Pastor Steve shares these links to stimulate some Thursday Thoughts…
Three posts this week from “For the Church” blog.
Worship Already in Progress … While it might be helpful to read a blog that seeks to correct an all too common habit among some believers: arriving at church fashionably late to a worship already in progress; this isn’t about that. It is about the great thrill that is ours each week when we realize our morning worship becomes a part of a worship that spans time and space in ways we cannot imagine. Mike Brooks writes: “What’s it like to hear the whole world sing your praise? Only God knows (Ps. 66:4-5). But be awed by the fact that He does. And when the pastor or music leader leads you to stand in worship this Sunday, revel in knowing you’re joining a worship gathering already in progress.” You can read the rest HERE.
A Gospeled Church … Jared Wilson writes: “The gospel cannot puff us up. It cannot make us prideful. It cannot make us selfish. It cannot make us arrogant. It cannot make us rude. It cannot make us gossipy. It cannot make us accusers. So the more we press into the gospel, the more the gospel takes over our hearts and the spaces we bring our hearts to, and it stands to reason, the less we would see those things antithetical to it.” You can read the rest HERE.
Sanctification: Shaped Into Something Wonderful … Mallor Bierig writes: “God orchestrates every moment of our lives to shape us into His likeness, but it takes effort, discipline, and intentionality on our part for optimal sanctification to take place. Margaret said it well in her article, Becoming More Like Jesus Doesn’t Happen Through Diaper Changing: “Sanctification is NEVER something that just happens to you. Difficult circumstances and hard work are not magic beans that yield the fruit of Christlikeness. In fact, it’s at busy and stressful times that it is easiest to neglect the Holy Spirit in your life and your spiritual disciplines, or worst yet, to resist sanctification. Sanctification is something the Holy Spirit does inside of us, but it requires our obedience and teachability.”” You can read the rest HERE.
