The Marriage of the Lamb—the “Day of His Heart’s Rejoicing”

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

"I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me" (Song 7:10).Jesus said, "in the coming age of the resurrection, marrying and marriage will find fulfillment in relationship with me" (Interpretive paraphrase of Lk.20:34-35). "Rejoice, exult, give Jesus the glory—for the marriage of the Lamb has come" (Rev.19:7)—"the day of his wedding—the day of his heart's rejoicing" (Song 3:11). "Jesus will delight and rejoice over you—bridegroom to to bride" (Isa.62:5)   Lord Jesus, on the "Calendar of Grace" today is the perfect day for remembering and reveling in the only love better than life. The "first splash" of love emanating... 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.

Spots Are Filling Up Fast, First

February 28 Is the Final Price Increase for TGC25—Secure Your Seat Today

View in browser Hi First,   Alongside the keynote sessions in Ephesians at TGC25, we have more than 75 breakout sessions and auxiliary events carefully curated with you in mind! These sessions go deeper on various topics and interest areas to encourage and equip you as a local church member. Below is a sampling of the great topics to be discussed.  SPOTS ARE FILLING UP FAST If you're planning to join us April 22 to 24 in Indianapolis, register soon for the best price! The regular rate of $299 ends at the end of the month, so make sure to register before the price increases to $339.    Find out more about our theme for the conference, Alive Together: Faithful Living in a Faithless Age. REGISTER NOW POPULAR BREAKOUTS AT TGC25 Biblical Theology in Action: How to Make and Explain Sound Connections in the Scriptures SPEAKERS: Benjamin Gladd and Nancy Guthrie Love biblical theology? Interested in doing biblical theology but unsure where to start? Join Benjamin Gladd and Nancy Guthrie as they outline principles for letting Scripture interpret Scripture, demonstrate skills for tracing themes in the text, and touch on common pitfalls and questions.   Cultural Apologetics 101 SPEAKERS: Rebecca McLaughlin, Keith Plummer, Trevin Wax, and Andrew Wilson Tim Keller once said, "The job of the missionary is to enter sympathetically the worldview/story of the culture yet challenge and re-tell the culture's story so they see their story will only have a happy ending in Jesus." This way of evangelism and apologetics has come to be captured by the term "cultural apologetics." In this breakout session, fellows from The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics will discuss the concept of cultural apologetics, its biblical and historical grounding, and its usefulness for the church today.   Renew Your Prayer Life: Knowing and Growing in the Love and Power of God SPEAKERS: Danny Akin, Megan Hill, Trillia Newbell, and Paul E. Miller Prayer is essential to a flourishing walk with God. Yet, too often, our prayers remain shallow or neglected. The apostle Paul models how to use the beauty of Christ's work as a springboard for hopeful and heartfelt prayer. Our panel takes a fresh look at the prayers of Ephesians with the hope of deepening our delight in drawing near to God.   Parenting with Hope in an Anxious Age SPEAKERS: Melissa Kruger and Michael Kruger As our children grow and mature, our anxieties as parents often grow right alongside them. How do we navigate concerns about activities, dating, cell phones, social media, and questions about faith? This session will consider biblical principles that serve as the foundation for the practical decisions we make as parents, while anchoring our hopes and expectations on Christ rather than our child's behavior or our perfection as parents.   Theology Is for Everyone SPEAKERS: Jason Allen, J. T. English, Patrick Schreiner, Jen Wilkin, and Kyle Worley Theology is for everyone, and it's essential for producing deep disciples. Countercultural discipleship in this age requires countercultural catechism. It must be deep, but it doesn't have to be dull. Join J. T. English, Jen Wilkin, Kyle Worley, and some special guests from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for a conversation about how churches can invite their people into theological discipleship. A live recording of the Knowing Faith podcast will follow. VIEW THE FULL LIST OF BREAKOUT EVENTS VIEW THE FULL LIST OF AUXILIARY EVENTS I hope to see you in Indianapolis!   Ann Westrate Director of Events The Gospel Coalition, PO Box #1637, Columbia, MO, 65205, Unsubscribe

“De-Puffing”

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH "De-Puffing" SCOTTY SMITH "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" Jms.4:6,10. When pride comes, disgrace comes—(and ungrace, no grace, and anti-grace) Prov.11:2. Be completely humble and gentle—be patient, bearing with one another in love" Eph. 4:2.   Heavenly Father, why is "being right" more fun than being humble? Why does getting defensive comes easier than getting low? Why is getting even more tantalizing than giving grace? I relish the fact you don't remember my sins against me, so why do I remember and rehearse other people's against them? It's a good thing you give new mercies every day, including today. Have mercy on me, Abba. Nobody's failure to love well justifies me returning "the favor." No one's ungrace gives me permission to cop an attitude, or become a self-righteous cop in the precinct where you have graciously placed me. Abba, forgive me for confusing the self-righteous monologue I've been carrying on in my head with prayer. I've been talking to myself, not to you. How sobering—you oppose the proud. You don't just ignore them or roll your eyes at their (our) chilly-hearted, judgmental, grudge-harboring, puffed-up ways. Who in their right mind would knowingly, willingly want your opposition, Abba? That is certifiable insanity—the total opposite of Gospel-sanity. How gladdening—you give grace to the humble. You give grace—not as a wage earned by good people, but as an impossible-to-earn gift to the ill-deserving. You give grace that we might humble ourselves. You give grace to keep us humble. You give grace to the freshly humbled that we might give grace to those we'd rather give something else. Abba, thank you for being the "God of all grace" (1Pet.5:10). "De-puff" us today by the power and riches of the Gospel. 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.

Tightlines with Big Trout Dancing and Shouts of “Fish On!”

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Tightlines with Big Trout Dancing and Shouts of "Fish On!" SCOTTY SMITH "I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun—(in the 'already and not yet'), than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun." Eccles. 8:15   Dear Jesus, thank you for being honest about what we are to expect life to "feel" like between your resurrection and return of Jesus. As we head towards the Day of all things new, we still inhabit a cosmos of all-things-broken, as your beloved with new but yet-to-be-perfected hearts. Life "under the sun" is shorthand for a life of the "already and not yet"—firstfruits of glory and frustrations from the Fall. Your Kingdom has already arrived in part, but not yet fully as it will be. Beauty and brokenness, magnificence and messiness, fun and fury will co-exist and co-mingle until you return. The same vocation, friendship, marriage, parent-child relationship that yields moments of great joy and deep affection will generate painful irritation and sizeable disconnect until "the Day." To accept this reality can rescue us from unrealistic expectations and fuel patient hope. To ignore this will make us miserable, and miserable to live with. Fortunately, in our "toil and life under the sun," you have a wonderful habit of blessing us with sovereign and spontaneous blessings we didn't see coming. Unexpected "grace-bombs" get dropped on us from heaven at just the right time. Out-of-season daffodils break through frozen ground, Spirit-kisses from the Scriptures landing on our weary hearts—meals with friends that whisper "The wedding feast of the Lamb is coming"—tightlines with big trout dancing and shouts of, "Fish on!", reverberating. Pain-free, disappointment-void, all-brokenness-gone days will fill our eternity. Until then, your give us everything we need, Jesus, and more. The "not yet" will arrive right on time. 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.

Gospelbound Returns: New Guests Announced for Spring 2025

Listen to Episode 1 With Ross Douthat. Future Episodes Include Kevin DeYoung, Russ Ramsey, Brett McCracken, Matt Smethurst, Bryan Chapell, and more . . .

View in browser NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY Gospelbound is back for more hopeful conversations with guests searching for firm faith in an anxious age. Each week, I talk with an engaging thought leader about books, ideas, and how to navigate life by the gospel of Jesus Christ in a post-Christian culture.   In this season preview, TGC multimedia strategist Kendra Dahl joins me to announce the spring season's upcoming guests, including Ross Douthat, Nicholas Carr, Kevin DeYoung, and others—covering topics from media criticism to theology and history. LISTEN TO THE FIRST EPISODE Ross Douthat isn't what some would expect from a New York Times columnist. He's religious and also a political conservative. And I bet he's the first and thus far only Times columnist to write a book that some might term evangelistic. That new book is Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious (Zondervan).   Douthat observes changes in his readers' attitudes toward institutional religion compared to 20 years ago. The sociological benefits of institutions such as churches have become more widely acknowledged. And some previous skeptics have begun to see that a post-Christian future might not be the liberal utopia they expected.   Douthat is a friend of the show and always interesting to interview. So I'm glad he rejoined me on Gospelbound to talk about why everyone should be religious. LISTEN NOW STILL TO COME THIS SEASON. . .  Nicholas Carr Kevin DeYoung Russ Ramsey Nadya Williams Ian Harber  Caleb Morell Walter Strickland Brett McCracken Ivan Mesa Paul Putz Matt Smethurst Bryan Chapell Matt McCullough Molly Worthen WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Sign up to receive my weekly reflections on podcast guests, as well as links to helpful articles about the gospel and culture.   SUBSCRIBE TODAY The Gospel Coalition PO Box #1637, Columbia, MO, 65205 Unsubscribe