Paint Your Treasure in Hues of Gold and Purple. (Wear Out That Highlighter.)
In the Survey of God’s Goodness in Joshua 1-5, Pastor Larry Trotter described himself as a treasure hunter: When you open your Bible, look for God. [Among] lots of fascinating, wonderful, delightful things in the Bible — God’s will, Geography, Culture, Language, Poetry, Literature, all kinds of things you can learn about, but I want to suggest right at the center of it all, we should open our Bibles to look for God. I look for insights into who God is, to what he’s like. I’m looking for what the pages of scripture show me is good and beautiful about
No More Mr. Nice God? The Destruction of Jericho
This past Sunday (4/8/18), I (Carson) mentioned that I would post a couple of articles that deal with the difficult moral issues surrounding the Canaanite conquest. First, here's a link to a relatively brief article found in the Apologetics Study Bible by Mark Durie. What Did Jesus Have to Do With Violence Second, if you are more into video-watching instead of article-reading, the Bible project video has a few helpful points regarding the destruction of Jericho. (And an article to boot in case you accidentally find yourself reading!) Judgement or Cruelty And lastly, here's a few thoughts of my own
Passion Week Devotional
If you would like a guide to help you reflect on the events of the last week of Jesus’ life leading up to Easter, here is a helpful free devotional from John Piper that has a brief reading for each day of this extraordinary week: Love To the Uttermost
Forsaken And Cursed For Us…
On Sunday (3/11/18) we explored the significance of Jesus' cry in Matt. 27, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” If you would like to read more about the forsakenness/cursedness of Jesus on our behalf on the cross, this link to a sermon by R.C. Sproul is a powerful and weighty exploration of those themes. You can read it here: Far As the Curse is Found Or you can watch it here: The Curse Motif of the Atonement
Short Scripture Prayers
Over the years I have complied a list of short Scripture Prayers that are useful in my own praying. You can easily write the ones you would like to use onto a 3X5 and carry them with you or you can pull them up on your phone or even commit them to memory! They are good stimulus to praying God’s good and perfect will for our friends and family and for our own souls. Enjoy! Short Prayers for Meditation
Vll: the Last Words of Jesus
This is the title to our new series on Sunday mornings at NW. During the season of Lent (which began this past Wednesday), we will be reflecting together on the last sayings of Jesus while on the cross. They are, as you would imagine, words that reveal to us the very heart of Jesus for us that we are then to share with others. I’ve linked a short devotional on the seven last words of Jesus written by the folks at Breakpoint.org. I hope it will help you ready yourself for worship each Sunday as we consider together…"that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may
The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
(That all peoples of the earth may know Him) What is Lottie Moon? It’s not a phase of the lunar calendar or a new drink at Starbucks. The question should be: who is Lottie Moon? Lottie Moon is the namesake of the international missions’ offering taken annually at Christmas time in Southern Baptist Churches (SBC) around the world to fund the work of Southern Baptist missionaries. Lottie Moon was a hard-working, deep-loving, young lady who left America in 1873 to do missionary work in China so that all the people might know her Savior, Jesus Christ. Why was the offering
Rahab’s Lie
This past Sunday (1/21/18) I quoted David Howard’s article on Rahab’s lie. It’s a helpful short overview of Christian perspectives on whether or not it is ever acceptable for a Christian to lie. Here’s the whole article: http://whyteridgebaptist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Scripture-Studies-Joshua-2-Side-Remark-on-Rahabs-Life.pdf I also shared the testimony of Nabeel Qureshi, a former Muslim who came to faith in Christ. You can read his entire testimony here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/january-february/christ-called-me-off-minaret.html
Priority for 2018
The fall of each year our elders go away for a retreat to discern what we believe should be our top priority in terms of focussed spiritual growth for the coming year. This past Sunday (1/7/18) I presented that priority in the morning’s sermon. You can give it a listen here: Sermon1-7-18 Bought! Here it is in writing: 2018 NW Annual Priority Key Word: Bought Bumper Sticker: Bought: We Belong to Christ! Full statement of priority: to be captivated by the truth that we belong to Christ and that we are His people... such that, (these are the markers we are looking
Conversation Starters ….
As the holidays approach, join me in praying with the apostle Paul ... At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison —Colossians 4:3 And when He opens those doors, what will you say? Here are some helpful resources to equip you with clear words (Col. 4.4) when God grants you the opportunity: 1. This is a series of little 3 minute videos designed to help you begin spiritual conversations with friends and family at Christmas.
