On the links

Things I’ve found helpful on the web

So what is the right way to listen to a sermon?

/ David Thomas / Leave a comment

With a soul that is prepared, a mind that is alert, a Bible that is open, a heart that is receptive, and a life that is ready to spring into action.

So says Phil Ryken in a helpful article you can find here.  And here’s a quote from Thabiti Anyabwile to remind you how to make your pastor’s day.

Few things are more discouraging or dishonoring to [faithful pastors] than a congregation inattentive to the Word of God. Faithful men flourish at the fertile reception of the preached Word. They’re made all the more bold when their people give ear to the Lord’s voice and give evidence of being shaped by it. As church members, we can care for our pastors and teacher and help to prevent unnecessary discouragement and fatigue by cultivating the habit of expositional listening.

Helping the poor – feeling or doing good?

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Christianity Today addresses the issue of effective ways to fight poverty in it’s latest issue.  It highlights the problem that so often we give to feel good rather than to do good.  In the article, “Cost Effective Compassion: The 10 Most Popular Strategies for Helping the Poor,” economists specialising in analysing development programs were asked to rate from 0-10 some of the most common poverty interventions in terms of their impact and cost-effectiveness.

It’s an interesting list and worth at least a few minutes reflection as you sip your Fairtrade coffee – or perhaps not.

1. Get clean water to rural villages (Rating: 8.3)
2. Fund de-worming treatments for children (Rating: 7.8)
3. Provide mosquito nets (Rating: 7.3)
4. Sponsor a child (Rating: 6.9)
5. Give wood-burning stoves (Rating: 6.0)
6. Give a micro-finance loan (Rating 4.2)
7. Fund reparative surgeries (Rating: 3.9)
8. Donate a farm animal (Rating 3.8)
9. Drink fair-trade coffee (Rating. 1.9)
10. Give a kid a laptop (1.8)

Songs for Saplings

/ David Thomas / 2 Comments

If you have  young children I would highly recommend the Songs for Saplings CDs by Dana Dirksen.  We have the first three volumes of the Questions with Answers CDs (also downloadable from iTunes) and the children love them.  The tunes are good and the songs progress through the Westminster Shorter Catechism with lots of Bible verses and great truth as  the lyrics.

A few car journeys with these songs playing and children and parents will get to know the Bible better.

For a taster, click on the links below and find  lots more playable samples on their web site.

iPiper

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For those of you who like John Piper and have an iPad or  iPhone  you can now download the new Desiring God App for all things iPiper.  The App includes blog posts, audio, video and books and looks really well produced.

They also state somewhere that there will be a version available  for Android if there is enough interest shown.

The Desiring God App from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Proclaim Freedom

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If you think the following demands are good and reasonable ensure you add your name to those listed at the Barnabas Fund website.

We, the undersigned, call upon our government:

  • to recognise that Christians around the world currently face unprecedented levels of persecution and are one of the most persecuted groups in the world
  • to put the plight of persecuted Christians, both individually and as communities, at the forefront of their relations with the countries concerned
  • to promote freedom of religion for all, using diplomatic relations, bi-lateral ties, aid, and agreed international obligations on core human rights
  • to promote justice for all and specifically to ensure that those who incite hatred or act violently against Christians are held accountable for their crimes