" It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. . . ." C. S. Lewis (For full quote, click the link below.)
Tag: ministry
Quote of Note #237/Prayer Note #71: Right Use of our Surplus
"Grant that all who have a surplus of this bread may know by this very fact that they are appointed as servants, as dispensers of thy grace, that they are in thy service and in the service of others." K. Barth (click link below for full quote)
Quote of Note #200: Caring for the Weak & Vulnerable
"We do justice and God smiles."
Bible Note #60: Zacchaeus #4–Getting into the Story–Jesus Make a Lot of People Mad
So, I’ve now provided some background material (see links to previous "Zacchaeus" posts at the end of this post ) for understanding this powerful encounter between Jesus and the chief tax collector in Jericho—maybe more background information than you really wanted (judging from the amount of traffic those earlier posts have generated). Let’s now dive … Continue reading Bible Note #60: Zacchaeus #4–Getting into the Story–Jesus Make a Lot of People Mad
Quote of Note #183: Giving Myself Away for Christ
"But the truth is that there is enough time and enough wealth to go around. The people in the churches every Sunday outnumber the people who are on the streets and the number of people who are on welfare. If the church took up the responsibility of caring for the poor, of living internationally, of … Continue reading Quote of Note #183: Giving Myself Away for Christ
Pastor Note #105: Ministry in a Time of Pandemic
All over the country, churches are wrestling with decisions about how to do ministry in the midst of a pandemic. This is an on-going challenge, because the circumstances of the pandemic are constantly shifting and changing. Yesterday’s decisions are called into doubt by today’s news. Over the years, I have always found that, … Continue reading Pastor Note #105: Ministry in a Time of Pandemic
Quote of Note #94: Churches and Pastors
"The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given … Continue reading Quote of Note #94: Churches and Pastors
Quote of Note #57–Need and Blessing
"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.
Quote of Note #40: Humility and the Defeat of Demonic Strongholds
"Satan fears virtue. He is terrified of humility; he hates it. He sees a humble person, and it sends chills down his back. His hair stands up when Christians kneel down, for humility is the surrender of the soul to God. The devil trembles before the meek because, in the very areas where he once … Continue reading Quote of Note #40: Humility and the Defeat of Demonic Strongholds
Quote of Note #22: Ministry and Failure
"Ministry is fertile ground for failure, and failure is fertile ground for ministry." J. R. Briggs, Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014, p. 22
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 