A Few Words (preparing for MGPC 4/11/18)

Gary Ware

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November 3, 2018

Song: Saviour Of The World
Welcome:
Call to Worship
Song: This I Believe
Prayer Of Confession
Song: For All The Saints
Affirming our Faith: New City Catechism 27
Song: Now To The King Of Heaven
Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13 – The Apostle Paul explains the certainty of Christian suffering and prays for the Thessalonians’ growth in love and holiness.
Bible Memorisation: Ecclesiastes 5:10
Song: Praise The Lord, Let All Within Me
Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 5: 1-7
Sermon: A Few Words
Song: All Who Would Valiant Be
Announcements:
Pastoral Prayer:
Closing Blessing
Song: Your Love So High

Fighting Pastoral Covetousness (via Darryl Dash)

Gary Ware

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November 2, 2018

Darryl Dash offers some counsel by which pastors can not only avoid covetousness, but nurture satisfaction and joy.

We can fight pastoral covetousness in two ways.
Positively: cultivate contentment. Find satisfaction in your work and your place. Pray for joy. Base your identity not on how well your ministry is going, but who you are in Jesus.
After all, one day you’ll long for what you have now. Besides, I hear those who have larger ministries who long for a church like yours. Don’t miss the blessings that are yours that would be absent if your ministry was larger.
Second: love fellow pastors and churches. Pick one you’re tempted to envy, and pray for them. Ask God to give you joy when other ministries succeed. Ask God to free you from coveting their success. See their success as kingdom success, and remind yourself that we all work for the same master.
“Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot” (Ecclesiastes 5:18). What God has given is enough. We can enjoy it and praise God for what he’s given others.

Read the whole post here.

Galactus Sized Reprint

Gary Ware

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November 2, 2018

Amazon Australia had this over-sized reprint of Fantastic Four comics featuring the character Galactus (and the Silver Surfer, naturally) at a ridiculously cheap price. It was lower in OZ$ than the US store’s price in US$.

By Grabthar’s hammer, what a savings.

It arrived today in a massive box.

Ten Bible Passages For Severe Illness (via Kathryn Butler)

Gary Ware

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November 1, 2018

This article by Kathryn Butler at Desiring God features ten Bible verses/passages that speak of the presence of God’s love to those who are suffering.
It is helpful in encouraging Christians to remember these verses for their own encouragement, and also, of course, to share with others.
It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is a helpful start.
Five are from Psalms and five are from the New Testament.

PSALM 46:1–3
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”
2 CORINTHIANS 4:16–18
“Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Read the whole article here.

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