Tag: Church

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

The Parable of the City Dog and the Country Dog – Trevin Wax.  You’ll just have to read it to find out the meaning of the parable.  May we become more like the Country Dog!

Prayers of confession can be hard for many reasons.  Not least is finding words.  Lancelot Andrews gives us words in his prayer of confession and hope.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month.  I am always amazed at the stuff Christian retail comes up with for people to give to their pastors.  Brad Whitt suggests ten things to give your pastor to show your appreciation that he will really appreciate.  As a pastor, I would heartedly agree.

Finally, R. C. Ryle gives us four thoughts on true worship.  It is much more than singing hymns and choruses on Sunday morning.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church family.

Passion Points – Habits

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

This week, I want to share some good posts about what I call Passion Habits.  Passion habits are those things we do because of our passion for God and compassion for people.  These are habits ideally motivated by Christ’s passion for us.  Passion habits are traditionally called spiritual disciplines.  They might be habits we do individually or corporately or both.  So here are some good thoughts about some of these habits:

Scripture – J. C. Ryle points to the necessity of being often in the Word.

Prayer – Trevin Wax shares what the Romanian church has taught him about corporate prayer.  We can learn much from their example.

Worship – Kevin DeYoung shares why his church worships the way they do.

Service – Jon Bloom encourages us to serve in the shadow God places you.

Evangelism – Mark Altrogge considers ways to influence people toward Christ.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping the Lord with your local church.

 

 

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

The best laid plans….  I had every intention of blogging daily using the schedule I mentioned a few weeks ago, but it has been a busy week.  We’ll see how next week goes.  In the meantime, here are some good posts from around the web:

Glorifying God

Kevin DeYoung considers how being part of a local church glorifies God.

Jeff Brewer suggests 15 ways that college freshmen can seek to glorify God.  With slight re-application this list would be useful for all of us!

Passion for Christ

A great excerpt from J. C. Ryle on what loving Jesus looks like.  Challenging!

Justin Taylor quotes John Piper and Ryle considering how our love for Christ should intersect with our desire for heaven.

God’s Blessings

Mark Altrogge reminds us of our incredible blessings in Christ.

Mark then shares a great story from Spurgeon’s life of God’s daily care for us. 

Church

Finally, as you prepare to gather with your local church tomorrow, consider these helpful ideas for getting the most out of the sermon from Nancy Leigh DeMoss. 

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day feeding on God’s Word!

 

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Points

Here are some good reads for your weekend:

Gospel

Mark Altrogge ponders the suffering of our Savior.  Meanwhile, here is another post refuting the idea that we are worth dying for.  (See my post from earlier this week here.)

Idolatry

Here is a helpful interaction with Johan Herman Bavinck’s thoughts on three common idols – money, honor, and pleasure.

Family

Matthew Barrett gives us an interesting look at Martin Luther’s marriage to Katherine Von Bora as he brings out the idea that marriage is a context for growth in character.

Church

Finally, R.W. Glenn shares nine things you should pray for your pastor.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping the Lord with your church family!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts to ponder this weekend:

Sin

Justin Taylor gives us a helpful look at sin according to I John.  Meanwhile, at Desiring God you can consider Sinclair Ferguson’s four steps to kill sin. 

Love

Justin Taylor considers the relationship between love and commandments according to John.

Feelings

Brian Borgman talks about the importance of feelings in the Christian life.  And Erik Kowalker share two related quotes from J. C. Ryle on possessings feelings toward Christ and the secret of a happy Christian.

Church

Jon Nielson shares a helpful post on three reasons youth stay in church after they graduate.  This is important reading for both pastors and parents.  And then as you prepare to gather with your local church tomorrow, ponder Justin Taylor’s warning that it only takes one generation for a church to die.  May we be careful to guard and pray against that happening in our churches.

How To Prepare for Worship

On By BrianIn Church Life

Sunday is coming.  The day when you gather together with other believers to worship God.  Have you ever considered the importance of preparing?  What would it look like to prepare for worship?  A couple of suggestions:

First, get a good night’s sleep.  If you stay up until all hours of the night, it is no wonder you are groggy during the service and struggling to stay awake during the sermon.  God deserves our best.  Get enough sleep so you will be alert and able to give your all.

Second, deal with your sins.  Examine your life.  Are there sins you need to confess to the Lord?  Sin hurts our fellowship with God; deal with them so you can worship God without hindrance.

Third, preview the passage you will be studying together.  If your pastor is working through a book of the Bible, this should be relatively easy.  If not, ask your pastor if he can put the next Sunday’s passage in the bulletin. Reading and pondering the passage ahead of time will prepare you to hear the message.  (It is also a great help for your children, but that is another post.)

Fourth, pray.  Pray that God would speak to you.  Ask God to help you praise him as you should.  Ask him to help you encourage others.  Pray for the pastor, teachers, ushers, musicians, nursery workers, etc.  If possible, meet with some others before the service to pray together for God to work among you.

Fifth, come with expectation.  Come eager to hear the Word.  Come excited to sing praises to God.  Come cheerfully to give your gifts to the Lord.  Come ready to build up others and serve.  Come with expectation of what God might do in you and through you.

Remember that these are suggestions, not laws.  I don’t do all of them every week.  Sometimes some of them just aren’t possible.  But they can help us come ready to worship.  Imagine if we all came ready to worship God together!   Let it begin with you.

How will you prepare for worship this weekend?

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Growing…

Some good quotes from Jerry Bridges on sanctification (via Ed Stetzer).

John Newton writes about how we grow in grace (via Justin Taylor).

Compassion for People

Paul Tripp talks about how sin dehumanizes people (via Justin Taylor).

Ray Ortlund considers seven ways we can guard and restore relationships.

Church

And as you prepare to gather with God’s people tomorrow in your local church, consider how churches die from The Gospel-Driven Church.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping our great God.

Prayer Resources

On By BrianIn Book Look1 Comment

I have been writing about prayer for the last few weeks now, and I want to share some resources that I have found useful in thinking and writing about prayer.

First I watched/listened to the 2011 Desiring God Pastors Conference messages on prayer.  I found the messages by Joel Beeke and Francis Chan to be particularly helpful, as well as the Panel Discussion.

Second, I read a lot of books:

  • Fresh Encounters by Daniel Henderson, I have already written about here.  It was particularly helpful in thinking through the importance of praying together, as well as ideas to start and lead times of prayer. 
  • A related book, The Church That Prays Together by Elmer Towns and Daniel Henderson, features the prayer ministries of ten different churches, a few of which I found to be helpful in my church context. 
  • The Family at Church by Joel Beeke gives half of the book to considering the importance, history, purpose, and implementation of regular prayer meetings.  (The other half of the book is about listening to sermons.)
  • Developing a Healthy Prayer Life by James W. Beeke and Joel R. Beeke gives 31 short meditations on personal prayer.  This was the source of some of the prayer quotes to ponder I featured the last few weeks.

I am in the middle of some other books about personal prayer which I may mention in future posts as I finish reading them.

Finally, for a treasure trove of resources on prayer meetings, I invite you to visit PrayerMeetings.org.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good reads for the weekend:

The Gospel

Christianity must go beyond morality – George Whitefield (via Trevin Wax)

Virtues

The Real Basis for Hope – Mark Altrogge

Family/Single Life

Five reasons to use God’s Word in your parenting – Thabiti Anyabwile

How to turn your child away from church…and Christ – C. John Miller (via Chris Brauns)

Questions to ponder before dating – Mark Driscoll (via Crossway)

16 Christian Dating Principles – Part One, Part Two – Mark Driscol (via Crossway)

Church Life

Finally, as you prepare to meet with God’s people: do you consider them the excellent ones in whom is all your delight or the annoying ones in whom is all your irritation? – Mark Altrogge

Have a great Lord’s Day!