welcome back party
Last night we welcomed the international students back to Nicosia and The Place - our students’ club. There were lots of games, good food, and fun. About 45 students came and now the challenge is to get to know them better and help them know Jesus. Most of the new students haven’t traveled outside their countries before, so next week we’ll be talking about adjusting to Cyprus!
Posted in Religion, globalization, missional, missions, spirituality | Tags: students
random
Sometimes I let iTunes just play random songs from my entire music folder. I enjoy the diversity. Here’s the last five played:
Try it. What five songs does iTunes choose for you?
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: music
Philippians 4:1-9 - a wiki sermon
Here are some initial thoughts for next Sunday’s teaching from Philippians 4:1-9. Obviously, we’ll need to unpack this a bit so feel free to add some thoughts or comments - it’s kind of like a wiki that grows and multiplies as we all add bits and pieces to it. Looking forward to your additions …
There were two things that the Philippians needed to watch out for:
With these dangers in mind, Paul exhorts the Philippians to ’stand fast in the Lord’ (4:1). In response to the problems and the things that create fear, our faith is to be marked by:
Here are some questions: What does it mean to be gentle? How does the exhortation to be thankful rather than anxious work itself out in light of the growing culture of fear in North America?
I’ll be adding comments addressing these five things as I study them through the week.
Posted in Bible, Nicosia International Church, Religion, discipleship, sermons | Tags: joy, peace, Philippians, prayer, sermons
mission in the 21st century
If you’re a leader or concerned with the future direction of the church and her mission, click here for an article worth reading. While panic is causing some movements I know to fall off the deep end, this is a good call to allow scripture to shape our mission into the future.
OK … three posts in one day is some kind of record.
the fastest course in church history you’ll ever take
Posted in Religion | Tags: church history, history
Philippians 3:4-14 - faith moving forward
I’ve had two weeks off from preaching, which is why you haven’t seen posts related to the lectionary texts for the week. But tomorrow another member of our teaching team will be addressing Philippians 3:4-14. Verses 10 and 11 have deeply shaped my life:
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the felllowship of sharing in His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
But what struck me this morning were some phrases from verses 12-14:
I press on …
… reaching forward …
… press toward the goal …
The ministry in Cyprus is facing many challenges and their origins can clearly be seen as acts of spiritual warfare. The stakes are high, the dangers are real. But this is the nature of discipleship. When we face financial obstacles, attacks against our reputation, division, fears, doubts, and a mountain of needs (spiritual and physical) that are greater than our resources there is a strong temptation to one of two things: to give up or to take matters into our own hands.
But like Paul we must not be distracted. We must continue to move forward towards the goal - to know Christ in the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of suffering. As we seek Jesus we survive, and we trust that God will graciously use us to help others find Him.
We put the problems in God’s hands, leave them there, and move forward in faith. It can be a wild ride sometimes, but what we lose is nothing compared to what we gain in Christ (verse 8).
Faith births action. We do not give up.
Posted in Bible, Religion, discipleship, missions, sermons, spirituality | Tags: discipleship, faith, Philippians
discipleship rhythm graphic
Nearly a year ago I posted about the rhythm of discipleship. It’s a basic roadmap to provide content or direction to discipling relationships. These are areas I try to address both formally (preaching, Bible studies, training) and informally (conversation, counseling, prayer). You can read the original post here.
Posted in Bible, Religion, discipleship, spirituality | Tags: discipleship, spiritual formation
legalism
I’ve been wondering if two marks of legalism might be:
Legalism is ultimately a form of control. But it’s not just seen in those who want to control and enforce the rules. Anyone who seeks to manipulate others to protect or elevate himself may be an unconscious victim of legalism. Insecurity often gives birth to legalism.
Of course the remedy for this is faith.
Does that make sense?
Posted in Religion, discipleship, spirituality | Tags: discipleship, faith, legalism
bulgarian bowling
It’s not all work … 
Posted in missions
four contributors to spiritual formation
These are the four elements that I see God using to help me mature in faith, love, and obedience. Recognizing these things at work in the lives of others helps me disciple them as well. Would this diagram accurately reflect your experience?
Posted in Religion, discipleship, missions, spirituality | Tags: discipleship, spiritual formation
John on random
rickdugan on Philippians 4:1-9 - a wiki…
northpointcc on Philippians 4:1-9 - a wiki…
