Proverbs 25:12
Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man's rebuke to a listening ear.
[R]IGHT at the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contradicted all human judgments and all nationalistic expectations of the kingdom of God. The kingdom is given to the poor, not the rich; the feeble, not the mighty; to little children humble enough to accept it, not to soldiers who boast that they can obtain it by their own prowess.
John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount
GOD DOES NOT force his kingdom upon anybody but gladly gives it to all who know they're losers without him and humbly seek his help.
Clarence Jordan, Sermon on the Mount
IT IS NOT ENOUGH for us … within the arena of the world's pain merely to know of a God who sympathizes. It is not even enough to know of a God who heals. We need to know of and be connected with a God who experiences with us, for us, each grief, each wound. We need to be bonded with a God who has had nails in the hands and a spear in the heart!
Flora Slosson Wuellner, Weavings
THE SCRIPTURES make much of meekness … and so it is the more appalling that meekness does not characterize more of us who claim to be Christians. Both at the personal level, where we are too often concerned with justifying ourselves rather than with edifying our brother, and at the corporate level, where we are more successful at organizing rallies, institutions, and pressure groups than at extending the kingdom of God, meekness has not been the mark of most Christians for a long time.
D. A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount
THE HUNGER for righteousness is the one appetite that Christ blesses—not to covet possessions or achievement or recognition, but to live, through every action and perception, the kingdom of God.
Jim Forest, The Ladder of the Beatitudes
[THE MERCIFUL] will be found consorting with publicans and sinners, careless of the shame they incur thereby. In order that they may be merciful, they cast away the most priceless treasure of human life, their personal dignity and honor.
For the only honor and dignity they know is their Lord's own mercy, to which alone they owe their very lives.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
NOW when [people] attempt to live a double life spiritually, that is, to appear pure on the outside but are not pure in the heart, they are anything but blessed. Their conflicting loyalties make them wretched, confused, tense. And having to keep their eyes on two masters at once makes them cross-eyed, and their vision is so blurred that neither image is clear.
Clarence Jordan, Sermon on the Mount
NOW PEACEMAKING is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of peace and of reconciliation. … It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the particular blessing which attaches to peacemakers is that "they shall be called sons of God." For they are seeking to do what their Father has done, loving people with his love.
John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount
IT MAY SEEM strange that Jesus should pass from peacemaking to persecution, from the work of reconciliation to the experience of hostility. Yet however hard we may try to make peace with some people, they refuse to live at peace with us. Not all attempts at reconciliation succeed.
John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount
JESUS' CLIMAX at the end of the Beatitudes says exactly this: Stand faithful and do not get blown about by the ideologies of the world. … If we lose our distinction from the world's greed, uncaring, self-centeredness, exclusionism, unfaithfulness, and violence, then we have no purpose.
Glen H. Stassen, Living the Sermon on the Mount
"It's ok. Yes, I want you to work hard, plan well, and be wise. But... Yeu Ann, at the heart of it all is love. I am strong, remember that. And I am loving. Remember, I reward each one according to what he has done... should not that encourage you to get up each day for the glory of my Name? Take heart, Yeu Ann. I didn't say I'll reward you according to how fast you do it! I'll reward you according to WHAT you have done!"
And I am so... touched and trembling.
Grace that gives me the same reward, whether I've started working in the first hour or the last hour of the day. How could I forget? Grace, from the beginning to the end. Jesus, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega.
God's kindness is so great. How can I take His kindness for granted? I am so unworthy, but He is so kind to a sinner like me.
Oh God. I'm so sorry. I haven't been taking time to show love to my family. I did show a bit of love to my colleagues. But my brothers and sisters... I do not think I have showed love to them. I am selfish and sucking, always consuming and never giving.
But I think He whispers in reply: "It's ok, son. I do not condemn you. Just go. Go and show people what it means to live a life worthy of My calling. The full message of this life. Seek Me every morning; I will give you what you need. And put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience each morning."
1 Corinthians 13
1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Jesus I am thirsty
Won't You come and fill me
Earthly things have left me dry
Only You can satisfy
All I want is more of You
Jesus: "So in everything do unto others as you would have them do unto you, for it sums up the Law and the Prophets."
"Hey bro sorry late reply. Just had cg. I was pretty refreshed past few days even though it was tiring to go back to sch daily after work. Whenever I'm reminded of God's heart for the people, a new surge of energy refreshes me. Thanks bro for interceeding [sic] for me n others :)"
Hebrews 11:13,39-40
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. [...] These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Potential weaknesses of an INFP:
Most of the weaker characteristics that are found in INFPs are due to their dominant Feeling function overshadowing the rest of their personality. When the dominant function of Introverted Feeling overshadows everything else, the INFP can't use Extraverted iNtuition to take in information in a truly objective fashion. In such cases, an INFP may show some or all of the following weaknesses in varying degrees:
May be extremely sensitive to any kind of criticism
May perceive criticism where none was intended
May have skewed or unrealistic ideas about reality
May be unable to acknowledge or hear anything that goes against their personal ideas and opinions
May blame their problems on other people, seeing themselves as victims who are treated unfairly
May have great anger, and show this anger with rash outpourings of bad temper
May be unaware of appropriate social behavior
May be oblivious to their personal appearance, or to appropriate dress
May come across as eccentric, or perhaps even generally strange to others, without being aware of it
May be unable to see or understand anyone else's point of view
May value their own opinions and feelings far above others
May be unaware of how their behavior affects others
May be oblivious to other people's need
May feel overwhelmed with tension and stress when someone expresses disagreement with the INFP, or disapproval of the INFP
May develop strong judgments that are difficult to unseed against people who they perceive have been oppressive or suppressive to them
Under great stress, may obsess about details that are unimportant to the big picture of things
Under stress, may obsessively brood over a problem repeatedly
May have unreasonable expectations of others
May have difficulty maintaining close relationships, due to unreasonable expectations
Genesis 15:12
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
Dear fellow missionary,
Thank you for your response to God's call to be on His front lines of winning the world. Without such hearts as yours, God's kingdom would take so much longer to build on this earth.
It must have taken quite a lot of reflection before you ticked the box for "I am interested to go". I cannot begin to imagine that thoughts that must have gone through your head. "Am I ready? Can I make such an impact? Am I good enough?" etc. Ask any church planter and they would tell you that even after having been there and done that, they still cannot find the answers to such questions. But one thing they will tell you is that God always has the answers and most of the time, He works best with those who don't.
On the 11 February, an event will be organized specially for you. It is an event where we hope to be able to tell you a little more about what South America, and what it means to actually church plant in that continent. It will also be a time where you will have a chance to air your views and ask your questions.
An email will follow this very soon with all the details as to the time and venue for the event. But we do hope that you would firstly block out the evening of this day, so that we could have some time together.
May the Lord continue to guide you as you grow in Him.
God bless.Hope South America Missions
As the proverb goes, ‘Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you’, we should keep running toward our dreams and visions and keep moving forward.
‘You can’t walk or run your course looking sideways at how others are running, or looking back letting the past ruin your present or future.’ says Dr Phil Pringle, who is an author, artist and a sought after international speaker. He added that ‘staying focused and undistracted is more about what you don’t do! Say NO to the things that distract you from your goal.’ [read more]
Psalm 73Thank You Lord.
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
There's a lot of emphasis today on practical preaching, helping people address their felt-needs, and giving direct application. Is that foremost in your mind when you prepare a message?
When I prepare to teach a text there are a few questions I always ask. First, "What's the thing behind the thing?" and "What's the truth behind the truth?" So if we're talking about tithing, we're really talking about generosity and participation. And if we're talking about generosity and participation, then we're really talking about whether you view the world as a scarcity or as a world governed by a Trinitarian God. Is the universe at its core a sliced-up pie where you grab your slice and then protect and defend it? Or do you believe that at the core there is an endlessly self-giving, loving community of God we are invited to step into?
So you can talk about tithing—giving your 10 percent. Or you can wrestle with a scarcity versus a Trinitarian view of the universe with tithing perhaps being an implication at the end of the message.
So you're trying to help people see a larger view of reality, through the lens of the gospel, rather than just giving them practical application.
Yes, exactly. I call it the truth behind the truth; the mystery behind the mystery; reality behind the reality. If you say we're going to do a series on marriage for the next five weeks, there's a chance that people who's aren't married, who are single, or who are divorced are going to think, Well, I guess I don't have to show up for five weeks.
Another way to approach the subject is to see marriage as one of the applications of the truth behind the truth. The truth behind the truth would lead you to preach one week on being honest, the next on apologizing, and the next on serving others. Those truths apply to everyone. And then each week you might include a point on how it applies to marriage.
Does our inability to find the truth behind the truth explain why we ignore large sections of the Bible in our preaching? We just don't see much practical how-to in Obadiah?
It's interesting you bring this up because when our church started, I spent the first year and a half preaching through Leviticus verse by verse. But now it's a part of our church's DNA to assume that every text has something for us—even ones that make no sense the first time you read them.
It may be my own warped sense of humor, but it was always the odd places in the Bible that I found most compelling. It's God's inspired Word, and it's all useful. But to really believe that—that's when things get interesting. I'd rather trust God, jump into those texts, and discover what God has for us.
I really like the idea of throwing yourself at its mercy. I'm just assuming there will be things here. Last year we did Philippians verse by verse. It took the whole year. I always begin with the assumption that there is way more going on in the text than we see on the first reading.
He once planted a church by teaching through Leviticus. He can use a rabbit carved from a bar of soap to illustrate the nature of suffering. Google his name and the term "Sex God" will appear among the top entries.Yes, this article totally describes what I've been feeling and thinking. It's a fantastic article for all who would want to teach and communicate from the Scriptures. Thinking of sending this link to some of our dear pastors to bless them! :)
Rob Bell is the most interesting preacher in the world.
Bell is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but his reputation as an innovative communicator came largely through his video teaching series, NOOMA. Since launching Mars Hill in 1999, Bell's ministry has expanded into books, DVDs, and live tours, but he is still committed to shepherding his community at Mars Hill through preaching.
Leadership managing editor Skye Jethani sat down with Bell to discuss his approach to communicating, the state of preaching in the church, and the risks the pulpit presents to a pastor's soul.
Your sermons are known for pulling from unexpected sources—everything from art history to quantum physics. Why?
When Jacob woke up after his vision of angels ascending and descending on the ladder, he declared, "Surely God was in this place and I did not know it." And Jesus says, "My Father is always at work even to this very day." Jesus lives with an awareness, an assumption that God is here and he's at work. Dallas Willard calls this "the God-bathed world." This has deeply shaped me.
My assumption is that God can be found in all of the interesting things buzzing around us all the time. So we can take something from here and something from there and bring them together. A friend of mine calls it "tying the clouds together."
'Advances in nuclear technology will make it much safer than earlier designs, and we should carefully study its viability for a small city-state like Singapore,' said the committee's report.
if new water is ok then nuclear plant is ok. their children also live here.So, haha, perhaps we need not be too worried on this matter regarding nuclear energy. Governance isn't easy, huh? :P
Chandler is trying to suffer well. He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter.
Since all this began on Thanksgiving morning, Chandler says he has asked "why me?" just once, in a moment of weakness.
He is praying that God will heal him. He wants to grow old, to walk his two daughters down the aisle and see his son become a better athlete than he ever was.
Whatever happens, he says, is God's will, and God has his reasons. For Chandler, that does not mean waiting for his fate. It means fighting for his life.
[...] Matt prays that his children and others do not grow resentful.
"Lord, you gave this to me for a reason. Let me run with it and do the best I can with it."
Barnett says later that he's witnessed many tragedies and miracles. He has seen how people handle life-changing moments. He called Chandler's attitude one of the most amazing he's seen.
Chandler says learning he had brain cancer was "kind of like getting punched in the gut. You take the shot, you try not to vomit, then you get back to doing what you do, believing what you believe.
"We never felt — still have not felt — betrayed by the Lord or abandoned by the Lord. I can honestly say, we haven't asked the question, 'Why?' or wondered, 'Why me, why not somebody else?' We just haven't gotten to that place. I'm not saying we won't get there. I'm just saying it hasn't happened yet." [read more...]
Acts 5:40b-42
They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"Then Jesus went on to heal the blind man.
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
"Lord, you gave this to me for a reason. Let me run with it and do the best I can with it."And we'll show the world that God is real - and that our faith is real and with substance. I don't think anyone could reasonably accuse us of being insensitive to our feelings, because, well, the sufferer him/herself is the one saying how good God is. And that's a powerful testimony to the living hope that we have in Christ!
Mark 1:16-20
" 16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18At once they left their nets and followed him.
19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him."
"Daddy, are you free to play with me?"So her dad asked her to help him fetch a particular book from another room, very far away from his study. Ecstatic, the little girl raced off to the other room, and a few minutes later, came back happily panting, handed him the book.
"Oh, not now, darling. I am very busy right now."
"Oh. Is there anything I can help you with then?"
