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Showing posts from March 22, 2026

Review of Five Children's Book

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  All five books in the photo are from The Good Book Company . The various illustrations and drawings are pleasant to the eyes and fitting. If a reader feels that purported pictures of Jesus violate the Second Commandment, know that there are some in each book. Below are my very short, grandfatherly reviews. " The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross " is a very simple, short presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It begins with the goodness of creation, then the fall, fallen human history, the redemption and finally, glory! Ideal for reading with kids and grandkids. The illustrations are appropriate - even the inscription on the High Priest's turban is accurate. All in all, a nice book for snuggle time with the kids. " It's Good to be a Boy "  happily celebrates the God-made gift of being a boy and a man. It wraps it in the Creation/Redemption story at its heart. But the author also draws in a history of godly men who used their abilities...

Disciple Making Pt. 2

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  (This is from my letter to my congregation today) As you know, life at Heritage is about truth, worship, and Christian love to equip us in making disciples who will belong and believe with us as we grow in truth, worship, and Christian love. We are interested in being disciple makers. Last week I wrote about parents being on the front line of disciple making . Today, we widen our circle to consider the role we all have in making disciples.   Since disciple making is not a program or a project, but a person-to-person lifestyle, then disciple making calls for relationships. That seems very obvious, but is easily slipped past. As Marshall and Payne note, “The relational nature of training means that the best training will often occur by osmosis rather than formal instruction. It will be caught as much as it is taught” (Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, “The Trellis and Vine,” pg. 76). This is what is behind Kevin DeYoung’s point, when he writes: “If you walk with God and walk ...

"O Lord, Grant Us the Grace..." - 22 March 2026

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  O Lord, grant unto us the grace we desperately need to withstand the temptations and avoid the infections of the world, the flesh and the devil, so that with pure heart, sound mind and holy delight we may follow you, our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And beat down Satan under our feet! We remember these who are being wrangled by specific misfortunes (…). Console and relieve them according to their particular needs. Give them enduring patience under their sufferings and a happy ending to all their afflictions. Please uphold our country, and Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia as well as all other nations in our world, and direct the hearts and minds of all world leaders to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly before you in your ways of truth. We also pray for this region that you would kindly give us the needful portions of rain. Lord Jesus, who for our sake was condemned as a criminal, please visit our jails, correctional facilities and prisons with your mercy and justice. Reme...