John Piper on Scripture Memorization

Jesus wants the rose

When My Heart Is Overwhelmed

This is a sermon, by a pastor discussing how he is dealing with the fact that his daughter now has cancer. I greatly encourage everyone to watch it. The things he says are things we all need to hear.



When My Heart Is Overwhelmed from Reality on Vimeo.

Balaam's Donkey

Something a professor once told rich mullins:

"God spoke to Balaam through his ass and He's been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to speak through you, you need not think too highly of yourself. And if on meeting someone, you recognize right away what they are, listen to them anyway, because God spoke to Balaam through his ass and He's been speaking through asses ever since."

Suffer for them

"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." - Philippians 1:12-14

Are we willing to suffer, that others might be more confident in the LORD?

Quiet! Be still!

"He got up, rebuked the wind and said to thewaves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. " Mark 4:39

Remember Jesus' authority this week. When He speaks, His will is done.

In the days of your youth

"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come." Ecclesiastes 12:1

Don't hold off on following Jesus until tomorrow, tomorrow never comes. Follow Him whole heartily now. Pray whole heartily now. Seek God, study His word, now. The sooner the better, don't put it off or you will never get to it.

Free Audio Books!

Every month ChristianAudio.com offers a free audio book for download, this month is one of my favorite books, and something I would encourage everyone to read:

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What is Jesus' will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.'"

They are also offering "Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die" by John Piper, which I have only read some of, but it's by John Piper so it's probably good. This is the first time they have offered two books at once (as far as I know) and this month they were both ones I already owned... oh well.

Enjoy.

What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

^{Matthew 10:26-33}
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ³²So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

We are called to proclaim the Gospel, fearlessly. Are you ashamed of Christ? Ask your self this daily. Look at your actions and motives. How many lost and dying people did you proclaim the hope of Christ to today?

I'm not saying you should act on your own will, without being led by the Spirit, but perhaps if you step out in boldness, as God so often commands, the Spirit will go with you, He will guide you, and He will talk through you.

Remember:

^"1And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ²For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Remember to pray for them

"far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you" 1 Sam 12:23

"praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints" Eph. 6:18

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people" 1 Tim 2:1

For those who don't know what supplication is:

Supplication –noun

an act or instance of supplicating; humble prayer, entreaty, or petition.
(I'll be honest, I only assumed what it meant before actually looking it up.)

Be in prayer for one another. Pray for your enemies, pray for your leaders (Christian and not), pray for the lost, pray for your family, pray for your your brothers and sisters in Christ, pray for those who have hurt you, and pray for those who bless you. Pray for all people, lest you "should sin against the Lord". Seek God on their behalf. Live a life of prayer. God will meet you, He will do amazing things.

Almighty

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.'" Rev. 1:17-18

This week remember our God's amazing power. He holds all things and is above all. In Him we have nothing to fear.
Keep Christ above everything in your life. For He is supreme and worthy of all praise. And remember "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Rom. 8:31

Repent and God's grace be with you.

Where do you get your water?

"for My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and dug out wells for themselves, broken wells that can hold no water." Jer. 2:13

Where do you get your provision? Are you accepting God's free gifts, or working hard to get things in your own strength?

Let us repent for trying to do things in our own strength and drink from His grace filled waters.

Hope and Faith in the midst of death and disaster

I stole this from a New York Times article by DEBORAH SONTAG. To read the rest of the article go here


PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Five days after Haiti’s devastating earthquake, an evangelical pastor in a frayed polo shirt, his church crushed but his spirit vibrant, sounded a siren to summon the newly homeless residents of a tent city to an urgent Sunday prayer service.

Voice scratchy, eyes bloodshot, arms raised to the sky, the Rev. Joseph Lejeune urged the hungry, injured and grieving Haitians who gathered round to close their eyes and elevate their beings up and out of the fetid Champ de Mars square where they now scrambled to survive.

“Think of our new village here as the home of Jesus Christ, not the scene of a disaster,” he called out over a loudspeaker. “Life is not a disaster. Life is joy! You don’t have food? Nourish yourself with the Lord. You don’t have water? Drink in the spirit.”

And drink they did, singing, swaying, chanting and holding their noses to block out the acrid stench of the bodies in a collapsed school nearby. Military helicopters buzzed overhead, and the faithful reached toward them and beyond, escaping for a couple of hours from the grim patch of concrete where they sought shelter under sheets slung over poles.

Brother Jacob Virgil led his evangelical community in singing hymns.

I'm leading a C-group starting Friday

Frontline is starting it's community groups this week.

Two of these groups are being led by Hope for the Hopeless leaders, I am leading one of these.

If you are from the greater Oklahoma City area I would urge you to get involved, these are groups that will grow into a tight knit family, praying for eachother, and growing in the Lord together.

here are the two groups:

--------------THURSDAYS----------------

Northwest Hope

Leaders: Jesse & Caren Barge

Phone: Jesse 405-919-3586 or Caren 919-3687

E-mail: Steadfast97@msn.com

Location: 8905 NW 80th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73132

Time: Thursday Nights 7pm to 9pm

Comments: adults only, small well tempered dog at the house

Description: We welcome people of all ages, including spiritual elders who would like to mentor younger people.

--------------FRIDAYS----------------

Crush the Enemy

Leaders: Jeff Bayne (that's me!) and Paul and Nina Thorpe

Phone: 405-537-5629 (Jeff), 405-795-0531 (Paul)

Email: vintonvonbayne@gmail.com, paul.j.thorpe@gmail.com

Location: Paul and Nina's apartment (122nd and Penn - please call ahead to get address and gate code)

Time: Fridays 7:30-9:30

Comments: adults only; cat, rat, and gecko at host home

Description: Using a communal setting to develop personal relationships, learning and praying together in the Lord, pushing the enemy out of our lives by growing together as a family in Christ.

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If neither of these groups will work out for you, Frontline has quite a few other groups going on in different areas and on different days, check out their full list here - http://frontlinechurch.tv/community

(sidenote: These groups are not limited to Frontline or Hope for the Hopeless members)

Until next time, grace be with you all.