Was there death before the fall?

Was there death before the fall?
6 Ways to Help People Pray (from the IX Marks Blog)
Introversion: Tim Challies Discusses the Biblical Implications (podcast)
Encountering Jesus: Tim Keller Speaks at Oxford University (5 messages)
Journal of Biblical Counselling Free Issue 2012
What are the Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:16)
Free Online Seminary Class: Developing Godly Leaders
Accountability Questions (from a variety of sources e.g. Wesley)
God, Manhood & Ministry: New Desiring God Conference Audio
5 Practical Ways to Lead your wife

Posted: 15 Feb 2012 10:29 AM PST

Read the whole article at the NewFrontier'sPage

6 Ways to Help People Pray (from the IX Marks Blog)

Posted: 15 Feb 2012 12:57 AM PST

From the 9 Marks Blog. Read the post there.

Six Ways to Help People Pray

By Michael McKinley | 2.8.2012PRINT

Pretty much everyone would agree that prayer is an important part of the Christian life. And pretty much everyone would agree that most Christians don't pray as much or as well as they could. Here are six ways you as a pastor can help your people become more faithful and enthusiastic in their prayer life:

1. Set aside a lot of time in your gatherings to pray.

We pay lip service to the importance of prayer, but in many of our churches the prayer time is quick and unfocused. The message we may be sending unwittingly is that prayer is not quite as important as other more immediately productive activities.Prayer requires discipline and as such extended periods of corporate prayer (5 minutes? 10 minutes?) may be difficult for your people. But like a muscle, the pain that comes with use will cause a lot of growth.

2. Pray different kinds of prayers in your gatherings.

Scripture is full of all sorts of different prayers. Don't just ask for the things you want God to do for you, lead your people in prayers of confession, praise, and invocation. Teach your people all sorts of different was to pray.

3. Pray big prayers.
Think beyond the hospital visitation list. Pray prayers that reflect God's sovereignty over the whole world. Pray for the spread of the gospel in foreign nations; pray for an end to human trafficking worldwide; pray for religious freedoms to spring up in oppressive regimes.

4. Put work into your prayers.
Don't get up there on Sunday and wing it; you wouldn't do that with the sermon or with your music program. Put some thought and effort into choosing subjects and words that will be helpful and clear. Don't buy into the idea that spontaneity indicates sincerity and preparation indicates artifice.

5. Tell your people that/how you are praying for them.
All pastors pray for their people (or at least, they should). But not all congregations know that their pastors pray for them. Take time to communicate with the members of your church (email, call, note) that you are praying for them. It's also nice to let them know how you are praying for them ("I was praying for you today, particularly that…"). It's a simple gesture that encourages people and helps keep prayer for each other in the center of your church's life.

6. Give your people good resources.
There are a lot of good books on prayer out there. The one that has most shaped my prayer life (and the one I give to church members the most) is D.A. Carson's A Call to Spiritual Reformation. In it, Carson looks at the prayers of the Apostle Paul recorded in Scripture and give guidance on using them as models for our prayers. If our generation doesn't know how to pray as previous generations did, what better place for us to learn than from the Word of God?

Introversion: Tim Challies Discusses the Biblical Implications (podcast)

Posted: 15 Feb 2012 12:48 AM PST

Tim Challies discusses introversion and how it relates to the bible and ministry.

Introverted

Tim Challies
02/14/12

Download:

Introversion: Tim Challies Discusses the Biblical Implications (podcast) |

This week's episode of the Connected Kingdom Podcast (another of our new, shorter episodes) has me discussing introversion. You've got two options: You can read the transcript below or you can listen in by clicking on the audio player.

Encountering Jesus: Tim Keller Speaks at Oxford University (5 messages)

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 10:30 AM PST

Tim Keller recently spoke (February 8-11, 2012) at the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union.

You can download the audio for each talk, followed by the videos.

Journal of Biblical Counselling Free Issue 2012

Posted: 09 Feb 2012 02:14 PM PST

After a four year hiatus, the Journal of Biblical Counseling is back. Beginning with the new Winter 2012 issue, each new publication will be posted online, free to read and free to download. David Powlison announced the re-launch and new format in this video:

A number of JBC articles have appeared in Pastor John's messages and books over the years, these four in particular (posted with permission):

Ed Welch, "Self-Control: The Battle Against 'One More'" (Winter 2001)
David Powlison, "'Peace Be Still': Learning Psalm 131 By Heart" (Spring 2000)
Ed Welch, "Counseling Those Who Are Depressed" (Winter 2000)
Ed Welch, "Words of Hope for Those Who Struggle with Depression" (Winter 2000)

What are the Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:16)

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 09:58 AM PST

Jonathan Leeman's thoughts on this much debated question.

The apostles had heaven's authority for declaring who on earth is a kingdom citizen and therefore represents heaven.

The authority of the keys is the authority to assess a person's gospel words and deeds and to render a judgment.

Free Online Seminary Class: Developing Godly Leaders

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 03:23 AM PST

A free Seminary class from BiblicalTraining.org (Gordon Conwell). I've listened through some of their other classes and they were great.

DEVELOPING GODLY LEADERSHIP

Speaker:

Dr. John Johnson

This is a core leadership course designed for those who intend to be future leaders in ministry. This course will move from definitions to the core values of a leader; how to take a ministry through a vision process; engage in strategic planning, decision-making, and implementation; build great teams; work through conflict and change; delegate tasks; and effectively mentor the next generation of leaders. Models from the corporate, political, and military worlds will be compared and contrasted with biblical definitions and illustrations of leadership.

Class Outline

Definition
Overview	The great hope of the world is the church and the great hope of the church is great leaders. (29 min. 40 sec.)
Defining Leadership	Leadership is difficult to define. It is a mixture of science and art.
Defining Leadership (pt 2)	An institution doesn't necessarily die, but it will tend to die without good leadership.
The Need for Leadership	Leaders shape the values of an organization, bring together a common vision, act as catalysts and keep things going. Four important aspects of pastoral leadership are prophet, priest, sage and king.
Skills
The Acquisition of Leadership	Are leaders born that way or is leadership an acquired skill? The people who think it's innate believe that leadership is revealed in crisis not produced by crisis. Some people say it's acquired because it is an ability that anyone can learn. Some people say leaders are summoned by circumstances and rise to the occasion.
Develop Leadership Skills	A person will only excel by amplifying strengths never by simply fixing weaknesses. Your personality does not change as you grow. Once you find your sweet spot, spend the majority of your time working on your strengths. Convergence is where your greatest passions and strengths line up with the greatest opportunity.
The Context of Leadership	Every leader must understand the context in which they work in order to be effective in having the impact they desire. Three contexts you face as a leader are cultural context, social context and situational context.
The Context of Leadership (pt 2)	When you are identifying the social context of a group, it is important to recognize the structural, human resource, political and symbolic aspects of the group. (1 hr. 00 min. 34 sec.)
The Situational Context	The situational context can be described by saying that leadership style must match follower readiness. We have influence with someone when we adapt our behavior to the performance needs of the individual. (1 hr. 07 min. 48 sec.)
The Core Values of a Leader	One of the greatest challenges of leadership is self-leadership. We can only take people as far as we are willing to go ourselves. Core values are our inner beliefs, not what people think we are but what we know we are.
The Core Values of a Leader (pt 2)	Three core values of a leader should be humility, compassion and courage.
The Core Skills for Leadership	It's important to have values and skills. Values are critical but they aren't enough. There will be some variation in the way leaders express these skills that will depend on their personality.
Implementation
The Value of Teams	Good leaders apply their values and skills effectively as they think and analyze situations intuitively. Building and working with teams is an important element of being a successful leader.
Build with the Best	Having good people on your team is important because the team is only as strong as the weakest link. Get the right people on your team and the wrong people off your team. Trust lies at the heart of a functioning team.
Mission and Leadership	It is essential to have a mission that defines the key objectives. Key elements of a mission statement include one that is focused, inspiring concise and memorable.
Vision and Leadership	A Mission is a philosophic statement that answers the question, "Why are we here?" Vision is a strategic statement that answers the question, "Where are we going?"
Vision and Leadership (pt 2)	The further you can look back, the deeper you can look into the present enables you to better look out into the future. Great leaders don't impose a vision, they liberate the vision that's inside their constituents.
Strategies and Leadership	Without an effective strategy, a vision will lack credibility and remain an illusion.
Objectives and Decision Making	Identifying objectives is the process of moving from vision to reality. Objectives are the tactics employed to carry out the strategies, the action plan of what needs to happen now. Decisiveness is an important quality of a good leader.
Leadership and Change	Leadership is transformational by nature. Leaders are those who are committed to deep changes in themselves and those they lead. Change equals dissatisfaction plus vision plus strategy plus support systems that overcome resistance.
Challenges and Transitions	Expect challenges because it's normal for people to challenge those in leadership. Good leaders are able to adapt to challenges and learn from them. We will eventually leave what we are leading, so do what you can do to lead in a way that will make the transition easier. The most significant test of leadership is not present performance but the legacy you leave behind.
Challenges and Transitions	Expect challenges because it's normal for people to challenge those in leadership. Good leaders are able to adapt to challenges and learn from them. We will eventually leave what we are leading, so do what you can do to lead in a way that will make the transition easier. The most significant test of leadership is not present performance but the legacy you leave behind.

Accountability Questions (from a variety of sources e.g. Wesley)

Posted: 05 Feb 2012 06:32 AM PST

This list of accountability questions was gathered together by Ed Stetzer and comes from a variety of sources e.g Wesley, Colson, etc.

Accountability Questions

Yesterday, I finished up my series through James. I promised to include some accountability question list examples here. These lists are fromCultivating a Life for God (Church Smart Resources 1999 pp.125-131).

Typically, these questions are asked in groups of 2-3, are specific to men or women, meets regularly, and hold each other accountable.

John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?
4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work , or habits?
5. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
6. Did the Bible live in me today?
7. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
8. Am I enjoying prayer?
9. When did I last speak to someone about my faith?
10. Do I pray about the money I spend?
11. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
12. Do I disobey God in anything?
13. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
16. How do I spend my spare time?
17. Am I proud?
18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?
19. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?
20. Do I grumble and complain constantly?
21. Is Christ real to me?

Wesley's Band Meeting Questions:

1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting?
2. What temptations have you met with?
3. How were you delivered?
4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not?
5. Have you nothing you desire to keep secret?

Reference: John Wesley's Class Meetings: a Model for Making Disciples, by D. Michael Henderson, Evangel Publishing House, 1997, pp. 118-9

Chuck Swindoll's Pastoral Accountability Questions:

In his book, The Body, Chuck Colson lists the questions used by Chuck Swindoll.

1. Have you been with a woman anywhere this past week that might be seen as compromising?
2. Have any of your financial dealings lacked integrity?
3. Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material?
4. Have you spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer?
5. Have you given priority time to your family?
6. Have you fulfilled the mandates of your calling?
7. Have you just lied to me?

Neil Cole:

1. What is the condition of your soul?

2. What sin do you need to confess?

3. What have you held back from God that you need to surrender?

4. Is there anything that has dampened your zeal for Christ?

5. Who have you talked with about Christ this week?

HT: Journey

The questions I use are from these cards from Church Multiplication Associates. I keep one in my Bible.

The ten questions are as follows:

1. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
2. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not your spouse this week?
3. Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?
4. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this past week?
5. Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind their back or face-to-face?
6. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.
7. Have you continued to remain angry toward another?
8. Have you secretly wished for another's misfortune so that you might excel?
9. Did you finish your reading this week and hear from the Lord? What are you going to do about it?
10. Have you been completely honest with me?

God, Manhood & Ministry: New Desiring God Conference Audio

Posted: 04 Feb 2012 08:32 AM PST

5 Practical Ways to Lead your wife

Posted: 04 Feb 2012 04:54 AM PST

From the Resurgence Blog.

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5 Practical Ways To Lead Your Wife

1) LEAD IN REPENTANCE.

As men, we have the tendency to be proud, competitive and stubborn. We do not want to "give in" and lose an argument. Real men lead through humility by being the first to acknowledge their own sin, pride and stubbornness (Proverbs 29:23). This will create a healthy, loving conduit for your wife to be led (Ephesians 5:25).

2) LEAD BY LEARNING TO LOVE WHAT SHE LOVES.

Often, men expect their wives to always follow them to the game, concert, or rodeo. Ask God to give you a liking for what she likes. Before I got married, I did not like figure skating, but my wife loves figure skating. I started watching it with her, going to competitions with her, and now I can say boldly, there's nothing like a Scott Hamilton free skate! Learning to appreciate what gets her excited brings us closer together and shows her how much I care for her (Ephesians 5:28).

3) LEAD IN HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT.

Wives, especially those with children, have a very difficult and often stressful job. MSN Money Recently Reported That Based On The Job Responsibilities Of A Wife And Mother, Their Annual Salary Would Be $96,000 . My wife, at times, will not ask for help so it's important for me to discern, pray, and analyze what my wife's needs are. Because we have two young children, I recently set up a weekly system where trusted gals from the church watch our children for the morning or afternoon so that my wife can get a needed break and get errands done.

4) LEAD BY POINTING TO JESUS.

After teaching the marriage class for a number of years, the absolute top desire I've heard from every wife in their marriage (and quite frankly the biggest disappointment thus far in their marriage) is to be led to Jesus. Our wives desire to be encouraged in their prayer life, bible reading, taking a Sabbath, silence and solitude (Ephesians 5:26-27).

5) LEAD BY TURNING OFF TECHNOLOGY.

The new AT&T commercial of the couple out to dinner where the man is sneaking peeks of the game on his phone is so funny because it's so true of so many of us. Husbands come home from work and either turn on the TV or pull out their computer. When they go out on dates he'll excuse himself to go to the restroom so he can check his email. Husbands, close the laptop, stop texting, and be more concerned with your wife's status than people you barely know. Pursue her, communicate with her, and give her your undivided attention.

*BONUS: LEAD WITH SPONTANEITY.

A couple ideas of ways to surprise her:
• Hire someone to come clean the house while you two take a weekend away
• A love letter, a rose (or more), and you telling her "I'd marry you all over again."
Tim Gaydos is the lead pastor of Mars Hill Downtown Seattle.

Wednesday, 15 February 2012