On Dangerous, Desperate Prayers Nehemiah 1:1-2:9 Nehemiah presents us with a picture of a practical, detail-oriented, can-do sort of man who is also a man of deep, dangerous, desperate prayer. For some reason, we can sometimes think that the practical and the prayerful can't function in the same heart. Nehemiah demonstrates that that kind of … Continue reading Prayer Note #40 — On Dangerous, Desperate Prayers — Nehemiah 1:1-2:9
Tag: discipleship
Prayer Note #37 — On a Summer Morning
Lord, the sun is warm and pleasant on my back. The birds of all sorts are chirping and twittering in the trees around me this morning. Lily, my gracious, canine companion, is lying beside me with her chin on the bottom rail looking out into the backyard, watching everything and nothing in particular, patient and … Continue reading Prayer Note #37 — On a Summer Morning
Bible Note #16 — By the River Jabbok
The tinkling of sheep bells was the last sound audible to him fading away up the path and over th hill on the other side of the small river. The crunch of foot and hoof on the sandy gravel of the path had been lost to him fist, washed away by the splash and rush … Continue reading Bible Note #16 — By the River Jabbok
Prayer Note #36 — The Time of my Life
Here I am, Lord. It's a little before 5:00 A.M., and I've been awake for a half an hour or so, lying in bed, my mind wandering from thought to thought. I seem to be done sleeping, though the clock tells me that I shouldn't be. Have you wakened me for some reason? Or is … Continue reading Prayer Note #36 — The Time of my Life
Prayer Note #34 — Refreshment from the Suffocation of Sin
Though I am mired in sin, yet still have mercy on me, O Father and Lord of my life. Capture my every thought and all the impulses of my being. Make me yours in every facet of my life, so that I might have peace and full redemption in every branch and twig and leaf … Continue reading Prayer Note #34 — Refreshment from the Suffocation of Sin
Pastor Note #40–Working the Streets; The Ministry of Risk-taking
When the doorbell rang, I jumped up and turned off the television. It was 4:20 in the afternoon, and I was watching a re-run of M*A*S*H instead of working on my next Sunday's sermon. After a few seconds, I walked slowly down the stairs to answer the door. There were three little boys and a … Continue reading Pastor Note #40–Working the Streets; The Ministry of Risk-taking
Bible Note #14 — Luke 1:13: Of Prayer, Patience, and a Sovereign God
Luke 1:11-13 The archangel Gabriel says something strange to Zechariah here -- something I've never really recognized as strange until I just read this passage again for the two-hundred-eighty-third time. Gabriel tells Zechariah that his prayer has been heard and, as a result, Elizabeth is going to have a child. I say this is strange, … Continue reading Bible Note #14 — Luke 1:13: Of Prayer, Patience, and a Sovereign God
Pastor Note #35 — Ministry in the Tangle of a Complicated, Broken World
"Gary, I thought maybe you should know that there's someone passed out on the front steps of the church," he said as he sat down with his bag lunch at the table in the fellowship hall. We were gathering for our regular mid-week, lunch-time Bible study. Folks were gathering around the table with their various … Continue reading Pastor Note #35 — Ministry in the Tangle of a Complicated, Broken World
Bible Note #12 — Exodus 25:1-9
In this passage (Exodus 25:1-9), God calls on Moses to receive an offering from the people for the purpose of building and furnishing the tabernacle. He emphasizes that the offering is to be strictly voluntary -- "from everyone whose heart stirs him to give." (v. 2; HCSB) What follows then is a list of the … Continue reading Bible Note #12 — Exodus 25:1-9
Bible Note #11 — Exodus 3: The Call of Moses
God routinely goes out of his way to incorporate human partnership in the accomplishing of his purposes in the world. The fact is so plain that it is regularly overlooked by most of us as we read Bible stories about God's dealing with human beings. Here in Exodus 3 in the story of God's calling … Continue reading Bible Note #11 — Exodus 3: The Call of Moses
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 