Alec Motyer:“Record everything, lose nothing,
whether from concordances and commentaries, from your own thinking, or from listening to other peoples’ sermons.”
(Photo: Krzysztof (Kriss) Szkurlatowski)
THE EX-TERRORIST
THE FIRST DUTY OF MINISTERS
Alec Motyer:“The first duty of ministers is to pray for those to whom they are sent in ministry…
If the Lord has blessed you – as in former days, me – with full-time ministry, and Sunday-by-Sunday preaching in a local church, then the membership roll is our main prayer list, with, after our family, the first call on our time…
I do know that in a church growing in the 200s it is possible to pray for every member by name once a week, and for all the members by name in the early hours of Sunday morning…
If we love people before God in prayer, that spirit of love will be evident in our ministry, and will the more readily win its way into minds and hearts.”
(Photo: Freely Photos)
OUR PHILIP
Alec Motyer:“Nevertheless, commentaries – can be our ‘Philip’, and we can benefit from the gifts God has given to other people, and, generally speaking, the more the merrier!
We all need all the help we can get…”
(Photo: Alan Rainbow)
THE GOLD THAT COMES OUT OF THE FIRE
Alec Motyer:“The gold is there in Scripture, ‘unfathomable mines’ indeed;
it is our job to expose it to the fires of our study and delight, and to watch what ‘comes out’ for the enrichment of the Lord’s people.”
(Photo: Eric Chegwin)
LATEST LINKS
10 links to check out over the weekend…
- The Attraction of Idolatry
- If We Are So Burdened then Why Aren’t the Prayer Meetings Full?
- Older, Restful, and Reforming
- Shepherd the Flock That Is Among You
- Same-Sex Attraction: Is Celibacy Sufficient To Qualify For Christian Ministry?
- Do You Desire the Ministry?
- Dear Absentee Church Member
- Why Complementarianism Remains Important
- 10 Things That Are True When I Confess My Sin
- Working To Our Capacity Not Other’s Needs
(Photo: Ryan McGuire)
IT’S IN THE SEED
Alec Motyer:“The seed is the Word of God; the fertility is in the seed.
The preacher’s task is to get the seed out of the packet and into the good soil of instructed, understanding minds.”
(Photo: Kerem Yucel)
DOCTRINE MATTERS
The new edition of Credo Magazine is now out and its focus is on why doctrine matters for the Christian life and for the church.
THE BIBLICAL SEQUENCE
Alec Motyer:“Note the order of events: the mind was instructed, the heart burned, the feet were turned in a different direction, and the mouth was opened!
That’s the biblical sequence: through the mind to the heart, onto a changed life and the word of testimony.
All the things we would desire to result from our preaching!
And they all arise from the mind that has grasped scriptural truth…
It is when the mind embraces with clarity what the Bible teaches that the heart is warmed, the will mobilised, the life redirected and the tongue loosed.”
(Photo: Hondo)
HOW NOT TO DO AN EVANGELISTIC BIBLE STUDY
WATERED BY PRAYER
Alec Motyer:“God’s method of church growth is preaching the Word,
watered by believing prayer.”
(Photo: Martin Boose)
10 OF THOSE TUESDAY
Every Tuesday I want to highlight on this blog a great resource that is available from 10ofthose.com.
This week: Making Sense of God
This is the follow up to The Reason for God. If that was a defence of Christianity, this is a critique of culture (which Keller does expertly), before showing how essential Christianity really is (even if the sceptic is loath to admit it).
I’ve not read it yet, but will hopefully do so in the next month. HERE’s a review by someone who has.
Check it out HERE.