God is not just a chapter in the story of your life, he’s the author of your story, the one who makes sense of all the chapters of your life.
– Trevin Wax and Thomas West in The Gospel Way Catechism
Category: Uncategorized
Theology Is An Invitation
Theology isn’t an arduous task of arranging irrelevant details. It’s an invitation into greater knowledge of this Jesus who has saved us.
– Trevin Wax in The Thrill of Orthodoxy
An Act of Resistance
Sabbath rest…says that I don’t need to justify my own existence. It’s an act of resistance against the false god-king of this world who always demands that we do. It’s open rebellion against the systems of this world that demand we do in order to be.
– Adam Mabry in The Art of Rest
Eden Longing
Prayer is our response to the echoes of Eden where we long to walk with God in the cool of the day.
– Philip Nation in Habits for Our Holiness
Sermon Songs: Hebrews 4:14-16
Through your great High Priest, to God draw near
He was sinless though tempted like us
Knows and cares about your trials and tears
In God’s presence, He represents us
Chorus
Fast, Fast, Hold fast
Hold fast to Jesus the Better One
Near, Near, Draw Near
Draw near to God through His only Son
Hold fast your confession, just believe
Boldly come before the throne of grace
Mercy for sins joyfully receive
In your need come find His helping grace
(Repeat Chorus)
© 2022 Brian J. Mikul
(Sing to tune of “Grace Greater Than Our Sin”)
Classic Quote
When I pray, coincidences happen,
and when I don’t, they don’t.
– William Temple
Think Deeply
Working ceaselessly means you never have the chance to think deeply.
– Adam Mabry in The Art of Rest
The Busyness Hallucination
The worst hallucination busyness conjures is the conviction that I am God. All depends on me. How will the right thing happen at the right time if I’m not pushing and pulling and watching and worrying?
– Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God
Ministry Moments
Here are some helpful posts for small-town pastors:
Don’t Measure Small-Town Ministry Simply by Its Size – Stephen Witmer (TGC)
My friends’ ministry is expressing something of God and his gospel that couldn’t be expressed through a massive revival. All their many sacrifices, their unconditional friendship to a young Muslim family still blind to the glory of Christ, their consistent, prayerful sharing of the gospel with those who will listen—these demonstrate a generous God and a lavish gospel.
No City Is Too Small for God: Reaching the Crevices of the World – Josh Manley (DG)
But if you labor in relative obscurity and are tempted to think your work is unstrategic, I want to encourage you that, if you labor for the Lord, there is no such thing as an unstrategic city. He cares about every last sheep.
Brothers, Preach Your Heart Out — No Matter How Few People Are in the Room – Tim Counts (IX)
The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. Only the Lord knows what he will do with an army of preachers committed to expositing God’s Word with precision and passion week in and week out in small churches across America.
Brothers, let’s press on for the sake of the kingdom!
Saturday Strands
Here are some loose strands from various places for your growth:
The Difficult Discipline of Joy: What Keeps Us from Seeing God? – Clinton Manley (DG)
Joy is indeed a difficult discipline. Greed, self-centeredness, and the relentless pull of inattention constantly creep in and cut us off from divine delights.
With Friendship in Decline, Belonging Is a Powerful Apologetic – Sam Allberry (TGC)
What will show the presence of heaven itself among God’s people? What will show that God is alive and well and right here? It’s our love for one another. This isn’t an afterthought, as though what really mattered were other things and our love for one another was the icing on the cake. No, the quality of our relational life is to be an apologetic to the world around us.
Humility and Overcommitted Busyness – Alasdair Groves (Ligonier)
I want to direct our gaze to a significant blemish on humility in our own generation where we need further chipping and sanding: our overcommitted busyness.
Unpacking “Look inside Yourself” – Brian Rosner (Crossway)
Humans are not self-defining, isolated units. The biggest problem with only looking inside to find yourself is that it is hopelessly reductionistic, ignoring crucial dimensions of what it means to be a human being. Human identity does not exist in isolation, it cannot be defined without reference to the narrative in which it finds itself. We know ourselves by looking around to our closest relationships, back and forward to our shared life stories, and upward to something bigger than ourselves. We are profoundly social, deeply story-driven, and we have eternity in our hearts.
Flashback: The Shepherd’s Care
Is this how you think of God – as a gentle shepherd?
Brian J. Mikul 