"To Live Is Christ To Die Is Gain" by Matt Chandler
Welcome to Week ONE of our online book club. Today we begin Matt Chandler’s book, “To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain”. If you need to get a copy of the book, you should be able to pick one up at your local bookstore (I bought mine from Barnes & Noble), or you can order a copy on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Live-Christ-Die-Gain/dp/1434706850
This week, we are going to read the Introduction and Chapters 1 & 2 of the book (pgs 9-46). And from the Bible, we are going to read Philippians Chapter 1.
As you read this week, I encourage you to underline and make notes in your book and your Bible (if you are so inclined) whenever you read something that resonates with you, or convicts you, or confuses you, etc. Reference to your notes will help you remember what you have read, and will hopefully provoke you to discuss your thoughts with the other members of our book club.
Fun, right?
Okay so here is how it is going to work:
Every Monday, a different contributor from our book club will make a post discussing our weekly reading. Read these posts, and think about the contributor’s comments and questions. In response, I want to encourage every participant of our club (that includes you!) to post a responsive comment. There is no right or wrong way to make a responsive comment. A comment can be short, or a comment can be long. A comment can ask a question, or a comment can answer a question. There is also no limit to the number of comments you can make during the course of a week. Again, I hope to see every participant make at least one comment each week, but you are welcome (and encouraged!) to make multiple comments if you wish.
In order to make a comment, you must have a Google Account. If you do not already have a Google Account, you can obtain a free account here:
- Your first name
- A few fun facts about yourself; and
- What brings you to this book club.
Easy, right? Okay, so I’ll go first:
- My first name is Amy.
- A few fun facts about myself: Although it gets a bad rap, I love living in New Jersey. I am the oldest of three sisters, and now I have three daughters of my own. I am celebrating 10 years of marriage with my sweet husband this year.
- I am participating in this book study because it is doing things like this that keep my faith alive. I recently read in James 2:26, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” As I sat there and stared at that sentence, I realized that God uses the good works that He prepared beforehand for me to do (Ephesians 2:10) in order to keep my own faith alive! So I’m stepping out in obedience because I know (in addition to hopefully helping others) God will use this book study to quicken my own personal faith. Does that make sense?
Okay then, so now it’s your turn. Go ahead and make your comment... Yes, now! I’ll wait :)
Ha! Okay, so I hope that wasn’t too painful. If you cannot (for the life of you) figure out how to make a comment, send your comment to me in an e-mail or on Facebook, and I will post the comment for you.
Okay, so, that’s it! I hope you all are as excited as I am to see how God uses this book and this club to work in us as individuals and collectively as a group. Be sure to check back next Monday, when another contributor from our book club will make a post discussing this week’s reading.
Happy reading! I can’t wait to get the discussion going!
In Christ, Amy :)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10, ESV
