Today's Devotions

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Showcase: Recent Posts

  • Fruit of the Spirit: Love +

    Love nurtures each of these fruits—for me it is the root of the tree of my life Read More
  • Melchizedek: A Royal Priest-Precursor of Jesus +

    Who was Melichizedek, and why does this barely mentioned priest, from an unknown country, play such a prominent role with Read More
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One of the books from my dad's library which I received after his death in 2007 was this one:My Pastoral Record-1

He had his assistant use this book to keep a personal record of the various aspects of his pastoral ministry through the years, starting with his ordination in 1950.

My Pastoral record-2There are 486 pages in the book, most of them filled out — pages and pages and pages recording weddings, baptisms, funerals, new members, sermons. For example, here are his sermons from March to October of 1963:

My Pastoral-3All in all, these pages record, one by one, over 1800 sermons during his ministry at Lake Avenue Congregational Church alone, and by no means a complete record even during those years.

How many hours of preparation and prayer and study are represented by this simple but eloquent written record, I wonder? Add to that the weddings, funerals, ordinations. Add to that the committee meetings, the personal evangelism and counseling, the social events. Add to that the seasons of strife and opposition which he had to endure, all the while keeping up the steady output of gospel ministry without being crushed. Add to that the way he came home every evening with something emotionally positive to give to the family. Add to that the fact that he not only came to all my high school football games but even to many practices during the week. Add to that . . . .

I am not impressed by young pastors who seem too eager to publish books and speak at big events and get noticed. They are doing the work of the Lord, and that's good. But what impresses me is my dad's daily slogging, year after year, in the power of the Spirit, with no big-deal-ness as the payoff.

This is the pastoral ministry that brings Jesus into the world today.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/rayortlund/2013/05/16/daily-slogging-in-the-power-of-the-spirit/

 

Reflections to Consider

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Publications

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Music

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Audio & Video

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Favorites

  • Witnesses for Jesus by Tim Keller (Mark 15) +

    Tim Keller discusses the significance of the women and men who saw Jesus die, buried, and resurrected.  Read More
  • Prayer-bringing light into darkness by NT Wright +

    NT Wright discusses the importance of prayer in maintaining a relationship with Jesus. Read More
  • After darkness, light-the reformation by Michael Reeves +

    Michael Reeves discusses the transformative power of bringing Jesus to the world at the heart of the Reformation. Read More
  • The Esther Option-Living in a fallen world by Mike Cosper +

    The following is an excerpt from an article on The Gospel Coalition website. Read More
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Hidden Blessings

  • Falling in Love With God +

    “falling in love with God,” as Boa’s subtitle for the facet explains. In this approach we attempt to enter into Read More
  • One Holy Fire, Nicky Cruz +

    The introduction to One Holy Fire, Let the Spirit Ignite Your Soul establishes Cruz’s desire to awaken the passion and Read More
  • Transformed +

    Webster defines devotion as “love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity or cause.” How do we fall in love Read More
  • A Christ-Life Through Spiritual Alignment +

    A Christ-Life Through Spiritual Alignment Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. Read More
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