The more we focus on God, the more we understand and appreciate how worthy He is. As we understand and appreciate this, we can’t help but respond to Him. Just as an incredible sunset or a breath-taking mountaintop vista evokes a spontaneous response, so we cannot encounter the worthiness of God without the response of worship.
– Donald Whitney in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
Pray for your church:
Acts 1 tells us that after Jesus ascended into heaven, the early disciples gathered together and “with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer” until the Day of Pentecost. This past Sunday was Ascension Sunday, and the coming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, so our church is following the example of those early disciples and having a week of focused prayer. I want to invite you to join us as I post our daily prayer guide.
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
How Do I Know I’m a Christian? – Kevin DeYoung
Whenever counseling Christians looking for assurance of salvation, I take them to 1 John. This brief epistle is full of help for determining whether we are in the faith or not. In particular, there are three signs in 1 John given to us so we can answer the question “Do I have confidence or condemnation?”
It’s Not a Blind Faith – Tim Challies
Faith is trusting in someone who has the answers we lack. Faith is trusting in the goodness, in the character, of God.
The Heresy of Indifference – Burk Parsons (Ligonier)
When people tell me they are into Jesus but not into doctrine, I tell them that if they are not into doctrine, they are, in fact, not into Jesus. We cannot know Jesus without knowing doctrine, and we cannot love God without knowing God, and the way we know God is by studying His Word. Doctrine comes from God, it teaches us about God, and by faith it leads us back to God in worship, service, and love. Indifference to doctrine is indifference to God, and indifference to God is indifference to our own eternity.
Four Ways To Fight the Fear of Missing Out – Jon Bloom
The Thing. It’s a strange thing, because it’s there and not there at the same time. What I’m talking about is The Thing that you don’t have that you think you need in order to be happy. And you know when The Thing is there because you begin to feel a low-grade panic that you don’t have it. The Thing makes you afraid that by not having The Thing you’re missing out.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!
Here are a few good posts and resources on helping the people of Nepal:
Deadly Earthquake in Nepal – Samaritan’s Purse
Second Major Quake Shakes Nepal – Samaritan’s Purse
What Nepal Really Needs – Michael Heitland (TGC)
And then, the Pew Research Center released a new study on religious affiliation in America that shows the unaffiliated has risen by almost 7% in only seven years. A few perspectives:
Nominals to Nones: 3 Key Takeaways From Pew’s Religious Landscape Survey – Ed Stetzer (Christianity Today)
Is Christianity Dying? – Russell Moore
Bottom line: Nominal cultural Christianity – those who claim Christianity without any real commitment – seems to be dying. Meanwhile, committed evangelical Christianity is holding steady. Our culture’s move away from Christianity will have serious ramifications for the well-being of our nation. But at the same time, the gospel light will shine brighter in the growing darkness if God’s people will live out their new life in Christ.
– John Piper
Our Lord, He died and rose for you
To give you hope and make you new
So dare to be diff’rent today
In what you think, you do, and say
Cling to our God and to His ways
Walk righteously all of your days
Turn from all greed and selfishness
All gluttony and laziness
In our world of idolatry
Wearied by its futility
Take refuge in our God above
And in Him find true peace and love
Our God is high, His name holy
He inhabits eternity
Dwells with the contrite and lowly
Revives our hearts and sets us free
– From a sermon on Isaiah 56:9-57:21
(To the tune of “The Doxology”)
God saves us as individuals – I cannot count on anyone else’s faith in order to be redeemed. However, the Lord redeems us to put us in community. This happens preeminently in the church, where God provides the fellowship that we need in order to grow and thrive. We cannot be lone rangers and expect that our faith will thrive. Are you seeking to build community in your church? Are you making time regularly to fellowship with the Lord’s servants?
– From the April 2015 issue of Tabletalk
Here are some good posts on preaching:
How Long Should A Sermon Be – Brian Biedebach (Preachers & Preaching)
The message must last long enough for the text to be rightly explained and the practical implications properly developed….
Why Sermons Often Bore – Gavin Ortlund (TGC)
…how to preach to the heart, and through the heart to the whole person.
Top 500 Preaching Resources – David Murray
A treasure trove of opportunities to grow in our preaching!
There is nothing in the ordinary course of nature, throughout the whole frame of heaven and earth, which does not invite us to the contemplation of God.
– John Calvin
Brian J. Mikul 