The Lordship of Jesus Christ and Your Church’s Purpose for Being What is your church’s purpose at this period of our history? What is its reason for being at this particular moment in its life as a congregation? These are important questions that churches can easily get out of the habit of asking. In fact, … Continue reading Pastor Notes #62 — The Lordship of Jesus Christ and Your Church’s Reason for Being
Tag: obedience
BIBLE NOTE #18–Matthew14:22-33: Adventures in Water-walking with Jesus
ADVENTURES IN WATER-WALKING WITH JESUS I love this passage – Matthew 14:22-32. But I’m still not sure I understand what Peter had in mind (v.28). It all happened one dark, windy night out in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. It’s typically called a “sea,” but really it’s a large, freshwater lake. Still, … Continue reading BIBLE NOTE #18–Matthew14:22-33: Adventures in Water-walking with Jesus
Pastor Note #50 — Of Love, the Mission of Christ, and a Long-ago Visit to Pakistan
The room where we all sat was crowded and dark and made of heavy stone. It felt almost like a castle or a fortress. That wasn’t so surprising. We later found out that the building had been built by the British during the “Raj” as a garrison for their troops. Now it housed … Continue reading Pastor Note #50 — Of Love, the Mission of Christ, and a Long-ago Visit to Pakistan
Prayer Note #42 — A Prayer from Matthew 4:12-23
Read: Matthew 4:12-23 It must have been really hard, Lord, for Peter and Andrew, James and John to get up, leave their stuff behind, and follow you. I say that because I know how hard it would be for me to do that. But, Lord Jesus, why do I say … Continue reading Prayer Note #42 — A Prayer from Matthew 4:12-23
Pastor Note #48 — Living in Time, Living with God, Part 4: Obedience–Faith in the Present Tense
We human beings live within time very much the way fish live within water. One way to think about the relationship of faith to the passage of time is to think about the tenses of faith. I’ve described it this way. Faith oriented toward the past faithfulness of God is gratitude. Faith oriented toward … Continue reading Pastor Note #48 — Living in Time, Living with God, Part 4: Obedience–Faith in the Present Tense
Pastor Note #45 — Living in Time, Living with God: Part 1–Introduction
Living in Time, Living with God I do not have a good natural sense of the passage of time. Some people are very good at estimating how long an activity will take to complete. Some folks almost never lose track of how much time has passed between when they sit down to work … Continue reading Pastor Note #45 — Living in Time, Living with God: Part 1–Introduction
Prayer Note #40 — On Dangerous, Desperate Prayers — Nehemiah 1:1-2:9
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
Prayer Note #39 — On Not Being All That I Could Be
Let me have ears to hear you clearly and a heart and mind to understand you deeply and a strong inclination to go as you lead me and to use what you have given me, and so to glorify your name. You have given me many gifts, many resources, many tools. But mostly I squander … Continue reading Prayer Note #39 — On Not Being All That I Could Be
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 #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
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 