Last week I shared a sample pastoral prayer–one I prayed during one of our worship services at Grace Fellowship Church. In the coming weeks and months I will be sharing some more of these, some prayed by me and some by others. I am doing this primarily as a resource that may help inspire or kick-start others as they prepare to lead God’s people in prayer. Father, you are kind and good, while we are sinful and bad. Father, you …
One of the missing elements of modern worship is prayer, and especially prayers that are more than perfunctory. Especially lacking is the traditional pastoral prayer in which a pastor represents the congregation in praying for their needs and concerns. At Grace Fellowship Church we maintain this element and attempt to give it good effort. I’ve often gone looking for examples of pastoral prayers for purposes of inspiration and have found surprisingly few. I thought I might occasionally share one from …
I believe in the value of Sunday evening services. But my belief in their value is not evenly distributed across the Lord’s Day. I believe in them a lot at 7:00 PM, just after the service has come to a conclusion. I believe in them far less at 4:30 PM when I have to pry my weary body off the couch, get in the car, and drive to church. I believe in evening services far more a half hour after …
Of all that is unique about the Christian faith, this aspect stands apart: Its leaders are not called to their positions because of rare skill, raw talent, or overwhelming desire. They are not qualified by the charismatic personality, the ability to draw a crowd, or skilled rhetoric. Rather, Christian leaders are called and qualified by godly character. In passages like 1 Timothy 3:2-7, Titus 1:6-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-3 we read what a man must be if he is to …
This week the blog is sponsored by Crossway, who would like to introduce you to the ESV Scripture Journal. Reading and studying Scripture are pursuits that require the attention of both heart and mind. To love the Lord with all our strength, we must actively engage with Scripture—asking questions, learning contexts, making connections, and reflecting on personal applications of the text. Here are a few ideas on how to enrich your time in God’s Word: 1.Rewrite individual verses and passages …
Many years ago, long before blogs and social media and YouTube, Neil Postman asked this question: “How often does it occur that information provided you on morning radio or television, or in the morning newspaper, causes you to alter your plans for the day, or to take some action you would not otherwise have taken, or provides insight into some problem you are required to solve?” The weather report may compel you to grab your umbrella on the way out …
Welcome to another edition of 3 Minute Thursdays. I’m Tim Challies and here is my challenge over the next three minutes; to say something useful, hopefully, helpful about a subject that’s of interest to people like you. Today I want to talk about prayer. Specifically, I want to talk about why I pray every day using an app. Transcript Welcome to another edition of 3 Minute Thursdays. I’m Tim Challies and here is my challenge over the next three …
I was blessed to read this short article from Charles Spurgeon. He explains why God sometimes delays in answering prayer. Here goes… God often delays in answering prayer. We have several instances of this in sacred Scripture. Jacob did not get the blessing from the angel until near the dawn of day—he had to wrestle all night for it. The poor woman of Syrophenicia was answered not a word for a long while. Paul besought the Lord thrice that “the …
Welcome to another episode of The Art of Godliness podcast. In this podcast, Paul Martin and I do our utmost to provoke you obey God in leading a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This time around we are discussing the always-important and always-difficult subject of personal devotions. We hope you find it informative and helpful. Our thanks goes to Lexham Press for sponsoring this episode. Learn more about the Lexham Classics series at Lexhampress.com/classics. Show Notes …
I am utterly confident that prayer works, but am far less certain about how prayer works. God invites and commands us to come to him with our petitions, our requests. He promises that he hears them, that through the intercession of the Spirit he perfects them, and that it is his joy to answer them. He gives us the things we long for, though not always in the way we ask and often not in the time we ask. Still, …
