Today I asked Ben Griffith to introduce the book study opportunities this spring for the men:
This spring, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, beginning the week of February 13th, the Cornerstone Men’s Ministry team is hosting two groups that will read and dialogue through J.I. Packer’s Knowing God. This will be a rich time, and we hope you will consider joining one of these groups! The Tuesday morning group will meet at Biscuit Love at 7 a.m. (under the patio if the weather is nice and inside the church if it’s not), and the Thursday morning group will meet at the Franklin Mercantile Deli at 7 a.m. Good coffee, fellowship, and discussion will be on the menu; registration for both groups is live on the church website or app.
There are two main reasons we believe this study will be worth every cent it takes to buy this book (it’s not expensive) and worth every second of your time (7 a.m. isn’t THAT early, come on). We believe the ten or eleven weeks spent together in these groups will help us know God better and know each other better. Just one of those reasons alone is enough, but when both of them come together like we believe they will this spring, it’s a beautiful thing indeed.
First, our time together in J.I. Packer’s classic work will help us know God better. Whether you’ve devoured this book multiple times already or whether the Green Bay Packers sound much more entertaining than this Packer, this book will engage your mind, challenge your assumptions, and stimulate your affections. It is for the seasoned Christian and the new believer alike, and it is just as relevant today as it was when it immediately sold hundreds of thousands of copies upon release in 1973 (it has sold many millions since then). This work is not a theological textbook or a dry, doctrinal treatise - it is a warm, lively, devotional and practical introduction to the Living God who speaks in his Word so that we can know him. Not just know facts about him or learn information about him but know him and be known by him. Packer writes in the preface that the conviction behind this book is that “ignorance of God - ignorance both of his ways and the practice of communion with him - lies at the root of much of the church’s weakness today.” We hope to grow in our knowledge of God so that we can grow in the joy and delight of knowing God, and we believe that digesting this book together will help us do just that.
But secondly, we believe that the pursuit of growing in the knowledge of God is best undertaken together, in community, side-by-side. The time spent digesting and dialoging over cups of coffee helps us to know each other better, which is a rich blessing. Speaking personally, these Tuesday morning groups have helped me to deepen relationships with men I may not have known otherwise simply by giving us a space to be together, to be honest, and to learn together. I’m grateful for that and want to invite you in as well.
So, please join us! You can pick up a copy of the book for sale on our book table (if there are any left at the time you read this), or order the book online. Again, please register on the church website or app, and we hope to see you in a few weeks!