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Category Archives: Christianity

‘Weekend Away’ Marriage Retreat

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This weekend, our church hosted its first ever marriage retreat. We had an absolutely incredible time! We laughed a lot together, but it was more than just entertainment.

Dr. Chuck Hannaford was our speaker, and he delivered some powerful stuff! Many, if not all, of the couples that attended were greatly impacted by the teaching.

It is hard to summarize a weekend at the “fire hydrant”, but I want to share some quotes here that impacted my life and worldview as a husband. Some may seem obvious, but a reminder was definitely necessary. Others were like taking a slap to the side of the forehead. Here we go:
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“Loving my spouse well shows my maturity in Christ.”

“God doesn’t hold me responsible for what others do to me. He holds me responsible for what I do with what they do to me.”

“What God intends to be confluence we turn into conflict.”

“God created marriage for my sanctification, not my satisfaction!”

“God created marriage for my holiness, not my happiness!”

“The Bible doesn’t teach us to fall in love but to walk in love.”

“We can only overcome that which we confront.”

“My relationship with my wife is more important than being right.”

“Husbands, submit yourselves to the needs of your wife and use all your resources to meet those needs – to the point of death.”

“I can’t be in fellowship with God if I’m not in fellowship with my wife. In order to effectively worship God, I must love my wife.”

“Marriage is NEVER about control – it is about influence! The most controlling people are usually controlled by fear.”

“Forgiveness is the canceling of debt, not the approval of sin.”

“When we have problems in our marriage, they are spiritual problems. You can’t solve spiritual problems with a carnal weapon.”

“We have two choices in life: we can base our self-worth on our experiences and what others have done to me OR we can base our self-worth on who Christ is and what He has done FOR me.”

“When I do marriage God’s way, I become more like Christ.”

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Needless to say, this was a very introspective, spiritually awakening time. What quotes or concepts stand out to you? I’d love to know…

You can view Dr. Hannaford’s bio here.

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

Our staff at CPC often reads through a book together. We then meet and dialogue about our findings. This has been one of the most profitable things we’ve done together.

Recently, we began reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. This book was written years ago, and both myself and Tim had already read it in the past. But we thought that it could be helpful to go through it once again, together as a team.

freshwindfreshfireThe book tells the story about the Brooklyn Tabernacle, a church in New York City. This church has been incredibly influential in the community, and God has used its music to make a difference globally. It has grown to become one of the largest churches in the US. The amazing thing about the story of success how simple they kept things.

Jim Cymbala, founding pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle and author of the book, discusses many things that worked in getting the ministry going. But it all came back to one simple element: prayer. It seems that almost on every page, prayer is mentioned or highlighted again and again.

The church prayed. The pastors prayed. The choir prayed. Everyone was praying! And God blessed those prayers in an incredible way.

He talked about the effectiveness of prayer and how it was one of Satan’s key targets against our spiritual life:

Satan’s main strategy with God’s people has always been to whisper, “Don’t call on God to do great things. You’ll get along fine if you just rely on your own cleverness and energy.”

Pin drop. Drip, drip, drip…

That silence was my response when I read that paragraph. Why? Because I am guilty of this FAR TOO OFTEN.

He goes on further:

The truth of the matter is that the devil is not terribly frightened of our human efforts and credentials. But he knows his kingdom will be damaged when we lift up our hearts to God.

prayerThis book really caused some introspection. I pray, but do I really pray? Am I regularly on my face before God lifting up the needs of my family, my friends, our people? I need to be. It isn’t an option – it is an essential.

Every pastor wants his church to be a praying church, but it must start with him. If prayer is an essential to the pastor – something that fuels him and gives him passion and perspective – it will be contagious to the congregation. If pastors don’t pray, churches won’t pray. If our churches aren’t praying, we’re in serious trouble.

Check out this zinger by Cymbala on the subject:

If our churches don’t pray, and if people don’t have an appetite for God, what does it matter how many are attending the services? How would that impress God? Can you imagine the angels saying, “Oh your pews! We can’t believe how beautiful they are! Up here in heaven, we’ve been talking about them for years. Your sanctuary lighting – it’s so clever…” I don’t think so.

As I read this book again, God has challenged my heart in this area – big time. I hope I can be the type of pastor that leads out in this area in such a way that those around me catch a unwavering passion for it as well. After all, what is more important to a human soul than communication with God?

Get a copy of the book by clicking here.

Read a bio on Jim and Carol Cymbala here.

Gospel Translations: A Resource That’s Making A Difference

logoEver meet someone from another country and wish you could give them Christian resources in their native tongue? Something that they could read and comprehend better than they could in English? Something that could make the gospel come alive in the language they think and dream in?

Look no further – Gospel Translations is here.

So what exactly is Gospel Translations?

It is a theologically sound, informative web-driven tool that has resources for sharing the Gospel, strengthening your walk with Christ, learning Biblical theology, and dozens of other topics. FREE OF CHARGE!

On their website, the founders of this organization say,

Gospel Translations is dedicated to making gospel-centered books and articles available to Christians all around the world for free. These books and articles are made available to us by Christian publishers, and are translated by teams of volunteers spread out all over the world.

The organization is still pretty new, but their heart is in the right place. Another quote from their website:

We’re still just getting started, but we hope what we have to offer so far helps to teach you about our great Savior, Jesus Christ, whose death on the cross has paid for all our sins and reconciled us to God.

Needless to say, it is one of the best kingdom-minded ideas I’ve seen in a long time. Here is a video that explains their services further:

This site can be especially helpful if you are planning a missions venture or actually preparing to be a missionary. But don’t write it off as just that.

There are millions of international citizens of the USA. We encounter people everyday that call another country their home. This website can be a huge bridge for the gospel with these people. I strongly encourage you to use it.

Next ConferenceYou can read the NEXT Conference webzine for a more detailed review of Gospel Translations here.

Visit the Gospel Translations website by clicking here.

Next Conference

If you are a college student or in your 20′s, this conference will rock your world. If you are able to get to the Baltimore area, you don’t want to miss it. It will rock your world spiritually, and the lineup of speakers will rock your mind with some deep thoughts on Christ and culture.

Check out the conference’s site here.

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