Have you ever seen or read about someone who devoted themselves exclusively to the preservation of their own life and their own resources with no regard for others? How would you describe their life? I have one word: Misery! Remember the original Bah-humbug man in “A Christmas Carol ” – Ebenezer Scrooge? He was a … Continue reading Advent Devotional #3: Receiving the Riches of Grace
Advent Devotional 2: Relinquishing Riches to Make Us Rich
We all have difficulty relinquishing things that we cherish. I still remember my first ten-speed bicycle. It was a fully-equipped, Schwinn beauty that I received as a Christmas present. Not long after I received it, I allowed a friend to borrow it for a quick ride. She then proceeded to get hit by a car, … Continue reading Advent Devotional 2: Relinquishing Riches to Make Us Rich
Advent Devotional #1: A Riches to Rags Story
During Advent we remember and celebrate Jesus’s first coming when “the Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity). We also look forward to our Lord’s second coming when He fully establishes His peaceable kingdom. To grasp more fully the magnitude of Advent, we want to … Continue reading Advent Devotional #1: A Riches to Rags Story
To Be Trusted
“Trusted” serves as a compelling theme for our church's stewardship campaign this year! It leaves you wondering who is trusting whom. Are we trusting God in our investment of His resources or does God trust us with His resources? Well, like in many similar dilemmas, it is not either/or but both/and. Stewardship always involves us … Continue reading To Be Trusted
When You Meet with Ingratitude From Those You Serve
Jesus said: “I am among you as one that serves” and “I did not come to be served, but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many.” The Apostle Paul’s idea of service is the same as our Lord’s: “Ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” So long as there is a … Continue reading When You Meet with Ingratitude From Those You Serve
The Power of Grace – E. Stanley Jones
"Grace binds you with far stronger cords than the cords of duty or obligation can bind you. Grace is free, but when once you take it, you are bound forever to the Giver and bound to catch the spirit of the Giver. Like produces like. Grace makes you gracious, the Giver makes you give." — … Continue reading The Power of Grace – E. Stanley Jones
Husbands, How are you doing as the head of your home?
“If ‘headship’ means ‘power’ in any sense, then it is power to care not to crush, Power to serve not to dominate, Power to facilitate self-fulfillment not to frustrate or destroy it. And in all this the standard of the husband’s love for his wife is to be the cross of Christ, on which he … Continue reading Husbands, How are you doing as the head of your home?
Is there one right worship style?
There is not one right style or form for worship. Reggie Kidd writes: Jesus Christ our Worship Leader (Hebrews 2:11-12) has taken innumerable forms of worship across the centuries and across the world and made them His own; The chants of the Gregorian monks. The Psalms of the Scottish Presbyterians… the beloved hymns of our … Continue reading Is there one right worship style?
Prayer of Confession – Reformation Sunday (Martin Luther)
Waken our hearts, O Lord, our God; make them ever watchful to serve You and Your purposes. Trouble us with the smallness of our vision and work. Trouble us with the greatness of Your command to make disciples of all nations. Trouble us with Your great love for sinners and our own slowness to make … Continue reading Prayer of Confession – Reformation Sunday (Martin Luther)
Pray to Love Your Wife Well or Else
you will give yourself to suicidal pleasures that will destroy your life and unravel your family... Hear these challenging words of an old Puritan preacher by the name of Thomas Watson who explains the significance of Proverbs 5:15-21: "It is not having a wife, but loving a wife, that makes a man live chastely. He … Continue reading Pray to Love Your Wife Well or Else
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