All Posts (Page 30)
Let Us Pray Without Delay!
They didn’t complain. They didn’t doubt. They didn’t even strategize. Once Peter and John reported their imprisonment and the threats they had received for preaching the gospel, they immediately prayed with a gathering of believers in Jerusalem (see Acts 4:23-31). As I once heard, “Prayer was their first choice, not their last chance.” Here’s what they asked from God: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,…
Nine Characteristics of Biblical Prayer
True prayer is not merely a matter of saying the right words. Biblical prayer is characterized and motivated by the right attitude-right thinking about the greatness of God, the beauty of Christ, and our own unworthiness and weakness. Ask yourself if your prayers are characterized by: An Understanding of Your Own Insignificance and Sinfulness When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought…
Nine Men at Panera
A group of nine men and I just finished a year and half discussion about John. I’m not going to let you in on the beauties of the book at this point, but rather I want to comment on the idea of men reading and studying the Scripture together. My comments apply to women and youth also, but my experience is with men, so I will lay this out in that context. These men, members of my congregation, met at…
Providence in Romania
After ministering just a few days in Romania in 1985 when the Iron Curtain was still up, I received a call that my mother was dying in a hospital room in Oklahoma City. “We think she is holding on until you get here,” my brother said. It took two days to leave. It was hard enough to get into Romania at Oradea a few days earlier. At the checkpoint, the border guards asked if we had “any guns, drugs, pornography…
Reflections on the Ministry Trip to Ethiopia & Uganda, Fall of 2012
On September 4, 2012, CCW staff member Selamab Assefa and I left America for a few weeks of ministry in Africa. This was my third trip to Ethiopia with Selamab, and our first trip to Uganda. What follows is a brief report, arranged by topics. Old Friends Our first weekend in Ethiopia involved ministry to church leaders in a town called Dangla, about a 10 hour drive northwest of Addis Ababa (the capital city of Ethiopia). We had served in…
The Garage Method
A former professor of mine, now a successful author of Christian fiction, used to dismiss his anxieties by repeating this mantra: “Oh well. It doesn’t eternally matter.” For him six words conquered all ills. He slew his worries with a phrase, with a mere wag of his tongue. I’m not sure he was right about things not eternally mattering, but his blood pressure remained low and in many ways, he turned his worries into trust. It is sort of an…
Ethiopian Trip, May 2011
During May, 2011, Selamab Assefa and I took off for CCW’s second ministry trip to Ethiopia (click here for more about Steve’s and Selamab’s trip last fall). We were there for 2 ½ weeks, travelling and speaking at churches. May 13-16 After 20+ hours of travel, we walked out into Ethiopia’s capitol city, Addis Ababa—just in time to sleep a few hours and make a 3 ½ hour drive across dusty roads and beautiful African landscape to the town…
Hearing Aids for Believers
Let’s face it-sometimes it is hard to get much out of the sermon or teaching you receive in your church. While some of the blame often lies at the feet of the presenter, it is still the obligation of the listener to scratch for something nourishing for the soul. Here are some hearing aids: 1. Sleep more. Not during the meeting, of course, but the night before. This takes some planning. It is especially difficult with youth, who use Saturday…
How You Might Use The Soils Booklet
It takes the Spirit of God to open up the heart of any man or woman to the good news of life in Christ. In our world many believe that they have some relationship with Christ. Over 80% of Americans, for instance, say that they are Christians, very broadly defined [Barna]. The statistics are alarming since we know that almost all who profess faith in Christ really do not actually understand the gospel or give evidence that they know Him.…
The Last Forty-five Minutes
He was lying down, gasping. It was his own bed and it was his time. Forty-five minutes from this moment he would die. Beside him sat his wife in the overstuffed leather chair that had been pulled close for the final event. She had been there all night. She sat on the edge as she patted his hand and tried to soothe him—disheveled, wide-eyed with simmering panic, twitching, pleading. It had been the hardest night of her life. The hospice…
The Man of Faith, George Muller (audio Links)
Jim and Bill Elliff, John Piper and Jim Cymbala on the man of Faith, George Muller. In this well-produced audio presentation, you will hear many of the stories of Muller and his orphanage, his disciplines and his experiences with trusting God, as well as how Muller impacted those involved on the audio itself. This was produced by Revive Our Hearts, the radio ministry of Nancy Lee DeMoss. We encourage you to listen in order to learn more about trusting God.…
The Muller Center Goes to Israel
CCW began “The Muller Center for Biblical Studies” in the fall of 2010 with its first six students. The goal was to read the Bible seriously and let the Spirit work to teach and train in Bible literacy. The students and tutors (Jim Elliff and Steve Burchett) read the first five books of the Bible every two weeks and Matthew every week (132 chapters/week). This meant approximately 20 hours a week for reading, marking, and discovery of biblical insights. The…
The Threefold Newness of Marriage
Weddings are celebrations of love, of commitment, and of hope for the future. But they are also a time to recognize and celebrate newness, even the newness of creation. When you attend a wedding you are witnessing three brand new things: First, you are witnessing the establishment of an entirely new family. Much is often said at weddings about parents not losing a son, but gaining a daughter, or not losing a daughter, but gaining a son. These are true…
What About Your Relatives?
In the New Testament, we find new believers confronting their own family first with the gospel. One writer calls this "oikos evangelism." The word "oikos" means "household" in the language of the New Testament. A model for reaching our families is found in the first encounter Andrew had with Jesus. Read what it motivated him to do: "He found first his own brother Simon [Peter], and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which translated means Christ). He brought…
Ministry Trip to Ethiopia, Fall 2011
Tuesday-Wednesday, September 20-21, 2011 Selamab Assefa and I were eager to head back together to Ethiopia (We took our first trip together last year.). We flew from Kansas City to Washington, D.C, then to Frankfort, Germany, and then on to Addis Ababa, the capital city. We arrived at night and were happy to see our luggage riding down the conveyor belt. Selamab’s brother and a friend greeted us warmly once we passed through all of the security checks. The scene…
What Did George Muller Think About the Bible?
George Muller loved orphans. By the end of his life in the late 1800’s, he had housed over 10,000 in Bristol, England. Remarkably, throughout his ministry he made needs known only to God. Muller’s ultimate desire for destitute boys and girls was not just to provide shelter and food, though the children were cared for very well. When sharing his dreams for ministry to orphans, Muller said this: The chief and special end of the Institution will be to seek,…