Author: Brian
Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor
Ministry Monday
Here are some helpful posts on preaching:
6 Bullet Points on Preaching – Tim Challies
The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about preaching, but I think the majority of it can be grouped under six main headings or ideas. You could, of course, extract specific teaching points from each one, but I think there’s value in looking at them in a broad sense. Here is what Paul says about the preaching of God’s Word…
3 Questions To Ask of Your Sermon – Trevin Wax
The more I’ve thought about these questions, the more I am convinced that pastors ought to ask these questions of every sermon they preach. Teachers ought to ask these questions of every lesson they prepare. The questions are a helpful guide to keeping Christ as the focus of our ministry.
Preaching That Cuts to the Heart – Tim Keller (via Gospel Coalition)
Put another way, you should preach the truth, not just your opinion; you should preach the good news, not just good advice; and you should preach to make the truth real to the heart, not just clear to the mind.
Songs of Passion: Worth It All
Here is a great song to remind us that God is indeed worth it all:
Passion Points
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
Why Then Must We Still Do Good? – Kevin DeYoung
…there are at least five reasons we who have been saved by grace alone through faith alone must still do good….
9-Point Battle Plan for Temptation – Gospel Reign
Temptation. We all face it in a variety of ways. The problem is, we don’t view temptation as a war-time activity, which it is. As Christians, we have an enemy tirelessly working against us for our downfall. In response, we ought to be as trained and prepared as possible to know what we’re up against, in order to defend ourselves victoriously. Here are 9 tactics to add to your battle plan for dealing with temptation….
Offering H.E.L.P. in Times of Suffering – Justin Taylor
Doug Wolter, a pastor in Humboldt, Iowa, who is leading his church through a tragedy in their town after two high school graduates were killed in a car accident. Sometimes aacronyms can be helpful as prompts for us to remember basic truths that can be easy to forget. Here is what Doug offers….
I Know Not What I Am, But to You I Flee – William Wilberforce via Trevin Wax
O Lord, reassure me with Your quickening Spirit; without You I can do nothing.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping the Lord together with your local church!
God Can Reach Anyone
The story of Saul’s spiritual transformation ought to remind us never to write anyone off as being beyond the love of Christ. We may do so with relatives whom we know have heard the Word for years without response, or a sinner who has gone to a crass level of depravity, or someone who has gone into a cult or is propagating false doctrine.
But Scripture is clear – God can reach anyone!
– R. Kent Hughes in Acts: The Church Afire
So let’s keep praying and keep looking for opportunities to share the good news!
Passion Ethics
This week we are going to focus on homeschooling – specifically a recent incident in Germany:
Children Seized in Shocking Raid – HSLDA
Police Storm Homeschool Class, Take Children By Force – WND
There are at least four troubling ethical problems related to this event:
- First, that homeschooling is illegal in Germany at all. The state wants the ability to indoctrinate all of the nation’s children, and no parent will get in their way. The articles above note the scary Nazi parallels. But the Bible is clear that it is first and foremost the parents’ responsibility to instruct their children (Deuteronomy 6, Ephesians 6, etc.). The state has over-reached its God-given sphere.
- That the penalty for homeschooling is not only possible fines and jail time, but losing custody of your children. According to this article, the German Constitutional Court has ruled “that homeschooling is a violation of custody which necessitates a loss of custody.” Just like in Nazi Germany, today’s Germany views children as belonging to the state rather than the parents. But let’s be clear: the state does not give parents the right of custody, God does when he knits the child together in the mother’s womb (Psalm 139). And custody should only be removed in cases of dire danger to the child.
- That the government chose to remove the children in a violent manner that traumatized not only the parents but also the children. The hatred shown by the authorities speaks volumes.
- That our government apparently supports Germany’s policies and actions. The current administration has been fighting hard to deport another German family that if sent back could experience the same actions by the German government. Siding with wrong behavior is wrong too.
Prayer Quote of the Week
Each week, I put a prayer quote in my church’s bulletin to encourage us to think about prayer AND PRAY. Here are the quotes for this past Sunday, as well as the Sundays in August when I wasn’t blogging:
God has given us prayer because Jesus has given us a mission.
– John Piper
Prayer is designed to extend the kingdom into fruitless enemy territory.
– John Piper
He who loves little prays little, and he who loves much prays much.
– Augustine
The best prayers have more often groans than words.
– John Bunyan
We must not talk about prayer, we must pray.
– Andrew Bonar
Ministry Monday
Here are some challenging posts that I’ve been saving by Paul Tripp. Though written for pastors, they would be helpful for anyone. I’ve included excerpts; follow each link for the whole post.
Lost the Awe
I am convinced that many of us live and do ministry day after day without any awe whatsoever. We live days, maybe even weeks, without wonder and amazement even in gospel ministry. What should stun us doesn’t stun us any more. What should leave us in silent, amazed worship has become so familiar it barely gets our attention in clutter of all the other things in ministry that command our attention. We walk through our daily ministries without an overwhelming sense of gratitude. We don’t notice the glory displayed all around us that points us to the one glory that is truly glorious: the glory of God.
If You Think You’ve Arrived
If you think you have arrived, you prepare material from above for people who sadly still need what you no longer need. Are you desperately hungry for the truths that you regularly prepare to expound to others?
If You Still Think You’ve Arrived
Communion with Christ is fueled by humility. Communion with Christ is fueled by sadness and celebration. Communion with Christ is propelled by an accurate sense of who you are, what you need, and a celebration of the One who gives it. Awareness of sin and the promise of salvation daily drives you to Christ, not to rush through a passage in his Word and say a quick prayer, but to sit at his feet and grieve your sin and give praise for the grace that meets you in it. Assessments of arrival crush personal worship.
No Pastor Is Greater Than His Master
As you consider these diagnostic questions, remember the grace that frees you to look at yourself and your ministry with humility and honesty.
- Where in your ministry is there evidence of self-glory?
- Where are you more dominant than you should be?
- Where do you fail to listen when you should?
- Where do you attempt to control things that you do not need to control?
- Where do you find it hard to delegate ministry to others?
- Where are you tempted to speak more than you should?
- Where do you fail to recognize and esteem the gifts of others?
- Where are you unwilling to examine your weaknesses and to admit you failures?
- Where are you tempted to think of yourself as more essential than you actually are?
- Where do you care too much about people’s respect, esteem, and appreciation?
- Where to you find it easier to confront than to receive confrontation?
- Where are you less than thankful for the ministry partners whom God has connected you to?
- Where are you too confident of your own strength and wisdom?
Declaring the Glory
West Traverse Bay off the Old Mission Penisula, Traverse City, MI
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
– Psalm 19:1
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
– Romans 1:20
Brian J. Mikul 