BY JON BLOOM
Intimacy with God is available to you. It is as accessible to you as God’s promises. And God’s invitation to you to enjoy intimate fellowship with him is that thing that is putting your faith to the test more than anything else (James 1:2–4).
BY DAVID W. HENDERSON
One of the most memorable images to remain with us from the Kennedy presidency is a poignant photo of the president with his two children, taken near the height of the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy is surrounded by all of the familiar trappings of the Oval Office: the formidable desk, mounds of paperwork, busts of presidents-past looking on....
1. A narrative does not necessarily directly teach a doctrine.
2. A narrative often illustrates a doctrine or doctrines taught propositionally elsewhere......
“Do your best to present yourself as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of God.”
– Apostle Paul, (2 Timothy 2:15).....
The Purpose of Bible Study Training is to equip believers with a multitude of tools to promote effective study of the word of God. Through applying the truths found in study, Christians will enjoy the benefits of the sanctification process that glorifies their King.....
BY STEPHEN MILLER
Many worship leaders consider themselves artists. Translation: We are typically passionate, idealistic, opinionated, and sensitive.
We have specific ideas about how things should go and can let those preferences affect us deeply when things don’t go the way we hoped they would. While our convictions and zeal can be some of our greatest strengths, they can also set us up for a constant stream of frustration and dissatisfaction with the church.....
BY TRIP LEE
In less than three minutes, Trip Lee explains why the local church is essential to every Christian’s health....
BY DAVID MATHIS
One of the most counter-cultural things you can do is become an engaged member of a faithful local church. In our flighty and noncommittal age, neither non-Christians nor Christians are naturally inclined to find a place to put down roots and make longstanding, objective commitments for the good of others. We want to keep our options open and, above all, preserve our own freedom of choice, rather than make a covenant for the long haul and embrace a framework for real life in all its ups and downs.....
BY TODD AHREND
What verses come to mind when you think of the word, "MISSIONS"? Most of us are hard pressed to name more than the old faithful Great Commission. For years our church culture has singled out this passage to be the theme of our missions conferences and the motivation for those who go. It's no wonder that our obedience is slow - who wants to hang their future on one verse? The Bible has a lot more to say on this subject then just the Great Commission.....
BY JOHN PIPER
1. Be aware that your people will often have problems beyond your knowledge and power.
• Is it God's time to heal or to test faith by affliction?
• Is this mental illness or demonic oppression or a mixture?
• Is it fitting and redemptive for there to be a separation from a spouse?
• Will we be presented blameless before the throne or judged for our good and bad works?......
BY RANDY RAYSBROOK
Blame it on Fredrick W. Taylor. Through he lived a century ago, he may still be affecting your understanding of disciple-making. Taylor’s influence was primarily in the industrial sector of America in the late 1890s. It was he who refined post-Industrial Revolution thought by advocating the standardization of tools and equipment in the factory. His ideas helped Henry Ford increase efficiency by focusing on method and speed. His formula: The greatest production results when each worker is given a definite task to be performed in a definite time and in a definite manner.
For many years my concept of discipling others was a product of Taylor's thinking....
BY TIM KELLER
Martin Luther opened the Reformation by nailing "The Ninety-Five Theses" to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. The very first of the theses was: "Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." On the surface this looks a little bleak! Luther seems to be saying Christians will never be making much progress. But of course that wasn't Luther's point at all. He was saying that repentance is the way we make progress in the Christian life. Indeed, pervasive, all-of- life-repentance is the best sign that we are growing deeply and rapidly into the character of Jesus....
BY JOHN PIPER
For thoughtful people, how they pray for the soul is governed by how they believe God acts. So, for example, if they believe God changes people's souls so that they make new and right choices, then they will ask God to make those soul-changes through evangelism and nurture. But not everybody is thoughtful about the way they pray. They don't think about what view of God is behind their praying.....
BY RUTH ANN RIDLEY
Issues: Tuning into God’s timing will help you live at a reasonable pace — and still accomplish everything of importance in your life. It all begins with careful prayer and planning, as you give your schedule and all your goals and dreams to God.
Aspects of Christ's global cause can be found in every book of the Bible. Read straight through the passages listed here in one sitting. Watch how this grand theme weaves its way from Genesis to Revelation. Watch how the theme comes through, however, in a way that is compatible with each book and with that books' place in the unfolding of Gods' revelation on the cause....
BY LEE PAIGE
For years I had struggled with the emotional side of feeling God's love for me. I knew in my mind that He did, but the experience in my heart was not there. A dear friend and my pastor sensed this and convinced me to enter into some counseling with him. As part of this healing process, I was to read certain material and then keep a journal of my thoughts and feelings....
BY GEORGE BARNA
Let's get one thing straight from the start. If you want to be a leader, vision is not an option; it is part of the standard equipment of a real leader. By definition, a leader has vision: What else would a leader lead people toward, if not to fulfill that vision? Understand that to be a Christian leader, the vision toward which you lead people must not be a vision of your own making, but a vision God gives to you....
BY LORNE SANNY
One individual helping another — what we call "one-to-one," or what I like to call "giving individual, personal attention” — is at the very heart of the Navigator emphasis. Dawson Trotman, who founded The Navigators, epitomized it more than any person I have ever met....
BY ROGER FLEMING
Silence. Deafening silence. The Jews languished under the severest judgment by the God of Abraham. He had spoken frequently, fervently by the prophets during the devastation of their land by Assyria and Babylon. He had urged them through Haggai to complete the Temple once He brought them back from captivity. But when the unrepentant nation had refused His messenger, Malachi, God fell silent. The frightful famine Amos foretold blighted Israel — a famine of hearing the Word of God (Amos 8:11,12). Four hundred years of silence....
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BY JOHN PIPER
February 23, 2005
The glory of Jesus Christ shines more clearly when we see him in his proper relation to the Old Testament. He has a magnificent relation to all that was written. It is not surprising that this is the case, because he is called the Word of God incarnate (John 1:14). Would not the Word of God incarnate be the sum and consummation of the Word of God written? Consider these summary statements and the texts that support them....