A few thoughts about a great day at NewSpring Church…
Had an absolute BLAST preaching on giving today…and LOVED the fact that we saw people receive Jesus after the message, that’s AWESOME! (And never gets old!)
We continued “Practical Atheist” today–last week we defined a “PA” as someone who says they believe in God but then live [...]
Gene Veith, in Loving God With All Your Mind (pp. 150-151):
[Jesus] tells us to love God with “all” our mind. In other words, everything the mind is capable of doing is to be devoted to loving God. It would seem then that if your mind can spin out complex mathematical calculations, you are to love God in mathematics. If your mind can plan a business, design a building, analyze a novel, understand a philosophical problem, or imagine a story, you are to love God in your planning, designing, analyzing, understanding, or imagining. When Jesus says “all” the mind, He is claiming every mental faculty we have.When He says “all your mind,” He is applying this claim in a very personal way. Not everyone has the same ability. Someone who is physically handicapped may not have the same physical “strength” that a star athlete does. That does not matter. Whether it means serving God from a hospital bed or from an Olympic pavilion, both are called to love God with all of their strength. In the same way, “all your mind” encompasses a wide range of talents and abilities. Some minds are gifted in the sciences, some in the arts. Some minds are oriented to academia and higher education; some are interested in more mundane spheres. No one set of talents is better than any other, and every calling is equal before the Lord. The point is, whatever our calling, God demands all that we can do and all that
we can think.The whole educational and intellectual enterprise, for a Christian, should be caught up in the desire to love God “with all your mind.” The whole process of curiosity, questioning, and discovery can be a journey, full of wonder and praise, into the mind of God, who created everything. Whatever can be studied, whether human nature or the physical universe, is what it is because God willed it and made it. To uncover the hidden laws that govern matter, to disclose the patterns of subatomic particles, to discover how human beings grow and interact, to discern an underlying pattern in history or in astronomy—all of these amount to nothing less than discovering God’s will.
Many thanks for all the humorous, insightful and occasionally insane suggestions for a book title. I’ve come up with a rough list of my favourites, but I’m still having trouble deciding. I also appreciated the comments regarding the subtitle, so I’m w…
When interviewing a potential pastor, what are the ten most important questions that you would ask?
Though I have never served on a search committee, and have never been interviewed for a call, this is such an outstanding question that I wanted to take…
Lately I’ve been sharing a few of the hymns and songs we sing at Grace Fellowship Church that are original or somewhat rare. Here is one written by Joseph Hart in the mid-1700′s. We sing it to a new melody written by our lead worshiper and use one of the verses as a chorus. I am particularly drawn to the third stanza: “Convince us of our sin / Then lead to Jesus’ blood / And to our wondering view reveal / The mercies of our God.” How beautiful is that?
Here is the hymn:
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
Let Thy bright beams arise;
Dispel the sorrow from our minds,
The darkness from our eyes.‘Tis Thine to cleanse the heart,
To sanctify the soul,
To pour fresh life into each part,
And new-create the whole.Revive our drooping faith,
Our doubts and fears remove,
And kindle in our breasts the flame
Of never-dying love.Convince us of our sin,
Then lead to Jesus’ blood,
And to our wondering view reveal
The mercies of our God.Dwell, therefore, in our hearts;
Our minds from bondage free;
Then shall we know and praise and love
The Father, Son, and Thee.
Justin Taylor shares a sample list of what you can do with the gospel drawn from just two verses.You can (and should):preach ithear it preacheddeliver itreceive itbelieve itbe saved by itremember itremind others of itstand in ithold fast to it”Now…
(Author: Rachel Menke)
Is it time to start planning your children’s ministries for Summer 2010? It’s hard to believe, but summer will soon be here! And with summer comes a variety of children’s programs.
Children Desiring God offers four titles for use with elementary-age children, all of which are evangelistic in nature.
The Call of God—An Evangelistic Study for Children on the Work of God in Redemption. God is calling people to be a part of his family. This curriculum explores how God overcame the sin problem through the sinless life and death of Jesus on the cross, and thus enables people to respond to the call of God with faith. These lessons are also available in Spanish.
Things Hidden—An Evangelistic Study for Children on Kingdom Parables. Using kingdom parables, the goal of this curriculum is to awaken spiritual interest in children, so they might seek after the hidden treasure of God and find their satisfaction in him.
God Always Wins—An Evangelistic Study for Children on the Greatness of God in Salvation. These lessons show God as the great Victor who triumphs over all enemies, including Satan, death, and sin. He is great and mighty, and worthy of our worship!
Wisdom Calls Aloud—An Evangelistic Study for Children on the Wisdom and Fear of the Lord. This study uses wisdom literature to teach the difference between foolishness and wisdom, and shows children the need for a true heart change to fight against their foolish and sinful nature.
Visit our website to view sample lessons in English or in Spanish or to learn more about our Backyard Bible Club and Vacation Bible School resources.
If you want to know what it takes to host a Backyard Bible Club, Bethlehem’s website lists the basics.
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When Israel’s prophets denounced the corruption of Israelite worship, they sought reform, not revolution. Though they vehemently criticized liturgicalism, they never attacked the liturgy. Though they railed against externalism and formalism, they…