Jesus Came, Comes by the Spirit, Is Coming Again

Heavenward. Read the latest from Scotty Smith's blog.

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Jesus Came, Comes by the Spirit, Is Coming Again SCOTTY SMITH   "The government will rest on his (Jesus—the Messiah's) shoulders. He'll be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end" (Isa.9:6-7). "I won't abandon you as orphans—I'll come to you" (Jn.14:18). "I am presently making all things new (Rev.21:5). "Look up, for I'm coming soon!" (Rev.22:12)   Lord Jesus, we've never been more grateful for your first coming and more eager for your second. But while we intensify our cry, "How Long O Lord?", we rest in your promise never to leave or forsake us (Heb.13:5). We will never experience a Christ-absent day. Hallelujah, and thank you. In this sense, we never have to pray, "Jesus, please show up," for you are always with us and for us. You are never a "no show." However, we do love the way you give us "little-'a'-Advents." You come to us by the Holy Spirit with need-shaped grace (Heb.4:16) and mercy-in-the moment help (Acts 7:55)—supernatural aid for all kinds of aches, issues, and challenges (2Cor.12:9; Rev.1:12-18). For the 2nd time, Hallelujah, and thank you, Jesus. For the rest of this Thanksgiving weekend, and during the whole season of Advent, we look to you for some (many) of these "moments." Do more than we can ask or imagine—and there's a lot we can both ask and imagine, Jesus. Thaw our chilled, ho-hum, whatever hearts. Give us hope and love where we have given up on certain people and old, "moldy" situations. Jesus, give us a fresh and clear vision of your empty tomb, occupied throne, joyful heart. Your government and peace are increasing all the time and in every place. For the 3rd time, Hallelujah, thank you, and So Very Amen.   Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.

First, get ready for Giving Tuesday

Give early and double your impact!

View in browser Dear First,   Giving Tuesday is almost here! Mark your calendar for December 3 as we celebrate this global day of generosity. This is your opportunity to make an eternal impact, and we're excited to share a special way you can multiply your support.   Double Your Gift—Starting Today! Thanks to a $25,000 matching challenge, every dollar you give will be doubled, starting now through Giving Tuesday. That means your generosity will go twice as far to spread the gospel, equip believers, and strengthen churches worldwide.   Don't Wait—Your Gift Today Counts! GIVE NOW Here's how you can get involved: Give early: Your matched gift today will have twice the impact! Share: Invite your friends and family to join this movement of generosity. Pray: Ask God to use these resources to transform lives for his glory. In a world desperate for truth, your support fuels TGC's mission to provide gospel-centered resources and equip church leaders everywhere. Together, we can make a lasting difference.   Let's make this Giving Tuesday our most impactful yet! With gratitude,   Anthony Alphin Vice President The Gospel Coalition, PO Box #1637, Columbia, MO 65205 Unsubscribe

We Needed and Abba Gave. We Need and Abba Gives

Heavenward. Read the latest from Scotty Smith's blog.

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH We Needed and Abba Gave. We Need and Abba Gives SCOTTY SMITH "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift—the boundless riches of Christ, and the width, length, height, and depth of Jesus' love" 2Cor.9:15; Eph.3:8, 18-21   Heavenly Father, of the 10,000 things for which we're grateful today, none surpasses the "indescribable gift" of the Gospel. You loved us so much you sent Jesus into the world—not as our moral model to follow, but as our perfect Substitute to receive and trust. We needed forgiveness and righteousness, and you freely, fully gave us both in Christ. We'll never be more forgiven than we are today, nor more completely justified. We also needed belonging and belovedness, so you made us your children and heirs. You cannot love us more than you already do, and your delight in us won't increase/decrease. Hallelujah, and thank you! We need—that's right Abba, we are needy on this Thanksgiving Day. What do we need? We need/crave/long to live out of our belovedness—not making our joy contingent on anything outside of us. In our minds and hearts, we know what we wish/wished for this day, but you know what you've planned and will provide. Free us to be less childish about what we can't control and more childlike in our freedom, presence, and spontaneity. May your Spirit be powerfully at work in our hearts today. We'd love suspensions to be raised—like on the Day of Pentecost, when onlookers thought the newly Spirit-filled community had been drinking "liquid spirits" at 9 o'clock in the morning (Acts 2:15). When you throw a party and banquet, Abba, it continues even when some of those invited don't show up (Lk.14:15-22)—and when some of those present don't enter in (Lk.15:25-32). Your mercy, grace, and love are extravagant—even outlandish. Love in us and through us, all day long, Abba. So Very Amen.     Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.

Just How FULLY Can We Rely on God’s Love?

Heavenward. Read the latest from Scotty Smith's blog.

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Just How FULLY Can We Rely on God's Love? SCOTTY SMITH "We know and we rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them… There's no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear." 1John 4:16-18   Heavenly Father, it's all here in this one passage—the wonders of your love, the essence of your being, and our calling every moment. As surely as a lot of kitchen prep-work will be going on today, so also we prepare our hearts. Whatever Thanksgiving 2024 holds for us, you hold us tighter. Because of your great love for us in Jesus, we don't have to be afraid of the risks of love. May your perfect love continue to drive out our fears—including fears related to the awkwardness of new and absent faces, struggles in our own hearts, tensions between friends and family, the first Thanksgiving after a funeral or a breakup—whatever our scenario this year, grant us a freedom to rely on your love to a degree and in ways that even shocks us. Give us kind, present, playful hearts, Abba. Free us from the "need" to babysit anybody's emotions, or read too much into anyone's body language. May your welcome be more real than our worries—your peace more obvious than our concerns. Supersize your love in our hearts and in our midst. None of us is beyond either the need or reach of your grace. At the end of the day, there won't be an end to your mercy, kindness, and ongoing work in the lives of people we love. Hallelujah, thank you, and So Very Amen.     Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.

A grateful Thanksgiving from The Gospel Coalition

We're deeply thankful for your partnership in advancing the gospel

View in browser Dear First,   As we gather with loved ones this Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for you and the entire TGC community. This season of thanksgiving is a special time to reflect on the countless blessings God has bestowed on us and to recognize the profound effects of his grace in our lives.   Here at The Gospel Coalition, we're deeply thankful for your partnership in advancing the gospel. Your prayers, support, and commitment to biblical truth make this ministry possible. Together, we're equipping believers, strengthening churches, and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to a world in need.   Whether you're celebrating with family, with friends, or in the quiet of your home, know you're a vital part of this gospel-centered community. We thank God for you and the unique role you play in furthering his kingdom.   From all of us at The Gospel Coalition, may your Thanksgiving be filled with joy, peace, and a deep sense of God's love.   Happy Thanksgiving!   Blessings in Christ Jesus,   Sandy Willson Interim President The Gospel Coalition, PO Box #1637, Columbia, MO 65205 Unsubscribe

Pause, reflect, and enjoy my free 72-song Advent playlist

I've put together a new eclectic collection of worshipful songs, both old and new

View in browser Looking for a musical soundtrack to your Advent season? I've put together a new playlist just for this season—an eclectic collection of 70+ worshipful songs, both old and new, to help you slow down in the hectic season and contemplate the mind-blowing truth of Immanuel, God with us.    Music has always been a powerful accompaniment to the Advent and Christmas season—and there's no shortage of great music out there, both classics and newer originals, some released just in the last few weeks. I curated this playlist to give you a diverse sampling of the ways musicians have pondered the incarnation and the greatest gift the world has ever received: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. . ." (Isaiah 9:6).   To start listening to this free Advent playlist, click below, and you'll get a private link to access it on Spotify or Apple Music. START LISTENING NOW May this musical resource bless you and your family this season!   Warmly, Brett McCracken Senior Editor The Gospel Coalition PO Box #1637, Columbia, MO, 65205 Unsubscribe

Always and For Everything

Heavenward. Read the latest from Scotty Smith's blog.

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Always and For Everything SCOTTY SMITH "Giving thanks to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—always and for everything." Eph. 5:20   Heavenly Father, of this I am sure. Giving thanks often precedes feeling grateful. When I'm mopey, sulky, in a slight funk or on the verge of a scowl—mindful gratitude is the best thing I can do. Not merely to cheer myself up, but to return to Gospel-sanity. No question—my thanks-worthy list is 100 times longer than my whine-worthy list. Starting here: Abba, thank you for 100% forgiveness—for hiding my life in Christ, dressing me in Jesus' righteousness, and making me your child. You can't love me more, and you shan't love me less. I don't need more, though you give so much more. Thank you for sovereignly ruling over all things all the time, no exceptions. Thank you for steadfastly working in all things for my good all the time, no exceptions. Continuing here: Thank you for guaranteeing evil and injustice, Alzheimer's and cancer, meanness and hurting all have expiration dates—along with imperfect holiday gatherings and still-hard-to-understand-relational dynamics. Continuing here: Thank you for 52 years of grace-needing-and-grace-receiving marriage to Darlene—for two awesome kids + their spouses, and 4 spectacular "grands" + their pets. Thank you for friends with whom I can fly fish and chit chat, marinate in the Gospel and serve Jesus in my 70's—be somber and silly, at our worse and at our best, laugh loudly and repent easily. Continuing here: Thank you for your promise to complete your work in us, and for Jesus' commitment to finish making all things new. Thank you "it" won't always hurt this bad—no matter our "it" or "its." Father, thank you that Jesus is coming soon, and that we're almost Home. So Very Amen Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.