Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.
God’s Sovereign Grace in Timbuktu
As a child, Steve Saint thought of Timbuktu as a made-up name for “the ends of the earth.” In 1986, while traveling in western Africa for Missionary Aviation Fellowship, he found himself stranded in the real Timbuktu…
We won’t all, in this life, meet someone whose story will suddenly shed light on God’s purpose in our loved one’s suffering or death. But I think most of us will have that very experience one day, beyond the ends of this Earth, on that New Earth, where we, eyes wide, will hear countless jaw-dropping stories of God’s sovereign grace.
The Excommunicated Member Who Thanked Me
These are the stories that don’t get told. But they’re real. Real people are helped and loved and strengthened when the church has the courage to obey the Scriptures. So, pastors, be faithful in teaching about church discipline. Members, be thankful that your church practices discipline, even when it’s difficult.
Biblical church discipline isn’t punitive; it’s beautifully redemptive. But it takes some time to see the fruit.
Relevant words from A.W. Tozer written 50 years ago:
ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.