Author: Brian

Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts on loving others:

5 Love Languages of Leviticus – Leviticus 19:9-18 commands that we love our neighbor as ourself. What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?

3 Reasons to Prioritize Your Marriage Over Your Children – There is sometimes a tendency to prioritize our children to the neglect of our marriage. There are at least three reasons that make prioritizing our children over our marriage both foolish and dangerous….

Parents and the Image of God – They [children] are image bear­ers.  They are crea­tures, made by God and for God.  They are given glory and honor by God.  They have inher­ent value, of greater worth than ani­mals.  How we treat the image of God is how we treat God.  The dig­nity of humans is built into the Law and the Prophets and the Gospel.  And we must see our chil­dren as image bearers.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping the Lord as you love your fellow image-bearers.

Pray For Your Pastor

On By BrianIn Church Life, Habit of Prayer

You ought to pray for those whom the Holy Spirit has made overseers over you.  This is what Saint Paul begs again and again of the churches to whom he writes…surely, if the great Saint Paul, that chosen vessel, that favorite of heaven, needed the most importunate prayers of his Christian converts, much more do the ordinary ministers of the gospel stand in need of the intercession of their respective flocks.

– George Whitefield
(Taken from George Whitefield Daily Readings edited by Randall J. Pederson)

Top Books from 2011

On By BrianIn Book Look

I love to read.  Here are the top five books I read in 2011 that I’d recommend to you:

Redemption by Mike Wilkerson
The subtitle sums it up well: “Freed by Jesus from the Idols We Worship and the Wounds We Carry.”  Using the book of Exodus, Wilkerson shows us how we can be redeemed from our idols and wounds.  Biblical, challenging, and applicable.  Highly recommended.

Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George Marsden
I have been reading biographies on Jonathan Edwards.  This one is 640 pages.  If you want to learn about Edwards, this is the place to go.

Fresh Encounters by Daniel Henderson
This book transformed my view of corporate prayer and gave me a burden to see more prayer in the church.  Prayer meetings don’t have to be boring laundry lists.  Prayer meetings should be fresh encounters with God.  Read this book, and then pass it on.

Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave by Edward T. Welch
I read this book for a sermon series I was doing.  It is filled with good gospel-powered teaching.  If you are struggling with an addiction, get a friend and work through this book together.  If you are not struggling with an addiction, read this book to help others, and to help immunize yourself.

Redeeming Singleness by Barry Danylak
I read this book for another sermon series.  Danylak traces singleness throughout the Bible.  It is a fascinating Biblical study.  Recommended for anyone who is single or knows someone who is single.  You may never look at singleness in the same way again.

Scripture Memory Cards

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture3 Comments

One of my new year’s resolutions is to refocus on Scripture memory.  In the past I made verse cards which can take a bit of time to do.  I recently found a website that makes verse cards for you.  All you do is put the references in, choose your preferences, click the button, and print your cards.  Check it out at http://www.mcscott.org/index.html

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading – all on the topic of worship and idolatry:

Why I John Ends With A Command – John’s last line properly leaves us with that most basic question which God continually poses to each human heart: Has something or someone besides Jesus the Christ taken title to your heart’s trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear and delight?

The Idolatry of Spiritual Laziness – Laziness is idolatry. It is closely related to its opposite—workaholism. Both the sins of laziness and workaholism are sins of self-worship. The behavior looks different, but the root idolatry is the same.

Worship Distorted – The root of idolatry is pride….  Pride is seen as detestable to God precisely because it steals from God’s glory and his preeminence. Pride is rebellion, but it is much more than rebellion against God’s authority. Pride is self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. A proud heart sees itself as central and God as the one who must find his place of orbit in the proud heart’s universe.

Why Do You Worship – Worship is not first an outward act; it is an inner spiritual treasuring of the character and the ways of God in Christ.  It is a cherishing of Christ, a being satisfied with all that God is for us in Christ.  When these things are missing, there is no worship, no matter what forms or expressions are present.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping our great God with your local church!

God Our Creator

On By BrianIn God & His Glory2 Comments

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
– Genesis 1:1

Consider the creative ability required for God to create our world.  He creates thousands of different animals in all shapes and sizes.  He creates giraffes, elephants, rhinos, hippos, hamsters, penguins, eagles, robins, whales, sharks, shrimp, lobsters, and so much more.  He creates thousands of different types of plants.  Some plants bear fruits of various color, shape, and taste.  Many plants have flowers in incredible variety.  He creates different environments on the earth – deserts, forests, prairies, mountains, oceans, and more.  He fills space with stars and planets of incredible variety.  What creativity to make all of this!

Consider the wisdom and knowledge required for God to create our world.  What he designs must actually function.  Animals must move and breathe and eat and multiply.  God must come up with practical things like hearts, lungs, livers, spinal cords, and so much more.  All of this made up of cells, made up of atoms, made up of….  And then there are plants which need to grow and bear fruit and form seeds.  And all these plants and animals have to fit together in their habitat.  And the earth has to be just the right distance from the sun.  And, and, and….  We have spent several thousand years trying to figure out how our world works.  But God knows it all.  What wisdom and knowledge to make all of this!

Consider the power required for God to create our world.  There is nothing, and with a word God creates something.  With a word, he makes planets and stars and plants and animals.  With a word.  What authority!  What power!  Ponder the power required to make this vast universe.  And God does it all by simply speaking it into existence.  What power to make all of this!

This is our Creator.  This is our God.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
– Psalm 95:6

Questions for the New Year

On By BrianIn Holidays1 Comment

Donald Whitney has 31 helpful questions for us to ask as we look at the coming year.  Below are the first ten.  You can follow the link to read the rest.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

More questions….

For more helpful questions and articles by Donald Whitney, see here.

Habits for Growth in 2012

On By BrianIn Habit Miscellaneous, Holidays

In response to God’s grace and by His grace:

Which habits are you already practicing that you will continue?

Which habit are you already doing that you will seek to enhance?  How?

Which habit will you seek to begin this year?

Some Habits

  • Daily time with God in His Word and prayer
  • Read through the New Testament
  • Read through the Bible
  • Regular Scripture memory
  • Join a Sunday School class or small group Bible study
  • Greater commitment to prayer
  • Regularly attend Prayer Meetings
  • Closer fellowship with other believers
  • Join a Bible-believing, gospel-preaching church
  • Actively seek ways to encourage others
  • Serve in some church ministry
  • Better stewardship of time
  • Better stewardship of money
  • Tithe
  • Personal evangelism
  • Get involved in church outreaches

Enjoying the Work of Our Hands

On By BrianIn Uncategorized2 Comments

 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
– Genesis 1:31-2:3

Upon finishing creation, God looked at all that he made and declared it good.  He found pleasure in what he had made.  And so he rested from his work – enjoying the work of his hands.

I recently spent a lot of time laying a new floor in our living room.  One day, as I was near the end of the project, I was looking at the floor.  And I felt pleasure at what I had done.  I had a sense of accomplishment.  I enjoyed the work of my hands.

This is one reason God created the Sabbath – to give us a day to rest and enjoy the work of our hands.  To be able to stop from our labor long enough to see what we had done and find pleasure in it.

As we finish another year, we look back to evaluate.  But perhaps too we should look back to enjoy what we have been able to do during the past year.  To celebrate the successes.  To find pleasure in tasks completed.  To enjoy the work of our hands.

What Are You Seeking?

On By BrianIn Heart, Idolatry2 Comments

What are you seeking?

This is Jesus’ question to two of John the Baptist’s disciples.  It is also an important question for us to ponder as we end this year and begin a new year. 

The answer to the question determines how we lived in 2011. 
The answer determines how we will live in 2012.

The answer tells us what we worship, what we desire. 
It reveals idols in our hearts.  It shows how much we love God.

So as you evaluate the past year and look to the next, ask yourself the question:

What are you seeking?