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Showing posts from May 11, 2014

Book Review: "The People of God" by Trevor Joy and Spence Shelton

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The People of God: Empowering the Church to Make Disciples Trevor Joy and Spence Shelton B & H Publishing Group One LifeWay Plaza Nashville, TN 37234 www.bhpublishinggroup.com ISBN: 9781433683701; $14.99; May 2014 Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber for Deus Misereatur Crafting Community – 4 stars out of 5 Small groups, care groups, life groups, groups, groups, groups! Small groups have become fairly standard fare in many churches, to the point that they have almost become the primary marker in peoples’ minds of whether a congregation is a true Church of Jesus Christ, or a cheap imitation. Yet, if you have been a Christian some length of time, or a pastor with some mileage under your belt, you know that small groups are a mixed bag. Nevertheless, there is something intuitively right and fitting about having little gatherings of God’s people, especially in larger and more geographically scattered churches. Trevor Joy, Spiritual Formation Pastor of the

Book Review: "Got Religion?" by Naomi Schaefer Riley

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Got Religion? How Churches, Mosques and Synagogues Can Bring Young People Back Naomi Schaefer Riley Templeton Press 300 Conshohoken State Road, Suite 500 West Conshohoken, PA 19428 www.templetonpress.org ISBN: 978-1-59947-391-8; $19.96; May 20, 2014 Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber for Deus Mistereatur Perceptive and Personable – 4 stars out of 5 Where have the college and post college crowd gone? This question engages my cerebral energies often, because I work with the teenagers of our church who are about to head to college, and co-pastor a congregation that has a noticeable number of middle aged men and women. So, where have the college and post college crowds gone? Naomi Schaefer Riley, an accomplished author who is also a weekly columnist for the  New York Post  and a former  Wall Street Journal  editor, delves into this difficulty and how to interest them, in her newest 174 page hardback, “Got Religion? How Churches, Mosques and Synagogues Can Bri

Revival and Reformation Pt 6: 1 Chronicles 13 - A Reformation Misfires

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------ ( Here is the audio file ) ------ Revival and Reformation Pt 6 1 Chronicles 13 A Reformation and Revival Misfires Given the distasteful flavor an episode like this can leave in our mouths, we pray, O Lord God, that you would help us to stomach what is here, and to find that what was at first bitter to the taste will be sweet to our souls. For Christ’s sake we ask this. Amen. Many folks say they want to see revival and reformation in the church. That’s good. The church needs to be resuscitated in many places, especially in the Western hemisphere. So the question is, “will any old revival or reformation do?” And the answer from 1 Chronicles is ‘NO!’ A 1 – Preparation to Move the Ark : 13:1-4. Notice: {1} Good Sentiment. [ Contrast with Saul in v. 3 ( 10:13-14 )] ; {2} The Irony of David’s intent and David’s action v. 3 and 4 (Judges 21.25 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes .” – “ There is a way that

Pastoral Prayer - 11 May 2014 PM (Mother's Day)

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Strengthener of the weak; fortifier of the faithful, rescuer of the wayward, restorer of the repentant; we lift up our hearts and eyes and voices proclaiming that your steadfast love is good and endures forever . It is you who does great wonders, so that by your most holy, wise and powerful preserving you govern all your creatures and all our actions; we delight in you that your steadfast love is good and endures forever . It is you who delivers your people from their enemies, elevating them from their low estate in due time, drawing them from the miry bog and setting their feet on a rock; we rejoice that your steadfast love is good and endures forever ! O LORD Most High, you are to be feared for you are the great king over all the earth; bring all peoples of every nation and land to clap their hands, to shout to God with loud songs of joy; bring the princes of the peoples to gather as the people of the God of Abraham, for you reign over the nations, you sit on your holy throne (P