Everything in our Christian life and service flows from our relationship with God. If we are not in vital fellowship with Him, everything else will be out of focus.– J. Oswald Sanders in Enjoying Intimacy with God
Here are some good posts on preaching:
Two Common Mistakes Preachers Make – John Piper (DG)
5 Myths about Preaching – Joel Beeke (Crossway)
3 Things Not to Do After You Preach – Dave Harvey (TGC)
All man’s ideologies are spiritually bankrupt. They are impoverished in their inability to save. God alone is the Author of saving wisdom. Every preacher must be deeply persuaded of this reality, or he has no right to the pulpit. – Steven Lawson in The Kind of Preaching God Blesses
Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
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
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
Why We Grow So Slowly – Ray Ortlund
In his Thoughts on Religious Experience, Archibald Alexander asked why we grow so slowly as Christians….
Let’s Just Be Honest and Admit We Hate One Another – Mike Leake
…hatred does four things. First, it keeps alive ill feelings towards others. It keeps stoking the flames. Secondly, it continually finds faults at the infirmities of others. Thirdly, it turns the least little slip into a big deal. And lastly, it has deep bitterness toward the most trifling or even imaginary thing—it wants to be mad.
Six Steps Out of Disappointment – David Murray (DG)
Our hopes are dashed. Our dreams are shattered. Our expectations are unfulfilled. External events and the decisions of others produce the agony of disappointment….how do we recover from it?
The Key To Making the Most Out of Congregational Singing – Tim Challies
When you know the people, you know their song. While you sing with them, you sing for them. You sing not as fifty or a hundred individuals, but as a single community. You sing to minister and you sing to be ministered to.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!
Without rest, we miss the rest of God: the rest he invites us to enter more fully so that we might know him more deeply. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Some knowing is never pursued, only received. And for that, you need to be still.
– Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God
Hope is essential to human life…. God’s master story, of course, is the story of hope…. This hope strengthens us in the hardships and drudgeries of everyday life. Knowing where all things in heaven and earth are headed, we can wait and persevere…. Without it we are left with grumbling, addiction, or despair.
– Edward Welch in Side by Side
Here are some good posts on the intersection of ideas and identity:
Why Transgenderism Is a Problem for Secularism – Bernard Howard (TGC)
The Ancient Heresy Driving Modern Identity – Akos Balogh (TGC)
The Gospel Is the Only Stable Source of Identity and Value – Melinda Penner (STR)
This foundational truth of Christ and Him crucified must be emblazoned upon every preacher’s soul.– Steven Lawson in The Kind of Preaching God Blesses
Q/A#10
Q: What is God’s continuing work in creation?
A: God’s continuing work in creation is to preserve and rule over it according to his perfect plan.
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.
– Acts 17:24-26 (ESV)
For Further Reflection
Ps. 65:9, 139:16, Is. 40:26, Matt. 6:26, II Chr. 20:6
Our Response
Trust in His care
Trust in His plan
Brian J. Mikul 