Happy Wednesday Church! Starting today, I'll begin providing an update with recommended resources each Wednesday. I pray God uses them to bless you for His glory, your good, and the spread of His Gospel.

You can listen to the latest episde of our Hey! Real Quick podcast now via our podcast page or Apple Podcasts. We're publishing new episodes every other Wednesday and the latest episode came out today. In this episode, I answer three questions about English translations of the Bible. First, why are there so many English translations? Second, are some better than others? Third, which one should you choose? I encourage you to take a listen here.

For this week's Word of the Week, I invite you to listen to the following sermon from one of my favorite preachers, H.B. Charles. This message is from a chapel service at Southeastern Baptist Theological Serminary back in February 2015. Pastor Charles preaches on how the church is to take the gospel to the nations as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28. It is an awesome, timely message. Church family, this sermon is my heartbeat!

I have too many books. That is not a Ron Burgundy-esque humble brag; it is true. Some books are good, some average and some, well, ... yeah. Saying that, I do want to recommend some of the good ones, especially for those of you who are readers.

So, for this week's From My Shelf, here are three I recommend:

1. J Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life (Paul Miller) - Go get this book. Seriously, it is worth every penny and then some. The chapters are short and can be used as a devotion. Not finished, but one of the best books I have read recently.

2. A Gentle Answer: Our "Secret Weapon" in an Age of Us Against Them (Scott Sauls) - The subtitle alone should make you want to read this book. You will not be disappointed.

3. Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters (Carmen Joy Imes) - Really good work on the importance of the Old Testament, especially the Law, and its role in the life of a Christian.

There are a lot more I would recommend, but I'll leave it there for this week. If I had to pick one, I would encourage J Curve, but all are worth your money and time. In fact, let me leave you with the end of Bearing God's Name, which I did not read until last week. See if you can hear the echoes of what we have been looking at this summer in our sermon series. God is good!

As we pay attention to Sinai and its ripple effects through the rest of the biblical story, we discover that faith is not just private and salvation is not just personal. The benefits of our salvation are not only interior; they are conspicuous and corporate. Yahweh does not transform individuals at Sinai and send them their separate ways. He creates a nation. He does it with us, too. As Peter says, "You are . . . a holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9). We belong to God and to each other. We'll never fully experience all the blessings God has in store for us if we try to go solo.

You are who you are because of who he is and who he says you are. You become your truest self as part of this extraordinary community of men and women who are being transformed from the inside out - who are becoming and living as his people.

Far from irrelevant or obsolete, the Old Testament story tells us who we are. It tells us whose we are. And that changes everything.

Amen.