Dr. John Coe

Dr. John Coe will be teaching a four week class on Spiritual Formation for the 2012 Winter Session of RHBI (Tuesday Evenings, 1/31 – 2/21, 6:30pm – 8:20pm). The class will cover topics including:

• Resisting the Temptation of Moral Formation: Moving From Moral to Spiritual Formation
• Why We Sin When We Know So Much: Healing the Hidden Heart by the Spirit
• Drawing Near to God When God Seems Far Away: Practicing the Presence of God Despite Feelings
• Going on with God in Dark Nights: Maturing the Saints by Spiritual Hunger and Love
• How to Put on Christ: Doing Spiritual Disciplines from the Heart in the Spirit

We have a common experience of what some have called the “Sanctification Gap.” This is the disparity between what we know our lives should look like according to scripture and the frustrating realities of how we actually end up living out our lives. As believers, we embrace that we are justified by faith; but, we have a sneaking suspicion that we are sanctified by works. As a result we try harder and harder to overcome our failures and we become increasingly discouraged until many of us reach a stalemate with our struggles.

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Tuesday*

• Spiritual Formation: John Coe, Ph.D. (four weeks, concludes February 21, Room 290, Main Campus)

Wednesday

• Hermeneutics: Sam Evans, M.Div. (Room 301, North Campus)
• Heaven: Rob Orr, J.D. (Room 304, North Campus)

Thursday

• Introduction to Genesis through Esther: Michael Cochrane, M.Div, M.A., M.S. (Room 304, North Campus)

All classes are eight weeks long beginning the week of January 31, unless otherwise noted. You can register at: www.RHBI.org/rsvp.

* Free childcare is available on Tuesday night classes. Please make reservations with our children’s program by calling the church.

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“the shaping of our inner character and outer conduct, in cooperation with the work of the the Spirit, so that we are gradually being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ” (38).

The RHCC Discipleship Commission desires to create opportunities to help us connect the development of our minds with the development of our hearts (Rom 12:1-2). Singing to our Lord together is beautiful, but the totality of our lives (both individually and in community) are meant to be our act of living and worshipful sacrifice to our Lord.

To help kick off this year of Spiritual Formation, we’re bringing in three amazing speakers: Dr. Dallas Willard, Dr. John Coe, and Dr. Steve Porter.

Dr. Willard is an international lecturer and a professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California where he has taught since 1965. In addition to his academic publications and research, Dr. Willard has a heart for Christian formation which is reflected in his published books, some of which are: “The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God,” “The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship,” “Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ,” “Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge,” and “Hearing God.”

Dr. Coe is Professor of Philosophy and Spiritual Theology at Talbot Theological Seminary where he also serves as the Director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation. He is currently working on a new book titled: “Making Sense of Our Spiritual Dark Nights: Ancient Wisdom for our Evangelical Journey.” In addition to being the RHBI guest preacher in the Canvas Worship services at Rolling Hills Covenant Church, Dr. Coe will teach a four week RHBI class on Spiritual Formation.

Dr. Porter, a graduate of the University of Oxford, is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Talbot’s Institute for Spiritual Formation and Rosemead School of Psychology (Biola University). He has written numerous published articles in various philosophical and theological journals as well as his book “Restoring the Foundations of Epistemic Justification” (2006). Dr. Porter will be the RHBI guest preacher in the main worship services and the Gathering service at Rolling Hills Covenant Church.

Schedule of Events:

• Dr. Steve Porter, guest preacher:
• Main Worship Services:
• Saturday, 1/21, 5:00pm, Worship Center
• Sunday, 1/22, 8:00am & 9:30am, Worship Center
• The Gathering:
• Sunday, 1/22, 11:15am, Room 290
• Dr. Dallas Willard, special free RHBI kickoff event
• Tuesday, 1/24, 7:00pm, Worship Center. Childcare is available with reservation (see below)
• Dr. John Coe, guest preacher
• Canvas Worship Services
• Sunday, 1/29, 9:30am, Room 290
• Sunday, 1/29, 11:15am, Worship Center

Dr. J.P. Moreland will be kicking off our Spring Session in April as well as teaching a four week class on the Kingdom Triangle. We’re also working hard to book a great speaker for the fall session in September. We have some exciting options, but nothing solidified yet. Stay tuned to this blog for upcoming details!

As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at the church!

You can register/RSVP by visiting www.RHBI.org/rsvp.

Blessings! – jp

We had a great lineup of classes, including: Prayer, Value Packed Parenting, Discipleship, Introduction to Genesis through Esther, Christianity and Cultural Hot Buttons, Marriage Revival, Church and Society, Life’s Healing Choices, Introduction to New Testament, Introduction to Job through Malachi, Overcoming Your Fear of Evangelism, and Affirmations of the Faith.

We’ve received great feedback from our students as well as some encouraging suggestions that will help us make the Bible Institue even more helpful for you. 2012 is going to be an exciting year… I’ll post the upcoming events shortly.

If you ever have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to email me or contact one of the members of the Discipleship Commission. You can also give us feedback on classes you’ve taken by visiting: www.RHBI.org/survey.

Alternatively, you can contact us on facebook: www.Facebook.com/BibleInstitute

Thanks for making 2011 a great year for RHBI! – jp

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Pastor Steve Bunyard (Pastor of Outreach at RHCC) simply carries around a copy of a book that he wants you to read. The book catches your eye and you ask him, “Hey, Steve, what book are you reading?” Then it is too late. He has the hook in your mouth and you know that you will be going to http://www.christianbook.com and you are going to order that book so you can start reading ASAP.

That is how I discovered and devoured Radical: taking back your faith from the American dream by David Platt. I highly recommend this book as a good read to review your thoughts on being a Christian in America. Platt warns you to examine how your faith guides your life or how your culture invades and possibly overwhelms your faith. I took this book to heart and am praying through changes in my life.

Here is my summary of Radical: taking back your faith from the American dream by David Platt:

“God has designed our lives for a collision course with the world.” (p. 83) No matter in which walk of life we find ourselves, God wants us “to spend all of our lives for the sake of all of God’s glory in all of the world.” (p. 83)

Platt questions the validity of “pray a prayer after me” Christianity. He sees the Bible clearly teaching the follower of Jesus to give up everything that they have and take up his cross and follow Jesus against the tide of family and the world. He challenges each believer to focus on discipleship and becoming a reproducing disciple-maker.

Platt drives to the core when he challenges every American believer to review their personal view and feelings about death. If we view death as a reward as we are instantly escorted into the presence of Jesus and leave the cares and struggles of our earthly life behind, then we are good to go in our discipleship. Our faith needs an adjustment if we are found clinging to family, possessions, positions, friends, comforts, safety, security, and our very lives.

We have nothing to fear as we rest in His sovereign control over every minute of our day. (p. 173)

We can remain secure because we know that he loves us and cares about every detail of our life. (p. 174)

Our greatest security is found in the faithful provision of our all-knowing God who is also able and willing to meet our needs in every way. (p. 174)

We have to work to believe with Paul that “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) Death can be a reward only if dying really is gain. Your life is free to be radical only when you see death as reward. The key is realizing that this world is not your home. (p. 175-179)

We are radically His when we only know security in Him and we find satisfaction only in His presence.

“When we consider the promises of Christ, risking everything we are and everything we have for His sake is no longer a matter of sacrifice. It’s just common sense. Following Christ is not sacrificial as much as it is smart. Jim Elliot once said, ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’” (p. 181)

Platt spends the final chapter of the book challenging the reader to put their new found radical faith into practice via a radical experiment. He gives the reader 5 challenges to undertake in the next year. This is a very practical step for each reader to take.

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Here is my summary of The Prodigal God by Tim Keller:

We are saved individually by the application of the cosmic payment of our sin debt through Christ’s loving sacrifice of Himself on the cross.

However, if we view our relationship with God as simply transaction recipients with a cosmic judge, then we can dwell in our pre-Christ fear and neediness. We can remain either a younger brother slave, seeking fulfillment and meaning and joy in everything except God, or an older brother slave to self-reliance and wooden “adherence” to God’s law.

The answer is for every believer to embrace the beauty of Jesus’ self-less, loving sacrifice for us and dwell on God’s goodness and favor. Our fear and neediness are eliminated as we dwell on His beauty and love for us.

The faith way forward is to abandon myself to his grace and “taste and see” that the Lord is good. His love must become more real to you than the love of anyone else. You must see, with the eyes of your heart, His dazzling majesty, goodness and purposeful love for you. At that point, there is no room in your heart for worry or anxiety, you trust in the kind Lord of the Universe to simply be Himself and take care of you.

Our understanding of the sheer, costly grace of God in our salvation drives out the selfishness of the younger brother and also the self-righteousness of the older brother. This gospel wakes us up to the plight of those around us and we seek out ways to provide safety, food, clothes and comfort to those caught in crushing social systems while at the same time seeking to share the gospel.

We must continually and personally appropriate the gospel, “making it more and more central to everything we see, think and feel. This is how we grow spiritually in wisdom, love, joy, and peace…The basic operating principle of the gospel is ‘I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore I obey.” (p. 128) However, our heart seeks to return to self-righteous mode. We have a fleshly instinct to look to other things besides God. Therefore, we must take the gospel more deeply into our understanding and hearts so that God can continue the permanent change of our hearts. We must feast on the gospel, “digesting it and making it part of ourselves. That is how we grow.” (p. 130)

“All change comes from deepening your understanding of the salvation of Christ and living out of the changes that understanding creates in your heart. Faith in the gospel restructures our motivations, our self-understanding, our identity, and our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without heart-change will be superficial and fleeting.” (p. 133)

The qualities of the God’s provision in Christ well understood, often revisited, and deeply reflected upon will change us from the inside out. “That is why Martin Luther wrote, ‘The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine…Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.’” (p. 134)

We live out our faith within a community of believers in which we find our place. Each of us must be deeply involved in the church with strong relationships of love and accountability. “Only if you are part of a community of believers seeking to resemble, serve and love Jesus will you ever get to know him and grow into his likeness.” (p. 143)

Keller teaches us that in the parable of the lost son, both sons are lost and find themselves in spiritual dead ends; the younger in the dead end of sensuality and reckless waste and the older in the dead end of self-reliance and “self-righteousness”. God is the prodigal father, the one who lavishes his abundant love and provision on both his sons. We enter into full relationship with God when we live our lives through Him; through His love; through His lavish salvation and provision for all our needs far above anything we can think or ask.

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Greg Koukl will be our guest speaker on 9/20 talking about the doctrine of Hell. Classes will included “Church and Society” (visiting Talbot Professor, Dr. Scott Rae), “Life’s Healing Choices” (Pastor Nate Aanderud), “New Testament Survey” (Rob Orr), “Survey of the Wisdom and Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament” (Sam Evans), “Overcoming Your Fear of Evangelism: How to Share Your Faith Naturally” (Pastor Steve Bunyard), and “Affirmations of the Faith: Reflections on the Evangelical Covenant Church” (multiple instructors).

Click here for more information.

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