CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:MINISTRY OF WAITING

Pastor John Piper has a blog "Ministry of Waiting" in which he describes the beginning part of a worship service (worship in song and prayer) as a 'sacred moment'. He goes on to say that our love for one another should make us eager to help one another to experience this 'sacred moment' to the fullest. John Piper says that if we arrive late for church, we should not go in to the worship service and interrupt this special time. We should wait outside and pray that those inside. That's why he calls it a "ministry of waiting"! Once the worship time (the 'sacred moment') is finished, the doors can be opened and those waiting outside will be allowed into the service. It's an interesting ministry!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:CRY TO THE LORD

It's exciting to be around new Christians because they have such a strong desire to live for God. But they are often not fully aware that sin still lives in them, Satan will tempt them, and the world will constantly be influencing them. So when they find themselves struggling with sin, they begin to doubt if they are really Christian at all. In the Old Testament, as we see the relationship between Israel and God, we see Israel constantly struggling with sin, yet God is always there to restore the relationship when they cry out for forgiveness and repent. If you are a new Christian, don't listen to Satan's lies. God will not reject you. Know that God desires you to cry out for forgiveness and respond with repentance, and then you can be sure that your relationship with Him will be completely restored!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:REMEMBER

A new Christian is often so full of joy, so excited, a so on fire for the Lord. But often something happens to a Christian over time. They fail to remember that they were hopeless without Christ. This results in a lukewarm Christian life. But there is a way to get the fire back! By remembering what you have been 'saved from', and remembering what you have been 'saved to', the joy and excitement can and will come back!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:LIVING HOPE

When there is deep stress and anxiety in your life, how can you live with joy and focus on loving others? The answer is "Living Hope", a confidence in God which has power to produce changes in desire and changes in life!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:GOD'S PROMISE TO DO GOOD

Do you want to turn your discouragement into rejoicing? There are a couple of passages in the word of God where God promises to do good to His people. He actually rejoices in it....always!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:THE FIGHT WITH LUST

Pastor John Piper explains his experience with high school students and their attitude that 'lust' is not a big deal. He explains that if there is not a fight with lust, one can lose their soul and not go to heaven. Even some people who think they are Christians, say that because they are saved they don't have to worry about losing their soul. John Piper says that if they are not fighting lust in their lives, their faith is not real.

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:TRUE FAITH REQUIRES ACTION

True faith (or true religion) involves #1 hearing & doing (James 1:22), and #2 worshiping & doing (James 1:27). If there is no action (no application), then that faith is worthless. If your faith has action, praise God that He will be glorified through your life!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO BEING HURT

If a Christian is hurt by another person, what should be the proper response? There are two basic responses, a response of humbleness or a response of pride (which can lead to bitterness). The Bible says God is against the proud but gives grace to the humble. Let's make it our goal to be humble people!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:IS GOD ACTIVE IN OUR LIVES

Did God create the world and then withdraw to leave us on our own? Or is God active in this world and in our lives? The Bible shows us that God is indeed active in our lives. Praise the Lord that He is there for us!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:READY TO GIVE UP

Are you ready to give up? Have you had enough? Is everything falling apart? If you said "yes", then put your hope in God's promises and shout joyfully to the Lord. You can't be immersed in shouting joyfully to the Lord and be ready to give up all at the same time!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:KEEP WARM

The Bible says to 'pray without ceasing', but what exactly does that mean? Martyn Lloyd-Jones says it simply means to keep your spiritual life warm. Part of keeping your spiritual life warm is being careful there is not an unbalanced emphasis on doctrine and theology...because it leads to a neglect of spiritual things...which leads to a coldness.

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:HE'S WATCHING

Do you sometimes feel that God is far away, not watching you, and doesn't seem to be concerned about your life? Actually, if you're a Christian, God is always watching you. In fact, He may withdraw His love, joy and peace temporarily...so that you will learn to go searching for Him. God never takes His eyes off His children!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:DEFRAGMENT YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE

If you have a computer, you probably have experienced those times when your computer is running really slow. What do you do? You probably defragment your computer so that the files are cleaned up, and then it starts running good again. Well, our Christian lives are like a computer. When we have sin in our lives, our Christian lives don't run very well, but when we confess our sin to God, He will cleanse us of our sin so that our Christin lives run well again! Praise God that we can defragment our Christian lives!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:PEACE OF GOD

Are trials robbing your Christian life of joy and happiness? If your answer is yes, you need to read Philippians 4:6-7. In this passage there is a promise for the peace of God and instruction on how to receive it.

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:IT'S ALL ABOUT WORSHIP

Worship is more than going to church, or singing praises before the sermon. Worship involves everything we do in life. We are made to worship, however because of our sin we tend to worship wrongly. In fact, the reason we have so many problems in live is because we have a worship problem. It's all about worship!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:CHILDREN OF GOD

Are all people born into this world children of God? The Bible teaches us that only by faith in Jesus Christ do we have the right to become children of God. Also, only those who have the Holy Spirit living within them are truly children of God. If you have saving faith and have the Holy Spirit living within you, you are united to all the blessings of God!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:DON'T WAIT

Have you ever wanted to become a Christian, have your sins forgiven, belong to God's family, and experience the grace, love and mercy of God...but felt that your life was too messed up? Did you postpone surrendering to the Lord because you wanted to clean up your life first? Well, don't wait! Come as you are to the Lord and let Him wash you, make you new, and begin the process of making you like Jesus!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:GRACE, LOVE & MERCY

For many people, when looking back into their past, they find it very painful because of things they have done which they deeply regret. But when someone surrenders their life to Jesus, all that is washed away. All that's left is grace, love, and mercy!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:THE IMPORTANT ISSUE OF FAITH

You remember the story of Superman? Remember how Lex Luthor tried to get Superman to be near Kryptonite so that he would become weak? In the same way, Satan tries to destroy our faith so that we will sin and become weak in our relationship with God. Satan knows that all sin comes from failing to live by faith..which means the number one aim of Satan is the destruction of faith. The issue of faith is much more important than we realize!