South  Hope  Community  Church
find us on
  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Events
  • SHCC Blog

Dad's Duty

2/28/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Voddie Bauchman:


"To the Christian father--the man who longs to be his family's shepherd--John Bunyan wrote these wise words to give a picture of evangelism and discipleship at home:

First, concerning the spiritual state of the family; he ought to be very diligent and cautious, doing his utmost both to increase faith where it is begun , and to begin where it is not. Therefore, he must diligently and frequently bring before his family the things of God, from His Holy Word, in accordance with what is suitable for each person. And let no man question his authority from the Word of God for such a practice.

These "things of God" that Bunyan speaks of here are always to be centered on the gospel.

The gospel is the core of the Christian life. The gospel is the message, the hope, and the firm foundation of those who follow Christ. It's the foundation upon which the church is built. It's also the foundation upon whch the work of a family shepherd is built."

Image credit. 
0 Comments

The Life-Blood of the Christian

2/18/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
In 1891, David McIntyre, the son-in-law of the well-known Dr. Andrew Bonar, and Scottish pastor and professor, wrote a little gem of a book called The Hidden Life of Prayer: the Lifeblood of the Christian. The book is short, succinct, and simple, and opens up to the reader the delightful gift of prayer given to the believer by the God of heaven. The book is broken down into eight chapters as follows:

1.       The Life of Prayer

·         McIntyre lays out the Scriptural implication that God’s people will pray as their new natures cry out for the living God.

·         It is the mark of a true believer to pray to his Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit.

2.       The Equipment

·         The equipment for prayer consists of

·   a quiet place,

·   a quiet hour,

·   and a quiet heart.

·         The quiet heart is confident in the acceptance

·   before the Father

·   through the sacrifice of Christ,

·   the enabling grace of the Holy Spirit,

·   and the steadying text of Scripture.

3.       The Direction of the Mind

·         Our attitude as we approach God is to

·   realize the presence of God,

·   deal honestly with Him in His presence,

·   draw near to Him in faith

·         believing no miracle is impossible

·         and believing we are praying to our Father in Christ’s authority.

4.       The Engagement: Worship

·         Our prayers are to praise the Lord in

·   acknowledgment of daily mercies,

·    thanksgiving for the great redemption,

·   or contemplation of  our Father’s perfections.

5.       The Engagement: Confession

·         Confession of sin is the first act of an awakened sinner and the first mark of a gracious spirit.

·         Confession is explicit and balanced with the love of Christ that swallows up sin in a measureless ocean of peace and grace.

6.       The Engagement: Request

·         The prayer of faith that has been brought into conformity with the mind of Christ is

·   subject to the Father’s will,

·   restrained within the interest of Christ,

·   instructed in the truth,

·   energized by the Spirit,

·   interwoven with love and mercy,

·   accompanied with obedience,

·   so earnest it will not accept denial,

·   and seeks an answer.

·         The prayer of faith is restricted to the Word of God and rests on the character of God.

7.       The Hidden Riches of the Secret Place

·         Fellowship with God discovers the excellence of His character, and by beholding Him the soul is transformed as the habit of prayerfulness produces

·   a peace in our trusting spirit.

·   an obedience of our life according to the will of God,

·   and a richer influence and wider usefulness as we ouch other lives.

8.       The Open Recompense

·         When we reach the end of our lives, we should be able to say, “There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised.”

·         Every gracious work that has been accomplished within the kingdom of God has been begun, fostered, and consummated by prayer.


0 Comments

Sola Scriptura

2/8/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
The doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) means that the food that is to feed our souls is to be the Word of God only. You may notice that there is much Scripture in our worship service and when the time to listen to the sermon arrives, the Word of God is usually presented verse by verse from whole books of the Bible. Occasionally there will be a topical sermon, but the general diet of our family's spiritual feeding time is expositional preaching and teaching. There is many reason for this. Timothy Witmer lists ten reasons for preaching verse by verse through books of the Bible in his book, The Shepherd Leader:
  1. It identifies exactly what is the heart of the Christian message. (The sheep need the food the Good Shepherd gives in the inspired Word.)
  2. It requires that the shepherd concern himself with the intent of the Divine author for every text. (God had a purpose for each part of Scripture.)
  3. It respects the integrity of the textual units given through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (Teach each books as it was meant to be taught rather than chopping it up.)
  4. It keeps the pastor from riding his favorite hobby horses. (Provides a balanced diet.)
  5. It challenges the pastor to preach through the "difficult" or obscure texts and "challenging" truths of the Bible. (Christians need to learn how to think through passages that people like to avoid.)
  6. Expository preaching will encourage both pastor and congregation alike to become students of the Bible. (Working through books of the Bible helps to know what to look for and how to apply the Word in our on lives.)
  7. Expository preaching gives us boldness in preaching, for we are not expounding our own fallible views but the Word of God. (God's promises are linked to His Word and not our 'wisdom.')
  8. It gives confidence to the listener that what he is hearing is not the opinion of man but the Word of God. (God has spoken. Our job is to declare what God has said.)
  9. It is of great assistance in sermon planning. (Breaking down the book into connected units of thought takes a lot of pressure off of planning a series.)
  10. It provides the context for a long tenure in a particular place. (It takes a long time to preach through the whole counsel of God.)
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Musings

    Thoughts for the pilgrimage.

    Categories

    All
    2 Timothy
    Acts
    Antioch School
    Bible Study
    Christ
    Church
    Discipleship
    Early Church
    Ephesians
    Family Discipleship
    Fathers
    First Principles
    God's Will
    Gospel Centered
    Gospel-Centered
    Hebrews
    Idolatry
    Incarnation
    Lordship
    Ministry
    Ministry Opportunities
    Missional
    Missions
    Prayer
    Spirit Power
    Study Guides
    The Story Of God
    We Give
    We Go
    We Grow
    Word Driven
    Worddriven174c6c8baa
    Worship

    Archives

    January 2016
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

Helping people take the next spiritual step.