Mark 3:13-15 13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. Withness: What is it? Withness … More “Withness”: What is it, why do we need it, how do we get it?
A vast literature has developed over the last four decades beginning and reaching its zenith in the 1970’s and 80’s. The “Church Growth” industry has slowed but the number of blogs peppering the internet with “how to do church better” has more than filled in the gap. Some of it can be helpful. My shelves … More Jesus Had a Plan for Church Growth
Tuesday Afternoon Musings When are we going to stop playing games? “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of the God, . . .” —2 Peter 3:11 This week … More What Sort of People are We?
The Reason We Aren’t Making Disciples is Simple Go back and read chapter 3 in the Gospel of Mark again because it is a critical chapter in the book. One of the reasons it is so critical is the clarity of what discipleship looked like for the disciples. The verses to examine are 13-15. 13 And he … More The “With-ness” Principle
“This is the great business of life–to ‘put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks.’ I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a superior satisfaction in God.” John Piper, Desiring God, p. 12. … More Fighting Sin with a Great Joy
Today’s Text: Matthew 13:44-46 This text has a context and the context is filled with parables of the kingdom. It starts out with: The Sower – the condition of the heart (soil) determines the fruitfulness of the life. The Weeds – the glory of the kingdom is revealed at the end of the age. The … More When the Kingdom of God Dominates Your Life
I hope the answer is yes. I hope you know the meaning of Jesus’s parables in Matthew 13, in particular the one we talked about last week and the one we will take up this week. (Come and visit if you can or go to our website on Monday for the audio, ManchesterCreek.org) There is … More Do You Believe in the Divine Conspiracy?
This is a story I read years and years ago. And in a conversation last night after our home-group it came up in a conversation about the triviality of some of the things that we spend our lives on. I couldn’t help but think that it might be useful to offer to you, the nearly … More A Story of Tragedy and Waste
I picked this up from the wonderfully and absurdly titled site: BOOKS ARE PEOPLE TOO. Hopefully, we won’t have to almost get shot to wake up, smell the coffee, and begin to live lives of real purpose for the glory of God. Dostoevsky on Almost Dying In 1849 Fyodor Dostoevsky was arrested, along with the … More Dostoevsky on Almost Dying
I’ve been cleaning up some long-standing piles of “things to be filed” and among them, I found this challenging quote from Henri Nouwen and his book, Here and Now, (138-139). “The compassionate life is the life of downward mobility! In a society in which upward mobility is the norm, downward mobility is not only discouraged … More The Way of Downward Mobility
