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Forgiveness Stories Needed

Sep 30, 2009 | Dave Gustavsen

I hope you’re being challenged and stretched by the Common Ground study on the Lord’s Prayer…I know I am. As I prepare to teach each week, and as I interact with my small group, I am seeing angles and applications of this prayer that I never saw before. It has also been great to talk with my kids about the Lord’s Prayer, knowing that we are all on the same page each week.

As I look ahead to week number 5, I need your help. The topic will be forgiveness: God’s forgiveness for us, and how we extend that forgiveness to others.

So here is the question: Have you received or extended forgiveness in a particularly powerful way? I would love to hear your story. Please email your response to my assistant, Marie Volz, at .

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On My Nightstand

FINALLY UPDATING some of the books I've been reading recently...

Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. I have not said this in a long time, but I'm saying it about this book: this is the best book I have read in YEARS. It is the historical account of Louie Zamporini, a kid who grew up in CA in the 1930's...how he discovered his phenomenal running gifts...and then joined the air force and fought in WWII... I won't give a way any more, but you have to read this book. The story is absolutely riveting...breathtaking. When I finished it I so wanted to connect with this man (who is still alive, in his 90's) that I searched for him on Facebook; I only found his son there and friended him (he never responded, of course).

Doctrine, by Mark Driscoll. In his trademark straightforward style, Driscoll walks through the major areas of Christian doctrine. Worth the read, and an excellent resource for leadership development groups that I'm involved in. In the chapter on Christology, I was especially fascinated by Driscoll's emphasis on Jesus' humanity. Without minimizing his deity, Driscoll reminds us that Jesus was demonstrating that human beings can walk with God through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. When we lose this fact, we can easily cop out by saying, "I could never live like Jesus did--since I'm not divine." To the contrary, Jesus says we can do the things he did--and even greater things.

Bonhoeffer, by Eric Metaxas. Incredibly well-researched book on an amazing man. It's one thing to be a brilliant theologian, which Bonhoeffer was. It's another to be so in touch with how theology impacts real life (my Kindle version of this book is FILLED with highlights of Bonhoeffer's practical theology observations that I plan to compile). But the ultimate test is that you'll know a real prophet by his fruits (Jesus in Matthew 7). Bonhoeffer maintained his allegiance to Christ and opposition of Hitler to the point of death. I find myself deeply desiring that my life count after reading this.

In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan. I'm still digesting this one a year later. Pollan is a journalist, not a nutritionist...but he shows how the western diet and ever-changing U.S. dietary recommendations have created an incredibly unhealthy society. He has three recommendaitons: (1) Eat Food (meaning, eat things that your grandparents would have recognized as food); (2) Not too much; (3) Mostly plants.

Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. Looking forward to digging into this one. About a Mexican tribe of amazing distance runners, and what we can learn about our bodies and capabilities. Even if I can only run five miles now without my knee hurting, I still dream of the day I can return to marathoning and run NYC.

Worship Times/Location

Jacksonville Chapel is a Multisite church offering 2 distinct campuses, one English and one Spanish.

Sunday Services:

Lincoln Park Campus:
Click Here for Directions
9:00, 10:15 & 11:30am
Interpretation for the Deaf available at 10:15am service (upon request)

Spanish Services
Click Here for Directions
9:45 & 11:15am

Jacksonville Chapel
264 Jacksonville Rd.
Lincoln Park, NJ 07035
(973)334-6657