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Plan Now for a Great Summer Bible Study
If you’re anything like me, summer means less structure in your life. That might equal more free time, but it also might mean your group Bible study won’t meet again until fall. Perhaps your church does offer a big group study, but your travel schedule, your VBS commitments, or your kids’ softball games make that option impractical. How will you stay in the Word when the pools and grills are in service? Whatever your situation, be active, not passive. You can make some easy plans now that will result in a summer immersed in the truth. Here are my seven suggestions: 1. Pray. Really—don’t make prayer an afterthought. Ask, “Lord, please…
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Ten Faith and Culture Gifts to give or enjoy: Books, art, music and websites to enrich the year ahead
What do all the following resources and activities have in common? Whether you give them as gifts or enjoy them for yourself, these iron-sharpening-iron books, art works, websites, culture makers and commentators will inspire and equip you to live with the truth and grace of Jesus in today’s culture. In the election-year culture war ahead they will keep you grounded in orthodoxy without being shrill and focus your heart and mind on the good, the true and the beautiful. In today’s postmodern culture the arts open so many doors for bridging the cultural divide. These resources will help you connect with outsiders as well as the under-40’s. To order or…
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“Christmas…A Time of Adoration”
The choir begins to sing as the orchestra plays one of the most familiar Christmas carols ever, “O Come All Ye Faithful.” The congregation stands to their feet as they join in with heartfelt voices, hands lifted in praise, and expressions of adoration to the Lord on their faces. This was the scene I observed this past Sunday during a Christmas candlelight service at church. “O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant Oh come ye O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold him born the King of angels; O come let us adore him Christ the Lord.” The lyrics of this classic Christmas carol were originally written…
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Helping Children Worship God Through Music
When God calls a young child to himself, it’s a beautiful thing. I marvel at how the gospel message is so complex, yet at the same time simple enough that even a toddler can be convicted unto salvation. I’ve observed the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of several children, but one girl stands out in particular in my mind—sweet little Caroline. As a three-year-old, she always knew the answers to every Bible question thrown her way and loved to praise the Lord in music. One Sunday morning, I watched her stand up and raise her palms as she sang quietly to the Lord. Her spontaneous gesture was short-lived,…
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Jesus Loves Me!
Jesus loves me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong. Chorus: Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
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The Hum of a Ceiling Fan
A dear friend of mine is a writer of songs and a writer of words. She went through a period of time when all the songs she wrote were all the key of F. “I wondered why I could not write songs in any other key,” she wrote. “It really bothered me. Not everything in F was the best range for my voice, or fit the song I was trying to convey.” She thought she was in a musical rut. She prayed to get out of the rut, and still wrote in F. She got frustrated that nothing changed. “But as one season changed into the next, I started writing…
