Thursday, August 20, 2020
 

As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 42.1, 2

Resources for Shepherds
The present is a time for reassessing our priorities and learning to love God and our neighbors. So argues Mark Noll in a Comment article, summarized here.

How should we read the Bible? Through the lens of our culture and times, or through that of the Word itself? Jeffrey Niehaus addressed this issue in an article in the current issue of JETS. You can read a summary here.

History is being rewritten – it always is – but the particular drift of historiography in our day may signal dangers for Christians. Read a summary of an excellent Chronicle of Higher Education article here.

Got an insight to God’s Word you think we need to hear? Send it to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (around 350 words) and let’s see if we can use it in our Insights column.

The Ailbe Seminary
Where can you send your church’s leaders and teachers to get the training they need to teach God’s Word with power? The Ailbe Seminary offers free courses of instruction to equip your leaders for making disciples and to seek the Kingdom and advance it in their own spheres. Watch this brief video to learn more about our Laddership curriculum and the Certificate Programs available through The Ailbe Seminary. Then share the link around with your teachers and leader. Our curriculum overview course, “One in Twelve”, offers an overview of the Christian worldview in twelve diagrams. It could make a lively weekend workshop for you and your staff and leaders. To learn more about this free course, click here.

Ailbe Resources
ReVision resources for leadership training
If you’re not a subscriber to our thrice-weekly ReVision newsletter, you may have missed some excellent free resources to use in training your leaders. Our recent series “Revived!” discusses the nature and need for revival in our day, and shows you how to bring more focus on revival into your church. Our brief study, “Wrong Reason,” explains why we have nothing to fear from the challenges and threats of unbelieving worldviews. If you’re not a subscriber, use the pop-up at the website to update your subscriptions and include ReVision in your weekly meditations. Don’t forget to download and share with your leaders our morning-and-evening reader of excerpts from Luther and Calvin (click here).

We need revival!
Let me send you a PDF of our book, Restore Us! This brief study outlines the need for revival and shows how you can start a group to pray for revival in your own church. Write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I’ll send you a copy. And men, we invite you to join us each Tuesday morning at 10:00 Eastern for 30 minutes of seeking the Lord for revival. If you’d like to join our group, let me know, and I’ll add you to the invitation list (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

At The Fellowship of Ailbe website
How can we love God and our neighbors? Our current ReVision study, “Which Works?”, shows us how we may do those works that allow us to increase in love as followers of Christ. The current installment begins a seven-part segment on loving God.

How can Christians “ripen on the vine” so that they bear more fruit for Jesus? Stan Gale tells us in this Rooted in Christ column.

Mike Slay’s new series on the book of Romans is off and running. Sink an anchor into the DEEP by clicking here.

From the Ailbe Bookstore
Looking for a challenging study series to use with your leaders and teachers? Our workbook, God’s Covenant, offers a whirlwind tour of the whole Bible, using the covenant as the organizing motif. The thirteen studies in God’s Covenant will help your leaders see the unity of Scripture more clearly than ever. Order a copy by clicking here.

Don’t forget to download your free copy of our audiobook, If Men Will Pray. Here’s a great tool to get your men praying together, and for enlisting other men to a more vibrant life of prayer (click here).

Your Opportunity to Share
Read a good book? An important article? Have an insight to share with hundreds of pastors and church leaders? Send your reviews and insights to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and we’ll get them ready for posting on the Resources for Shepherds page at our website, www.ailbe.org.

Psalm of the Week
Feel free to use our weekly psalms for personal or corporate worship. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.

Psalm 42 (Nettleton: Come Thou Fount)
As the deer pants for fresh water let my soul, Lord, pant for You!
Let my soul thirst as it ought to for the Savior, ever true!
Tears by day have been my portion, tears by night have been my food,
while my foes add to my sorrow, saying, “Where now is your God?”

Now I pour my soul out in me as these thoughts come to my mind.
And I long to once again be where true worship I might find.
Oh my soul, be not despairing!  Hope in God, and praise His Name!
For the Lord, your burden bearing, will restore your peace again.

Oh my God, my soul is weary, therefore I remember You.
Let Your grace and goodness near be, and Your promise, firm and true.
Lord, when trials and fears surround me, Your commands will be my song;
when distresses sore confound me, Your great love will keep me strong.

Lord, forget me not in mourning ‘neath my foes’ oppressing hand.
See their mocking, hear their scorning; help my weary soul to stand.
Hope in God, praise Him forever when despair on you has trod.
Look to Jesus; never, never doubt your gracious, saving God.

From the Celtic Revival
A prayer for our speech
Here’s a reminder to guide us in all our life and work:

You have nothing more precious
than the love of God, if you perform it:
you will not regret
adoring the King of clouds…

May our purpose be strong:
to strive for what is fittest.
Let us all love Jesus,
for this is the highest thing.

  - The Martyrology of Oengus (9^th century, Irish)

T. M. Moore

We hope you find Pastor to Pastor to be a helpful resource in your walk with and work for the Lord. If so, please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online via PayPal, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 360 Zephyr Road, Williston, VT 05495.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All Psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.