Spiritual Warfare – jeremycouture.me

Three Book Recommendations for Studying Angels after Christmas

Want to know more about angels, Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare? Here are 3 books that can help.

The story of Christmas can’t be told without including the activity of angels. It was an angel in Matthew’s Gospel who delivered the news of Mary’s virgin birth to Joseph in a dream. An angel visited Mary too and told her about her miraculous pregnancy. A multitude of angels appeared to shepherds watching over their sheep outside of Bethlehem to tell them about coming of the Savior. Spiritual agents, both good and evil, play a critical role in God’s overall story of redemption.

Here are three great books to help you study Angelology and Spiritual Warfare this season:

1. Angels and Demons by John R. Gilhooly

John R. Gilhooly has become a well-know authority on angelic beings and the spiritual world. This new book defines angels and demons and then traces their respective activities through the Old and New Testaments. Gilhooly also includes a lengthy chapter that answers twelves of the most common questions about angels and demons. This book is great for those who want a Biblical overview of the spiritual world without begging bogged down in theoretical questions and for those who have a specific question about angels.

2. Discipled Warriors by Chuck Lawless

Chuck Lawless has a unique blend of pastoral and academic experience, which makes this book very approachable. In it, Lawless explains and applies a model church health to the various facets of our struggle against Satan. Each chapter contains practical applications as well as tips for further reading and study. This book is perfect for the church leader who wants to organize his congregation for maximum effectiveness and spiritual vitality. Rank-and-file Christians will also benefit from this actionable approach to engaging the spiritual world.

3. Against the Darkness by Graham A. Cole

This book is part of a larger series on evangelical theology. Graham Cole makes a huge contribution to that series with this book on angels, Satan, and demons. Cole includes a string of rich theological insights on these topics that includes a throughful understanding of the extra-Biblical writing. The chapter on Satan as the “Malevolent Spoiler” is particularly valuable. This book is ideal for the Bible student who is chasing a deep understanding of angels and wants to know what various authorities have had on the subject through the years.

These books are available at your favorite retailers and may even be found in your local library.

You can find an introduction to my “Three Things” series here: https://wp.me/p1hRxR-lc

Pastoral Counseling for Spiritual Renewal

Pastoral counseling is essential for experiencing spiritual renewal and revival in the church, but what does that look like?

This post is the second in a series tracing the dynamics of spiritual renewal in the Church as outlined in Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal by Dr. Richard Lovelace.

Pastoral counseling is essential for experiencing spiritual renewal and revival in the church, according to Dr. Richard Lovelace. In his book, Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal, he places pastoral counseling alongside preaching and teaching as necessary components of personal renewal, which is the precursor to corporate renewal in the church. As individuals are revived, so is the Church.

The kind of counseling that Lovelace recommends follows the historical examples of Richard Baxter and Philip Spener. Baxter augmented his preaching ministry with “house-to-house pastoral visistion” where he worked to apply God’s Word to the realtime spiritual needs of His congregation. A biblical president for this kind of ministry can be drawn from Acts 20:20, where Paul taught both in public and in the home.

Lovelace is skeptical of some counseling practitioners who follow the nouthetic approach. His first critique is their tendency to “write off all non-Christian psychological theory and practice as erroneous.” In addition, Lovelace believes that the nouthetic approach doesn’t take into account the serious nature of indwelling sin and therefore fails at delivering the necessary means of overcoming it. This is far from solving the ongoing debate about nature of Christian counseling in the church, but it helps to introduce a key set of doctrinal principles.

From Lovelace’s perserpective, spiritual renewal rests on four doctrines: justification, sanctification, the indwelling of Holy Spirit, and the authority of the believer in spiritual conflict. These “primary elements of renewal” must all be presented with equal force in context of a pastoral counseling conversation. Counselees should be encouraged to take hold of each of these four elements by faith as separate, but equal benefits of being united with Jesus Christ. They should find security in their adoptive sonship secured by Christ’s obedience and righteousness. They must also be committed to growing in their personal sanctification. Pastoral counselors also need to urge their audience to recognise and the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit as well as take hold of the strength they have in spiritual warfare.

Effective pastors will add personal counseling to the regular preaching and teaching of God’s Word if they want to stimulate spiritual renewal. They should look for ways to apply the truth of God’s Word to the individual situations and needs of their congregants. When these two practices are combined, they can be power and positive part of bringing spiritual renewal and revival to the Church.

Looking for the previous on Spiritual Renewal in the Church?

Find it here: https://wp.me/p1hRxR-Kv

Preaching and Teaching for Spiritual Renewal

What is the starting point for spiritual renewal and revival in the church?

This post is the first in a series tracing the dynamics of spiritual renewal in the Church as outlined in Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal by Dr. Richard Lovelace.

Spiritual renewal is another way of describing our biggest need in the Church – spiritual revival. Dr. Richard Lovelace made a name for himself tracing out the dynamics of spiritual renewal as a professor of Church History at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and as the author of Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal. In his book, he identifies preaching and teaching as the starting point for personal spiritual renewal in the life of the local church. As individuals are revived, so is the Church.

The kind of preaching and teaching that brings renewal encourages an intelligent response to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit. According to Lovelace, the core doctrines of Christ’s redemptive work are justification and sanctification. Justification is God’s full and final forgiveness extended to all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. This state is based on God’s righteousness, not our own. The doctrine of justification leads, by necessity, to the doctrine of sanctification, which is the incremental progress believers make, empowered by the Holy Spirit, towards moral and spiritual maturity. In addition, sanctification means being set apart for God’s holy purposes. As believers are set apart, they should experience the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and a spiritual victory over their sins.

Lovelace summarizes these doctrines with the following statements: You are accepted, you are delivered, you are not alone, and you have authority. From his perspective, these are the themes that are overlooked in churches that struggle with spiritual apathy. Renewed and revived churches, on the other hand, feature preachers who are not afraid to bring these themes out of the pages of Scripture. Vibrant believers need frequent reminders of what it looks like to live in light of Christ’s work and the Holy Spirit’s presence. Vibrant believers are necessary for vibrant churches.

Effective preachers will explain, emphasize, illustrate, and apply God’s Word. Based on Lovelace’s advice, they should also look for ways to highlight these key doctrines. Those who are listening should look for reminders that they are accepted and delivered in Christ. They should take hold of the resources they have in moving toward maturity and victory. These expectations will make preaching and teaching a primary factor in our spiritual renewal.

Photo by Kevin Gonzalez on Unsplash