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Showing posts from 2013

The Pauper in the Prince in the Palace

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“The God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ , will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” [1]   What special words!   Eternal glory is like a spiritual palace.   The Palace of the never-ending dominion of the King of Kings.   This Palace is located in a land called Glory to which all villagers dream to enter.   All villagers are peasants, paupers who long to be found living in the Palace of glory.   To live in the Palace with the King and eat of His delicacies day and night for all eternity fills their inner soul to the top with satisfaction. Entering the Palace Many peasants try to break through the Palace walls by force (or sneakery).   They may have no ill will against the Prince (through Whom we enter), but they think too highly of their efforts.   These peasants are greatly deceived.   No, the palace walls cannot be scaled nor broken through; they are eternally too high to scale!   Our best works bump against the outside

Love Letters

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The Bible is a precious, God-breathed message to you.   In that sense it is very personal.   Which of the following two examples best illustrates your involvement in the Bible on a daily basis?   John Newton (Author of Amazing Grace) loved and pursued the same woman his entire life.   He waited years till he was able to marry her and lived devotedly to her until her death.   John expressed his love to his wife Polly through love letters.   Polly expressed her love by saving these letters and after both of them died the letters were published in a widely celebrated collection in the 1700s.   Consider another example.   I found one of my friends late one night burning some papers in a bonfire.   “What are you doing?”   I asked.   “It’s over.”   He said, with a wry smile on his face.   And with that he emptied the contents of a little box of love letters into the fire.   This was his way of burning his bridges and getting over a difficult ending to a long relationship.   There w

Church Ministry Priority

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There are many noble ministry activities for a church to tackle.   Many of these are of a tangible/physical nature.  And many churches are able to do extensive good and profound help in their community by giving to those physical needs.   These ministries may be known for one or another of these good moral activities.   As a compassionate community we (the church) are naturally going to love others and that love will be demonstrated by taking care of people’s physical needs.   However, a problem can come when this becomes the church’s main priority.   Taking care of a city’s homeless, or a communities’ lepers are Christ-like activities; and yet, if they are not means to a greater end then they fall short of the church’s main priority.   Our priority must be the Word of Christ – sharing the truths of the Bible that will transform people to love and worship the one true God.   If we fall short of this then our ministry, no matter how helpful, is not Christian ministry in the truest sen

Book Overview - The Pleasantness of a Religious Life: Life as good as it can be.

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The Pleasantness of a Religious Life Matthew Henry   This was a wonderful little book that the Lord used in my life recently.   Its theme has been repeated for generations… all the way back to the first followers of Jesus: “So Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’   Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’” (John 6:67-68). It goes back to Moses: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,   choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25). And it was first experience by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It has been promoted through the ages by those who have experienced the joy of God.   I’ll summarize the theme in my own words.   A life pursuing the enjoyments of God is a life of satisfaction and fulfillment far beyond a life pursing the enjoyments found i

Relationship Evangelism is not Enough

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Believe me, I’m for relationship evangelism.   We must connect with our community so that we are able to share the Gospel outside of the church context.   Church members should be light in their attitude, values and lifestyle.   That light should bring people to the savoriness of the Savior.   I’m married to one of the world’s best at this, and I try to learn from her constantly. However, I’d like to submit three reasons that relationship evangelism is not enough for a local church’s outreach efforts.   1.          We don’t do relationship evangelism well. I’m writing this article for reason number two.   But I’ll start with this one.   If you believe in relationship evangelism then how many people have you connected with to bring to Christ?   Name them.   Don’t include those who came into your church and you befriended.   I’m not saying it doesn’t happen.   It does. Rainer’s research states that 57% of unchurched had been reached by another person who brought them to church.

Christianity 101 class

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I've been delighted to see our community's response to the Christianity 101 class being held at Grace Counseling Center in Forest Hills.  Below is the opening presentation for those of you who might want to share it with friends/enemies. You can use this link on your own phone, tablet or PC. The purpose of the introductory thoughts outlined in the presentation below was to point us to the reasonableness of going to the Christian Bible as the Word of God.  Our 101 class is designed to acquaint you with Scripture.  This presentation argues for the necessity of going to the Bible as the revelation of the mind of God. Enjoy, and we'll see you Tuesday nights at 7! (70-50 Austin St, Suite 121LL, Forest Hills, NY 11375).

A Summary of the Bible Message

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The Next LIFE Groups Booklet is online and available for order. This booklet is a is a six lesson survey of the content and message of the Bible. It is a good refresher for all Christians. It would also be a great introduction to Christianity to new believers, or to those who are just beginning to explore the Christian faith. Although it is designed for a small group format, it can be used effectively in one on one or individual studies. LIFE Groups Survey of the Bible Message by timrichmondnyc I think the study is a balanced approach (between covenant/dispensational frameworks)  which sticks to biblical theology rather than over-systematizing the message and content of Scripture. Below is the concluding summary of the booklet.  Please e-mail me with questions/comments.  If you would like to order a copy of the booklet for use in your church, Bible study group or private study, use paypal below.  They are $4 plus shipping and handling. Summary in a Sentence