 11 and 12, Jen Wilkin expounds on Paul?s call to know and worship God in order to be transformed. We must ask ?Who is God?? before we can know our own identity.

Wilkin outlines three truths about God that help us understand how to become living sacrifices for him:

God has all richesGod has all wisdomGod has all knowledge

Because God owns all things, we cannot extort or blackmail him. Because God holds all information (knowledge) perfectly and effortlessly, he can judge us perfectly (wisdom). If we want to feel deeply about God, we need to think deeply about him. Meditating on God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge will ultimately transform us into Christ?s image.

Juan Sánchez helps pastors identify leaders who imitate Christ based on four necessary traits: character, conviction, competency, and credibility.

In her message at TGCW21, Nancy Guthrie defines biblical theology and how it can transform Bible study as we gain a greater understanding of the Bible through it.

Guthrie says biblical theology is a way of seeing the Bible as one cohesive story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Approaching the Scriptures with biblical theology as a framework, Christians should experience a deeper awe of what Christ has done, not an overwhelming feeling of what we have to do. The smaller stories of the Bible are all woven together into the greater story of Christ?allowing us to see the beauty, sufficiency, and necessity of our union with him.

Teaching on Romans 5 at TGCW21, Kathleen Nielson highlights the truth that God?s grace is always abounding. She explains grace in relation to the past, present, and future?that we have been reconciled with God through Christ (past), that we have access to God right now (present), and that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God awaiting us (future).

Nielson says we cannot discover this grace on our own. Instead, we experience it together as the body of Christ, encouraging and strengthening each other regularly. The power of grace to give life is much greater than the power of sin to bring death. Through Christ, God?s grace is always greater than our sin. Nielson closes with the bold question: ?Does this grace hold your life together??

In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On this episode, we?re featuring the fifth and final debate in our series, where Ryan Burge and Andrew Walker engage in a discussion whether evangelicals should be defined by sociology or theology. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate.

To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with your staff or small group, visit goodfaithdebates.com

In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On today?s episode, we?re featuring the fourth debate, where Brian Davis and Justin Giboney discuss how the church should address racial injustice. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate.

To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with your staff or small group, visit goodfaithdebates.com

In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On today?s episode, we?re featuring the third debate, where Scott Klusendorf and Karen Swallow Prior discuss the pro-life cause and what it should, and should not, encompass. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate.

To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with your staff or small group, visit goodfaithdebates.com

 

In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On today?s episode, we?re featuring the second debate, where Sean DeMars and Rebecca McLaughlin discuss whether ?woke church? is a step toward theological compromise. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate. 

To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with your staff or small group, visit goodfaithdebates.com

In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On today?s episode, we?re featuring the first debate, where Bob Thune and Andrew Wilson discuss the topic of gun control. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate. 

To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with your staff or small group, visit goodfaithdebates.com

John Yates leads a pastoral panel with Matt Carter, Vermon Pierre, and Afshin Ziafat in a discussion on how hard ministry can be and what it takes to not lose heart. They discuss their personal experience of carrying the weight of the church and encountering criticism and fatigue. Together, they suggest how to prevent burnout by having: great mentors, friends inside the church, and a safe place to confess sin. They close with an emphasis on the importance of being surrounded by other believers and letting them speak into your life.

On today?s bonus episode of TGC Podcast, we?re featuring a selection from TGC?s narrative podcast, Recorded. 

In "Escape from Kabul", TGC senior writer Sarah Zylstra tells the story of God's dramatic work through the underground church in Afghanistan. 

To hear the full episode, subscribe to Recorded on Apple Podcasts. 

At TGC21, Darryl Williamson explains how Hebrews 12 uncovers the purpose of opposition in the Christian life. Spiritual conflict has been our defining reality since the fall of man, and God has used the church?people?to show himself to the world.

Williamson says as we consider Christ, we cannot miss the cross and the way of suffering. Jesus doesn?t tell us to avoid suffering. Instead, he says to not be afraid about what we are about to suffer. The purpose of this suffering, Williamson explains, is to endure and remain faithful through it. We?re to share in Christ?s afflictions and therefore share in his glory and rejoice in his faithfulness.

Sam Allberry leads a breakout session at TGCW21 on receiving the gift of singleness. Allberry encourages Christians, both married and single, with three reasons why singleness is a gift and not a curse.

He explains that the culture, and even sometimes the church, has taught us that we can only find happiness and intimacy through marriage. But the true, Biblical view of singleness shows us that:

Singleness is good, and we should embrace it as a gift.Singleness allows us to find intimacy and deep friendship within the church?our true family.Singleness reveals our longing for Jesus, our true and perfect Bridegroom, and we can rejoice in the marriage we have in Christ.

With this in view, singleness can become an opportunity to taste the goodness of God. When singleness is seen as a gift, the single Christian can therefore be thankful to God?and gratitude changes everything.

Courtney Doctor, Vanessa Hawkins, Melissa Kruger, and Trillia Newbell discuss what discipleship is and why it is important, especially within the local church. The panel defines discipleship as a lifelong growing in the knowledge of the Lord, a growing in his likeness, and a growing in affection for Christ until he returns.

Kruger explains that discipleship isn?t ?you becoming like me,? but instead becoming like the Lord together. A practical path to discipleship is outlined during the discussion:

Ask boldly for someone to disciple you.Find it within systems in your local church.When you ask, express what you want, when you want it, and for how long.

By following these guidelines, discipleship is more attainable for you and your mentor. Kruger describes that discipleship is like tethering a young sapling to an old oak tree. The sun and rain still make the sapling grow, but it is guided in the right direction by the help of standing beside the older, more mature tree. The panel closes with the reason why we should be a part of discipleship?it impacts all of eternity.

Julius Kim closes the Book of James with an explanation of why we should pray, tying together all the teachings from TGCW21. Kim connects all the previous teachings on steadfastness by describing what James meant in his closing statements of the book. Kim explains that what we pray about reveals the priorities of our hearts.

In his letter, James teaches us exactly what we should pray and why, listing four reasons why we should remain steadfast in prayer:

God hears us.God heals us.God forgives us.God fortifies us.

Kim argues that when we pray, it is a grace by which we are strengthened, calling us all to steadfast prayer in the midst of suffering?just like our example, Christ Jesus.

At TGCW21, Nancy Guthrie teaches on James chapters 4 and 5 and paints a picture of two different songs being sung to us?the world?s song of self-indulgence and self-accomplishment, and the song of God?s sovereign plan of patient endurance through suffering. She explains that we must reject the world?s song and instead, sing the song of Scripture, which tells us to wait patiently for the coming of the Lord.

Singing God?s song of Scripture so that it comes out in our dreams, ambitions, and plans is the way to endure suffering. Guthrie encourages steadfast waiting with two reminders:

1. The prophets suffered and were blessed, and so will we be.

2. Consider Job, who refused to give up on God, and be sure that God will work in and through the worst things in our lives to refine us as we wait on him.

Unpacking James chapters 3 and 4 at TGCW21, Paige Benton Brown teaches us how to discern where worldliness has crept into our lives:

Worldliness in Our LogicWorldliness in Our LongingsWorldliness in Our Loyalties

As we recognize our worldliness, we can become humble, draw near to God through repentance, and reflect the wisdom God gives. Worldly striving is no longer necessary since Christ already exalted us and seated us with Him in the heavenly places. Brown ends with the glorious news that Jesus rescues us by giving more grace?and there is always more grace.

Courtney Doctor teaches at TGCW21 on James 2:14-26, and carefully examines the true meaning of ?faith apart from works is dead.?

Are we justified by faith alone or justified by works along with faith? In her keynote address, Courtney Doctor explains that true and living faith transforms us and changes what we do, creating the good works to which James calls us. We should not muster up these good works to be right with God. Instead, we can follow the four examples of living faith James gives us in his letter:

1. Living faith shows itself in active compassion.

2. Living faith shows itself in a deep love for God.

3. Living faith shows itself in radical obedience to God.

4. Living faith shows itself in full identification with all of God?s people.

If we can simply love and abide in Christ, our good works will be a response from our hearts rather than a striving towards salvation.

At TGC's 2021 Women's Conference, K. A. Ellis presents a message called, ?Whose Story Will You Follow?? based off of James 1 and 2.

Ellis explains that the Bible is an ancient and true story that God has created for his people. She also speaks of the false stories and idols that we, as humans, are so quick to follow. Ellis, preaching from the Book of James, lays out what it means to choose to follow God?s story, instead of all the other false stories that lead us astray.

The theme she creates is that our ?say? should match our ?do.? When our words (our say) match our actions (our do), we show the story of the Kingdom of God, but when they do not match, our idols lead us to destruction and dehumanization. Ellis uses James? words to encourage us to ask which story we are following?God?s true story, or the idols of our hearts.

?Our conversations will produce more light than heat if we can focus in on one argument at a time. By more carefully isolating our real disagreements, we will be better equipped to talk responsibly, listen respectfully, and find common ground and move in the direction of possible solutions.? ? Isaac Adams

Isaac Adams delivers a message at TGC21 addressing the question, ?Why is it so hard to talk about race?? He begins with the most basic and foundational of answers from James 4: sin is the reason for the quarrels and fights among brothers and sisters in Christ. Adams identifies 11 reasons he believes sin specifically affects conversations about race. He encourages us listeners to repent, to seek wisdom and listen to one another, and fix our eyes on Jesus.

Though we may not fully agree on questions of race and racism, we can be unified through our conversations if together we are fixated on Christ.

?It's by relying on the Father of every good and every perfect gift that we can remain steadfast under trial.? ?? Mary Willson

Mary Willson delivers a message at TGCW21, teaching from James chapter 1, addressing the questions and concerns that have arisen within the Church over the last couple of years around sickness, financial strain, joblessness, loneliness, disorientation, anxiety, and how to faithfully stand firm in the midst of such compounding adversity. She encourages listeners to remember who they are and, ultimately, whose they are, as James describes in verse 1.

Willson also addresses three sets of instructions that follow in James?s teaching in light of our identity in Christ, crescendoing into a glorious remembrance of who God is and the sovereign grace he bestowed on us, that we might be first fruits of his kingdom?reflecting his love in broken creation.

?I want to be content in the presence of God with me, no matter what the circumstances are around me.? ? David Platt

David Platt preaches a message at TGC21 based in Hebrews 13:1-21. He begins by reminding us that we have an adversary who wants to destroy our intimacy with Jesus and divert his people from his mission in the world, which is why we have the book of Hebrews.

Platt gives 25 ways that God directs his people through instructions, expectations, declarations, and a benediction in the final chapter of Hebrews. Platt exhorts us to fix our eyes on the Son of God, our reward, our Savior, our Sympathizer, our Intercessor, our Great High Priest who covers over all our sins, and the Great Shepherd who oversees our soul.

Every society has concepts of right and wrong, including overlaps and differences, and those concepts formulate moral ecosystems that pass down values from generation to generation. As described by Tim Keller, moral ecosystems display four distinct characteristics: moral cosmology (who we are and why we are here), moral instruction in some authoritative text, moral imagination (the stories we tell), and cohesive community made up of moral discourse, moral modeling, and moral practices.

In her talk from TGCW21, Betsy Childs Howard addresses each of these characteristics from both historical and practical viewpoints with a particular focus on moral imagination?how the stories we tell shape our children.

Check out the new book, Polly and the Screen Time Overload, written by this episode's speaker, Betsy Childs Howard. 

 

Collin Hansen delivers a message at TGC21 titled ?The Duty and Delight of Catechizing Your Children.? He begins with the thesis that someone will catechize your children and follows with the pivotal question, ?Will it be you or someone else??

From Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Hansen addresses the nuts and bolts of catechesis, beginning with its theological foundation and detailing how parents might engage in both formal and informal catechesis, as the Scriptures command.

As parents lay the foundation of catechesis for their children, duty gives way to delight, while Biblical truth begins to shape their families for the glory of God.

Lloyd Kim delivered a message at TGC21 from Hebrews 8:6-13 titled ?Christ?s Greater Covenant.? The author of Hebrews makes a case, he taught, that the New Covenant through Jesus is based on better promises of God than the Old. Those promises he described as three-fold:

God will remember our sins no moreGod will write his laws on our hearts, and we will be his peopleAll will know him, from the least to the greatest

Sam Allberry, Rebecca McLaughlin, and Jackie Hill Perry participated in a panel discussion during TGCW21 titled ?Sexual Identity and Loving Our Neighbor.? Having experienced same-sex attraction and taught extensively on issues of sexuality, each participant in the panel spoke from their own experiences?both being confronted personally by the gospel and engaging in conversations with others around the confrontational and controversial topics of sexuality. They encouraged their listeners to engage honestly, with open ears and a humble posture, recognizing that every image bearer has a story that is worthy of our careful attention.

Bryan Chapell taught a message from Hebrews 12 during TGC21 titled ?The Pilgrim?s Purpose in Life.? Amid a global pandemic, he sought to answer the ancient question, ?If God is for us, why is all of this happening?? He reminded believers that God is greater than our senses and explanations?and we need him to be.

What God is doing in us, he explained, is disciplining us as sons and daughters, teaching us how dear we are to each other and how dear the Savior is to us. When life hits hard and we find ourselves desperate for solid ground, we should be reminded of the kingdom that cannot be shaken and its glorious King. As recipients of the unshakeable kingdom, we must lift our hands, strengthen our knees, and gratefully worship in reverence and awe.

Don Carson delivered a message during TGC21 titled ?Our Empathetic High Priest.? Focusing in on three passages from Hebrews chapters 4-7, he emphasized three major points as it pertains to Christ?s role as our Great High Priest:

? He is able to encourage us to persevere despite our weakness, brokenness, and sin.

? He is able to encourage us by anchoring our hope, in his immutable promise and oath.

? He is able to encourage us by being uniquely qualified to save us completely.