Church Blog

December 19 2009 at 7:32 pm

“Snowed In” Family Worship

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Well, I’m bummed that we can’t gather together tomorrow to worship as a church. I worked on my sermon all day today and was looking forward to wrapping up our Bookends Series. But God had other plans! This snowstorm is a great reminder that God is sovereign over weather patterns, and his plans are better than ours.

Though we can’t gather together as a church, I want to encourage you to set aside time as a single, singles household or family to worship and read God’s word. Here are a few suggestions:

1.  Take a moment to pray together for our nation, our local community and for our church. A morning like this that we can’t gather is a good reminder of what a blessing it is to be a church family. Pray for others you know in the church that God brings to mind.
2.  If someone in your house is musical sing a song or two of worship. If not, consider singing along to a worship CD.
3.  Download and listen to a recent sermon (especially one that you missed.)
4.  Listen to one of our past sermons on the incarnation from our sermon archive.
5.  In place of a sermon, read the account of Christ’s birth in Luke 1 & 2 (if you have young children, a selection from a children’s Bible works great, too.)

Remember, none of this has to be fancy. And it’s okay if you’re still in your pajamas. But it will be well worth your time to focus your attention on our great God and give thanks to him in song and prayer.

The Harris family will be thanking God for you and praying for you tomorrow as we worship in our home. Stay safe and warm, and have a wonderful Lord’s day.

P.S. One more thought: This snowstorm presents a unique opportunity to reach out to and serve your neighbors. Ask the Lord how you can express care and develop relationships by offering help with snow removal. Children, teens, singles: this is a great way to honor the Savior by spending yourselves on behalf of others. Families: Maybe you can put the whole crew into action!



September 4 2009 at 11:42 am

More Resources for Married Couples

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Since we’re posting resources on marriage and intimacy this week, I wanted to highlight one more. A few years ago we did some messages on purity as part of our 1 Corinthians series. I preached a message on marriage from 1 Corinthians 7. It looks at a husband and wife’s obligation to each other in marital intimacy and the protection from immorality that marriage provides.



September 2 2009 at 9:16 am

Books on Marriage and Sexual Intimacy

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On Sunday I challenged married couples to study God’s teaching about marriage and sexual intimacy on at least an annual basis. Here are some recommended books:












July 21 2009 at 10:35 pm

Recommended Books on Proverbs

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This Sunday in church we mentioned several helpful resources on Proverbs. Here they are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



July 14 2009 at 11:44 am

Defining Our Terms

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In my message this past Sunday, I shared a number of definitions relating to wisdom and the fear of God.  Here they are for your reference:

1. What is wisdom?

a. Definitions:

• “Wisdom is the art of living skillfully in whatever actual conditions we find ourselves.”—Eugene Peterson
• “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.”—Charles Spurgeon
• “[Wisdom] is practical know-how in the hard realities of living with others before God in the world He has created.”—John Kitchen

b. Proverbs teaches us wisdom by piling up synonyms about how we learn wisdom. The following definitions are adapted from Proverbs: A Mentor Commentary by John Kitchen:

Instruction: Can also be translated “discipline”—the idea is education through correction. Receiving instruction about what we got wrong.
Discernment: The ability to look at two things and see what God sees, to tell the difference between what is good and what is evil. 
Understanding: Implies not only discernment but the ability to understand why one option is God’s preference.
Prudence: A Spirit-born cleverness that understands the trend of events and inherent dangers, and avoids the pitfalls of life.
Knowledge: More than possessing information, it is a knowing that is deeply personal and experiential.
Discretion: Avoiding harm brought on by foolishly proceeding with ill-advised plans.

2. What is “the fear of the LORD”?

“Reverence mingled with honor and fear.” —John Calvin

“That affectionate reverence by which the child of God bends himself humbly and carefully to his Father’s law.” —Charles Bridges

“Right recognition of God.” —Sinclair Ferguson

3. How are wisdom and the fear of the LORD related?

“What the alphabet is to reading, notes to reading music, and numerals to mathematics, the fear of the LORD is to attaining the revealed knowledge of [Proverbs].” – Bruce Waltke



July 9 2009 at 1:56 pm

‘To Be Like Jesus’

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My kids and I are loving the new CD from Sovereign Grace, “To Be Like Jesus.” This great collection of songs teaches kids about the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5, with 10 of the 12 songs devoted to specific fruits (they give us two on self-control). As the Sovereign Grace site says:

Through these songs kids will learn that Jesus is our perfect example of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. More than that, they’ll discover that we can’t be like Jesus unless we trust in the power of his cross to forgive us and the power of his Spirit to change us.

“To Be Like Jesus” is available as a CD  ($12) or download set ($9) at the Sovereign Grace store, where you can also listen to song samples and download sheet music. 



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