Resources
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18
Recommended Reading
The Bible teaches that God did not just save Christians to get us to heaven. In other words He didn’t just change our eternal destination. Instead, God’s work in the Gospel is Transformation. He’s changing us. As we read Scriptures such as 2 Peter 3:18, we get a fuller picture of this process of change.
We are called to cooperate with God by growing in grace and growing in knowledge of the Lord. Digesting good resources is a big part of how we can grow in knowledge. There are many great resources on the web these days, but here are some of the resources from our church.
By Mark Harrod
In 2 Timothy 3:14-16, Paul teaches that the mystery (that is, the revelation) of godliness is found in the life and ministry of Jesus. Godliness is found in Jesus. Therefore, the key to living godly is to know and love Jesus. Knowing Jesus is to abide in him, to be saturated in him so that our thoughts are on Him and directed by Him. The Bible points to Jesus. The Bible is the primary source on knowing Jesus.
Listed here are numerous books that are secondary to the Scripture. These books will help you to understand Jesus better as you read the bible. The books vary in nature. Some are scholarly and others more devotional. All of them will help as you seek to know and love Jesus.
• The Incomparable Christ – John Stott
• The Cross of Christ – John Stott
• On the Incarnation – Athanasius
• What was God Doinig on the Cross? – Alister McGrath
• The King Jesus Gospel – Scott McKnight
• For Us and For Our Salvation – Stephen J. Nicols
• Above All Earthly Powers – David Wells
• The God Who Became Human – Graham A. Cole
• The Person of Christ – Donald Macleod
• The Cross and Salvation – Bruce Demarest
• The Glory of Christ – John Owen
• Immanuel: Reflections on the Life of Christ – Michael Card
• Who is this King of Glory? – Tony Evans
• Just Give Me Jesus – Anne Graham Lotz
• God Came Near – Max Lucado
• Our Sufficiency in Christ – John MacArthur
• It is Well – Mark Dever and Michael Lawerence
• Jesus the Son of God – D.A. Carson
• Precious Blood: The Atoning Work of Christ – Carl Trueman
• In Christ Alone – Sinclair Ferguson
By Chris McDonald
I was not a big reader until college, and I feel my relationship with God didn’t really begin to take off until that same time. Coincidence? I think not. Reading books, and not just any book on Christian living, but good, Bible-saturated books, are a means of God’s grace to sanctify and shape us more into the image of Christ. Allow other believers who have walked where you have not yet walked teach you and help you to learn more about God and applying God’s Word to your life. In that spirit, I recommend highly the following books.
• Gentle and Lowly – Dane Ortlund
• The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness – Tim Keller
• Praying Through the Psalms – Don Whitney
• Life in 4 Stages – Albert R. Mohler, Jr.
• Sacred Marriage – Gary Thomas
• Family Worship – Don Whitney
• The Evangelistic Zeal of George Whitefield – Steven J. Lawson
• The Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan
• 10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health – Don Whitney
• Christ-Centered Worship – Bryan Chapell
• Radical – David Platt
• Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis
• Rejoice and Tremble – Michael Reeves
• Reset – David Murray
• Corporate Worship – Matt Merker
How to Become a Christian
Want to know how to become a Christ-follower?
Whatever has led you to this website – questions about God, the church, or just life and the reason for existing – we at Trinity would be honored to show you.
The Bible tells us that God made all things and all animals and all people, but that people, all of us, have sinned, or chosen our own way in disobedience to God’s perfect plan for us.
This sin has separated us from God, who is holy and cannot by His perfect nature and character, tolerate sin, but must punish it. All humanity is doomed to eternal separation and punishment from God apart from the glorious good news of the gospel, namely, that Jesus Christ, who is one with God the Father and the Holy Spirit (one God, yet three distinct persons), took on human flesh (that’s what Christmas is all about), lived a sinless life, died by Roman crucifixion, and rose to life three days later.
This means He, that is Jesus, took the punishment of sin for all who will repent or turn from their sinful lifestyle and trust Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives. This means that as a follower of Jesus, you aren’t just forgiven of all your sin – past, present, and future – but you are given a new heart (spiritual life in Christ) and the gift of the presence of God in you (through the Holy Spirit) forever!
Your journey with Jesus begins with this confession of Jesus as your Savior and Lord and desire for Him to save you and to make you His child. Once that happens, you can be baptized into a local church, like Trinity, who will help you to grow in your knowledge and love for God and others and to use your new heart and the spiritual gifts God gives you at conversion to serve Him and His Church.
We hope you will make this most important decision you can make in life today if you haven’t already! Questions? Give us a call at (423) 753-4394 and ask to speak with a pastor, or email us at admin@trinity3e.org and we’ll respond to your questions gladly.
We also recommend, if you have never read the Bible and don’t know where to start, to find the gospel of John in the New Testament and read it as you are able. May the Lord bless you with His saving grace!