Restore Us, O God
Opening Scripture Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! … Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth. Stir up your might and come to save us! (Psalm 80:3, 1-2) Where We Are in the […]
Faltering Faith?
Matthew 11: Taking the Kingdom by Force (1) Pray Psalm 40.11-13.Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD;Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.For innumerable evils have surrounded me;My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;They are more than the hairs of my head;Therefore my […]
Made for Pleasure
God made us to know Him, and knowing Him is the greatest privilege and pleasure anyone can know. Today’s reading from The Kingdom Turn is found on page 131: “The Kingdom of God is Good News because it ushers all who receive it into God’s good plan for their lives, a plan which brings them, among other […]
The Content of Preaching
Cowper on Paul on Preaching (2) And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2.4, 5 Let’s recall William Cowper’s view of preaching and […]
Bear What You Must
How to Church (6) … besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? 2 Corinthians 11.28, 29 Burden bearingThe apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia that believers must […]
Time Out
Hosea 3:1-5 (NIV) The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and […]