Monday is for Discussion Luke 22:31-34 31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both … More Preparing for Life after Failure
Thursday is for Discipleship I was praying and preparing for a counseling appointment with a young Christian and thought of C.J. Mahaney’s The Cross-Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing. As I reread the book, I thought some of C.J.’s counsel was relevant for all of us so here’s the outline: How do you … More The Cross-Centered Life
Thursday is for Discipleship “Luther’s return from the cloister was the worst blow the world had suffered since the days of early Christianity. The renunciation he made when he became a monk was child’s play compared with that which he had to make when he returned to the world. Now came the frontal assault. The … More Bonhoeffer on The Only Way to Follow Jesus
A Case Study in Church Discipline Leaving for a week of vacation in South Carolina with my brother Karl and his wife Dawn. Stephnie and I are looking forward to spending time together with two of our favorite people in all the world. We haven’t had a week off in some time and for the … More Church Discipline: A Case Study
Thursday is for Discipleship Examine the Lord’s Prayer. Matthew 6:9-15 (ESV) 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, mmmhallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, mmmon earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, mmmas we … More How Teaching Men to Pray May be the Secret to Effective Disciple Making
Weekend links Double links this week. Double the instigation of trouble! Already writing for next weeks’ posts. Looking forward to getting some feedback on some new ideas. As always, don’t link me and my thoughts to every link. Better Engagement with Culture Why DOMA Needs to Continue and Why We Must Not Go the Direction … More DOMA’s Importance; Roles of Men and Women; Bolton on Rice; Justin Taylor; John Piper; Ending Abortion; Inerrancy’s Importance
Discussion Points Short answer: The foundations of the culture are crumbling. There are a lot of good and legitimate answers to that question but here’s one from one of our best thinkers. “What I am suggesting is that the Christian message itself will become the object of ridicule. The life of discipleship will be derided … More Why is the Gospel Ridiculed?
Jesus didn’t say he would make us cooks. (Nothing against cooks!) He said he would make us fishers of men. To follow him means that we fish for men. A discipleship process that by-passes the start of the process misunderstands the whole process. For more see: We’ve Got Discipleship All Wrong.
Tuesday is for Discipleship You aren’t growing as a Christian because you don’t need him. “But,” you say, “I do need him. Without Christ I have no forgiveness of sins, no relationship with the Father, no way to heaven, no hope of eternity in fellowship with Christ and all those who have loved his appearing” … More You Aren’t Growing as a Christian Because You Don’t Need Him
Thursday is for Making Disciples [Update: Don, who asked the question that started this blog post, now lives in heaven. I look forward to seeing him again.] I had just finished recording the message for this past Sunday and our second campus when Don (he always says “from Tennessee”) asked an important question. The message he … More Changing the Conversation with Your Neighbor
