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Month: August 2014

Our Chief Aim

Published by Jeff Kennon on August 29, 2014

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From the pen of Charles Spurgeon…

The grand object of the Christian ministry is the glory of God. Whether souls are converted or not, if Jesus Christ be faithfully preached, the minister has not labored in vain. Yet as a rule, God has sent us to preach in order that through the gospel of Jesus Christ the sons of men may be reconciled to Him.

Our great objective of glorifying God is, however, to be mainly achieved by the winning of souls. We must see souls born unto God. If we do not, our fury should be that of Rachel “Give me children, or I die.” If we do not win souls, we should mourn as the husbandman who sees no harvest, as the fisherman who returns to his cottage with an empty net, or as the huntsman who has in vain roamed over hill and dale. Ours should be Isaiah’s language uttered with many a sigh and groan “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” The ambassadors of peace should not cease to weep bitterly until sinners weep for their sins. 

–Lectures to My Students, Charles Spurgeon

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Disordered Love

Published by Jeff Kennon on August 24, 2014

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This is why we need the gospel…

The greatest disordered love of all is our confident but false hope that our love for things in the world, despite their goodness and desirability, can satisfy the need we have for loving union with God.

Given our own ignorance and the deceptions of our surrounding culture, it is very easy for us to be forgetfully intoxicated with the creation but without the Creator, especially as “lovers of self, lovers of money…[and] lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:2-4)

We should love God, people, animals, places, and things the way God, people, animals, places, and things should be loved. Nothing but frustration lies ahead if this order is reversed. Happy, then, is the person who comprehends and loves all things in their proper places in their proper ways.

Reordered Love, Reordered Lives by David Naugle (p. 51-52)

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Around The Web

Published by Jeff Kennon on August 21, 2014

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The Goal Of The Christian Life – When asked what is the goal of the Christian life, a typical mantra heard in evangelical circles is the knee-jerk response, “To become Christ-like.”

A Technology Fast From Everything *Except* The Internet – A few months ago, I moved my family from hot and sunny North Texas to cold and rainy northern England so I could start a PhD on digital Bible use. I hoped to learn a lot about technology, but I what I didn’t expect on was how much the move itself would teach me.

God Does Not View Your Labors As “Filthy Rags” – So what does God think of our good works after we are saved?

Why Read The Bible Everyday? – So why read the Bible? And why every day? Dozens of reasons could be mentioned. Here are a few of the most important: daily Bible reading is how we calm down, tank up, get wisdom, go deep, get busy, and commune with God.

5 Ways To Be A Better Atheist –  I rarely (if ever) see atheists who are seeking truth more than they are seeking emotional confirmation. Most atheists are fundamentalists with lots of claims to intellectual engagement, but little evidence of it.

On The Selfie And The Self – The self is much too elusive to be captured by a phone snap.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

 

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Meaningless Activities Will Overtake Our Lives

Published by Jeff Kennon on August 19, 2014

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Words of warning from Mark Sayers on our culture and where it is leading us…

In a superflat culture where nothing matters, we escape into obsessions and hobbies, interests that bear little ultimate consequence. In a commodified culture, we move and shift around meaning, giving weight to things that do not deserve mountains of time and attention. The twenty-first century will be marked by conspicuous consumption but also a flagrant misuse of time.

Millions of hours in the twenty-first century will be spent working through DVD TV series, scanning social network sties, gorging on celebrity gossip, downloading music, flipping through home magazines, and playing computer games. Things will take precedence over people. Meaningless activities will overtake our lives. There is nothing wrong with interests and hobbies in their right place, but the twenty-first-century will gorge on such activities.

–The Road Trip That Changed Everything, pg 109

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Around The Web

Published by Jeff Kennon on August 14, 2014

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5 Things You Can Do For Christians In Iraq – Like many believers around the world, I am horrified at the persecution of Christians in Iraq. It is a sobering moment to realize that the type of persecution I’ve read about so many times in the Book of Acts is happening in our day. Even our Lord Jesus spoke of the reality and the blessing that He will give to those who suffer for the faith.

3 Warning Signs I’m Too Busy – A good quick read for personal reflection.

3 Ways Not To Share Jesus – If and when you have the opportunity to share Christ with a Millennial, here are three ways you should NOT answer the question, “So why should I believe in Jesus?”

4 Moments I’m Preparing Students To Face – As I listen to and observe the faith journeys of former students and young adults, I often see pivotal moments along the way that constitute “make or break” tests of their faith. Discipling my students, I am preparing them for these four moments.

We Produce What We Know – If we reproduce what we know, and we know that what is modeled before us is not working, then maybe it is time for something systemically different.

What Do I Use To Write In My Bible? – Some helpful thoughts for those like to take notes in their Bible.

Three German Students Surprise A Homeless Guy

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The Cross Cuts Us Down To Size

Published by Jeff Kennon on August 12, 2014

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Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, “I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.”

Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.

-John Stott, The Message of Galatians

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Around The Web

Published by Jeff Kennon on August 7, 2014

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Is It Arrogant To Tell Other Christians To Imitate Your Example? Some great thoughts that help us to think about an aspect of discipleship we often forget about.

3 Reasons We Shouldn’t Reject Leadership Culture – Don’t get sick of leadership development. It’s important, and it’s biblical.

Jesus’ Absolute Calls To Discipleship – These are hard texts, but the are good news because they show that Jesus is God, and therefore worthy of all allegiance. For if Jesus is not God, he could not have called for absolute allegiance.

Five Ways To Flourish In Journaling – Good journaling is not just an exercise in introspection, but a pathway for joy — and a powerful tool in the hands of love.

What Loving The Unlovable Looks Like – You’ve likely never heard of her. She died a recluse in 1933. Having never married and living most of her life deaf and bedridden by a spinal problem, her name threatened to fall through the cracks of history.

You Only Need A One Question Test To Identify A Narcissist – To find a narcissist, just ask them all to stand up. According to a new study (based on 11 separate experiments), the 40-question diagnostic test for narcissism can often be skipped in favor of a single, blunt question.

But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. -Isaiah 64:8

 

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