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Free Tim Keller Sermons

Until recently Redeemer Presbyterian Church charged for most of their sermons. Now they have a released 150 of Tim Keller's sermons for free! Download them here.

Gifts

In one of John Piper’s messages about Spiritual Gifts he mentioned that the Church should be the humblest and happiest place to be on earth.
This is so true. But is this the reality?

He talked about how we use and recognise the gifts and what they are for.
One of the things he mentions is that it isn’t about being able to put a name to the particular gifting in our lives but more about do we recognise the many opportunities where we can make a difference? And do we put it into practise when opportunity arises?

It can be anything of course.
We do come across many differing situations and people in our lives so we will need flexibility and understanding in knowing how to act and use the opportunity before us to put our spiritual gift to good use, be it hospitality, practical help, just a phone call to inquire or cheer someone by sending them a card. What about just being a good listener, speaking kind words to the down cast. What about our input in our children’s lives (for those with family) or just treating a friend to a coffee and cake and who knows what conversations might arise?
At that moment God enables us to use whatever ability or gift He blesses us with.
It’s so easy to loose focus and miss the many oppertunities around us.
The little things in life, those precious moments that are easily lost, are significant and just as big as the bigger events in our lives and/or of those we are connected with.

Another thing J.P mentioned is that what weakens faith in believers is affliction and the spiritual gifts are there to encourage and strengthen the body.
Well, we might nod and say we agree but are we actually being effective? Let’s examine ourselves and make a difference.
In Hebrews 3 vs.13-14 we are told to encourage each other: But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
This is a command. Many saw God’s power at close range and many fell. We need each other. We need the body of Christ, we are part of the body. Let’s help the afflicted believer by using a means of grace and by being one in someone’s life.
Hebrews 4 vs.11-16:
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We know how to take care of our physical needs by looking well and decent and be physically active so we also need to spiritually work out for the benefit of the Church and to the Glory of God. Let's aim for our church to be one of the humblest and happiest place to be.

May we continue to make a difference and be a blessing to each other.

God bless.

Cynthia

Thirsty?

Tozer on Textualism

'The error is textualism is not doctrinal. It is far more subtle than that and more difficult to discover, but its effects are just as deadly. Not its theological beliefs are at fault, but its assumptions.

It assumes, for instance, that if we have the word for a thing we have the thing itself. If it is in the Bible, it is in us. If we have the doctrine, we have the experience. If something was true of Paul it is of necessity true of us because we accept Paul's epistles as divinely inspired. The Bible tells us how to be saved, but textualism goes on to make it tells us that we are saved, something which in the very nature of things it cannot do. Assurance of individual salvation is thus no more than a logical conclusion drawn from doctrinal premises, and the experience wholly mental.'

-A. W. Tozer, Leaning into the Wind, pages 20-21

Beauty surrounds us

Ps 96 vs 1-6

Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Greetings fellow MPBC members,

Our family visited a beautiful garden yesterday.
The weather was lovely with the occasional spitting but it was warm and so bright in the garden. We enjoyed a little picnic and the children loved running around on the grass and climbing trees.
It's one of our favourite places to go with it's ponds with gold fish, interesting paths, secret corners, trimmed lawns and lovely dells with gorgeous flowers and trees. Everything looks so cheerful and serene there with some views of Worthing down in the valley and the sea beyond.

Looking around this garden it's amazing how delightful it is to be there and the feeling of being far away from the busyness of the world.
And this is a man-made refuge...how awesome then it is knowing that God has a special place for us, not man-made but God-made! Somewhere something so different, so unlike anything we experience here. The beauty we see here is but a reflection of whom He is and what He can do.

When looking at the different trees and shrubs with their many shades of green it once again amazes me how versatile our God is. We do not serve a boring God.

May what I write here make us all more conscious of the beauty that surrounds us daily. Amidst our noisy and restless world there is much to enjoy and be thankful for. We can see the greatness of God reflected around us and what's more, it's Greatness that said He'll make our home in us! Even if we live in dreary surroundings that knowledge surely is something that should make us feel glad.

May our Lord bless us continually and help us to develop a greater sense of amazement and gratitude.

In Christ,
Cynthia

Ps 96 vs 11-13

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Matthew 13:16+17

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Dear friends,

How easy it is to forget how blessed we are...

God has opened my eyes and unstopped my ears so I can now behold Him and understand things this world is ignorant of.
When reading this passage it struck me how easy it is to take this life with God for granted. How easy it is for me to forget how precious it is to be known by Him.
Not everyone has been given this grace, God chooses whom He wills to know Him. See vs 13-15 and John 6 vs 44 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

God choose me...God has chosen you my fellow believer!

May God grant us a greater revelation of how blessed we are and may it encourage us to continue to pray for those whom God has called to know this blessedness too.

In Christ

Cynthia

Fasting by Mark Driscoll

Fasting
Fasting is the voluntary act of abstaining from something for the purpose of growing in self-discipline, which is the essence of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most common form of fasting is from food. This is because, as Paul says, for some people their stomach is their god. By fasting from food, they are learning to enjoy food as a gift from God without allowing it to become an idolatrous functional god that controls them.

Good Things Become Idols
However, there are seemingly innumerable other things that, though they are good, can become bad when they rule over us in a way that only God should. Modern examples include fasting from the internet, email, or cell phone for a period of time if you find yourself compulsively spending too much of your time and energy checking websites, emails, phone calls, and voicemails.

This point was painfully illustrated to me at a recent dinner out with my children. My wife, Grace, was teaching at a women’s event, and so I took the kids to a restaurant. Sitting around us were many other families like us, with one exception. Every single father was either talking on the phone or responding to emails on his BlackBerry throughout the meal, not connecting with his children in any way. Sadly, rather than visiting with their kids and having some fun, these daddies allowed their technological gods to rule over them. Their gods required the sacrificing of their own children, not unlike Molech in the Old Testament.

When You Fast
Jesus Himself exemplified the discipline of fasting for us in His own earthly life. One of the most well-known examples is Jesus’ forty days of fasting in Matthew 4:1–11. When Jesus spoke to His disciples about fasting, He said, “when you fast,” as if it was simply expected to be done (Matthew 6:16–17). As an aside, anyone wanting to practice an extended period of fasting would be wise to first speak with their doctor about how to do so safely.

Other Scriptures also include reports of fasting. In Nehemiah 9:1, we are told that the entire nation of Israel fasted. Esther 4:16 likewise records a national three-day fast. In the New Testament, Acts 13:2 reports that a leadership decision regarding who should be sent out from the church at Antioch to plant another church was made after a period of seeking the Lord through fasting and worship. Acts 14:23 reveals that upon appointing new elders for some churches, Paul and Barnabas commissioned the new pastors with prayer and fasting.

HT: The Resurgence

How to handle the Recession

Let the Nations Be Glad! Book Review

You know if you're reading a good book when it gets you praying. You know if you're reading an even better book if it gets you praying scripture:

'Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!'
Psalm 67:3-4

Read my review here.