"The Trial of the False Gods" A Meditation from Pastor Rob Snyder
...this whole pandemic, with all the economic consequences which follow it, is exposing our hearts for where our treasures truly lie (Luke 12:34)....
Keep ReadingSo churches need to try and test the character and maturity of their deacon nominees prior to their appointment by the elders, a process that requires time and familiarity. That’s the deacon’s examination....
Biblical deacons, then, are to be examined by the assembly. That’s at the heart of the deacon’s nomination for office....
Deacons, again, are to guard the unity of the church and the ministry of the elders from the demands of practical problems. Appreciating such problems requires the careful definition of each deacon’s role....
There is only one qualification Paul mentions to Timothy that is not found in Acts 6, and it is that qualification we now turn to examine: the deacon’s purity....
This combination of a practical, nuts-and-bolts focus and a separation from doctrinal and pastoral oversight ministry might tempt a church to overlook the piety and conviction of a candidate. That would be a grave mistake....
The very fact that this responsibility requires dedicated attention should tell us that it may not come easily, and that not just anyone will be able to fulfill it. It’s no surprise, then, that the third qualification emphasized by the apostles in Acts 6 is wisdom......
Having seen last week that the first qualification of a potential deacon is a solid reputation, we now turn to look at the second qualification found in Acts chapter 6: being “full of the Spirit.” Of all the qualifications, this one is perhaps most at risk of being misunderstood in the present day. What does “filled with the Spirit” mean?...
Now that we’ve looked at the intent, mission, and objective of the New Testament deacon, it’s time to look at what kind of Christians fill this office. What are the qualifications of those called to be deacons?...
We see in Acts 6 that even in the earliest church the temptation to be distracted from this ministry is strong. The apostles put it in blunt terms: “it is not right that we should give up the preaching of the Word of God to serve tables.”...
The mission of the office of deacon is to care for practical needs in the local church....
Deacons exist, first and foremost, with the intent of fostering unity in the church. Only with that primary purpose in mind can we then turn to look at others....
David talks in First Chronicles 29 about uprightness of heart, but why does he do that? Why does the heart matter when looking at good deeds like a Temple offering? ...
The Christian life might not be romantic or nostalgic but its real. Our organic connection to Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection is better than all of the hoped for clean eating and living that hopeless shoppers pursue. ...
Human beings have an innate longing for meaning and significance. As we continue to pray after David's example in First Chronicles 29 we wrestle with the need for us to confess our mortality and shortness of days to God, and live in light of them....
Even our willingness and ability to do things for God are gifts from his hand. In this article we look at and pray in light of this truth as David presents it in his prayer, found in First Chronicles 29....
God provides all that we have. As we continue to pray through First Chronicles 29 in celebration of a year in our own building, we look at how David acknowledged God's provision of all things as an example for our own prayers....
As we remember God's provision in the life of our own church one year ago, when we took possession of a building of our own for the first time, we look at the example of David's model prayer in First Chronicles 29. In this article we consider how David opened his prayer--with blessing and praise....
Gratitude is a crucial attitude of the Christian life. As we continue to mark our first anniversary in a building of our own, we seek to imitate David's example of thanksgiving in prayer found in First Chronicles 29....
As we continue to celebrate our first year owning our own church building, we are meditating on and praying through First Chronicles 29. How does the Christian look at a text like First Chronicles 29, or indeed any Old Testament story or promise or command? The answer is the classic Sunday School answer: “Jesus!”...
As we at Calvary Grace continue to mark our first anniversary as "homeowners" in a building of our own, we consider the miracle of Israel's offering for the Temple in First Chronicles 29:1-9, and mark its meaning....
Sometimes God provides spectacularly in the life of an individual or a church. On Calvary Grace's first anniversary as "homeowners" in a building of its own, we pause to consider the example of King David's Israel after God ordains a staggering offering by his people for his Temple, seeking wisdom on how to pray after God pours out blessings....
We can’t understand the amazing prayer offered in First Chronicles 29 unless we first understand the man who offered it. In this article, we’re going to look at King David, a "man on a mission." We’ll review what brought him to that moment, in order to help us grasp why he prayed the way he did....
We’ll wrap up this newsletter series by introducing three new e-book Ministry Guides you can download to help you with this ministry, along with providing (all in one place) the links to the Study Outlines introduced over the past month...
To get you started reading the Bible one-to-one, what follows is a simple method of Bible study called the COMA method. COMA studies a Bible passage in four steps: Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application....
ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. When gathering one-to-one for prayer, you simply take turns, each praying a prayer of adoration, then each praying a prayer of confession, and so on....
Sermon listening is a central part of the Christian life, and so why not learn more about it? Christopher Ash has written a very short but very useful booklet called Listen Up! A practical guide to listening to sermons, filled with useful tips and challenging questions that will help you “take care…how you hear” (Luke 8:18). After getting started with Gathering One2One, we strongly urge you to find and use this book....
Here’s some steps to follow, both before the first meeting, and at that first meeting together....
Try to build up one another, and build up the church, by building fellowship across the whole congregation one-to-one around God’s Word!...
...this whole pandemic, with all the economic consequences which follow it, is exposing our hearts for where our treasures truly lie (Luke 12:34)....
Keep ReadingSo, what is hope? Well, hope has to do with expectancy doesn’t it? If you are hoping for a raise at work or a good mark on your test you have a hopeful expectancy that those things will come to pass. So, hope has a way of making us keep going in our lives with the hopeful expectation of a desired outcome. The problem is that with deceived minds, idolatrous hearts and ho...
Keep ReadingBut God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:3b-5)......and..... “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13) ...
Keep ReadingLost humanity has forsaken their Creator and now worship and trust anything else other than Him. One can see this in the trial of the false god’s of Isaiah 40-48 where the utter futility of idolatry is exposed....
Keep ReadingWe need to persevere in it trusting the sovereign Creator of the universe to act in his time. Just as he spoke the universe into existence with his powerful words, he speaks into dark, deceived hearts as the gospel is proclaimed. If you're a Christian this is what he has done to you. “'For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to gi...
Keep ReadingDelighting in the salvation of the lost in missions is synonymous with delighting in seeing the lost come to delight in God....
Keep ReadingThe logic behind such statements is very simple: if this is all there is, then I had better start enjoying myself because I don't know when it's going to end. ...
Keep ReadingWhat this means is that if you hold fast to what you heard from the beginning, (v.24) you have been inoculated against heresy. As we abide in Christ and his word, we have immunization against the evil ones lies and against those who do his bidding....
Keep ReadingJust as a counterfeit cowboy is easily spotted by the price tag that's still on the blue jeans, there are ways of spotting counterfeit Christians. ...
Keep ReadingScience, is increasingly becoming the perceived saviour of the world in western society.The problem that our science-deifying culture does not want to admit is that the “the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart”. That is, the sin problem of the human heart. ...
Keep ReadingThere is a prevailing assumption that focusing on God's glory, value and worth too much will lead to a careless and unloving attitude towards humanity. The Puritan Thomas Brooks would have begged to differ. ...
Keep ReadingA few months ago, while doing a plumbing job for a very wealthy client, I noticed a large stack of "Life Extension" magazines beside the toilet. The picture on the magazine at top of the stack was one of a person climbing a ladder that was leaning up against a piece of DNA. Each strand going across represented another ten years. The person making their way up the ladder wa...
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