Missions and the long patient journey
‘They may be ordinary and unflashy, but healthy churches are the consecrated common sense that builds for eternity. They’re the Bible’s missions strategy. Just as the gospel “sounded forth” from the first-century churches in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thess. 1:8), so it continues to sound forth from churches today. Sometimes God moves in surprising ways, but generally the harvest doesn’t come immediately. It’s “first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear” (Mark 4:28). The sower doesn’t even know how the seed sprouts. “By itself,” the earth produces grain.’
Read more
(GSiV: Thinking through methods and missions; Expecting Rapid?; Debate about methods of church planting and discipling; Unreached People Groups and Overemphasis on Speed; A Plea for Gospel Sanity in Missions; Dangerous Desire for Church Growth; Miller: Success, Failure, and Grace; Church Growth, Planning, and Multiplication; Starting Churches: Making Disciples; Analysis of T4T; Phương pháp ‘Môn Đồ Hóa Dựa Trên Sự Vâng Phục’ là chủ nghĩa luật pháp phải không?; Rapid; Missions: Success, faithfulness, rapid, deception)
Thinking through methods and missions
Methods matter in ministry. They matter in overseas ministry too. Consider this article to think through key issues.
- ‘We long for (good) results and are prone to succumb to mechanistic ways of thinking–If only we implement A and B, then the strategy will lead to C.’
- ‘Listening to God’s word chastens triumphalist or mechanistic thinking, reminding us that, in the work of missions (or parenting or pastoring, for that matter), the success of our labors depends not on our carefully honed methods but on the authority of him who calls.’
- ‘The effectiveness of their ministry does not depend on the latest strategy and how well they can implement it, nor does it depend on the winsomeness of their speech or the depth of their sociological research.’
- ‘When the going is slow, when the soil is hard, don’t look first for a new method to advance the gospel.’
- ‘No amount of human strategy or ingenuity can twist the arm of his sovereign strength.’
Read the whole thing here
(GSiV: Expecting Rapid?; Debate about methods of church planting and discipling; Unreached People Groups and Overemphasis on Speed; A Plea for Gospel Sanity in Missions; Dangerous Desire for Church Growth; Miller: Success, Failure, and Grace; Church Growth, Planning, and Multiplication; Starting Churches: Making Disciples; Analysis of T4T; Phương pháp ‘Môn Đồ Hóa Dựa Trên Sự Vâng Phục’ là chủ nghĩa luật pháp phải không?; Rapid; Missions: Success, faithfulness, rapid, deception)
Crushing guilt of failing at prayer and Bible reading
‘Spiritual disciplines are great (and necessary) when the goal is to know God better. Spiritual disciplines are soul-crushing when the aim is to get our metaphysical workout in each day, knowing that we could always exercise more if we were better Christians.’
‘If my wife made me check in every day at a set time, kept track of how many minutes I talked to her, and then rolled her eyes whenever I did anything else besides talk to her, that would make for a miserable marriage. But if I never made an effort to get a babysitter, go on a walk with her, plan a getaway, or simply put down my phone and look her in the eye, our marriage would likely grow stale and distant.’
Read more
(GSiV: Jerry Bridges; Gospel Grace Versus Dead Religion–part 6; The crushing obligation to do more; Phúc Âm cho Cơ Đốc nhân;Sự Nên Thánh Động Lực Bởi Phúc Âm; Resources)
Ô! Nguyện Đức Chúa Trời hạ tôi
‘Tôi dường như giảm-sút về lòng sốt-sắng và về những sự-vật thiên-thượng; không được tự-do đến gần Đức Chúa Trời bởi lời cầu-nguyện, như thường có trước đây. Ô! Nguyện Đức Chúa Trời hạ tôi xuống rất thấp, trong bụi đất, ở trước mặt Ngài!
‘Ôi, nếu tôi đến được Thiên-đàng, ấy là vì Đức Chúa Trời muốn vậy, chớ chẳng vì điều chi khác! Ấy bởi tôi chẳng hề tự mình làm chi hết, chỉ đi cách xa Đức Chúa Trời thôi. Khi tôi tới nhà mà Cứu-Chúa đã đi để sắm sẵn, thì linh-hồn tôi sẽ khinh-ngạc trước sự giàu-có không dò được của ân-điển Đức Chúa Trời.’
-David Brainerd (ngày 1, tháng 4, 1742, Mỹ)
Đọc thêm
(tiếng anh)
(GSiV: Prayer; Ân điển, chứ không phải những quy tắc / Grace not rules;
Miller: Success, Failure, and Grace; Prayer mirrors the gospel: Miller; Phúc Âm cho Cơ Đốc nhân; Humility)
Teaching us to long for heaven
- ‘That they may not become too complacent or delighted in married life, he makes them distressed by the shortcomings of their partners, or humbles them through wilful offspring, or afflicts them with the want or loss of children. But, if in all these matters he is more merciful to them, he shows them by diseases and dangers how unstable and passing all mortal blessings are, that they may not be puffed up with vain glory.’ (4:1:3)
- ‘It should not surprise us, indeed, if our natural feeling should be alarmed at hearing of our separation from this life. But it is intolerable that there should not be sufficient light and devotion in a Christian’s breast to suppress all that fear with an overwhelming consolation.’ (4:5:1)
- ‘But this we may positively state, that nobody has made any progress in the school of Christ unless he cheerfully looks forward to the day of his death and to the day of the final resurrection.’ (4:5:3)
-John Calvin, Golden Booklet [& Institutes, Book III, chp 6]
(GSiV: Heaven; John Calvin)
Cut Satan’s throat with his own sword
‘When the devil tells us we are sinners and therefore damned, we may answer, “Because you say I am a sinner, I will be righteous and saved.” Then the devil will say, “No, you will be damned.” And I will reply, “No, for I fly to Christ, who has given himself for my sins. Satan, you will not prevail against me when you try to terrify me by telling me how great my sins are and try to reduce me to heaviness and despair. On the contrary, when you say I am a sinner, you give me armor and weapons against yourself, so that I can cut your throat with your own sword and tread you under my feet, for Christ died for sinners. My sin is on his shoulders, not mine. So when you say I am a sinner, you do not terrify me but comfort me immeasurably.’
-Martin Luther, commenting on Galatians 1:4
Read more
(GSiV: Luther; Key materials on gospel grace )
The Prayer Life that Matters Most
‘This is why it’s good that Jesus is praying for us. He’s the best pray-er of all; the one whose prayers matter most and do the most good. This is true because Jesus always prays for us (Heb. 7:25) and knows what we need (Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:14–16). He always prays in faith, with perfect knowledge of our needs, and in complete accord with the will of God—all of which are essential components of effective prayer (see Mark 11:24; James 5:15; 1 John 5:14).’
Read the whole thing here
Hopeful in Christ
‘You are sovereign, engaged, and trustworthy… whether we’re talking about the promotion that didn’t happen, or the car wreck that did; the bad cells that came back [from the doctor], or our prodigal that hasn’t (yet), job-related challenges or soul-sapping relationships. You’ve given us more than sufficient reasons to have hope–even to overflow with hope.’
-Scotty Smith, Heavenward: TGC
Read the whole thing here
(GSiV:Ray Ortlund; Jerry Bridges; Scotty Smith)
Peace
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!” 2 Thessalonians 3:16
“The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
(GSiV: Peace)
Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church
‘What is the role of corporate prayer in the church?
‘Prayer is as necessary to the Christian as breathing is to the human body–but it often doesn’t come quite as naturally. In fact, prayer in the church often gets subtly pushed to the side in favor of pragmatic practices that promise tangible results.
‘This book focuses on the necessity of regular prayer as a central practice in the local church–awakening us to the need and blessing of corporate prayer by examining what Jesus taught about prayer, how the first Christians approached prayer, and how to prioritize prayer in our congregations.’
-John Onwuchekwa
Discover more here.
(GSiV: Prayer; Anxiety meets prayer; Praying as a Calvinist; Unity; Prayer resources)
Sự cầu nguyện là điều tối quan trọng đúng không?
Ông Phao-lô đã nói: “Hãy…cầu-nguyện không thôi….” [“cầu nguyện không ngừng”]
Và Hê-bơ-rơ 4:14-16 chếp rằng: “Do đó, vì chúng ta có một thầy tế lễ thượng phẩm vĩ đại đã vượt qua các tầng trời là Đức Chúa Jêsus, Con Đức Chúa Trời, nên hãy giữ vững những điều chúng ta xưng nhận. Vì chúng ta không có một thầy tế lễ thượng phẩm chẳng có thể cảm thông sự yếu đuối chúng ta, nhưng có một thầy tế lễ bị cám dỗ đủ mọi cách như chúng ta, song chẳng phạm tội. Vậy, chúng ta hãy vững lòng đến gần ngôi ân điển, để nhận được sự thương xót và tìm được ân điển giúp đỡ chúng ta kịp thời.”
Vậy, ý trọng tâm ở đây không phải là sự cầu nguyện là điều tối quan trọng, vâng cầu nguyện quan trọng, nhưng Đức Chúa Trời thì quan trọng hơn. Sự cầu nguyện không phải là tập trung chính, nhưng là Đức Chúa Trời. Chúng ta không cần tìm kiếm sự kinh nghiệm, tìm kiếm một trải nghiệm nhưng tìm kiếm chính Đức Chúa Trời và nước Ngài. (Ngài sẽ cho chúng ta nhiều kinh nghiệm kèm theo).
QUYỀN NĂNG CAO CẢ CỦA ĐỨC CHÚA TRỜI Ở VIỆT NAM (Ê-phê 1:4-5) 