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Weekend Recap – Hebrews Wrap Up

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Yesterday, I finished preaching through Hebrews with sermon #67 entitled “Listen Up!” from Hebrews 13:22-25.  The sermon sought to show how compellingly God has shown His heart for His people in giving them real incentives to listen to the message of the book of Hebrews.  Jesus is THE compelling storyline that must be heard and focused in on.  I sought to build and encourage this thinking through my sermon.

It’s been a great study to look at how the storyline of the Bible is so centered in Jesus, who He is and what He came to do.  That seems to be the undertone of the book of Hebrews.

As for the rest of the Lord’s Day, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together, had an Information Meeting for our Annual Meeting and also spent the evening Hanging The Greens at church.  Advent is truly an amazing season in church life.

Hope you had a great Lord’s Day as well.

Tweets from Revelation 20

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In late May, I began 202 days of journaling through the 404 verses of the final book of the Bible, Revelation.  To go along with my personal study and preparation to preach through this book in 2013, I’m trying to tweet something from every verse.  Today I finished chapter 20.  Here’s a compilation of my tweets followed by the reference.

Revelation 1 | Revelation 2 | Revelation 3 | Revelation 4 | Revelation 5 | Revelation 6 | Revelation 7 | Revelation 8 | Revelation 9 | Revelation 10 | Revelation 11 | Revelation 12 |Revelation 13 | Revelation 14 | Revelation 15 | Revelation 16 | Revelation 17 | Revelation 18 | Revelation 19

Sentencing to eternal punishment rests in God alone. (Revelation 20:1)
God has power to seize and contain Satan’s advances. (Revelation 20:2)
Satan’s work is consistently revealed as deception. (Revelation 20:3)
The hope of the believer — living and reigning with Christ. (Revelation 20:4)
1st resurrection = rising to reign with Christ. (Revelation 20:5)
Sharing in the 1st resurrection is a blessed and holy thing. (Revelation 20:6)
Satan’s power is under God’s control. (Revelation 20:7)
Satan will emerge one again to deceive all kinds of people. (Revelation 20:8)
God comes to the aid of His people. (Revelation 20:9)
Satan’s destiny is eternal torment. (Revelation 20:10)
God’s pure and righteous judgment causes all things to fear. (Revelation 20:11)
You will one day be judged by God for what you have done. (Revelation 20:12)
Whether you’re in the deep blue or dead and gone, judgment will come. (Revelation 20:13)
Eternal punishment is revealed as a lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14)
Anyone not relating to God through Christ will be thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)


Weekend Preview – Listen Up

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This Sunday, we plan to wrap up the book of Hebrews (Hebrews 13:22-25) and what we find in these verses, among other things, are compelling reasons that we should listen to the message of the book.  Hebrews doesn’t happen in a vacuum.  There were real circumstances and cares that led the author to write.  As these emerge, we find hope for how we can listen more effectively.  It’s really a great way to end the book, thinking about why the message it contains is so important.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving…

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From The Valley of Vision:

O My God,
You fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
My heart admires, adores, loves You,
For my little vessel is as full as it can be,
And I would pour out all that fullness before You in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with You
Ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
Ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
Ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
Crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless You for the soul You have created,
For adorning it, for sanctifying it,
Though it is fixed in barren soil;
For the body You have given me,
For preserving its strength and vigor,
For providing senses to enjoy delights,
For the ease and freedom of limbs,
For hands, eyes, ears that do Your bidding;
For Your royal bounty providing my daily support,
For a full table and overflowing cup,
For appetite, taste, sweetness,
For social joys of relatives and friends,
For ability to serve others,
For a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
For a mind to care for my fellow-men,
For opportunities of spreading happiness around,
For loved ones in the joys of heaven,
For my own expectation of seeing You clearly.
I love You above the powers of language to express,
For what You are to Your creatures.
Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

(HT: Challies)

Leadership Email – More on Misdiagnosis

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Here’s the email I sent out to leaders in Reno County this week:

Having seen the importance of diagnosing the situation and looking at one reason we misdiagnose, today, we think about another reason we misdiagnose:
“Find a Pain-Free Fix, Please.  Second, the actions that are preferred by the community are ones that address the manifestations of the crisis with as little cost or pain as possible.  The hurry-up legislation enacted to deal with the economic crisis was designed to stem the hemorrhaging rather than address the underlying causes.
“That approach to the economic crisis illustrates the single biggest diagnostic error people make in framing civic issues: treating adaptive challenges as if they were technical problems (The Competencies For Civic Leadership, p.3). 
Little cost, no pain, get me a solution now.  These things can contribute to our misdiagnosing an issue.  We must dig a little deeper into these adaptive challenges (more on that next time).  But, today, my purpose is simply to place in you a desire for more.  Don’t misdiagnose by settling for quick, pain-free fixes.  They may alleviate short term voices, but will exacerbate long term issues.  Diagnose the situation and see if we don’t make more substantial progress on those issues you care about so deeply.

Weekend Recap – Benediction

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My 11/18/12AM sermon, Benediction, from Hebrews 13:20-21 is now online.  In this sermon, I sought to unpack Biblical hope.  You see, God has all the credentials in the world in His proven track record of working for peace with mankind.  He is also at work to accomplish the sanctification that Jesus’ death inaugurated.  Finally, His aim in all of this is the glory of His Son.  Therefore, much hope is ours through God and the Gospel.  Hope you find this to be true in this passage and hope your Lord’s Day equipped you to this end.

Weekend Preview – Gospel Hope

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As we near the close of the book of Hebrews on Sunday Mornings at Crestview, tomorrow we come to Hebrews 13:20-21.  It is really a prayer that the writer has for his readers.  He wants them to get the message of the Gospel and what it means for the people.  Tomorrow, as we look at this benediction, I’m hoping to inspire hope in you as we look at the hope that this writer has for the people.

So, come expecting to built up in hope…

Tweets From Revelation 19

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In late May, I began 202 days of journaling through the 404 verses of the final book of the Bible, Revelation.  To go along with my personal study and preparation to preach through this book in 2013, I’m trying to tweet something from every verse.  Today I finished chapter 19.  Here’s a compilation of my tweets followed by the reference.

Revelation 1 | Revelation 2 | Revelation 3 | Revelation 4 | Revelation 5 | Revelation 6 | Revelation 7 | Revelation 8 | Revelation 9 | Revelation 10 | Revelation 11 | Revelation 12 |Revelation 13 | Revelation 14 | Revelation 15 | Revelation 16 | Revelation 17 | Revelation 18


Praise God: real hope, lasting salvation and eternal power belong to Him. (Revelation 19:1)
What sets God apart? He judges wickedness, immorality and treating His servants with contempt. (Revelation 19:2)
God will be praised for the eternal punishment of His enemies. (Revelation 19:3)
All of heaven agrees with God’s righteous judgment and proclaim, “Let it be, Praise God!” (Revelation 19:4)
No matter who you are, you owe God your reverence. (Revelation 19:5)
The loud praise of eternity is praising God for His perfect, lasting rule. (Revelation 19:6)
Hearts rejoice to be united to Christ for eternity. (Revelation 19:7)
All the believer’s good works will one day be a demonstration of Jesus’ purifying work. (Revelation 19:8)
These are true words: it’s blessed to be united to God through Christ. (Revelation 19:9)
Don’t fall prey to worshipping ANYone other than God! (Revelation 19:10)
Jesus is a pure, holy, faithful and true, righteous Judge. (Revelation 19:11)
Jesus’ eyes see through your charades, because He’s a set-apart King. (Revelation 19:12)
Jesus is clothed with devotion to His name, which is all that He stands for: the Word of God. (Revelation 19:13)
All of heaven reflects the purity and radiance of Jesus. (Revelation 19:14)
Jesus’ mouth speaks true judgment in accordance with His Word. (Revelation 19:15)
Jesus’ clothing and tattoo: King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 19:16)
God calls creation to feast on His righteous judgment. (Revelation 19:17)
Creation feasts on the flesh of those under God’s judgment. (Revelation 19:18)
All anti-God resistance makes war against Jesus and His people. (Revelation 19:19)
Some anti-God resistance will be punished alive in the lake of fire. (Revelation 19:20)
Some anti-God resistance will be silenced by the Word of Jesus Himself. (Revelation 19:21)


Trifecta On Leadership

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I’ve been greatly helped in recent days by 3 books that have come out on leadership in the local church.

The first one was Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp.  Tripp goes after the heart of every pastor.  When I preached on Hebrews 13:17 recently, I was reminded, convicted afresh and challenged to be a man who is worthy of a congregation’s trust and support.  Tripp helps expose the selfish tendency pastors have in ministry and then soothes us with deep, Gospel realities.

Secondly, Dave Kraft’s Mistakes Leaders Make has been another eye opener to be aware of some common pitfalls that can come our way in pastoral leadership and to choose a better path, that glorifies God and serves the good of the people (and ministry).  I’m still in this one, but have been very encouraged so far.

Finally, Al Mohler’s Conviction to Lead has proven helpful to seeing how leadership looks from an overarching and thoroughly Christian worldview.  Mohler deals with a leadership point and fleshes that out from Scripture and experience to point us in truth.  Honestly, I’m still in this and have been using it as a springboard for prayer in devotions.

Each of these books are very helpful in their each unique way in fostering healthy leadership for pastors in local churches and I commend them each to you.