“Purity of heart is the will to one thing!” Soren Kierkegaard “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) What joy the apostle Paul must have felt as he wrote these words! He had murdered multiple times in multiple cities but the gospel declared that even murders and … More Reading of Old Joy
Sunday Musings אֱלֹהֵי אֲדֹנִי אַבְרָהָם About a year before I left New Song Church, I preached through the life of Jacob. For me, it was a wonderful time of discovery anew of the great grace of God in the lives of the patriarchs of Israel. Now, as I begin a new season of life, I … More To Be Known by the God I Serve
Wednesday is for Prayer From the archives of December 2008 and my old blog Why is it that silence is a better medium for the voice of God than the cacophony of sound we typically immerse ourselves in? We are addicted to noise and yet it is the addiction that most often drowns out the … More Listening to God. Trying to at Least.
Michael Card continues his teaching on how Lament is worship and vital to passionate Christian’s spiritual life. Be patient, listen/watch the whole video. There is “don’t miss-it-truth” for hurting people here. “It’s just dumb, not to be honest with an omniscient God.” — Michael Card
Wednesday is for Prayer I don’t know Rick Alvey and I have only visited his blog twice. But anyone who loves his kids and his wife and Jesus like it sounds he does is someone I wish I did know. Here’s a post he did on prayer from back in June. I hope it will … More What was Jesus Passionate About?
Monday Discussions on Mission Thom Rainer is reporting that a survey reveals the following about American Christians. I haven’t had time to read all of the article but for the purposes of our discussion today, let’s assume that the numbers are right. [Update: There is no evidence that these numbers have reversed in the last … More Weep, Weep, and Pray until Your Praying Turns to an Open Mouth for the Gospel
My son has left the house for the last time. Tonight he sleeps in a new apartment, paid for by him and will likely never sleep in this home again. His room is empty, our hearts are full, and our eyes leak tears. We are proud of him. He marches on with life as young … More The House is Emptier Tonight
Friday is for Heart Songs I once heard the story of a late teenage boy who came to Christ and felt shame that he had lived 18 years and never read the Bible. He set himself to reading the Bible once for every year of his life by the age of 21 and then made … More Lessons from the Prophet Daniel on Evangelizing and Blessing a Culture
Wednesday is for Prayer I find that I run most passionately into the arms of God in the extremities of life. When life is utterly confusing, mind-numbingly evil, intellectually perplexing, when my friends are hurting and my heart breaks for them, when my heart aches for what is missing, or lost, or never achieved–those are … More Lament is at the Heart of Worship
Wednesday is for Prayer I would prefer to talk about prayer rather than dole out prayer requests. But you, the growing audience for this blog have been traveling with me in the journey of exploration into what it means to be Intensely Local in focus and so I want to share some prayer requests that … More Neighbors in Crisis
