Passion Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

How to Grow Spiritually – William Boekestein (Ligonier)
Participating in preaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer must regulate the routine of any healthy Christian.

When We Best Learn the Bible – Jen Wilkin (DG)
But sound Bible study is rooted in a celebration of delayed gratification. Gaining Bible literacy requires allowing our study to have a cumulative effect — across weeks, months, years — so that the interrelation of one part of Scripture to another reveals itself slowly and gracefully, like a dust cloth slipping inch by inch from the face of a masterpiece.

What Is Your Mud Pie? – Tim Challies
It is one of C.S. Lewis’ most powerful and most enduring illustrations: An ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. It is a vivid illustration and one that is simple enough to see in the lives of other people—those people who settle for lesser pleasures when the greatest of all pleasures awaits. But I, at least, find it far more difficult to see in my own life. You may find it just as difficult.  It is worth asking: What is your mud pie?

Success is Dangerous – Jared Wilson
We all prefer success to failure but, really, success is more dangerous. In failure, we know we rely totally on God’s approval and sustaining arm. In success, it is easy to begin looking around, surveying all the territories claimed, all the peoples gathered, all the ministry renown redounding, and we think, “Well, lookee here. Look what has been built with my talents, my gifts, my skills, my strategies, my visions, my sweat, my sacrifice.”

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

Ministry Monday

Here are some good posts on small town/church ministry:

You Won’t Waste Your Life – Jonathan Parnell (DG)
Millions, even in the States, call home those small towns and wide-open spaces that don’t make it on global maps. And the people who live there, the ruralites, need the gospel.

6 Ways Small Churches Can Love Their Communities – Trevin Wax
Is it possible to do acts of mercy in your local Jerusalem with a tiny band of volunteers? Surprisingly, it is. Here are six tips for small church outreach….

Seeing Potential Out in the Corn Fields – Phil Somers (RHMA)
Pray. As you dream, do it on your knees.  Pray that God will open your eyes to see your people, church and community as He sees them. Ask Him to help you see what they
could be if He gets hold of them. (Note: This is a PDF)

Ministry Monday

Here are some good posts on preaching and the public reading of God’s Word:

Be More Specific Than “Points” or “Things” – Andy Naselli
McDill lists 265 words that communicate more clearly that the ambiguous words “points” and “things” – Good practical stuff here!

4 Reasons Why Pastors Should Talk Regularly About Money – Dave Anderson (Generis)
It is understandable why pastors are uncomfortable to talk about money. But, it’s not all right to let that discomfort become an excuse for failing to disciple people in this area.

A Cost of All This Preaching? – Tim Challies
So here’s the question: Do you commit yourself to the public reading of Scripture?

Ministry Monday

Here are some good posts on pastoral ministry:

How Pastors Accidentally Ruin Their Church – Andy Flowers
Pastors AND Churches need to read this one – we can do better!

4 Ways to Minister to Older Saints – John Pond (TGC)

5 Moves to Integrate Theology into Your Ministry – Hershael York

Passion Points

Here are some great posts for your weekend reading:

Full of Grace and Truth – Kevin DeYoung
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately.  We all need to strive for both and tend to lean toward one or the other.  The need is great as we relate to each other and to our culture. This post says it well – please read!

Students, Don’t Waste Your Summer – Jeff Brewer (TGC)
Here are some great ideas for all of us whether you are a student or not.

“One Anothers” I Can’t Find in the New Testament – Ray Ortlund
Sanctify one another, humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, sacrifice one another, shame one another, judge one another, run one another’s lives, confess one another’s sins, intensify one another’s sufferings, point out one another’s failings . . . .  Indeed!

4 Reasons to Give Generously – J. I. Packer (Crossway)
It’s Packer and it’s important, so go ahead and read it…and live it too!

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day showing grace and truth and the proper “one anothers” with your local church!

Prayer for the American Church

Today we continue our focus on praying for our nation.  Last week we prayed for the American people.  Today we want to focus on praying for the American Church.  Again, I have used parts of Isaiah 1-10 that apply to the church as a guide:

Revival – Isaiah 1:10-18
Pray for repentance; hearts and actions given completely to the Lord

Awe of God – Isaiah 6
Pray for reverence, praise, confession, amazement, and availability

Trust – Isaiah 8:11-14a
Pray that we would trust in the Lord in all things in midst of the fear around us

God’s Word – Isaiah 8:20
Pray for a commitment to God’s Word in the midst of the compromise around us

Hope – Isaiah 9:6-7
Pray that we would walk in the hope of our King in the midst of the despair around us

The Fundamental Problem

GodInTheWastelandThe fundamental problem in the evangelical world today
is that God rests too inconsequentially upon the church.
His truth is too distant, his grace is too ordinary,
his judgment is too benign, his gospel is too easy,
and his Christ is too common.

– David Wells in God in the Wasteland