Monthly Archives: June 2011
“Dad, you were right……” Happy Father’s Day!
“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” Charles Wadsworth.
Why didn’t they tell us THAT in parenting class!
Sunday Morning Funnies: Something else All Men Inherited from Adam. Happy Father’s Day!
If history is any indicator, then a sinful nature is not the only thing we inherited from Adam as this comic depicts.
Saturday Morning Funnies: Where Did All The Pastors Go?
The old school pastor seems to be a dying breed, as this comic strip suggests.
400 Year Old Prayer: “May I Live a Life Worthy of You”
The following prayer is from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It testifies to the richness and color of evangelical thought and language, as well as their devotion to the Savior. This prayer and others can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennet. I have included them in this blog so that others can use them in their own prayer life as a springboard to a more faithful walk with Jesus. These prayers are 300-400 years old! They were written in old English,but that should not get in the way if you don’t let it.
Need of Jesus
Lord Jesus,
I am blind, be my light,
ignorant, be my wisdom,
self-willed, be my mind
Open my ear to grasp quickly your Spirit’s voice,
and delightfully run after His beckoning hand;
Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,
make it alive to evil’s slightest touch;
When Satan approaches may I flee to your wounds,
and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
Be my good shepherd to lead me into green pastures of your Word,
and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.
Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.
Your cross was upraised to be my refuge,
Your blood streamed forth to wash me clean,
Your death occurred to give me a surety,
Your name is my property to save me,
By you all heaven is poured into my heart,
but it is too narrow to comprehend your love.
I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel
but your cross has brought me near,
has softened my heart,
has made me your Father’s child,
has admitted me into your family,
has made me joint heir with yourself.
O that I may love you as you have loved me,
that I may walk worthy of you, my Lord,
that I may reflect the image of heaven’s first-born.
May I always see your beauty with the clear eye of faith,
and feel the power of your Spirit in my heart,
for unless he move mightily in me
no inward fire will be kindled.
For More of these old Prayers, visit our prayer page https://notforitchingears.com/prayer-of-the-week/400-year-old-prayers-1/
You Can Reach More People In Your City if You Will Only Do What They are Doing
A local church in my city recently ran this “Pure Sex” advertising campaign to attract the non-churched to come to their services. They drove around the city with this banner on a trailer. First, I thought it was an advertisement for a porn shop. I was stopped dead in my tracks when I realized it was an advertisement to Read the rest of this entry
What is Your Favorite Part of the Sunday Morning Church Service? Take the Poll
Over the past few days, hundreds of people have read and commented on our post “Does God Care How We Worship?” As a follow-up to that post, we have created an online poll asking the question: “What is the Most Important Element of Corporate Worship for you Personally?” We hope you will take the time to vote. About the poll: We understand that we are asking you to make a choice that Read the rest of this entry
Christ Centered Worship Songs: “What A Savior”
This column, “Cross-Centered Worship Songs”, was started as a way to serve my many worship leading friends. I hope to introduce some of the lesser known songs out there that you may not have heard.
We will be posting songs from different genres: hymns, a capella, contemporary rock, etc. We will post the lyrics as well as the Mp3 along with a chord chart when possible. I hope you find it helpful. If you do, please let us know! This weeks selection “What A Savior” is a remake of the old hymn (1875) with an updated chorus. Musically, it is very stripped down, with a lot of potential to put your congregations own touch on it. A Gospel saturated song that calls us to rejoice in what God accomplished at Calvary.
Saturday Morning Funnies: The New Pastoral Job Description
One of the casualties of the seeker-sensitive church movement has been a re-defining of what it means to be a pastor. Here’s the new job description:
Get Your Free New Testament on Mp3! (Yes, Free!)
In my search for an audio copy of the New Testament, I stumbled across the “Faith Comes By Hearing” website. I was familiar with their ministry, having taken our church through their very edifying listening program a few years back. I was stunned to find out that they give away, completely free of charge, the Bible in Mp3 format. I downloaded the ESV version and I must say, I am completely thrilled. I just listened to 1 John while I was driving.
Here is a statement from their website, followed by a link to get your own free audio copy of the New Testament on Mp3:
“Faith Comes By Hearing is committed to reaching the nations with the Word of God in audio, offering the Bible in a format that will connect with the world’s 50% illiterate population. To accomplish this enormous task, the Lord has assembled a group of committed leaders and dedicated servants of His Word to develop into a reality the vision of bringing His church together and making disciples.The word nation is the Greek word ethnos, which means “of the same language and people group,” not the political borders of a country. The worldwide Bible translation and distribution ministries have determined there are 6,809 ethnos, or nations, in the world, most of which cross many Read the rest of this entry
Does God Give Us Freedom To Worship Him Anyway WE Want to?
“If it feels good, do it!”
This has been one of the mottos of our culture since the 1960’s. Now it seems that the American church has adopted a similar pragmatic motto: “If it makes people feel good, we should use it.” Today we see church leaders of every persuasion trying all kinds of new things. Even in corporate worship. If it works in drawing more people into services then it “works” and must be stamped with the very approval of God Himself. It appears that many church leaders are acting under the premise that we can worship God anyway we want to, as long as it is in spirit and truth. This is often just a code word for “Our way of worshipping God is acceptable to Him. It must be, we love it and so do all the unbelievers who come and enjoy it.” But are they right? Can we worship God anyway that WE want to? Is there any possibility, at all, that the way we worship Him could be unacceptable to HIM?
One of the things we should remind ourselves… Read the rest of this entry
Whatever Happened to the Message of Christianity?
The sign said, “Now serving Starbucks coffee!”
It was the late 90’s and the premium coffee craze was taking the country by storm. Everyone who liked coffee LOVED Starbucks or soon would. So it wasn’t surprising that some business would be utilizing the brand name to promote what they were doing. It made pretty good sense. It would not have fazed me a single bit if any other company was doing it. However, this massive sign was hung in front of a local evangelical Christian church. The message was crystal clear: “Come to our service on Sunday, we have free Starbucks coffee!”
With the arrival of the church growth movement and the seeker-sensitive ministry focus it birthed.. Read the rest of this entry
Not For Itching Ears 