Purposes of God in our suffering

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Samuel Rutherford the 17th century Scottish minister and theologian saw his wife and four of his five young children die through illness in the space of a few years.   His response of faith in the face of suffering and loss,

“this loss … divine wisdom devised it and divine love laid it on.”

We won’t be able to respond to suffering with such faith until we understand something of God’s purposes in the trials he brings us.  That’s why this list of 36 purposes of God in our suffering by Paul Tautges ought to prove helpful.

 

Marriage – What did you expect?

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Thinking of getting married, newly married, been married for ever …

Well come on, what did you expect?

This DVD from Paul Tripp looks like an excellent resource on helping us think about our marriages in a Biblical way, by dealing with our heart problem rather than merely the symptoms of that problem.

The clip below is from the promotional material for the DVD, but you can find lots of samples from the DVD itself here and if you want to purchase it you can do from here.

What Did You Expect? from Nate Salciccioli on Vimeo.

Who’s getting the first round in?

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Here’s a familiar face spouting a lot of wise words and I would recommend you read every one of them.

Dan has some really helpful things to say and I know I for one need to hear them.  The reality is that evangelism and interaction with non-Christians is often one of the first casualties amongst the busyness of full time ministry.  What does that do for the effectiveness of our ministry:

we know how those whom we disciple look up to and copy their leaders. Pastors who only talk a lot about engaging, befriending, and evangelizing non-Christians will be productive in producing Christians who only talk a lot about befriending and evangelizing non-Christians. 

So how to address the problem when you’re already struggling to find time and energy?

Yes, schedule in regular time where you’ll come into contact with non-Christians, but don’t do it on your own.

Discipleship and training can happen in the context of getting involved in the lives of non-Christians.

For example we can minister to a mature Christian (through modelling) and a  non-Christian (through conversational engagement) at the same time in a pub.

Take one pastor who needs to get out more, add a Christian who would thrive on interacting with non-Christians, and sprinkle generously with a hearty dose of apologetic conversation with unbelievers.

So the only remaining question is, who’s getting the first round in?

Is God in hell?

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“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. – Matthew 25:41

Last Sunday evening I got into a conversation where the question arose as to whether God is in hell or if hell is the place of separation from God.  It may seem from Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:41 and 7:23 that hell is the place where God is not. Many assume hell is the place of separation from God’s presence, but the Bible speaks of God being present in different ways in different locations.

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” – Matthew 18:19-20

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. – John 14:16-17

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Making Disciples

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In the Great Commission at the end of Matthew 28, Jesus instructs his disciples to “make disciples.”  He does not instruct them to make converts who are only later to be discipled.  That’s an important distinction with regard to how we view evangelism and something  Jonathan Dodson picks up on here.

Our shop window

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Many of us now do our shopping online and even for those who don’t like to actually buy things over the Internet, almost all of us spend time researching the items we are going to invest in, in front of our screens.

It’s the same with church.

Unless they have been personally invited by a Christian friend, virtually every new person we welcome into our church services today will have found out about us on the web via the church website.  For every person who walks through the doors on a Sunday morning for the first time, how many more have looked at the church website only to invest their time elsewhere?

There’s a good article here from Trevin Wax on what a church website should accomplish.

Rather than just a series of links to news stories and announcements about upcoming events, the website should be a means of revealing your church.

He then lists the following 5 ways how a good website can effectively reveal a church to those who are looking for a place to worship.

1. A clear, easy to find “Statement of Beliefs”

2. Basic boring information – contacts / what’s on / directions

3. Staff and leadership page

4. Podcasts and/or sermon videos

5. Social media buttons

Increasingly the church website is our shop window.

Little Jonny won’t take long to catch on

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Following on from yesterday’s post on Children in gathered worship, here’s a link to Jason Helopoulos’ tips on how to go about helping children worship with the rest of the church.  There’s no rocket-science involved but as I mentioned yesterday imagination and preparation make a world of difference.

In the few years experience we’ve gained in raising our own children, we’ve been repeatedly confronted with the fact that the biggest obstacle to training their hearts is the poor state of our own hearts. And that’s why parenting is so hard at times.

If Monday through Saturday, we as parents aren’t preparing for and passionate about gathering as the church of Jesus Christ come Sunday, why would our children ever be?  If gathered worship is something we endure, little Jonny won’t take long to catch on.

Psalm 122:1