December 2010
71 posts
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“God takes what we call a mess and turns it into a message”
– Anonymous
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What Does It Mean to “Pray without Ceasing”?
“Praying without ceasing” means at least three things.
First, it means that there is a spirit of dependence that should permeate all we do. This is the very spirit and essence of prayer. So, even when we are not speaking consciously to God, there is a deep, abiding dependence on him that is woven into the heart of faith. In that sense, we “pray” or have the spirit of prayer continuously.
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My Top Ten Theology and Church Stories from 2010
As the end of the year approaches, we eagerly look forward to 2011 and make resolutions. The challenges of 2010 fade as we dream of new possibilities next year. But it’s also worthwhile to reflect on what’s changed in the last 12 months. The discipline allows us to transcend the constant, daily internet noise and take stock. So I’ve compiled a list of the top ten theology and church stories...
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You’re not crazy
Serving Christ gets hard. Harder than we expected. Harder than we can endure. We are tempted to think, “No way can this turn out well. My life – the only one I have – is going to end up on the junk pile. I must be crazy to be out here doing this, taking these risks, getting hammered with this criticism, paying this price.”
But the truth is, your life is retelling the story of Jesus in...
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“Grace is not an excuse for weakness; it is an endless resource for strength.”
– Ray Ortlund
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Strengthened by grace
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1
“First, then, there is a call to be strong. Timothy was weak; Timothy was timid. Yet he was called to a position of leadership in the church – and in an area in which Paul’s authority was rejected. It is as if Paul said to him, ‘Listen Timothy, never mind what other people say, never...
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“We need to note carefully … that it is not self-depreciation, but...”
– B.B. Warfield on Phil 2:5-11: ‘Imitating the Carnation’
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Real Choice, Divine Sway, and the Way Paul Lived
One of the most influential passages in the Bible that God used to open my mind to his sovereignty over my will is Philippians 2:12-13.
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
So my working and willing are necessary. They are real. But they are not first or ultimately decisive. God’s willing and...
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Phil Wickham - Cielo (Acoustic) [Album: Heaven and...
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“The greatest gift is knowing Jesus Christ… Merry Christmas”
– Lisa Johnson
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“This life is the only heaven the unbeliever will ever know. This life is the...”
– Bill Johnson
Blessings,
David Jee [Eternity Bible College]
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Santa Claus with the Baby in Bethlehem
So who exactly was St. Nicholas? The unsatisfying answer is that nobody knows for sure. To quote one Nicholas scholar “We can grant a bishop of that name who had a great impact on his homeland. We can also accept December 6 as the day of his death and burial. These are all the facts we can hold to. Further we cannot go.” (Gustav Anrich quoted by Charles W. Jones in Saint Nicholas of...
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WatchWhat Is the Meaning of Christmas?
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A Special Winter Report from Brian Kim
Dear friends, As 2010 comes to a close, we are grateful as we look back over the year and see the Lord’s faithfulness to us and our ministry. 2010 has been an eventful and exciting year and we are grateful for your continued support. We want to take a few moments to share with you some of our highlights from the Fall and Winter quarters and tell you about some new and exciting...
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10 girls rescued in South Africa!
Fellow Abolitionist: Saskia is one of us. Saskia’s a 21-year-old Canadian who went to Not For Sale’s Global Forum, then got training at the NFS Academy to become a modern-day Abolitionist. And it worked! She moved to Capetown, helped to found Not For Sale South Africa, and then held an awareness campaign during the World Cup to stop football tourists from perpetuating the...
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World Vision - Give a Little More This Christmas
At the RightNow Conference this year I was deeply moved by Max Lucado’s message entitled Outlive Your Life. If you were there, you will remember the story he told about his friend Dadi from Ethiopia. He said that Dadi was a farmer, but he lost his Ox when a drought destroyed his farm and now he works as a day laborer earning less than $1 a day. The thing that really hit me though, was that...
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“I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want...”
– Francis Chan
Blessings,
David Jee [Eternity Bible College]
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Teaspoon Christianity
“For those of us who have been Christians for a while, it becomes easy to think that we’ve pretty much exhausted the possibilities of the Christian life. We can settle into a routine of activities at church and in our small groups and Bible studies, with little expectation of anything new. The familiar becomes the predictable, and everything from here on out will be more of the...
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“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we...”
– 1 John 3:16-18.
Blessings,
David Jee [Eternity Bible College]
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A Father’s Role in His Children Going to Church...
Robbie Low, writing in Touchstone (June 2003), points to an interesting 1994 study in Switzerland about the connection between the churchgoing habits of fathers and mothers and the effect on their children when they are grown.
Here’s a summary:
In short, if a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife’s devotions, only one child in 50 will become a regular ...
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Don’t ask questions, just believe?
“But someone will say, ‘Didn’t Jesus say that, to be saved, you have to be as a little child?’ Of course he did. But did you ever see a little child who didn’t ask questions? People who use this argument must never have listened to a little child or been one. My four children gave me a harder time with their endless flow of questions than university people ever have… ....
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David Crowder*Band - Oh Holy Night
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News & Updates - 12 Days of Christmas - The 6th...
December News Dear Friends, This Christmas, we’ve invited you to partner with us in giving the gift of health and hope to communities in Africa through Blood:Water’s 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS. Our true love would be to meet the needs of communities yet to be served this year – from providing access to safe water so children can go to school to offering transportation to...
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WatchAdvent Conspiracy
Blessings,
David Jee [Eternity Bible College]
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“God knows, we have all been guilty of this; we may still be guilty.
Why do we...”
– Martyn Lloyd-Jones [Psalm 50]
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This is that mystery
“This is that mystery which is rich in divine grace to sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s, and the righteousness of Christ not Christ’s but ours. He has emptied himself of his righteousness that he might clothe us with it and fill us with it; and he has taken our evils upon himself that he might deliver us from them.”
“Learn Christ and...
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News about Eternity Bible College
Eternity Bible College December, 2010 Friends and Family of EBC, To begin, let me apologize for not sending newsletters more frequently. We will try to do a better job of keeping you informed of the many exciting things happening at EBC. A Need As you probably know, EBC isn’t like other colleges—our tuition is only $100 per credit ($125 online). Some people would call this cheap, but ...
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“Of course, we do not use the word cool to describe true greatness. It is a small...”
– John Piper (from “Don’t Waste Your Life”)
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10 Lessons Learned From Eugene Peterson This Year...
1. Pastoral Work does not look “busy.” 2. The hard work of a pastor is done in the quiet of study and prayer. 3. Most pastors are pragmatists because they have never seen any other kind of pastoral work done. 4. You will never get the job of pastoral work down to a science. 5. Read novels as a part of your ministry. 6. How-to sermons are rarely - if ever - helpful. 7....
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What we tell our kids about Santa
image by Patrick Mahoney
‘Tis the season … for parents to decide if they will tell the truth about Santa.
When it comes to cultural issues like Santa, Christians have three options: (1) we can reject it, (2) we can receive it, or (3) we can redeem it.
Since Santa is so pervasive in our culture, it is nearly impossible to simply reject Santa as part of our annual cultural...
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The Great Reversal
All of Jesus’ ministry—the words he spoke, the miracles he performed—showed that there was a new order in town: God’s order. When Jesus healed the diseased, raised the dead, and forgave the desperate, he did so to show that with the arrival of God in the flesh came the restoration of the way God intended things to be. New life was given, health was restored; God was reversing the curse...
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Chris Tomlin - O, Come All Ye Faithful [Album:...
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“Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
You hold my right hand.
You guide me...”
– Psalm 73:23-28
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Why You Should Raise Up Preachers in Your Church
I was overcome with joy this Sunday as I listened to a young man preach God’s word in my church: he was faithful to the text, he heralded the gospel of Jesus, he stirred my soul. Tragically, many church planters and pastors never experience this. They never share their pulpits. Fear, pride, and laziness generally drive this, and it harms Christ’s church, and, ironically, the planter...
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“As many of you know, earlier this year the elders granted Pastor John Piper a...”
– John Piper’s Return Date
Kenny Stokes made the following announcement before his sermon this weekend at Bethlehem:
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“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
– Jim Elliot
Blessings,
David Jee [Eternity Bible College]
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Family Ministry: Discipleship Starts at Home
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” –Proverbs 22:6
Pastor Your Family
The Puritans remind us of the value and importance of family ministry. Family worship was one of the hallmarks of the Puritan era and one of their greatest legacies. The Puritan pastor Richard Baxter knew the importance of family ministry:
We must have a special eye...
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“Forgiveness means bearing the cost instead of making the wrongdoer do it, so you...”
– Tim Keller
Blessings,
David Jee [Eternity Bible College]
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