Here’s a nice video from Crossway answering this question:

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We read and recommend plenty of Crossway books at DSC.

Be sure to read this letter from Crossway’s President, Lane Dennis, on the occasion of Crossway’s 75th anniversary, and download Crossway’s ESV Study Bible app for free in the month of November.

Yesterday we had the joy of witnessing the baptism of ten brothers and sisters, five in each service. As a new tradition, we will post the baptism testimony videos following our baptism services. Below are the video testimonies from Sunday morning! You will be blessed by these testimonies of grace.

As we listen to these testimonies, let’s praise God for his salvation of these people and remember these words from the Apostle Paul for all of us who are in Christ:

… all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
— Romans 6:3-4

9:00 AM Service

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Isabel Betancur, Larry Gallegos, Ramona Gallegos, Carlos Stearns, Courteney Gurule

10:45 AM Service

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Melissa Velez, Eric Lewin, Amber McBride, Campbell Beck, Emma Beauchamp

Last Sunday, we began a new sermon series, titled, Yahweh.

If you are new to the Bible, that would have to be the most obscure title for a sermon series imaginable. But even for those familiar with Scripture, the context and significance of God’s personal name, translated “Lord” in most Bibles (note the small caps), is still largely uncharted territory. “Yahweh,” though, is used hundreds of times throughout Scripture and it is often joined with other words in order to commemorate a significant moment in the Bible’s salvation story.

On Sunday mornings through September 8, we’re going to look at six of these names together. Here they are:

• August 4 - “The Lord Provides,” by Ron Giese
• August 11 – “The Lord, Your Healer,” by Trent Hunter
• August 18 – “The Lord of Hosts,” by Trent Hunter
• August 25 – “The Lord Is Peace,” by Nathan Sherman
• September 1 – “The Lord, Our Righteousness,” by Trent Hunter
• September 8 – “The Lord Is There,” by Trent Hunter

God is manifold in his perfections and he focuses the revelation of his character and his saving purposes, in part, through his name. For that reason, we have much to look forward to over the next month.

For an introduction to the significance of this name, listen to or watch Ron’s sermon, “The Lord Provides.”

For a more complete introduction to this series, check out this month’s E-Newsletter here. If you aren’t subscribed to DSC’s monthly E-Newsletter, you can do so here.

One answer to this question is because Christianity is falsifiable.

Consider the flurry of sensory verbs in the first two verses of 1 John 1:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life — the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. (emphasis mine)

This kind of language is a reminder of the historical nature of our faith. At the heart of what we believe as Christians are things that happened in real time in history. The incarnation, the death, and the resurrection of Christ happened.

Here are two images from a helpful article, “Christianity, The World’s Most Falsifiable Religion,” illustrating the contrast between how Christianity started and how other religions started:

Read the whole article here.

With VBS around the corner (July 15-19), this is a good month to highlight a few of our favorite resources for children at the Book Nook.

Here are three resources we’ve grown to love at DSC, along with their publisher descriptions, each of them written by Marty Machowski and published by New Growth Press.

The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments

Can a Bedtime Story Actually Change Your Life?

It is easy to forget Jesus in the midst of frantic schedules, family squabbles, and conflicting priorities. But the truth is that he is the hero of every story, including these ordinary ones. This is why Marty Machowski puts God’s plan of salvation in Christ on continuous display in The Gospel Story Bible. The easy-to-read storybook introduces your family to many captivating people, places, and events from the Bible’s Old and New Testaments, showing how each one ultimately points to Jesus.

As you share these Bible stories together, you and your family will meet Jesus and learn a new, life-changing way of recognizing Christ as the hero of every story. Vibrant illustrations by A. E. Macha, child-friendly discussion questions, and Scripture references accompany each narrative to help you lead your family in exploring the Bible. You will be delighted to discover how easily even a young child can understand the original text of a story that he or she has already come to love.

Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God

Christian parents know the importance of passing the gospel story on to their children, yet we live in a busy world filled with distractions. Schedules collide, there is homework and yard work and dishes and laundry, the car’s oil should be changed, there are phone calls to make and before you know it, everyone is getting to bed late again.

The Bible can seem like a long story for an active family to read, but when you break it down into short sections, as Marty Machowski does, family devotions are easy to do. Long Story Short will help busy parents share with their children how every story in the Old Testament points forward to God’s story of salvation through Jesus Christ. You won’t find a more important focus for a family devotional than a daily highlighting of the gospel of grace. Clever stories and good moral lessons may entertain and even help children, but the gospel will transform children. The gospel is deep enough to keep the oldest and wisest parents learning and growing all their lives, yet simple enough to transform the heart of the first grader who has just begun to read.

Old Story New: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God

Filled with adventure, suspense, drama, and mystery the gospel story easily captures the attention of children. Even better, the gospel story give life. We are saved and our children are saved as we review the story of the gospel. So why do so many well-intentioned parents give up on family devotions—deciding that reading the Bible as a family must only be for “super parents.”

The truth is that there are no super parents. We all struggle, and we all need help to stay on course. Old Story New makes it easy for parents to stay on the life-giving course of sharing the gospel with their family. The second volume in Marty Machowski’s family devotional series, Old Story New continues the gospel story that started in Long Story Short. Using the same effective ten-minute a day structure, it walks children through the great truths of the Christian faith in the New Testament. Through 78 New Testament stories, Old Story New does the hard work for parents and caregivers. Simple discussion questions (and answers!) for each day’s devotion help children understand and remember Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and the birth of the Christian church. Old Story New is a family devotional program designed to explain God’s plan of salvation through the New Testament and is suitable for children from preschool through high school.

Each of these books is available at the Book Nook on Sunday morning or through Amazon at the links above.

And don’t forget that VBS is just around the corder, from July 15-19. VBS will involve around 150 volunteers and minister the gospel to several hundred children from our church and, we pray, around the neighborhood. To learn more, or to register your child, click here.