Hope you enjoy…

But some discussions and types of invitations to church seem to be more effective for certain groups. Think about these statistics when planning your next church outreach.

Speaking “Christianese” to the Unchurched

That’s why I was amused when I made the same mistake just hours after preaching. I was invited to lunch by a local pastor and church leader. While at the restaurant, we made friendly conversation with a young (twenty-something) waitress, who, although working at a restaurant in Norway, was from Poland. 

The Generation (Z) That “Feels” Truth

Welcome to the generation that “feels” truth. Today, having discussion about things that are true is harder than ever.

Becoming a Grateful Discipler

Here they were, working hard to encourage the Colossians’ discipleship, and they begin by expressing their gratitude—gratitude to God that the Colossians’ were already bearing the fruit of discipleship!

What is the Christian Faith?

What kind of faith is that? Because it is only to those who have this kind of faith that the promise is given: You have everything you need for life. 

Here is your daily round up, the article by Paul Tripp on how to pray when arguing with your spouse is helpful, encouraging and worth the read.

Four Reasons People Are Ashamed of the Gospel

What is it about the gospel that tempts people to feel ashamed? Even the Apostle Paul indicated that some people are going to feel this way (Romans 1:16).

 

4 Ways the Old Testament Points to Jesus

Short, sweet and a good place to start.

 

How to Pray When You’re Fighting with Your Spouse

Every marriage is guided by a set of habits. The question is, are they healthy habits that result in a God-honoring and joyful marriage, or are they bad habits that lead to a self-centered and strained marriage?

 

3 Traits of a Marriage on Mission

The stronger the vision for your marriage and its mission, the stronger the marriage itself. Three qualities characterize a couple on mission together. Aquila and Priscilla, whom we first meet in Acts 18, embody these qualities.

 

Did the Church Decide Which Books Made It into the Bible?

 

In my daily reading I am in Nehemiah, reading through this book has been refreshing this time through.

As I was reading Sunday I came across Nehemiah 5, in this chapter we read that some of the upper class were taking advantage of the middle and lower class in Jerusalem and it was disrupting the mission, rebuilding the wall.

How Nehemiah responds to the injustices of his day can be beneficial to us in our day.

1. Social Injustice in our day should stir a righteous anger in us.

I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. – Nehemiah 5:6

When the people cried out to Nehemiah about the injustice going on, Nehemiah was broken and angry because the noble class in Jerusalem were taking advantage of the lower classes. They were charging extravagant interest rates and when they could not payback, enslaving their families until they could buy them back.

2. Nehemiah realized the Mission of God was hindered because of Social Injustice.

Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. – Nehemiah 5:1

Nehemiah arrived with a calling from God, a burden on his heart, a mission and a purpose, to rebuild the walls. But one of the hinderances to the rebuilding project that arose was Social Injustice. Which leads to the next point.

3. Those who are in leadership positions/positions of power must speak out against Social Injustice and speak for the voices that go unheard.

I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them – Nehemiah 5:7

When Nehemiah discovered what was going on, we know he was angry, but his anger led to action. He spoke out against the upperclass, it even says he held an assembly against them.

Wow! Sounds like a protest rally.

The conclusion Nehemiah came to was, I must speak out for the voices that go unheard. As Uncle Ben said to Peter Parker “With great power comes great responsibility”. (I know Voltaire may have said it first, but he isn’t as cool as Uncle Ben)

4. What I learn from Nehemiah 5 is, Social Justice isn’t everything, but it is something.

What we discover in the rest of the chapter is Nehemiah calling out the upper class for being like Babylon and Persia and enslaving their people.

Nehemiah knew the Mission of God to rebuild the walls must be complete, but I find it interesting that he didn’t push the Social Injustices aside for the Mission of God but he felt the need to deal with the Social Injustice going on as part of the mission of God he was on.

Which should be an example for us, when we see Social Injustices going on in our society we must speak up for the voices which go unheard. Yes, making disciples is our mission as followers of Jesus, preaching the Gospel is our vital task, but when Social Injustice arises we must be like Nehemiah and speak up for the unheard voices, for this is Gospel work too.

To Nehemiah Social Justice wasn’t everything, but it was something.

Here is your daily round up

Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation?

People who would otherwise agree that only those who trust in Jesus will be saved have disagreed on whether anyone who truly believes in Christ can lose his salvation.

Is Free Will An Illusion?

But if we are just our brains, as some scientists propose—if our decisions are simply the product of synapses firing—are we really free in any meaningful sense? A number of scientists and philosophers strongly believe not. It may seem to us that our choices are freely made, but free will is actually an illusion, they argue. We simply do what our brains tell us.

The Call to Self-Discipline in a Media-Saturated Age

From the moment we wake up (and instinctively check our phones), through our daily commutes (with radios or podcasts humming in the background), to the end of the day (when we binge on Netflix), we live those statistics day in and day out. According to Nielsen’s numbers, we spend more time consuming media than eating, sleeping, or any other activity.

Cautious about Causation

Just because two things are co-related does not mean one is the cause of the other or that the link between the two is clear or necessary.

Your Life Is Your Mission Field

We all are called to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. Some are called to the other side of the world, and some are called to work the ground of their home town. 

Here are some reads I think you should invest in today.

What Is Discernment?

Sinclair Ferguson answers the question what is discernment and how it affects the way we live.

The Answer to Boredom isn’t Variety

Maybe you feel like it’s 2:00 a.m. and you’re on a long freeway with no exits. You do what you’re supposed to do and say what you’re supposed to say. But there’s no joy.

Three Ways to Purify Your Thinking

The purifying of our minds happens, in part, as we learn to habitually set our minds in certain directions — as we turn our mind’s eye from the worthless to the beautiful, from the defiled to the pure, from the false to the true. Like all repentance, such turning is not a onetime work, but a daily one, an hourly one, even a moment-by-moment one.

5 Myths about the Relationship between Science and Faith

Augustine’s words resonate with us, as they did with Galileo. If the church had heeded Augustine’s advice not to impose itself in matters in which it was unskilled, and if power and control had not been such a focus for the church at the time, then this long battle between the church and science may never have taken place.

Why The Church?

The New Testament does not have a vision of the Christian life outside of the church, the local church. But there are many professing Christians today who seek to be commitment to Christ with no commitment to the church. They do not believe in organized religion. They claim the church is full of hypocrites. They have experienced church hurt. They cannot find a faithful, biblical church. They do not find the church necessary, supportive, or beneficial. So they follow Christ but forsake the church.

So much to read so little time.

Would You Accept More Gospel Hostility If It Also Meant More Gospel Openness?

At the very same time there is a growing hostility in the West, many  evangelists, churches and student groups on campuses (now there is some genuine hostility right there), report that there’s never been so much interest in the gospel from people who are searching for something, anything, that might provide a sense of purpose .

Study Finds No Link Between Undocumented Immigrants and Crime Rates

This was an interesting read.

The Heart of the Evangelical Crisis

There is a danger to universalizing one’s personal experience, assuming it applies to others, even an entire body of believers. But I actually believe it worked the other way. For some decades now, as evidenced in my writing, I’ve believed that American Christianity has been less and less interested in God as such, and more and more at doing good things for God. We’ve learned how to be effective for him, to the point that we don’t really need him any longer. It was that continuing concern that finally took hold of me, making me realize that this was not their crisis but a crises we all share.

The Church Today in Cultural Captivity

Christian apologist Os Guinness says that when we look at evangelicalism today, it is the world and the spirit of the age that are dominant, not the Word and Spirit. The church in the U.S. is strong numerically, but weak because it is worldly. The church in America is in the world and of the world; and as a result, it is in profound cultural captivity.

The Year My World Fell Apart: MY WAR WITH SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION

The next two and a half years were the hardest of my life. But knowing what I learned from them, they were, without a doubt, the best years.