"One outcome of this growth [of the charismatic and Pentecostal churches of the Global South] is likely to be a challenge from the avowedly supernaturalistic worldview of Christians in the Global South -- a worldview in which biblical signs and wonders are considered normal Chrisitianity -- to the worldviews and ontologies of the North American … Continue reading Quote of Note #59 — Supernatural Faith
"Look at the New Testament Christian, look at the New Testament church, and you see it vibrant with a spiritual life, and, of course, it is always life that tends to lead to excesses. There is no problem of discipline in a graveyard; there is no problem very much in a formal church." Martyn Lloyd-Jones, … Continue reading Quote of Note #58–Vibrancy of Spiritual Life in the Church
"Being baptized with the Holy Spirit begins with recognizing our need and earnestly desiring whatever our heavenly Father is pleased to give." Brad Long, Paul Stokes, and Cindy Strickler. Growing the Church in the Power of the Holy Spirit: Seven Principles of Dynamic Cooperation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009, page 67.
"John tells us at the beginning of his Gospel that the thing that is going to differentiate the new era from the old, even including John the Baptist, is this baptism with the Spirit. Here is the first principle. It is possible to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ without having received the baptism … Continue reading Quote of Note #56–Receiving the Power
I love hand tools – old hand tools. My workbench and toolboxes are stocked with a wide variety of old hammers of all sorts, wood plains of several different types, chisels, and draw knives, and hand saws. I have a few very interesting old pipe wrenches, which I honestly hope I never have to use, … Continue reading Pastor Note #83 — God’s Toolbox
"Our Founders built democratic government as an alternative to monarchy, but they also intentionally built an anti-majoritarian government because the worst form of democracy -- mob rule -- is always a danger against which we must be on guard. If we fail to preserve our anti-majoritarian guardrails against the mob, we will end up subjected … Continue reading Quote of Note #55 — Guarding Freedom and Dignity of All Americans
"Today, O Lord -- let me put right before interest; let me put others before self; let me put the things of the spirit before the things of the body; let me put the attainment of noble ends above the enjoyment of present pleasures; let me put principle above reputation; let me put Thee before … Continue reading Quote of Note #54 — Getting First Things First
“I believe God cannot use many of His servants because they are full of irritability and impatience; they are fretting all the time, from morning until night. God cannot use them; their mouths are sealed; they cannot speak for Jesus Christ, and if they have not love, they cannot work for God.” Dwight L. Moody, … Continue reading Quote of Note #53 — Irritability, Impatience, and Serving God
Numbers 9:15-23 Here we have one of the classic summary passages describing how God led the Israelites through the wilderness. There is a certain drama in the process, because the means of God’s leading was grand and very public. There was no indication that discerning God’s leading in this process was at all difficult. The … Continue reading Bible Note #36 — Obeying God — Numbers 9:15-23
"To praise God for mercies received both with our voices and with our actions, and then to pray to God for the mercies that we need, devoutly acknowledging that they come from him, these two exercises in one form or another should make up the sum total of human life. A life psalm should be … Continue reading Quote of Note #52 — Prayer, Praise, and the Christian Life
