Tag: Creation

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good pots for your weekend reading:

10 Things You Should Know about Prayer – Donald Whitney (Crossway)
…pray the Bible; that is, to turn the words of Scripture into prayer. The Psalms are ideal for this, but you can also go back and pray through part of your Scripture reading for the day.

The Elusive Trait of Reasonableness – Mark Loughridge (GR)
True wisdom is persuadable or open to reason. It recognizes that we don’t always get it right. That we haven’t necessarily arrived at our final opinion on every matter. That we have our biases, limitations, and blind spots. That situations change and new factors need to be taken into account.  Reasonableness is a practical outworking of our finitude. We don’t have all the answers, we don’t have infinite knowledge, and we are sinners. In short, we can be wrong.

Drained and Depressed by the Internet? Go Outside. – Brett McCracken (TGC)
More than our smallness, nature should remind us of God’s bigness. And that’s ultimately where the “peace” is found—resting in the sovereignty of a God who designed the anthill as well as the Andes, the delicate petals of a rose as well as the sturdy structure of a sycamore tree.

The Small Change That Can Radically Improve Your Church Experience – Aaron Earls (F&T)  I believe one simple change can revolutionize your Sunday morning experience: get there a little early and stay a little late.  Showing up to church 15 minutes before the service starts and hanging around 15 minutes after the service ends can make all the difference. Here’s how….

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church (in whatever way possible)!

Declaring the Glory

On By BrianIn Declaring the Glory

Black Canyon in Colorado

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

Our Bodies

On By BrianIn PASSION Quotes

EarthenVesselsThe psalmist tells us we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” We were knit together in our mother’s womb by the delicate hands of God. Our bodies are not amorphous lumps that we shape and sculpt into our own self-image – they are diving gifts, given to us by God himself.

– Matthew Lee Anderson in Earthen Vessels

Q&A#12: God’s Image

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#12
Q: After what pattern did God create us?
A: God created us in his own image to be relational and rational, to both work and rest, and to live morally upright in all things.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion….  – Genesis 1:26a (ESV)

See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. – Ecclesiastes 7:29 (ESV)

For Further Reflection
Genesis 2:3, 15-20

Our Response
Live as an image-bearer of God
Praise God for who he made you to be

Q&A#11: God’s Special Creation

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#11
Q: Who are people?
A: People are God’s special creation, created either male or female, each with body and soul joined together.

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
– Genesis 1:27 (ESV)

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. – Matthew 10:28 (ESV)

For Further Reflection
Psalm 139:13-18, Genesis 1-2

Our Response
Realize you are special!
Praise God!

Declaring the Glory

On By BrianIn Declaring the Glory

IMG_5780

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

Q&A#9: God’s Creation

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#9
Q: According to God’s Word, how did the world begin?
A: The world began by a direct act of God, who perfectly created all things to reveal his glory.

In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth….
And God saw everything that he had made,
and behold, it was very good.
– Genesis 1:1, 31a (ESV)

 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
– Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

For Further Reflection
Read Genesis 1, Hebrews 11:3

Our Response
Enjoy God’s good creation
Praise God for his creation

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

The Spiritual Dangers of Disconnecting from Creation – Scott Martin (TGC)
Creation is not an end in itself, something to be worshiped in place of the Creator. It is rather something that points us—if we are willing to pay attention—to a good, gracious, powerful, extravagant, and loving God. A world that disregards or distances itself from creation is a world that will naturally disregard and distance itself from God.

Quiet and Deep Christianity – Andrew Roycroft (Thinking Pastorally)
Ours is an age of fragmentation, of intellectual hopscotch, of results-oriented activity on the one hand and mindless entertainment on the other. We have demolished the stonewalls and uprooted the hedgerows of our intellectual past in favour of speed, convenience, and leisure; the mass production of information on which to gorge ourselves, without a thought for the mental and emotional habitats which have been destroyed in the process. Sooner or later we will have accommodated these changes to such a degree that we won’t even know to feel regret, and by the time my young children reach adulthood the concepts of silence, stillness, meditation, deep reading, and unbroken thought will be so far back in our history that they may scarcely seem real….  A huge, and largely unaddressed, issue is what kind of effect will this tempo and tone have on the life and work of the local church?

An Open Letter to the Timid Evangelist – Brian Hedges (Crossway)
In diagnosing our evangelistic disorders, it helps to remember that effective personal evangelism depends on the convergence of multiple factors including opportunity, character, and skill. Here are a few thoughts about each.

We Don’t Sing for Fun – Tim Challies
One of the trends that has swept our society through the past decades is the “funification” of pretty much everything….Yet singing is not prescribed for Christian worship for the purpose of fun. It actually serves a far higher purpose…

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Declaring the Glory

On By BrianIn Declaring the Glory

IMG_4939

Sunset over Lake Superior

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

The Stones Cry Out

On By BrianIn Stones Cry Out

IMG_5203

Banded Chert

As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—
the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice
for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,
“Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered,
“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
– Luke 19:37-40

And the stones do cry out – proclaiming the glory and beauty of our Creator!