Kids Sayings

Update on Southern

Please pray for me as I try to figure out my seminar schedule.  My PhD process requires eight seminars before proceeding to comps.  I will have completed seven of the eight by the end of May, four majors and three minors.  Due to the modular schedule, I was hoping to finish my eighth seminar in June, but that has been cancelled, thus bumping me back at least one semester if not two.  I was hoping to do my comps in the fall and begin dissertation next spring, but it looks like that will not happen.  Pray that I can work everything out so I am not too far behind.

Song of the Month

“God Moves In A Mysterious Way” is re­port­ed­ly the last hymn William Cow­per ev­er wrote, with a fas­cin­at­ing (though un­sub­stan­ti­at­ed) story be­hind it.
Cow­per oft­en strug­gled with de­press­ion and doubt. One night he de­cid­ed to com­mit su­i­cide by drown­ing him­self. He called a cab and told the driv­er to take him to the Thames Riv­er. How­ev­er, thick fog came down and pre­vent­ed them from find­ing the riv­er (ano­ther ver­sion of the story has the driv­er get­ting lost de­liber­ate­ly). After driv­ing around lost for a while, the cab­by fin­al­ly stopped and let Cow­per out. To Cowper’s sur­prise, he found him­self on his own door­step: God had sent the fog to keep him from kill­ing him­self. Even in our black­est mo­ments, God watch­es over us.
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Prayer during Lent Season

We ask You, Almighty God, mercifully to look on Your people, that by Your great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

John Newton on the Gospel

John Newton, “I am not what I ought to be.  I am not what I wish to be.  I am not what I hope to be.  Yet I can truly say, I am not what I once was.  By the grace of God, I am what I am.”

Joan of Arc Prayer

We can join with Joan of Arc in her prayer, as she was asked a tricky, entrapping question by some judges, “Asked if she knew that she was in God’s grace, she replied: if I am not, may it please God to put me in it; if I am, may it please God to keep me there.”

What I am Reading

I have read through this book several times, and am using it several times throughout the week.  In recent years, it has become popular once again.  You can get an audio version of it, and even a musical project has been released.  This is a collection of puritan prayers throughout the centuries.  Granted, there are moments when they may be top heavy of self-loathing, but I don’t see the danger in our generation for that to be abused.  This is very helpful in both private and public worship.

Os Guiness Quote

“Find out how seriously a believer takes his doubts, and you have the index of how seriously he takes his faith.”  Os Guiness

Prayer During Lent Season

We ask you, Almighty God, look on the desires of your humble servants, and stretch forth the
right hand of your majesty to be our defense against all your enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Nuts and Bolts

I doubt if Tyler (Calvary’s music intern) ever tries this during worship.

 

And I doubt if I ever try this during worship (although the thought has crossed my mind)
 

 

St. Patrick’s Day

Patrick wrote about his passionate task to evangelize Ireland, “I cannot be silent about the great benefits and the great grace which the lord has deigned to bestow upon me in the land of my captivity; for this we can give to God in return after having been chastened by him, to exalt and praise His wonders before every nation that is anywhere under the heaven.” 

Update on Southern

I am in the middle of preparing for my spring seminar with Dr. Bruce Ware, Theological Foundations for Biblical Spirituality.  Currently I am reading several books on sanctification and spirituality that are extremely edifying.  I am also doing some preliminary writing on a book review and a major paper of Christian suffering.  It has been steady but pretty low key thus far, so pretty enjoyable.

John MacArthur Interview

Here is a two part interview with Dr. John MacArthur by Christianity Today.  MacArthur I think speaks in ways that many (including myself) fear as we look at the landscape of so-called “Reformed” celebrity-type preachers.

Prayer During Lent Season

Almighty God, You see that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves.  Please keep us both outwardly in our bodies & inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Ghost, now and ever.

Spurgeon on John Newton

Old John Newton once said that there were some books which he could not read, they were
good and sound enough; but, said he, “they are books of halfpence; — you have to take so much in quantity before you have any value; there are other books of silver, and others of gold, but I have one book that is a book of bank notes; and every leaf is a bank note of immense value.”

"An angel's arm cannot save me from the grave,
Myriads of angels cannot confine me there."

What I am Reading-Prayers on the Psalms

 A little companion tool for corporate worship that I have used the last two months is Scottish Prayers in the Psalms.  It is a collection of prayers based on each chapter of the Psalms.  It provides a solid summary of each psalm in the form of prayer.  I have used some to conclude my sermons with, very good tool.

Spurgeon on Scripture meditation

“In his law he doth meditate day and night.” By day he gets little intervals of time to read it, so he steals from his nightly rest moments in which to meditate upon it. Reading reaps the wheat, meditation threshes it, grinds it, and makes it into bread. Reading is like the ox feeding: meditation is it digesting when chewing the cud. It is not only reading that does us good; but the soul inwardly feeding an it, and digesting it. A preacher once told me that he had read the Bible through twenty times on his knees and had never found the doctrine of election there. Very likely not. It is a most uncomfortable position in which to read. If he ‘had sat in an easy chair he would have been better able to understand it. To read on one’s knees is like a Popish penance Besides, he read in the wrong way. If instead of twenty times galloping through he had read once and pondered continually, probably he would have seen clearer than he evidently did.  It is said of some horses that they “bolt their oats.” This good brother was “bolting” Holy Scripture, and so getting little nutriment out of it. The inward meditation is the thing that makes the soul rich towards God. This is the godly man’s occupation. Put the spice into the mortar by reading, beat it with the pestle of meditation, so shall the sweet perfume be exhaled.

Prayer During Lent Season

O Lord, who for our sake did fast forty days and forty nights, give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued by the Spirit, we may ever obey your godly motions in righteousness & true holiness, to your honour and glory, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

Nuts and Bolts

Here are some more funny (and real) videos in the religious air.
This video a pastor tries not to make fun of a midget as he closes his altar call and leaves him baffled (list #37 of why I don’t do altar calls).

Here is a youth guy trying to be cool and trendy and acting like, well you will see.

Finally, to my Catholic friends (I don’t know if you will appreciate this or not) but Statue of Mary collapses completely smashing her face all during a worship service.

Oliver Heywood on Preaching

If you attempt to put a little child off with toys and fine things, it
will not be pleased long, it will cry for its mother's breast; so, let a man come into the pulpit with pretty Latin and Greek sentences, and fine stories, these will not content a hungry soul, he must have the sincere milk of the word to feed upon.