Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself

Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself

Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself

Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself

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Overview

This book provides a practical introduction to the discipline of preaching to oneself alongside fifty brief devotionals that will challenge readers to apply the law and the gospel to their own lives.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781433522062
Publisher: Crossway
Publication date: 04/07/2011
Series: Re:Lit Series
Pages: 144
Product dimensions: 5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Joe Thorn (MDiv, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the founding and lead pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in St. Charles, Illinois. He is an active blogger at JoeThorn.net, a contributor to The Story ESV Bible and The Mission of God Study Bible, and the author of Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself and Experiencing the Trinity: The Grace of God for the People of God. He and his wife, Jen, have four children.

Sam Storms (PhD, University of Texas at Dallas) has spent more than four decades in ministry as a pastor, professor, and author. He is currently the senior pastor at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was previously a visiting associate professor of theology at Wheaton College from 2000 to 2004. He is the founder of Enjoying God Ministries and blogs regularly at SamStorms.org.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

LOVE

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
Dear Self,

You have found that the command to love can be both inspiring and suffocating. On the one hand, you are made to love and want to love like Jesus. On the other hand, you know your own weaknesses, and the people God calls you to love aren't always the most lovable. But as with all of the commands of God, you must not only see what God asks of you but also how he has met that need himself in the gospel on your behalf. This is especially true in the case of love.

You must love God and your neighbor, but only one can give birth to the other. Do you recall that the command to love God with all one's heart, mind, soul, and strength was the command that drove Martin Luther to hate God? It was a command that he could not meet, and the righteous standard of God nearly drove him mad. You are like Luther. Love is something beyond your ability as well, yet the command remains.

The reality is that you only love God because he loved you first. He loved you before you were born and chose you for himself. His love for you secured your salvation, and because you have experienced his life-redeeming love you love him in return.

But for love to continue and grow, and for you to love the unlovable, it is important that you meditate on the gospel. Get this — you only know what love really is by looking to your Savior. And we learn it from him continually, not just once. You must daily go to the cross and see your Savior's love for the unlovable (that means you).

You must learn, relearn, and remember your Savior's love and sacrifice for the wicked, the rebellious, the black-hearted — for people like you. And when you see the Holy One's sacrificial love for you, you not only see what love looks like, but also you find strength and power to love like him.


REJOICE

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Dear Self,

I know, you see those words and you often ponder them with both longing and frustration. Joy? The way the psalmist describes it often leaves you with the impression that this kind of happiness is not real, but just an amplified expression of what you experience in small, real-life measure. Or you think that it is just a short burst of emotion that arises in a moment of deep worship. But let's be honest, the reason you do not experience the joy you read about in Scripture is because your heart is divided, and your interests are spread thin.

Why the call for joy? Why can all of creation sing and serve its Creator with gladness? Because he really is God. "Know that the Lord, he is God!" At times you have found yourself wondering, "Is this real? God, the Bible, Jesus, Satan, sin, and salvation — is it all real?" You don't admit that to those around you, but there are times when you question it all. And in his grace God confirms by his Word and Spirit that it is true. He is God! And the reality of your theology gives you joy.

What you believe is not a religious game, or a manmade crutch upon which you lean for a little assistance. Rather it is the divinely revealed truth that makes you who you are and gives you cause to rejoice. You can rejoice not only because he is God, but because we are his people, and as such he protects us and provides for us in all ways necessary for us to know him more fully, enjoy him more deeply, and make him known more widely.

And you can rejoice because his love remains over you now and always. It never dries up, runs low, or fades out. His love endures forever. Because of all this, and so much more, you can know the joy the psalmists describe in their songs. You just need to return to these truths. You need reminding.


FEAR

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
Dear Self,

You often fear the wrong things. For example, often you are fearful of conflict, suffering, or the loss of good things like respect or acceptance by certain kinds of people. It is understandable from a worldly perspective, for these things you are afraid of losing are themselves — worldly. This does not mean they are bad, but they are temporal. So many of the things you value are good gifts from God; but they do not last, nor are they supposed to be something from which you find your identity and lasting hope.

The problem with this kind of worldly fear is that it will lead you to toe party lines instead of correcting and challenging the people you are close to. It will compel you to try to live a safe life, free from risk or danger instead of being willing to make the hard and "risky" choice of following Jesus in a culture that rejects him.

It will lead you to so prize the good gifts of God that they mutate into idols that you are unwilling to let go of.

You don't need to be afraid of anything, but you do need to fear your God with a holy reverence. Such "fear" is an aspect of faith that responds to God's holiness, sovereignty, and transcendence. This higher form of fear is that which leads to awe, adoration, and carefulness of life because of the intimate knowledge of your Maker and Redeemer. What should you fear in life above a holy God who forgives the sins of unholy men like yourself? What can be taken from you? Your possessions can go up in flames, but you have treasure in heaven and stand to inherit the kingdom. Your reputation may be sullied, but you are justified in Jesus. You may be rejected by those you admire, but you are accepted by God. You may be hated, but your Father in heaven loves you with an undying love. What is there in this life to fear?

The fear you need to maintain and cultivate is a fear of God, for in it you will discover wisdom and develop strength that enables you to persevere in faith to the end.

CHAPTER 4

SING

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. PSALM 30:4

Dear Self,

You really should sing more. You should sing more than at gathered worship with the church. You should sing in the car, while working in the yard, and in your home. And when you sing, you should do so with more than lungs and lips. You should sing with your heart, mind, and soul.

And stop rolling your eyes! I'm not suggesting that you become the perpetually happy whistler who rolls through the aisles of the grocery store whistling others into an incurable state of annoyance. But song does need to be a much bigger part of your life.

People sing about the things that capture their hearts and things that give them joy. People sing of heroes, victory, longing, and hope. People even sing as a way to express their sorrow. Does anyone have more reasons to sing than you? As a sinner who has been forgiven, a slave who has been freed, a blind man who has received sight, a spiritual cripple who has been healed — all by the gospel — you have real reasons to be known as a person of song!

It is one thing to tell the world of God's work of redemption in Jesus; it is another to sing of it. Anyone can parrot truth, but to sing of it — from the soul — reveals how you feel. Song is the natural and appropriate response to the gospel, because singing is one of the highest expressions of joy.

So why aren't you singing "always, only for [your] king?" Have the mercies of God grown small in your heart? Is there little joy, little gratitude, little wonder? Do you just not feel like singing? The confession of your sins and gospel meditation will lead you to song, so start there. There are songs of praise, thanksgiving, confession, lament, and victory that need your voice.

From the great hymns of old to the new songs echoing the wonders of God's mercy, you have more means of finding songs of redemption than any other generation before you. So join the chorus of God's people, who have always been known as a people who sing.

CHAPTER 5

GIVE THANKS

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. PSALM 100:4–5

Dear Self,

When was the last time you used the word "thanksgiving" without referencing to the holiday? Yes, it is appropriate that you "give thanks" at the dinner table, but this easily becomes a formality void of real affection. Thankfulness is the joyful and humble response of a heart that has been transformed by grace.

The psalmist calls us to "enter his gates with thanksgiving and praise," which is a call to approach God in gratitude. Why is that? He points to three realities: because God is good, because God is loving, and because God is faithful. A good theologian is thankful, and until you know these truths you are likely to feel entitled and deserving.

How do you know God to be good, loving, and faithful? These attributes were put on display most beautifully in the gospel. God is good, loving, and faithful by not giving you what you deserve (judgment) and by lavishing on you grace unmeasured. He is good and loving in saving us from sin and judgment, giving us hope and life, and adopting us as his own. He is faithful to his Word and his promise to us, that he will not count our sins against us and will continue the work he began in us to completion. On top of this, every good thing you have in this life is a gift from your heavenly Father, and as one who has been justified by the grace of Christ you should see everything in your life as grace that accompanies your salvation. For such things do not come from a Judge, but your Dad.

Does gratitude characterize your thoughts of God? Thankfulness is a good test of your faith. Its absence demonstrates that your faith is more lip service than experiential knowledge. Your days, whether easy or difficult, should be filled with thanksgiving because while life changes drastically, your God remains the same forever. He is constant — constantly good, loving, and faithful.

CHAPTER 6

REMEMBER YOUR SINS

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. PSALM 32:5

Dear Self,

Yes, part of your confidence before God is that he has forgiven you of your sins and remembers them no more. But sometimes you have a hard time forgetting all that you have done wrong. Of course, God doesn't actually forget your sins. He remains omniscient, knowing everything all the time. Saying God does not remember your sins is a way of saying he will not hold them against you as judge. He has thoroughly forgiven you in Jesus. You need to hear that. Those who believe in Jesus are truly forgiven. Yet, recalling your sins can lead to a perverted relationship between guilt and pride, which is a very popular method for dealing with the feeling of guilt. It works like this.

You are aware of the sins you have committed and consequently feel guilt — paralyzing guilt that says you are unworthy of even talking to God. Seriously, some of the things you have done are pretty messed up. As you consider your sins and feel their weight, you decide to embrace the guilt and even heap it on. Then, only after you have felt sufficiently bad about all that you have been and done do you begin to feel better about it all. It's as if amassing feelings of guilt becomes a perverted kind of penance in which you pay for your transgression by making yourself feel bad — as if your guilt is a means of getting clean. It may be hard to see it, but you can probably remember times when you felt as if you could not approach God because of your sin. So you waited, heaped on the guilt, and after you felt bad enough and sorry enough, you began to try to draw near to God as if you had somehow become more acceptable.

Look, the memory of your sins is no cause to beat yourself up and wallow in guilt. Instead, it should lead you to rejoice in the redemption you have in Jesus. So you will (and should) remember your sins but not be plagued by them. As a Christian you must see them in light of the cross. You need to remember your sins for what they are — lawlessness that stemmed from a heart that hated God. It wasn't just what you did; it was what you were. And in remembering these sins, you hold fast to Jesus. This remembrance does not encourage you to shrink back from God but to draw near, seeking him because of the hope of the gospel. When you remember your sins, you learn humility, love Jesus, and make much of the gospel.

CHAPTER 7

JESUS IS BIG

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Dear Self,

Take note — your view of Jesus tends to shrink over time. It is not that your theology itself drifts, but sometimes you so focus on one aspect of Jesus that you tend to forget the rest. The result is a shrinking Jesus (in your faith). And as your shrinking Jesus becomes small Jesus, he is easily eclipsed by your idols and ego.

The bigger and more biblical your understanding of who Jesus is, the more likely he is to be such an object of love and adoration that the idols that aim at capturing your attention and swaying your allegiance will lose their power. This is why you sometimes lack earnestness for the kingdom and the glory of God while you overflow with passion concerning temporal things. Instead of making a joyful noise and singing earnestly for the victory Christ has over sin and death, you express a dispassionate approval and mouth the words to the songs sung in worship. But there is often fire in your belly and shouts of joy when your favorite college football team is victorious over the competition. This is probably why the church is shrinking in North America — because small Jesus does not inspire awe, command respect, lead to worship, or compel us to talk of him (much less suffer for him). And small Jesus is too little to arrest the attention of the world.

So please remember — Jesus is bigger than you tend to think. He is the perfect revelation of God, the radiance of his glory, the exact imprint of his nature; he is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. Everything belongs to him and exists for him. He is the author of your salvation, the perfecter of your faith, and the only one in whom you can find life.

(Continues…)


Excerpted from "Note to Self"
by .
Copyright © 2011 Joe Thorn.
Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Sam Storms,
Acknowledgments,
Introduction: Preaching to Ourselves?,
PART ONE: THE GOSPEL AND GOD,
1 Love,
2 Rejoice,
3 Fear,
4 Sing,
5 Give Thanks,
6 Remember Your Sins,
7 Jesus Is Big,
8 Jesus Is Enough,
9 God Does Not Answer to You,
10 Be Humble in Your Theology,
11 Endure,
12 Seek God,
13 Wait for Jesus,
PART TWO: THE GOSPEL AND OTHERS,
14 Stop Judging,
15 Stop Pretending,
16 Love Your Wife,
17 Love Your Husband,
18 Honor Your Parents,
19 Sow Grace,
20 Forgive,
21 Initiate,
22 Welcome,
23 Listen to Others,
24 Speak to Others,
25 You Can't Make It Alone,
26 Live Short,
27 Live Long,
PART THREE: THE GOSPEL AND YOU,
28 Hate Well,
29 Keep Your Heart,
30 Repent,
31 Die to Sin,
32 Kill Your Sin,
33 Rebound,
34 You Are Proud,
35 Stop Complaining,
36 Know Your Idols,
37 Theology Is for Worship,
38 Worship Out Loud,
39 Worship in Private,
40 Theology Talks,
41 Be Careful in Your Theology,
42 Don't Be a Fan Boy,
43 Work,
44 Suffer Well,
45 Read,
46 Live Carefully,
47 Take Risks,
48 Take Note,
Recommended Reading,

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“I know of no other book that deals with the issue of preaching to yourself directly, and I can’t imagine another book will come along to fill this void better than Note to Self. Pastor Joe Thorn offers a richly pastoral, theological, and practical guide for thinking through the Christian life. After reading Note to Self, you will not only have Joe’s notes on how to preach to yourself on issues related to God, others, and yourself, but also you will have a model for practicing the discipline on your own.”
Ed Stetzer, Executive Director, Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, Wheaton College

Note to Self is a gospel-guided smart bomb scoring a direct hit on our strongholds of emptiness. But the explosion it detonates is life giving. It clears the way for Christ to enter in with powers of salvation where we really need help.”
Ray Ortlund, President, Renewal Ministries

“I am thoroughly engrossed with Joe Thorn’s personal meditations on preaching the gospel to oneself. He combines a clear biblical knowledge with an excellent grasp of doctrine from a historical Reformed perspective and is able to press home a rich application of each aspect of truth to the development of personal holiness. These applications are not trite, but arise from knowledge of the church’s best soul doctors. My wife and I have been reading this each evening and have profited greatly. Each chapter can be managed in less than five minutes but provides an evening’s worth of rich reflection.”
Tom J. Nettles, Professor of Historical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, By His Grace and for His Glory

“Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that most of your unhappiness is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself. Joe Thorn brings this truth to bear on a new generation in Note to Self. It’s filled with pastoral concern and practical advice packaged as brief notes. I’ve been looking for a book like this my entire Christian life, and it’s every bit as good as I hoped it would be. I’m buying a copy for everyone in my church.”
Steve McCoy, Pastor, Doxa Fellowship; blogger, Reformissionary

“Joe Thorn’s gift to our spiritual well-being is a contemporary, practical example of what the Puritan pastor Richard Baxter called ‘discursive meditation.’ At once both convicting and exhilarating, Note to Self is a great resource for cultivating the godly habit of preaching to oneself.”
C. Ben Mitchell, professor; author, Ethics and Moral Reasoning: A Student’s Guide

“Joe Thorn has not only given us a good piece of writing, he’s given us a great idea! Note to Self is a series of brief notes in which Joe preaches the gospel to himself on a wide range of topics. The notes offer memorable insights on our view of God, others, and self. Everyone should write ‘notes to self.’ Read this book and learn firsthand how to write the gospel into every nook and cranny of your life!”
Jonathan K. Dodson, Theologian-in-Residence, Citizens Church, Plano, Texas; Founder, Gospel-Centered Discipleship; author, The Unbelievable Gospel; Here in Spirit; and Our Good Crisis

“I talk to myself. Joe Thorn wants me to talk to myself more. And I need that. Regardless of one’s theological view of Law and gospel, these biblical repasts are a good chew.”
Jim Elliff, Christian Communicators Worldwide

“Joe Thorn is my favorite kind of pastor—a theologian and a shepherd. Even better, he is a serious follower of Jesus Christ. Listen to him ‘talk to himself’ and you will discover that he is doing more listening than talking. Read Note to Self and it will help you to hear God’s Word and discern the gracious moving of his Spirit in your own life.”
John Koessler, Professor and Chair of Pastoral Studies Department, Moody Bible Institute

“Joe Thorn has written a series of devotions that are concise and clear but also profound and penetrating. This is just the sort of resource that frazzled and frayed people (like this pastor!) need to read to come back to center and be refreshed by the wonder of the gospel and the beauty and majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Chris Brauns, Pastor, The Red Brick Church, Stillman Valley, Illinois; author, Unpacking ForgivenessBound Together; and When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search

Note to Self teaches you a skill that will permanently change your life: the skill of preaching to yourself. This is a forgotten habit in our day, and Joe Thorn winsomely models how to resurrect this lost art. Note to Self models what I want to see more of in my life and in the lives of the people I pastor. Practice what this book preaches and your life will be different.”
Justin Buzzard, Lead Pastor, Garden City Church, Silicon Valley; author, Date Your Wife and The Big Story

“It’s not enough to simply call people to the gospel. We must help them make the connections between the gospel and their everyday living. Joe Thorn’s Note to Self is gospel proclamation and application at its best. I will put this in the hands of my people."
Daniel Montgomery, Lead Pastor, Sojourn Community Church, Louisville, Kentucky; Founder, Sojourn Network; author, FaithmappingPROOF, and Leadership Mosaic

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