We’re having on service at 9:00 AM.

And we’re having two on Christmas Eve: 4 and 10:30.

I plan to preach from John 6: Jesus is the bread of life.

My wife and I hadn’t talked in days. I was in a depressed state of exhaustion and anger after months of unusual hours, a grueling workload and a to-do list that haunted me, despite rather successful attempts to ignore it. Dark thoughts kept me company. Irritability, on the other hand, had closed communication with the one whose support I needed most, a reality that now felt selfishly good.

Wednesday night came, with her on the couch for a sit-com we normally watched together and me invisible and reading on the chair across the room, wishing she weren’t present. Two people who love each other but couldn’t imagine entering the other’s space.

That’s when the main character delivered a humorous line.

Not generically humorous. A line that broke into the room in a way neither of us could ignore. I tried desperately to contain myself . . .

Read the rest here.

HT: Pollywog Creek

What Lincoln said holds for Christians today.  The stormy present requires that we think anew and act anew.

Consider how our occasion is piled high with difficulty and why we must rise to the occasion:

The rise of Islam requires that we understand how Islam is shaping the world.

Developments in science will keep introducing more and more complex medical ethics questions.

The church landscape in North America is changing rapidly.

Due to technological and political changes, Globalization is taking place at dizzying speeds.

There is a barrage of attacks on Christianity.

There are at least three ways you can begin thinking anew if that is your goal.  (1) Read and study God’s Word.  (2) Go to a Bible believing church where the Word is preached.  (3) Take some time off from video games and television, and sharpen your might by reading some really quality Christian literature.

Most people believe that God is real and that there is right and wrong.

Most accept that there is a Heaven and Hell.

People know that as a matter of right and wrong, they should honor their marriage vows.

Or, that they should not look at pornography.

Most people know it is wrong to gamble.

So, why do we sometimes sin even when we know that it is wrong?

The struggle is that while people believe that following Christ is “right,” they are not sure that it is best.  Somehow they become convinced in their mind that they will be happier if they choose a different path – - that serving Christ is a lesser choice.

If you struggle with that being motivated to do what you know is the right thing, think about the words to Hebrews 11:6.

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

God’s Word is true.  God rewards those who seek Him.  The path of the person who follows His Word is a blessed path – - a joyous path – - rest, and salvation, joy and peace are found in loving Christ with all your heart, soul and strength.

See also God’s Glory and Our Joy

Perhaps one of the most remarkable sights in France, a chapel perched on a volcanic plug. This is the Rock of Aiguilhe, on the edge of the town of Puy en Velay, in the Auvergne. The Chapelle Saint-Michel has stood there for 1042 years, since Bishop Gothescalk had it built in 962 on his return from a pilgrimage to Santiago del Compostella in Galicia. In 1955 workers found relics under the alter that had been there since it was built.

HT: Stephen Altrogge

Allen Yeh has written a nice tribute to God’s grace in giving John Stott to the Body of Christ.  If you know little of Stott, perhaps take a moment to read it.

See also thoughts from:

Derek Thomas

Justin Taylor

Darryl Dash

Kasper Ilaug had been sitting in his cabin on Norway’s Storoya Island when a friend contacted him to say that something terrible had happened following the bomb blast in Oslo and that he must use a nearby boat to help rescue people from Utoeya.

‘I thought he was joking with me,’ he said.

But determined to do what he could, he grabbed his iPad, mobile and put on a bright yellow jacket with a red helmet and ran down to and 18ft fishing boat before heading off in the direction of Utoeya island, north west of Oslo.

Within minutes he had reached the shore and spotted a number of children hiding behind the rocks and crouching behind trees.

‘We saw some youngsters laying there and waving to us. They were terrified,’ he said. Most of them, dressed in nothing but bathing suits, were shivering from the cold and quickly clambered into the boat.

‘I then got this text message from one of my friends that said there’s a lunatic out there shooting people,’ he told CNN news.

Making three trips in total, at one point he spotted a group of youngsters behind some rocks.

‘I tried to wave to them and to get their attention, but I didn’t get a reponse. I thought maybe they are still in shock or laying behind that rock for shelter.’

However he soon realised they had been killed by the suspected gunman Anders Breivik, 32, who had been on a rampage, calling over his victims before opening fire on them.

Breivik killed 84 people at the summer political youth camp which was organised by the country’s leading Labour Party.

Victims described how they could hear his boots crunching on the ground as he sought out his victims and wearing what appeared to be a police uniform.

Mr Ilaug said several of the people he rescued told him that a policeman has opened fire on them.

‘I think I made three trips, they were so grateful. One girl started crying.

‘We’re just 4.7 million people. Nothing much happens here. Even in catastrophic situation like this, we keep calm.

‘I’m just an ordinary Norwegian people. I expect that other Norwegians would do the same thing for me in a similar situation.’

Of course, we have not received a phone call.  Rather God has spoken to us in His Word.  The situation of lost people is as desperate at that of those on the island in Norway. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. The wages of sin is death. And not everyone who thinks he or she is going to Heaven is.

The Good News has been entrusted to us.  We have a mission.

Sure the guy has a gun.  Yet, as Luther contended, the mission is worth the risk!  Don’t get sidetracked with petty issues. Let’s get in our boats and go.

One of the best examples of this is found in the book of Ruth.  Boaz prays that God would bless Ruth for her faithfulness to Naomi.  God answers that prayer by bringing Ruth and Boaz together in marriage.  Incredibly, God even wrote Ruth into the story of the line of King David and ultimately, of the Lord Jesus himself.  When Boaz prayed that the God of Israel would bless Ruth, he could not have imagined that God would answer his prayer in such a spectacular way.

How about setting a goal to pray for someone in particular every day this week.  Pray the blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26, The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”

Don’t be surprised if God uses you to answer that prayer.

Angie Cheatham from Crossway:

At The Gospel Coalition, Mike McKinley discussed the centrality of the word and preaching in the planting of a church. McKinley says, “The word is the church planters biggest tool.”

2:20: God uses his word to build the church.
6:00: How does God’s word drive the agenda of the church?
6:45: What displaces the word in the life of a church plant and/or church planter?
8:15: My main job is to prepare to feed God’s people on Sunday morning.

The Word (TGC) from Crossway on Vimeo.