A new Sunday School curriculum called the Gospel Project has this helpful video summarizing the entire Bible’s story in three minutes:
Quotes To Ponder
Here are some good quotes on growing in Christlikeness – something we must do and something Christ does in us:
What we think about when we are free to think about what we will –
that is what we are or will soon become.
— A.W. Tozer
Christlikeness is born in us when we deny ourselves in the small tasks of life.
– Gary Thomas
The tapestry of Christlikeness is laid down stitch by single stitch, as God weaves events, attitudes, relationships, and personal affliction through our daily experience.
– Gary Thomas
Life is an incremental series of becoming what you are, in Christ.
– John Piper
Ministry Moments
Here are some good posts for the pastor’s personal life:
6 Traits of a Pastor in Awe of God – Paul Tripp (via The Gospel Coalition)
What traits does the awe of God produce in the heart of a pastor that are vital for an effective, God-honoring, and productive ministry? Here is a list of six.
Why Church Leaders Should Always Be Full To Overflowing – Trevin Wax
You will not be able to extemporize good thinking unless you have been in the habit of thinking and feeding your mind with abundant and nourishing food. – Charles Spurgeon
How To Pull Out of the Burnout Spiral – Interview with Bob Osborne (via The Gospel Coalition) When I find myself heading for burnout, more often than not I’ve lost the rhythms of rest and repentance and start to chase my idols. I take my sights off of Christ and become self-focused – simply put, I try to take God’s place on the throne.
The labour of the Christian ministry is well performed in exact proportion
to the vigour of our renewed nature.
– Charles Spurgeon
Declaring the Glory
Sunset over Lake Superior – Grand Marais, 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
Passion Points
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
Calvin on the Good News in Christ – John Clavin (via Justin Taylor)
But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinners justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. The gospel is the Word of life.
Twelve Propositions on Sanctification – J. C. Ryle (via Tim Challies)
Ryle defines sanctification as “an inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Ghost, when He calls him to be a true believer.”
100 Quotes From You On Sanctification – Desiring God
Charles Spurgeon: “If he gives you the grace to make you believe, he will give you the grace to live a holy life afterward.”
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating Jesus and growing in your walk with Him!
Book Look: Holy Available
Holy Available by Gary Thomas is a wonderful book on an important part of the Christian life. The basic premise, which is fleshed out in the first part of the book, is that Jesus our ascended Lord is still active today through his people. We must go beyond merely avoiding evil and seek to be available for his use. Part two gets specific, looking at what it might mean for us to make ourselves available to God: our eyes, our mouths, our ears, our minds, our hands, our feet, and our hearts. Part three addresses being available for God’s glory, making progress, perseverance, and the context of the church. This is a book to read slowly and ponder and apply. Challenging and highly recommended.
For those on a budget, right now you can get slightly imperfect copies for only $4.99 here.
Keep Your Heart
If we don’t keep our heart, which means continually feeding our heart’s affection – if we allow the running of a business or the raising of a family or the maintenance of a church to keep us so busy that we don’t take time to cultivate intimacy with God and to keep our hearts burning with passion for our first love – then we shouldn’t be surprised if our souls collapse into the false intimacy of scandalous sin.
– Gary Thomas in Holy Available
Prayer Quotes To Ponder
We are heard and accepted, not on the account of our own prayers and services,
but in the beloved Son of God, who maketh intercession for us.
– John Newton
When we use the promises of God as the basis of our intercession,
we are calling God to be faithful – to fulfill his character.
– Tim Kerr
Prayer does change things, all kinds of things.
But the most important thing it changes is us.
– R.C. Sproul
History is silent about revivals that did not begin with prayer.
– J. Edwin Orr
Acts Articles – Church 02
In Acts 2:42, we find the early church devoted to coming together for the apostles’ teaching. The apostles of course were teaching about Jesus from our Old Testament and eventually wrote the New Testament about Jesus, so we devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching when we devote ourselves to God’s Word, and especially to the teaching about Jesus from the Bible.
Like the early church, we should be devoted to coming together to study God’s Word, so we can learn and know more, and ultimately grow. We should gather to listen attentively and respond appropriately. We should have a real commitment and a real hunger. Our attitude should be that we can’t wait to meet together with God’s people to study the Word.
Is that your attitude? Are you devoted? How might you grow in your devotion to gathering together with God’s people to study His Word?
Ministry Moments
Recently White Horse Inn and The Gospel Coalition ran a series of posts on youth ministry which are well worth your consideration:
Generation Me and Youth Ministry Today: Part One – White Horse Inn
And so it has become increasingly easy for one to go from the nursery to children’s church to youth group and on to college ministry without having actually belonged to the local church. Young people may still drive with their family to the church campus, but from the parking lot they scatter to their own target-marketed groups. For many, the church is more a cafeteria of ministry offerings than a communion of saints.
Generation Me and Youth Ministry Today: Part Two – White Horse Inn
What we believe, why believe it, and why it matters for our lives: these are always the coordinates that we have to keep in mind together especially as people enter emerging adulthood.
A Brief History of Youth Ministry – Dave Wright (via The Gospel Coalition)
To get an idea of where we have come from, let’s turn back the clock more than a half century. Space here only allows the broadest overview….
MTD: Not Just a Problem with Youth Ministry – Brian Cosby (via The Gospel Coalition)
That a youth ministry “teaches the Bible” does not necessarily mean it teaches the gospel. Many mistake the gospel with moralism—being a good person, reading your Bible, or opening the door for the elderly in order to earn God’s favor. But the gospel is altogether different.
Youth Ministry’s Tendency Toward Legalism – Cameron Cole (via The Gospel Coalition)
Based on my experience in youth ministry, if I had to identify the greatest theological problem in the field, it would be the absence of the gospel in teaching on sanctification.
Youth Need the Church, and the Church Needs Youth – Mark Howard (via The Gospel Coalition) My prayer is that as we minister to a generation starving for meaning, we won’t lose sight of the reality that what these youth need is Jesus, and that he is most fully offered within the community of the church, of which they are a vital part.
Why We Need Youth Ministry – Paul Martin (via The Gospel Coalition)
Jesus modeled one of the best practices for the church. His discipleship did not depend on the latest book, the newest game, or the best icebreaker. Instead, his model relied on the spiritual health of the leader, and his willingness to spend time investing himself, his love, and his truth in them.
Two-Dimensional Youth Ministry – Dave Wright (via The Gospel Coalition)
Several years ago, in trying to simplify my teaching on youth ministry, I boiled it down to two dimensions: content and context.
