Archive for March, 2009
C.J. Mahaney – A Testimony to God’s Grace
Posted by: | CommentsI came across this video by way of Justin Taylor’s blog . Be sure to check out the bio he did on C.J. Mahaney.
The description from YouTube:
C.J. Mahaney at the Resurgence Conference in Seattle talking about looking for evidences of God’s grace. This leads him to recount his testimony. Amazing.
Let Your Kingdom Come
Posted by: | CommentsAnd when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:7-13
I love this song, just thought I would share. It’s from an album called Valley of Vision, which is based on the book of the same name. See the end of the post for the text of the prayer from the book. The song comes from Sovereign Grace Ministries, who produce some wonderful God-honoring, theologically rich music.
Let Your Kingdom Come
Based on The Valley of Vision prayer “God’s Cause”
Words and Music by
Bob Kauflin
Verse 1
Your glorious cause, O God, engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown
The cross has saved us so we pray
Your kingdom come
Chorus Let Your kingdom come
Let Your will be done
So that everyone might know Your Name
Let Your song be heard everywhere on earth
Till Your sovereign work on earth is done
Let Your kingdom come
Verse 2
Give us Your strength, O God, and courage to speak
Perform Your wondrous deeds
through those who are weak
Lord use us as You want, whatever the test
By grace we’ll preach Your gospel
Till our dying breath
God’s Cause
Valley of Vision – A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions
SOVEREIGN GOD,
Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,
and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom
to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns;
Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice,
for to bring honour to thy name in my sole desire.
I adore thee that thou art God,
and long that others should know it, feel it, and rejoice in it.
O that all men might love and praise thee,
that thou mightest have all glory from the intelligent world!
Let sinners be brought to thee for thy dear name!
To the eye of reason everything respecting
the conversion of others is as dark as midnight,
But thou canst accomplish great things;
the cause is thine,
and it is to thy glory that men should be saved.
Lord, use me as thou wilt,
do with me what thou wilt;
but, O, promote thy cause,
let thy kingdom come,
let thy blessed interest be advanced in this world!
O do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus!
let me see that glorious day,
and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;
let me be willing to die to that end;
and while I live let me labour for thee
to the utmost of my strength,
spending time profitably in this work,
both in health and in weakness.
It is thy cause and kingdom I long for, not my own.
O, answer thou my request!
Systematic Theology Class – Wayne Grudem (MP3 audio)
Posted by: | CommentsMonergism.com has 105 classes in mp3 audio from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology class where he walked through his Systematic Theology book. This is great stuff!!
For those that would rather not have to download 105 individual files feel free to let me know via the contact form and I would be happy to burn them all to a disk for you to save you the trouble. It would actually be a DVD, so make sure your computer can read DVDs.
The following are links to the book and study guide, the audio link is above.
Men’s 2009 Retreat
Posted by: | CommentsPlease plan to attend for great fellowship and teaching in this beautiful setting. You have the option to “rough it” or stay in hotel-like accommodations.
Where: Camp Buckner – Burnet, Texas
When: April 17th starting at 5 PM through April 18th until 2 PM
Speaker: Pastor Juan Sanchez
Subject: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
Cost ($10 less than last year):
Single $105
Double $80
Cabin $65
Day $45
Signup at the Information Desk.
For more information, including maps, see the calendar page.
Invite a friend by clicking ShareThis below.
Cultivating Expositional Listening – #3: Talk and Pray with Friends After Church
Posted by: | Comments(We’re reviewing the six practical ways Thabiti Anyabwile suggests for developing “expositional listening” in his book What is a Healthy Church Member? This is the 4th post in the series. Bring up all the posts in the series here.)
Mr. Anyabwile offers this encouragement with his 3rd suggestion for cultivating expositional listening: “Instead of rushing off after the service is over, or talking about the latest news, develop the habit of talking about the sermon with people after church.” He suggests starting spiritual conversations by asking questions like “How did the Scripture challenge or speak to you today?” or “What about God’s character most surprised or encouraged you?” We should pay careful attention to how our thinking has been changed by the message that was preached…in particular how the Words of God, from Scripture, affected our thinking.
We should also pray with others, that the congregation would not be “dull of hearing” and would desire the “solid food” of the Word.
Thoughts
Although I regularly have conversations with others throughout the week about the sermon, I’m challenged to have more of those conversations after the service as part of fellowship, instead of running out the door to lunch or having good fellowship but not taking the time to discuss the sermon that was just preached.
Also, as I write this I’m reminded of the message from this past Sunday morning on 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 and also Hebrews 10:24-25.
A desire to talk with, and to hear from others, about how the Word of God impacted us through the sermon can be a mark of spiritual maturity, when it’s combined with doing the Word. Immaturity and sin can cause us to hear the Word but have no desire to discuss it or ask anyone else about it. As Pastor Juan asked on Sunday, what are we characterized by? Are we characterized by a passion to take in and talk about, and live out, the Word of God?
Let us stir up one another to love and good works, which are always based on the Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is glorified as we talk about the Word’s work on our heart and mind and cultivate more attentive listening to that same Word.
A few more practical suggestions for discussing the sermon:
- At lunch or dinner on Sundays (or anytime of course) initiate a conversation with whoever you’re with.
- During small groups set aside some time to discuss and pray
- With the family, particularly husbands talking to our wives as we seek to lead and love them
- Take good notes: I’m trying to be a more effective note taker but writing things down aids my recall later when discussing or reflecting on the sermon
- Each Sunday in the bulletin, there’s an insert for note-taking that also has reflection/discussion questions on the back. This can be used as a guide/inspiration when having these discussions.
The Gospel in 6 Minutes
Posted by: | CommentsMany have seen this already….but may we never tire of reading, hearing and seeing the Gospel presented, so that we may truly know the truth and be established in it….and may we preach the Gospel to ourselves daily!
Free Audiobook of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life!
Posted by: | CommentsTalk about the kindness of the Lord….
The book that we’re currently studying, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, was just made available for FREE in MP3 audiobook format at Christianaudio.com! They have a free audiobook each month and this is March’s…so don’t wait too long to download it.
Sign up for their newsletter and get notified of the “free audiobook of the month”.
NOTE: There are many good resources on this site but please still use discernment (as always, right?). I wouldn’t fully support everything here but a lot of it is good stuff.
Thanks to Anil Levi for pushing me to post this today…I got the newsletter last night but might not have got to this for a day or two.
Cultivating Expositional Listening – #4: Listen to and Act on the Sermon Throughout the Week
Posted by: Site Admin | Comments (0)(We’re reviewing the six practical ways Thabiti Anyabwile suggests for developing “expositional listening” in his book What is a Healthy Church Member? This is the 5th post in the series. Bring up all the posts in the series here.)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22-25
The author rightly suggests this passage as a word of caution against merely hearing the Word and not applying it. So we move from talking and praying with others about the sermon into acting on what we heard. Anyabwile’s exhortation is “Don’t let the Sunday sermon become a one-time event that fades from memory as soon as it is over.”
He suggests choosing one or two specific applications from the Scripture and to prayerfully put them into practice over the upcoming week.
Use the resources available to go through the sermon again for refreshing and clarification. Use audio, video or print resources (High Pointe has all three available). Review the sermon by yourself and with others for the purposes of applying it. Use the sermon and sermon notes in one-on-one discipling. Talk with your family about the same. Spur each other on to apply the Word of God to our daily lives.
Thoughts
This post turned out to be rather long so I’ll save my thoughts for tomorrow or the next day. We’re aiming for mostly short to moderate length posts here (I know a couple have probably already crossed that line).