Tag: Discipleship

Week of Prayer – Friday

On By BrianIn Prayer Guides

Pray for Our Churches

Growing passion for evangelism and missions
Personal and church-wide evangelism opportunities

Pray for Our Community

Many people to be saved

Pray for Our Country

Many people to be saved

Pray for Our World

Missionaries and the world-wide Church
Many people to be saved
The persecuted Church around the world including Iran, Maldives, Uzbekistan, Yeman, Iraq, and Pakistan

Week of Prayer – Thursday

On By BrianIn Prayer Guides

Pray for Our Churches

Church Family Needs
Growing Unity and Love

Pray for Our Community

Local businesses/economy
Local needs – jobs, sick, hurting

Pray for Our Country

State/national economy

Pray for Our World

Christian ministries to the poor/hungry
Somalia: End to political instability, Safety for believers meeting
in secret, Freedom to worship

Week of Prayer – Wednesday

On By BrianIn Prayer Guides

Pray for Our Churches

Wisdom/direction for our pastors/leaders
Pastors: strength, encouragement, growth, family

Pray for Our Community

Wisdom/direction for newly elected leaders

Pray for Our Country

Wisdom/direction for newly elected leaders
President, VP, Cabinet, Congress, Supreme Court
Michigan’s Governor, Congress, and Judicial System

Pray for Our World

Biblical training and resources for world pastors/leaders
Saudi Arabia: Safety for Christians converting from Islam

Week of Prayer – Tuesday

On By BrianIn Prayer Guides

Pray for Our Churches

Powerful preaching/teaching of the Word
Growing maturity in Christ

 Pray for Our Community

Local elections today
Eyes opened to the truth

 Pray for Our Country

State and national elections today
Eyes opened to the truth

 Pray for Our World

Solid teaching and growth for Christians
North Korea: Freedom for thousands of Christians in prison, Safety for Christians sharing the gospel

Week of Prayer – Monday

On By BrianIn Prayer Guides

Our church and our three sister churches are having a special week of prayer this week.  I would like to invite you to join us in prayer.  Here is Monday’s Prayer Guide:

Pray for Our Churches

Growing commitment to prayer

Pray for Our Community

Local elections tomorrow
Local schools – students, teachers, staff, leaders

Pray for Our Country

State and national elections tomorrow
Our Armed Forces, Protection for our country

Pray for Our World

Middle East conflicts
Afghanistan: Courage/perseverance for Christians without Christian fellowship, More opportunities to share gospel

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

In Evil Long I Took Delight – John Newton (via Trevin Wax)
In evil long I took delight, Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight, And stopped my wild career.
I saw One hanging on a tree, In agonies and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me, As near His cross I stood…

Why Are You Afraid of Humility? – Chrysostom (via Trevin Wax)
Before he humbled himself, only the angels knew him.
After he humbled himself, all human nature knew him.

Free Me From My Need To Exalt Myself – Prayers For Today (via Trevin Wax)
Lord, free me from my need to exalt myself.
Where I am prone to seek things for myself,
help me to seek the best things for You and others…

John Calvin’s 4 Rules of Prayer – Joel Beeke (via Ligonier)
For John Calvin, prayer cannot be accomplished without discipline. He writes, “Unless we fix certain hours in the day for prayer, it easily slips from our memory.” He goes on to prescribe several rules to guide believers in offering effectual, fervent prayer…

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day humbly worshiping our great Savior!

Why We Rest

On By BrianIn PASSION Reflections1 Comment

A couple of days ago I looked at why we work.  But we need to balance our work with rest.  So today I want to consider why we rest:

  • To follow the creation pattern.  Genesis 1-2 tells us that God worked for six days and rested on the seventh.  He also created day (when we work) and night (when we rest).  Built into the very fabric of creation is this pattern of work and rest.
  • To recharge.  God wasn’t tired when he rested on the seventh day.  But we get tired.  Work is toilsome, and we need time to recharge.  Every day, we spend about eight hours sleeping because we need to recharge.  Physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually we get tired.  So we need to rest to recharge.
  • To rejoice in our work.  After creation, God looked at all he had made and he deemed it very good (Genesis 1:31).  He found pleasure in it.  We should follow his example and stop working long enough to find joy in what we have accomplished.
  • To refocus our trust.  If we are trusting in ourselves or our work, we will find it difficult to rest.  There is always more to be done.  But if we trust in God, we can stop and rest, remembering that he will take care of us.  Psalm 127:2 tells us: “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”  We need not be anxious about our work.  If we trust God, we can lay down at night and sleep.  We can rest.
  • To grow in relationships.  If we love God and people, we will rest from our work so we can focus on God and people.  We will rest so we can spend time with God in His Word, and prayer, and praise.  We will rest so we can spend time with family and friends talking, and laughing, and sharing, and playing together.  We need to rest to have time to build loving relationships.

There are lots of tired frazzled people in our world.  But Christians should be different.  God calls us to take time to rest.

Why We Work

On By BrianIn Miscellaneous1 Comment

Most of us spend much of lives working.  So why do we work?  The Bible gives us several reasons to work:

  • To fulfill our purpose.  God created us to work.  God made Adam and gave him the task of working and keeping the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15).  Part of why we are here is to do the work God created for us to do.  We work to fulfill our purpose.
  • To provide for ourselves.  II Thessalonians 3:10-12 says each of us should earn our own living, and that if we don’t work, we shouldn’t eat.  So we work to provide for ourselves so we can live and eat and stay warm.  By extension, we work to provide for our families so they too can live and eat and stay warm.  We work to provide for ourselves.
  • To help those in need.  Ephesians 4:28 tells us to labor so that we may have something to share with those in need.  Based on the passage under the last point, I don’t think it is talking about lazy people who won’t work (and hence shouldn’t eat).  Rather, I take those in need to be people who can’t work due perhaps to a disability, health, or age.  Or someone who has lost a job or a source of income, and though they are trying to provide for themselves, it isn’t currently enough.  All that to say, we need discernment to know who is really in need.  And we need to recognize that one reason God gives many of us the health and ability to work is so we can help those who can’t.  We work to help those in need.
  • To love God.  Work is an important application of the Great Command.  If I love God with all of my mind and strength, I will use the mind and strength God has given me to do the work he has given me to do.  Wasting my mind and strength does not show love to God.  We work to show our love for God.
  • To love people.  Work is also an important application to the second great command.  If I love my family, I will work to provide for them.  If I love those in need I will work to help them.  If I love my employer, I will serve him faithfully.  If I love the customers and clients, I will provide the products and services they need.  If I love my family, I will do the necessary chores around the house.  We work to show our love for people.

The Bible gives us many reasons to work.  Why do you work?  Are you working to fulfill your purpose, provide for yourself, help those in need, and show love to God and people?