You can’t read Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians without detecting a bit of an edge. Understandably so. His opponents back in Thessalonica were questioning his character, his motives, and his conduct. They were trying to turn the hearts of the new believers in the church he planted there against him. It is true […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Satan SightingsOur land is filled with churches that dabble in prayer. At worst, prayer is present as a perfunctory practice, like grace before a meal or token prayer with our children before bed. At best, it is alive in weekly prayer meetings and the nagging sense of guilt and grief that we should be doing […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Growing into Houses of PrayerThe elders of my church have called our congregation to a day of prayer and fasting. I thought some might be interested in the instructions given. Below you will find the cover letter to a three-page prayer guide. Most of the requests were submitted by the various ministry teams of the church. ————————– Day […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Day of Prayer & FastingIn a previous blog (“A House of Prayer is Built with Living Stones”), I closed with these two questions for church leaders. How can leaders train the disciples the Spirit has entrusted to them to see prayer as essential to their life and ministry rather than tangential? What can the leaders do to make […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Prayer CorpsIntroduction to Community Houses of Prayer Ministry Manual Our Lord Jesus Christ has called us to Himself to belong to Him and to follow Him. He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness that imprisoned us in sin’s mastery, misery and condemnation. He has brought us into His kingdom of light and life, […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Mobilizing Ambassadors of HopeLeading is not an easy task. One, leaders need to know where they are going. The GPS has to be set with at least a general destination. Two, leaders need to understand the fine art of leading versus pushing. By definition, leaders have followers. As to whether followers will follow, refer back to number […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Getting the Lead out of LeadingIn the Old Testament book of Isaiah, God said that His house would be a house of prayer for the nations (Is. 56:7-8). Jesus reaffirms this purpose of God for the temple by quoting Isaiah in each of the Synoptic Gospels. The New Testament Scriptures make clear that the ultimate and actual temple is […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on A House of Prayer is Built with Living StonesWe might call Psalm 126 “The Sisyphus Psalm.” Sisyphus was a figure in Greek mythology who was eternally destined to push a heavy rock up a hill, only to have it roll back down before he could get it over the crest. He’d have to start all over—for eternity. Life can seem like that, […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on The Sisyphus PsalmMy church just finished a week-long Vacation Bible School (the hottest week of the year, I might add). Kids ages three through nine roamed the grounds of the church for two hours each day. At the start of each session I had the privilege of opening in prayer and telling a story. I’m not very […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on The Gospel in Kid-SpeakI heard someone once quip that it was wrong for Christian sports fans to say that they were #1. God is first. Neighbor is second. The best they could be was #3. Somehow, I don’t think there will be a big market for foam fingers with three fingers raised and imprinted with “We’re #3.” […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on A Pastor’s First Concern