September, 2010
March, 2010
08 Are You Gospel-Shaped, or Just Religious?
05 Can Christians Drink Alcohol? (A Biblical Response From the Pastors of SGCM)
February, 2010
26 Newspaper Article
25 Beer and Bible
May, 2009
28 Grace Applied
25 Get a New Addiction
15 Don't Waste The Delay
March, 2009
19 "Certain young men..."
February, 2009
25 The Reformed Culture
18 Revival begins with humility
14 The Core Issue
14 The Health of Your Souls
05 The Qualification of a gospel preacher
January, 2009
31 The Kingdom of self vs. The Kingdom of God
30 Bound For Glory
23 Intensifying Desires
22 The Gale of the Spirit
10 Eternal Youthfulness
03 It Is Finished!
01 This much O Lord we want you!
December, 2008
31 Bible Reading for 2009
30 What do you hope for in 2009?
27 Post-Christmas Blues:
19 The Substance Behind the Shadows
17 Amazed Again
05 A Divine Gift
November, 2008
26 Feeling Sorry For Yourself
25 Why be in a Local Church?
18 The Gospel and Family
13 The Prodigal God
07 Billy Graham at 90
06 Kids...who'd 'ave 'em?
06 What the Gospel Does
01 Who are you?
October, 2008
27 ESV Study Bible
24 Interview with Wendy Alsup
23 Gospel-centred Parenting
22 The Problem of Bad Bible Teachers
11 Hard Words For Hurting People
11 Merthyr Produces Some Of The Finest
07 The Posture of Prayer
01 God-reliance!
September, 2008
30 The Discipline of Treasuring Christ
29 Practical theology for Women
29 The Essence of Sin
27 A Miracle of Grace
26 Keep Yourself Satisfied in God
26 How Passionate Are Your Praises?
24 The World's Most Shockingly Scandalous and Glorious Story!
23 Thirsting
22 Monday Morning Awe
17 Intimacy
15 Are you believing in yourself?
15 Your identity is not in your suffering
04 The Gospel Produces Hope
August, 2008
14 Why is there fighting in Georgia?
14 Impressive China?
14 What Tony does in his spare time!!
June, 2008
20 The Happiest Man In The World
19 Hanging with the guys!
19 Humility displayed through lopsided love
19 CJ's 8 most recommended books
18 Spurgeon quote from Sunday's Message
17 Heaven
01 Dad's and Summer holidays (Part 3)
01 T4G Session 3
01 Free ebook!!
May, 2008
29 Maria Sue Chapman Memorial Service
28 Dads and Summer Holidays (Thoughts from CJ Mahaney)
28 Dads and Summer Holidays (Continued)
22 "Where Is Your God?"
09 John Wesley's Accountability Questions
April, 2008
30 T4G Session 2
30 Singing at T4G
25 The Absolute Importance Of Doctrine
24 A Small Mind's Struggle For Retention
23 "Come and See" or "Go and Tell"?
22 Go On Being Filled With The Spirit!
18 America Trip (Final Part???)
15 America Trip (Part 2)
14 America Trip (Part 1)
10 C S Lewis on "5 Tips For Clear Writing"...and talking!
March, 2008
26 The Work of The Spirit in Seattle
25 Taking the Plunge of Grace
23 Jesus Is Alive
22 From A Desert To A Glorious Kingdom
19 Tim Keller @ Google
12 Great Worship Resources Going Cheap!
08 Motivation to Worship
06 The Reason For God - Book Review by Tim Challies
06 7 Characteristics of an Ingrown Church
03 The Reason For God "Doubting Your Doubts"
February, 2008
18 Tim Keller and The Reason For God
January, 2008
07 New Year's Resolutions?
December, 2007
24 Favourite Christmas Films - the Result!!
18 Richard Dawkins ... a Cultural Christian!!
14 Favourite Christmas Films
12 The Gospel and Suffering
05 The Unmarried Woman WIth Lots of Husbands
November, 2007
27 The Truth of Fantasy
23 Free Jonathan Edwards Classic
23 We’re Loving Merthyr! (Update)
22 A Nation in Mourning ... Why?
20 The Good Shepherd
15 Lest we forget…
12 We’re Loving Merthyr!
08 Religion verses The Gospel
08 What Is a Gospel-Centered/Missional Church...
07 No Rest For The Wicked!
October, 2007
29 Advertisers sure know how to grab our attention
15 Praying About Praying
08 Work: A Holy Calling
01 Baby Dedications
November, 0000
00
00 Summer Holidays
00 Summer Holidays
00 Summer Holidays
00 Summer Holidays
"Certain young men..."
19-03-2009 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
This is a book currently being read by some of the men in our church and stirring souls towards a fresh empowering of the Spirit of God for the work of Gospel proclamation:
"Nevertheless, this book goes forth with a mission. It is written with the profound conviction that the paramount need of the twentieth century is a mighty evangelical revival such as that which was experienced two hundred years ago. Thus, I have sought to show what were the doctrines used of God in the eighteenth-century Revival, and to display the extraordinary fervour which characterized the men whom God raised up in that blessed work. Yea, this book is written in the desire—perhaps in a measure of inner certainty—that we shall see the great Head of the Church once more bring into being His special instruments of revival, that He will again raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in this glorious employ. And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be ‘fools for Christ’s sake’, who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labour and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives."
Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield, pages 15-16.
Gareth Lloyd
Revival begins with humility
18-02-2009 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
"Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others, but a humble saint is most jealous of himself. He is as suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The spiritually proud person is apt to find fault with other saints . . . and to be quick to notice their deficiencies. But the eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home, and sees so much evil in his own heart, and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts. . . . Pure Christian humility disposes a person to take notice of everything that is good in others, and to make the most of it, and to diminish their failings, but to give his eye chiefly on those things that are bad in himself."
Jonathan Edwards, "Thoughts on the Revival," in Works, I:399-400.
Gareth Lloyd
The Core Issue
14-02-2009 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
"The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor the old Roman Catholicism or the new Roman Catholicism, nor the threat of communism, nor even the threat of rationalism and the monolithic consensus which surrounds us [nor, I would add today, postmodernism or materialistic consumerism or visceral sensualism or whatever]. All these are dangerous but not the primary threat. The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them."
Francis A. Schaeffer, No Little People, page 64.
Gareth Lloyd
The Health of Your Souls
14-02-2009 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
"Penitent sorrow is only a purge to cast out those corruptions which hinder you from relishing your spiritual delights. Use it therefore as physic [medicine], only when there is need, and not for itself but only to this end, and turn it not into ordinary food. Delight in God is the health of your souls."
Richard Baxter, A Christian Directory, Part 1, chapter 3, section 13, direction 20.
Gareth Lloyd
Intensifying Desires
23-01-2009 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
Here's a recent post from Marcus Honeysett:
If I had to sum up in a couple of words what I have learned so far since we chatted about fasting, it would be that fasting is a lesson in “intensifying longing or desire”. Living in a culture of instant gratification means we know next to nothing about longing for anything at all, and therefore have a paucity of experience when it comes to longing for God. When a feast comes our way we therefore accept it as our normal expectation rather than with special delight. And our expectation for anything more is dulled. We cease to long because we feel full all the time, even if the reality is that we are full with things that are not delightful but mediocre or even toxic.
I think one of the devil’s most cunning strategies in the West is to give people everything they think they need, thereby making us think that there is nothing better to have and no reason to desire God. Which is the heart of the way Jesus was tempted: have all the kingdoms of the earth, and let them substitute for Yahweh. Fasting takes away the kingdom of the earth and retrains our spiritual desires towards God rather than his providential gifts.
Gareth Lloyd
The Gale of the Spirit
22-01-2009 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
The Countess of Huntingdon recalled the funeral service of Rev. Howell Harris in 1773:
"On the day Mr. Harris was interred we had some special seasons of Divine influence both upon converted and unconverted. It was a day never to be forgotten, but I think ought to be remembered with holy wonder and gratitude by all who were present. . . . Though we had enjoyed much of the gracious presence of God in our assemblies before, yet I think I never saw so much at any time as on that day; especially when the Lord's Supper was administered, God poured out his Spirit in a wonderful manner. Many old Christians told me they had never seen so much of the glory of the Lord and the riches of his grace, nor felt so much of the gospel before."
Who wrote that? Hardly a nut. She was upper-class British, 18th-century, Jane Austen's world. A highly structured culture. Everything just so. And in that culture, in a Bible-believing, standard-brand, non-eccentric theological setting, both the converted and the unconverted were receiving an unforgettable outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones asks, "Does our doctrine of the Holy Spirit and his work leave any room for revival either in the individual or in the church, or is it a doctrine which says that we have all received everything we can have of the Spirit at regeneration [being 'born again'], and all we need is to surrender to what we have already? Does our doctrine allow for an outpouring of the Spirit, the 'gale' of the Spirit coming down upon us individually and collectively? . . . Is not the greatest sin among Evangelical people today that of quenching the Spirit?"
The longer I live, the more intensely I long for the end of quenching and the return of outpouring.
Quotes from D. M. Lloyd-Jones, The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors, pages 301-302.
(HT: RO)
Gareth Lloyd
Eternal Youthfulness
10-01-2009 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
"We have lost the eternal youthfulness of Christianity and have aged into calculating manhood. We seldom pray in earnest for the extraordinary, the limitless, the glorious. We seldom pray with real confidence for any good, to the realization of which we cannot imagine a way. And yet we suppose ourselves to believe him infinite Father."
Unidentified, Edinburgh, 1910
Gareth Lloyd
This much O Lord we want you!
01-01-2009 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
Jesus did not say, "If you fast..." but "When you fast..." (Matthew 6:16). This will be new (even over the top) for some of you. So do a crazy thing in 2009. It might change your relationship with God. And your life.
Here's a tiny bit of help. A bit on how. And a bit on why.
How to Fast
Pick a day of the week or a day of the month and plan to fast in 2009. Plan which meal or meals to skip. Skip them entirely, or do it with only juice or only water. There are no rules. There is only spiritual hunger being spoken and stoked with physical hunger.
Take some of the time you would have spent eating and read some scripture and take time to tell God why you are doing this and what you long for.
(John Piper)
Gareth Lloyd
What do you hope for in 2009?
30-12-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | revival »
Last week, during an interview I was asked a great question that I have been pondering ever since:
"If there was one thing I could ensure that the church grasped overnight what would it be?" My answer was, "It is finished"! Because truly grasping that changes and affects everything else.
This is something that I believe that SGCM "gets" probably better than any other church I have had experience of, yet we often forget and fail to live in the light of this glorious reality.
D. M. Lloyd-Jones said that he believed the greatest need of his generation was a revival and he explained what he meant by that: a rediscovery of the gospel of grace. I agree! And this has become for me a foundational prayer for 2009, that God would grant a revival, an awakening through a deeper discovery of the treasure that is in this reality - the "joy-inflicting news" of grace; Jesus paid it all!
We have been blessed throughout the short life of SGCM by observing people coming to faith in Jesus and lives being transformed by the gospel. Yet, I believe there is a depth of reality and experience that we can anticipate and pursue that we haven't yet known.
When revival breaks out through a recovery of the gospel, three things happen:
1) Nominal church members realise they'd never been converted - they discover a treasure!
2) Sleepy, lethargic Christians are energised and renewed - they discover a treasure!
3) Outsider non-Christians are attracted into a lively, vibrant worship community made up of newly saved and renewed church members - they discover a treasure!
That's how it works. That's what we need!
Gareth Lloyd
Why be in a Local Church?
25-11-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
Being part of SGCM is for me one of the most outstanding gifts God has given me but also one of the most challenging things in my life …why? Because it usually involves change on my part.
This past Sunday we spent some time considering how we grow and change as Christians in our local churches and particularly one of the means of grace given to us to enable this change to take place – that is each other!
God has mercifully provided a ‘church family’ where we can be open, vulnerable and honest with each other and where we are regularly encouraged to live our lives ‘in the light together’ (see 1Jn 1:7). In this way we can apply the gospel consistently in our daily lives and enjoy the truth of these outstanding words by J I Packer …
…”This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort – the sort of comfort that energises, be it said, not enervates – in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic (my emphasis), based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.”
We have a God who knows us intimately and who desires that we are known by those around us because we can then face the reality of our sinful lives, grow in godliness together and put on Christ like characteristics.
What a joy and a pleasure to be part of a local church and in particular getting to serve with everyone at SGCM!
Tony Graham
The Prodigal God
13-11-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Mission »
Just got my copy of Tim Keller's new book through the post! Here's an appetiser:
Jesus's teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think.
Tim Keller in The Prodigal God, 14-15.
Gareth Lloyd
Billy Graham at 90
07-11-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Mission »
I've copied in this testimony in honour of Billy Graham from John Piper:
One of the great fears of my life as a boy growing up in Greenville, South Carolina is that Billy Graham would die. Today he is 90 years old. Thank you, Lord, that you answered my boyish prayers. Happy birthday, Billy. Here's to your life!
Billy Graham was born on November 7, 1918 in North Carolina. In 1934, under the preaching of evangelist Mordecai Ham, Billy was converted to Christ. Which means that Mordecai Ham is one of the most influential preachers of the 20th century.
Billy attended Bob Jones University in Cleveland, Tennessee for one year and spent three and a half years at Florida Bible Institute in Tampa. In March of 1938 he was called to preach:
One night in March, 1938, Billy Graham returned from his walk and reached the 18th green immediately before the school's front door. "The trees were loaded with Spanish moss, and in the moonlight it was like a fairyland." He sat on the edge of the green, looking up at the moon and stars, aware of a warm breeze from the south. The tension snapped. "I remember getting on my knees and saying, ‘God, if you want me to preach, I will do it.' Tears streamed down my cheeks as I made this great surrender to become an ambassador for Jesus Christ." (John Pollock, Billy Graham, 17)
In the summer vacation of 1937 he had asked Emily Cavanaugh to marry him. In May of 1938, she said no.
Billy was ordained in 1939. The first time he gave his own "altar call" he was at a little church on the Gulf Coast and there were 100 people present. Thirty-two young men and women came forward (Pollock, 22).
In the fall of 1940, he entered Wheaton College. He met Ruth Bell in the lobby of Williston Hall.
Ruth told Billy that she was unsure after all. She feared that her desire to be his wife denied a clear missionary call, unless he were bound for Tibet. "He went and prayed about the mission field, and he just had no leading whatsoever. Finally he said, ‘Well, do you think God brought us together?' — and I had to admit I felt God had." Billy pointed out that the husband is head of the wife: "The Lord leads me and you follow." Ruth agreed, in faith. (Pollock, 26)
They were married August 13, 1943.
In August, 1949, his faith in the Bible was put to the test. It came to a climax at a student conference in the San Bernardino mountains of California. Charles Templeton had asked questions about the Bible's truthfulness that Billy could not answer.
Billy went out in the forest and wandered up the mountain, praying as he walked, "Lord, what shall I do? What shall be the direction of my life?"
He had reached what he believed to be a crisis.
He saw that intellect alone could not resolve the question of authority. You must go beyond intellect. He thought of the faith used constantly in daily life: he did not know how a train or plane or car worked, but he rode them.... Was it only in things of the spirit that such faith was wrong?
"So I went back and I got my Bible, and I went out in the moonlight. And I got to a stump and put the Bible on the stump, and I knelt down, and I said, 'Oh, God; I cannot prove certain things. I cannot answer some of the questions Chuck is raising and some of the other people are raising, but I accept this book by faith as the Word of God.'" (Pollock, 53)
That next month came the decisive turning point in Billy's global evangelism, the L. A. Crusade. Overnight he became a nationally known figure. One year later, Newsweek called him "America's greatest living evangelist" (May 1, 1950).
He never lost the unshakable conviction that God had called him sovereignly to the work of evangelism and that he owed everything to God's initiative.
"With all my heart as I look back on my life, [I believe] I was chosen to do this particular work [of evangelizing] as a man might have been chosen to go into East Harlem and work there, or to the slums of London like General Booth was. I believe that God in his sovereignty — I have no other answer for this — sheer sovereignty, chose me to do this work and prepared me in his own way." (Christopher Catherwood, Five Evangelical Leaders, 234)
For all the technology he employed, he relied profoundly on the Holy Spirit in the work of evangelism.
He told students in 1964 at Harvard Divinity School… "I used to think that in evangelism I had to do it all, but now I approach evangelism with a totally different attitude. I approach it with complete relaxation. First of all, I don't believe that any man can come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit has prepared his heart. Secondly, I don't believe any man can come to Christ unless God drives him. My job is to proclaim the message. It's the Holy Spirit's job to do the work, period." (Catherwood, 230)
When it was not yet the politically correct thing to do he was an advocate for racial integration and respect.
In 1972, Graham accepted an invitation to speak in Durban and Johannesburg provided that the audiences were racially integrated. The South African government disliked this and only reluctantly agreed…. Howard Jones recalls [Martin Luther] King telling Graham, "Your crusades have done more to help race relations than anything else I know." (Catherwood, 209)
He is famous for saying that he preached too much and studied too little.
One of my great regrets is that I have not studied enough. I wish I had studied more and preached less. People have pressured me into speaking to groups when I should have been studying and preparing. Donald Barnhouse said that if he knew the Lord was coming in three years, he would spend two of them studying and one preaching. I'm trying to make it up. (Christianity Today, September 23, 1977)
This is especially ironic in view of Pollock's 1966 description of Billy's habits of study:
Beyond all else Billy Graham studies the Bible, the supreme authority for his belief and action. Every day he reads five Psalms, covering the psalter in a month, and one chapter of Proverbs, the book that "shows us how to relate our own lives to our fellow men." He reads through a Gospel each week, using commentaries and modern translations, and constantly returns to the Acts of the Apostles. He annotates throughout the Bible. "Sometimes His word makes such an impact on me that I have to put the Bible down and walk around for a few moments to catch my breath." He learns great stretches by heart…. (Pollock, 248)
All of this was saturated with prayer. "I have so many decisions to make each day, and so many problems, that I have to pray all the time" (Pollock, 248).
Surely John Pollock is right that "Prayer and Bible reading, inextricably intertwined, are the tap roots of Billy Graham's character and of his message" (248).
John Piper
Gareth Lloyd
Practical theology for Women
29-09-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Women »
Wendy Alsup of Mars Hill Church, Seattle has been serving in ministry specific to women for many years. Here's an excerpt from a recent article:
"Here are some thoughts on how knowing the character of our God equips us to all He has called us.
In our culture, when we talk about God’s instructions to women, there will be inevitable misunderstandings. Our culture thinks “submission” means “doormat”. They think “gentle” means “weak”. And they think “helper” means “slave” or “enabler”. Instead, I want to take what we know of God and use that to equip us as women for what God has called us to be in our homes and churches. So let's look at how we as women are made in the image of God and how understanding the image of God prepares us to embrace our role in marriage. Though it should be common sense to those who know Scripture, we will offer the obvious disclaimer that Christian wives are not called to be helpers of or submitters to men who violate God’s commands by abusing their family. Men who abuse the laws of God and laws of our country have abdicated their God-given role and will be held to account by God.
At the first mention of the first woman in Scripture, we begin to understand the necessary relationship between what we know about God and what He has called us to be as wives.
Genesis 2 18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
If you don’t know God, His Names, and His character, then hearing that woman was created to be some man’s helper is going to sound incredibly condescending and substandard. “I’m called to be Help?! That sounds like some 18th century plantation snob referring to their servants. I’m not the Help.” But before we adopt that attitude, let’s consider a few things from Scripture. We want Scripture and not preconceived notions from our culture to guide our thinking on this. First, the Hebrew word translated “helper” is ezer, meaning to help, nourish, sustain, or strengthen. It’s used often in the Old Testament of God Himself. Consider it’s use in Deuteronomy 33:29.
Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places.
God Himself here is called our helper, our ezer, the same word used of the first woman in Gen. 2:18. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is also called our Helper, Counselor, and Comforter (depending on which translation of the Bible you use—these are all translations of the Holy Spirit’s role of “paraklete”, or one who comes alongside in help.)
God is our Help. The Holy Spirit is our Helper. When we understand God’s role on this issue, it puts this in perspective. God, Almighty Sovereign Lord of the Universe, is our helper and we, as women, are created in His image. If we hold on to the attitude that being created as a helper is condescending and substandard, we mock the Name of God and His character, for the role of Helper is one God willingly embraces. Christ says in Matthew 10:25 that it is enough for the disciple to be as his master and the servant as his Lord. It is enough that we seek to be like Him.
So let’s consider God’s example on this issue of Help. Do you see yourself exhibiting God’s characteristics or the contrasting ones? In Exodus 18:4, God our help defends (in contrast to attacking or ignoring the fight altogether). In Psalm 10:14 God our help sees and cares for the oppressed (rather than being indifferent and unconcerned). In Psalm 20:2 and 33:20, God our Help supports, shields and protects (rather than leaving unprotected and defenseless). In Psalms 70:5, God our Help delivers from distress (rather than causing distress). In Psalm 72:12-14, God our Help rescues the poor, weak, and needy (rather than ignoring the poor and needy). And in Psalm 86:17, God our Help comforts (rather than causing discomfort or avoiding altogether).
Often, instead of following God’s example on this, we become the very persons from whom our spouses feel they need to protect themselves. Rather that expecting compassion and support, our spouses tense as they enter our presence expecting condemnation and criticism. It should not be so among Christian wives.
God’s example reveals a high and worthy calling for wives as “helpers suitable to their husbands”. We are called to show compassion, to support, defend and protect those in our care, to deliver from distress and to comfort. We are called to be conduits of God’s grace in our homes. We are called to be like Christ."
Wendy Alsup
Gareth Lloyd
How Passionate Are Your Praises?
26-09-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | worship »
Personality differences are a wonderful gift from God. We need loud and expressive people to keep us on our toes. We need quiet and reflective people to calm us down. Here’s the thing though. Often times we improperly import our personality types into our worship of God. Those who are loud love to sing (usually off key), clap, and dance. Those who are quiet prefer reflective, reverent meditation. All of this begs the question: which one is right? Does God prefer loud people or reverent people?
Fortunately, scripture doesn’t leave us hanging. In fact, it spells it out pretty clearly. God loves and desires both responses from all people.
Check out Psalm 47:1-2
"Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth."
The thing I love about this Psalm is that God gives us both the what and the why. He commands us to clap our hands and to sing to God with loud songs of joy. This isn’t a command based on personality type. It’s not reserved for extroverts. All people are called to clap and to sing loud songs of joy to God.
Why? Because he is the Lord Most High. He’s the great king who rules over all the earth. In light of God’s glorious majesty, clapping and loud songs are the right response! It wouldn’t be right to always be silent and reflective in the presence of God. His beauty and glory call for more.
Let’s be encouraged by this Psalm to move toward loud, expressive worship of God. In church, in the car, in the shower. Yes, worship is matter of the heart. You can belt it out without giving a rip about God. But true worship doesn’t stay in the heart. It animates the hands to clapping and the vocal chords to loud songs.
HT: Stephen Altrogge
Gareth Lloyd
Impressive China?
14-08-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Mission »
Stephen Altrogge encourages to use the Olympics to remind us to pray for our brothers and sisters:
Last week I caught part of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, reportedly planned and rehearsed for 5 years, and costing $300 million to stage.
It featured 15,000 Chinese performers. 33,866 fireworks were fired off – almost as many as our local Indiana County Fair on July 4th. It was probably the largest and most expensive show ever produced. Especially cool was the performance of 2000 drummers in playing in perfect synchronization. Obviously, China wanted to impress.
But China’s government is not impressive.
“They hung me up across an iron gate, then they yanked open the gate and my whole body lifted until my chest nearly split in two. I hung like that for four hours.”
This is how Peter Xu Yongze (age 61), describes how he was treated during one of five jail sentences in China because of his belief in Christ. Christians are not allowed to evangelize in China, and it’s against the law to worship in any group or home outside state sanctioned churches. To do so is to risk fines, imprisonment, torture and even death.
While he was in prison, one of the jailers told Mr. Xu the only way to avoid breaking the law would be if he prayed under the covers in bed.
“A believer was praying, so a jailer made other prisoners lift him up to the ceiling and drop him to the ground many times until he died,” Mr. Xu said. (BBC News, Nov 9, 2004)
House church leader Zhou Heng, who manages a state registered bookstore, was arrested on Aug. 31, 2007, for receiving 3 tons of Bibles that had been donated by South Korean churches and intended for free distribution to local Christians. The government only allows state churches to print and distribute a limited number of Bibles yearly. It is reported that in prison Zhou was beaten severely by both guards and inmates. He was still in prison as of this past February. (The Christian Post, Feb.7, 2008)
The Lord who spoke the worlds into existence is not impressed by our pomp and technology and fireworks. But he is impressed by his people glorifying him despite persecution by a wicked government. His eyes are on his precious sheep singing his praises behind closed doors of their homes or praying under their prison covers.
When you watch the Olympics this week, lift up a prayer for the persecuted saints in China. Ask Jesus to have mercy on them, fill them with his joy and give them the grace to persevere. Ask Jesus to bring his kingdom, the most impressive kingdom of all, to earth.
Gareth Lloyd
What Tony does in his spare time!!
14-08-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Fun »
It seems my co-pastor here at SGCM has been living a secret life outside of his involvement with this local church...
Check this out:
http://singersongwritertonygraham.com/
Gareth Lloyd
Humility displayed through lopsided love
19-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
My wife has been reading Ed Welch’s book, "Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest"
In the book Welch gives an excellent description of humility displayed through love to others (pp. 184-185):
Which do we really need—to give love or to receive it? We resist the question because we want to say both. Yet Scripture seems to favor the imbalance. Not that we aspire to have our friend or spouse love us less, but that “in humility [we] consider others better than [our]selves” (Phil. 3:4). When the kingdom of God is ruling our hearts, we aspire more to serve than to be served, honor more than to be honored, and love more than be loved. This doesn’t mean that we don’t care about being loved; it simply means that we always want to outdo others in love.
Do we run the risk of a lopsided relationship? Absolutely. That is the relationship we have with God—he always loves first and most. . . . Throughout Scripture God is the one who loves more than he is loved. He always makes the first move. He advertises his extravagant affection for us even when we are indifferent or opposed to him.
When Jesus Christ, God incarnate, walked the earth, the pattern continued. Through his life Jesus was rejected by his people and misunderstood by his disciples. At the most difficult point of his life, he was betrayed, denied, and abandoned. But through it all his love was unwavering. In this, he established the pattern for true humanness. This is the way we were intended to be.
This is life in the kingdom. It wants love, but it wants even more to love others deeply. Its treasure is to grow in the fruits of the Spirit, foremost of which is to love others.
Gareth Lloyd
CJ's 8 most recommended books
19-06-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | books »
These are the books CJ Mahaney most recommends to be read in a lifetime.
Knowing God by JI Packer
The Holiness of God by RC Sproul
The Cross of Christ by John Stott
When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges
Holiness by JC Ryle
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul Tripp
(Taken from the Girl Talk Blog)
Gareth Lloyd
John Wesley's Accountability Questions
09-05-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
John Wesley’s Small Group Questions used in contexts of two to three people:
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?
4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work , or habits?
5. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
6. Did the Bible live in me today?
7. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
8. Am I enjoying prayer?
9. When did I last speak to someone about my faith?
10. Do I pray about the money I spend?
11. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
12. Do I disobey God in anything?
13. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
16. How do I spend my spare time?
17. Am I proud?
18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?
19. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?
20. Do I grumble and complain constantly?
21. Is Christ real to me?
Gareth Lloyd
"Come and See" or "Go and Tell"?
23-04-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Mission »
This recent article from Ed Stetzer fits right in with what we have been provoked in here at SGCM:
Unchurched adults interested in finding a congregation aren’t nearly as likely to visit one in person as a church member who is shopping for a new congregation. That means effective evangelism must begin outside the sanctuary in relationships between Christians and unbelievers, according to research from several recent studies from LifeWay Research...
The location of our evangelism needs to shift if we want to reach the unchurched and not just move sheep around, said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research. At LifeWay Research we want to encourage churches to grow through conversion. To do that, they must not rely only of the unchurched visiting our churches. Church switchers are primarily the ones who visit churches. The unchurched stay home...
So, if you build your outreach on recruiting and reaching church visitors you will often build a church on church switchers, he said.
Stetzer continued, For several decades we have focused on come and see, invest and invite, bring your friends to church by attracting them with a great program. We call that attractional ministry. Now we are facing the reality that fewer unchurched people are willing to visit a Christian church.
This will compel us to embrace a go and tell – or incarnational – approach, he said. Should we invite our friends to church? Sure. But should we be, do, and tell the Gospel to people in culture? You bet. It is not only biblical, but it is even more essential today as our culture grows increasingly resistant to the church.
While unchurched people are open to relationships, few church members are intentionally investing time developing relationships with non-Christians. A soon-to-be published 2007 survey of more than 2,500 adult church members found only 25 percent agreed they "spend time building friendships with non-Christians for the purpose of sharing Christ with them." A full 38 percent actually disagreed with the statement and 36 percent were noncommittal about it.
Too often the way our churches measure success revolves around what happens at church when we ought to be focusing on what happens in building intentional relationships with those far from Christ, McConnell said. Some of the activities on our church calendars may actually be preventing effective evangelism by keeping believers away from the people they need to reach.
Believers must resolve to step into their world to share the Good News with them, Stetzer explained. If we are waiting for them to someday walk into our churches, that someday may never come.
We have tried that approach for decades – many church buildings/services are looking great. They have new looks, new music and new strategies, he added. We have gone to great length to fix up the barn, but the wheat is still not harvesting itself. I believe we must move from attractional ‘come and see’ ministry to incarnational ‘go and tell’ and join Jesus in the harvest fields all around us.
Gareth Lloyd
Go On Being Filled With The Spirit!
22-04-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
This is proving to be an encouraging season for us at Sovereign Grace Church. Clearly God is at work n a number of individuals creating in them fresh desires after Him, fresh revelations of His glory and fresh experiences of His grace.
Mark Pont is an individual who I have counted as a good friend for the few years I have known him and it has been my sheer delight to see the outworking of the Spirit of God in his life over recent weeks. I have copied an edited version of the testimony he gave at one of our Sunday morning meetings, for your encouragement.
"My Christian life was drifting along for many years, stagnant and stale, with no continuing or regular strong desire to seek after God. I rarely had a sense of being close to God. Although challenged on a regular basis on Sunday mornings about how I should be living, my heart had become hardened, too focused on negatives and what I didn’t have, rather than appreciating grace and what I did have.
Since Christmas, God has taken me through a process of softening my heart to bring me to a place of realising that I wasn’t living a life that glorified Him. Praise Him that He perseveres with us, even when we’re far away! The two most significant that God has used were:
• a range of sermons from Gareth and Mike about how the way we love and serve each other as Christians witnesses to people. (John 13:35) God challenged me about whether my love was visible to those around me; and
• a newly-saved Christian friend at work. God used her enthusiasm to challenge me. Why didn’t my salvation mean that much to me? Where was my daily thrill that the Creator and Lord of the universe loves me and cares for me enough that he planned to have his only son slaughtered on my behalf so that I can be forgiven of my sins?
In doing that He prepared me for a major infilling of His Holy Spirit, which has completely swept through me, cleared out loads of old rubbish and replaced it with fresh hope, where the gospel is real and meaningful.
Before, I was too inwardly-focused and distant, keener to talk about my struggles rather than being encouraging, and not making time for people, particularly my wife and children. I was too often grumpy, critical, impatient, and responded badly to difficult (and sometimes not-so-difficult!) situations. I often wasn’t very enthusiastic about attending church meetings, was gracious only with those people I found it easy to be gracious with (and even then not doing it very well!), fearful about what the future might hold, and had little enthusiasm for life.
He has transformed me to be encouraging and wanting to serve. I have a new enthusiasm for life, a deeper appreciation of what His sacrifice means for me, and a new passion to know Him more and to have a more intimate relationship with Him. God has stirred my heart to really want to read the Bible, pray and worship through song and through all aspects of my life. I’m more gracious too; more outwardly-focused and want to talk about God. Christ seems so close at the moment – he cares for me personally. That level of care for me tells me that I can trust him through every step of my life.
I don’t want that to sound like a list of how good I am, because I’m not. I’m a weak vessel who God has miraculously stepped in and chosen to give a good clearing out. All those attributes that people have reported they see in me are overflows of a heart that is now so grateful for what He did for me on the cross, a heart that had lost its purpose in life but has been miraculously re-awakened to what life is all about and is grateful and satisfied in Him alone.
It doesn’t mean that temptations and difficult situations have gone away though – life is still full of the same challenges. But I thank God that these are easier to deal with now because of the reality of Jesus in my life.
Jesus said that he would leave his Spirit for us. Please draw near to God to seek a fresh revelation of all that He is and all that He’s done for you. If I’d known life could be this good, I would have earnestly sought after God’s Spirit much, much more than I ever did. Life is fab because He is fab."
Gareth Lloyd
America Trip (Final Part???)
18-04-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
So here it is ... the final part of our blog from America and I find myself sitting in O'Hare Airport Chicago some 6 hours after we were supposed to fly out!!
Yes, our flight was cancelled this morning and we are due to leave this evening on a flight to Heathrow via Dublin arriving tomorrow morning at about 11am.
It was very interesting to observe various responses amongst the passengers to the news of the cancelled flight - some were resigned, some angry and some just very confused. For our guys (Dave, Steve, Gavin, Bob and Gareth) and for myself it once again reminds us that only God is in control of our lives, sovereignly ordaining the circumstances and situations that we face as we grow to be more like Christ.
One of my favourite verses from Proverbs 16 is a constant reminder that whilst I make plans and seek to order my life it is God alone who ordains what will happen. The more I think about that the more I am grateful for His affectionate care for my life and for those around me.
And so the conference is done - we are stirred to love God more passionately and to serve His people more faithfully. We have enjoyed excellent fellowship, challenging teaching along with a couple of late nights!!
We are anticipating with some joy a sweet reunion with our families and worshipping with His people on Sunday. Most of all we are grateful for the opportunity to serve the Creator God who has called us into His family and into His service.
Tony Graham
America Trip (Part 2)
15-04-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
It's Tuesday early evening and the conference is now well under way and we are having a blast!!
After a 4 hour journey yesterday across 4 different American states (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana & Kentucky) we finally arrived in Louisville about 3pm Monday afternoon.
For those of you who are interested I suffered the effects of a streaming cold all the way here - Gareth had to drive the whole way as I was sneezing, had a runny nose and a painful head that made driving impossible (yes I am doing much better today - thanks for asking!!).
Anyway after settling in to another hotel room and dosing myself up we joined with the Sovereign Grace pastors for our own 'pre conference' meeting before today's official start. What a blast we had!! The worship was loud and powerful, CJ led us through a study in Acts 15/16 looking at Paul's work and the move of the Spirit. In particular we considered his care for the churches he had planted and his desire to revisit them to care for them. We then spent our time considering how God has been blessing our family of churches over the last year and ways in which we, helped by Sovereign Grace, can carry on this care for the people in our churches.
We were so blessed to be there and to be led by such godly men. Once again I was freshly conscious of God's grace in allowing us (Gareth & I) the privilege of serving the local church in Merthyr (the people we love and respect so much) and being part of this group of churches.
Today has been something of a contrast. We had the second sovereign grace meeting but also after lunch the conference officially commenced. We went from a few hundred pastors looking at all God has for us in the future (very exciting!) to a massive hall filled with 5000 pastors being taught by an outstanding Presbyterian theologian, Ligon Duncan, considering the importance and implications of systematic theology in the life of the local church!!
I had the joy of spending 2 hours at dinner with my good friend Dave Sharp (we were in pastors college together) and caught up on all God is doing in his family and the church in Philadelphia - all the time eating chinese food - excellent!
So there you have it - we are doing well and having a good time. We miss everyone back home especially our families but God is extending His marvellous grace towards us.
Tony Graham
America Trip (Part 1)
14-04-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
Well folks, as most of you know we (Gareth/Tony) are currently in St Louis on the first part of our visit to 'Together for the Gospel 08' a gathering of 5000 pastors and leaders from across the world.
Our flight last Friday was interesting, to say the least! We were nearly 2 hours late taking off from Heathrow after various delays due to late arrival of plane and weather. As a consequence we missed our flight from Chicago to St Louis and had to hang around in Chicago for 90 minutes to get the next plane. The final result was that by the time we got to our hotel and crawled into bed we had been travelling for about 22 hours!!
As you can imagine the first day passed by in a bit of a haze. We did, however, have lunch with the Pastor of a great church here in St Louis. His name is Jonathan Macintosh and he is one of the pastors of 'The Journey' a young, vibrant and thriving church here in St Louis. In fact this was one of the main reasons we have detoured to St Louis to spend time with him/the church and to try to learn something more of how a local church engages with it's culture and draws those who do not know the Saviour into the life and mission of the church.
He graciously gave us over 2 hours of his time - even though he was due to preach 5 times on Sat/Sun! We attended the Saturday evening meeting and enjoyed ourselves. There is clearly a lot of life and vitality about the church and we had much to talk about afterwards.
This morning (Monday) we move on to Louisville, Kentucky where the Conference is being held. We have a 4/5 hour car journey ahead but as we will be driving in convoy with the Christchurch leaders and stopping off a couple of times it should be a fun journey!!!
Unfortunately, one of the Christchurch guys - Dan Gaweda - has had to go back to the UK urgently. His daughter Caitlyn is very ill and today will have major heart surgery. Please pray for Dan and Cat that they will experience much of God's grace and faithfulness. Many of us have had to walk through difficult circumstances with our children (although maybe not to such an extreme) and will be aware of the pain that is caused when our children are hurting. But we have a faithful God who holds all things in the palm of His hands and we trust He will lead the Gawedas safely through such a difficult time.
Please continue to pray for us - we missed everyone yesterday - although we heard the musicians and Mike did a great job. Hey, who needs Pastors!!!!!
Grace to you all
Tony Graham
Great Worship Resources Going Cheap!
12-03-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | worship »
The exchange rate between the pound and the US Dollar is of significant advantage to us at present and certainly worth making good use of.
Check out these downloadable worship CDs from Sovereign Grace Ministries going for an incredible £3!!
Click here
Gareth Lloyd
Motivation to Worship
08-03-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | worship »
Check out these interesting and helpful thoughts from Bob Kauflin of Covenant Life Church and Sovereign Grace Ministries. What do you think about when you are singing? Click here
Gareth Lloyd
7 Characteristics of an Ingrown Church
06-03-2008 | SGCM Blog | Church | Mission »
I came across this and thought it might be useful for evaluation, particularly if you are in a long established church and even more so if you are a new pastor going into a long established church. Click here to read the article
Gareth Lloyd
Favourite Christmas Films - the Result!!
24-12-2007 | SGCM Blog | Church | Fun »
Well, after a week or so of frenzied voting (well not exactly frenzied!!) we are delighted to announce the result of the first ever survey of favourite Christmas Films held here at SGCM.
Watching films together with family or friends has got to be one of the best things about this time of the year. A few nights ago Norma and I sat and watched Norma’s favourite film ‘Miracle on 34th Street’. Although Norma did have her usual ’40 winks’ in the middle (those of you who know her understand that she has a little sleep in most films!! - comes from being a busy Mum) it was wonderful to sit together and see David Attenborough play Santa Claus and bring joy to the little girl in the film. There are so many moments in that film that make me cry and as usual my boys (who did sit for at least a part of the film) took great delight in seeing my tears. My defence is that tears are a gift from God and show you have feelings!!
Saturday afternoon, Daniel and I watched a film I have never seen before – ‘Single Santa seeks Mrs Claus’ – what a great film - very emotional and typically fun! Steve Guttenberg plays Santa Claus’ son who, just before he takes over from his father in the family business, comes to America from the North Pole in order to find a wife who will support him in the work ahead (she just happens be a widow and to have a Son who wishes for a new Dad for Christmas – cue happy ending!).
However, our (and it seems many other people’s favourite film is ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. Talk about tears …. this film has it all; angels, family, sacrificial love and the kindness of human nature being displayed. If you haven’t seen it – get it (or borrow it from us) and enjoy a great film, good acting and have the tissues handy!!
Anyway enough waffling … here are the results (in reverse order)
5) A Muppet Christmas Carol 4) White Christmas / Holiday Inn 3) Home Alone 2) Miracle on 34th Street
And the winner is …
1) It’s a Wonderful Life!!!!!!!
I must just mention that the ‘Sound of Music’ actually got a vote (for best Christmas film!! – still Allyson would vote for that film at any part of the year – how many times have you watched it Al????). Another mention must go to that other well know Christmas film – Gremlins! Apparently Jason’s favourite film!
Have a great Christmas everyone and enjoy your presents. Look forward to seeing you all at the Carol Service this evening and on 30th for our last meeting of 2007.
Tony Graham
Favourite Christmas Films
14-12-2007 | SGCM Blog | Church | Fun »
Hi all .... after Gareth's comments a couple of weeks ago about watching his favourite family Christmas films we thought it would be fun to hear about your favourite festive films.
So if you want to be part of our unofficial survey of favourite Christmas films send an email to me at the following address - office@sgcm.org and I will compile the unofficial "SGCM Favourite Christmas Films Chart".
To start us off here is the Graham list:
1) It's a Wonderful Life 2) Miracle on 34th Street 3) Home Alone 4) A Christmas Carol
If you get time tell us why a certain film is your favourite (We like 'Its a Wonderful Life' because it makes us cry and has a happy ending!!!).
Looking forward to hearing from you ....
Tony Graham
Praying About Praying
15-10-2007 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
I have many, various ideas as to what would make an idyllic evening. In a busy household with six kids and a dog and a busy weekly routine, an evening alone with my wife of 17 years certainly tops the list! However, early this week I had the privilege of enjoying an evening of a different sort that has left me with an ongoing sense of refreshment, a deep soul rest, and a heart filled with gratitude.
We are so grateful for this church! God has blessed us as a family by surrounding us with an ever-increasing number of true friends and this week we got to spend an evening with some of them enjoying a meal and enjoying fellowship in the Lord. The ten of us sat around a table and spoke about prayer. We talked about our experiences, our challenges, our delights and our desires. But we didn’t just discuss prayer, we prayed about prayer! As naturally as if Jesus himself were sitting at the table with us, we turned our conversation from one another to Him; we expressed to him what we had expressed to each other. And as I listened to the prayers of my friends and echoed their sentiments in my own heart I was made freshly aware of how uncommonly normal and fitting this experience was. God has made us for himself, to enjoy relationship with him as his children, to depend upon him as the source of life, and breath and all good things. We honour his worth, his character when we come to him as a child comes to their father and says, “Daddy, I love you, you are strong and kind, will you help me?” And as we draw near to him in that way so we experience him drawing near to us.
We sat around that table and confessed to each other that all too often we live in self-sufficiency and we rob ourselves of one of our Father’s greatest gifts to us. And so we prayed about prayer; we spoke to him about learning to speak to him more and with a greater realisation of who he is and what he is able to do.
This is the culture I want to create and nurture in my own home and in my own life; that I speak to my Father as naturally as I breathe and enjoy life the way God intended us to live it.
Gareth Lloyd
Baby Dedications
01-10-2007 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
Yesterday we dedicated a number of babies at our church. What a day of real joy to see these three families with their beautiful baby girls asking God for his help in raising these children who are such a gift to their parents.
The day before we had a ‘Fun Day’ at the local school where our church meets and I had met a number of young boys who did not enjoy the same love and privilege of being part of a close loving family. They were angry, hopeless and aggressive young men who seemed to have little respect for anyone around them.
I am struck by the contrast between these two groups and very aware of the tendency in me to get self-righteous and critical of such individuals. Here’s the question I have been asking myself today – how would Jesus feel and act when confronted with these young men. When he met the angry and the outcast he had nothing but care and compassion for them. I hope our local church and Christians generally can be like that as we grow to be more like Christ in our actions and attitudes.
Tony Graham
Summer Holidays
00-00-0000 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
Well the Summer Holidays have arrived; the children are finished with school until September, my friend Gareth and his family are already enjoying their holiday in sunny England (!!!). Plans are being made in the Graham household for our trip to Brittany with our good friends the Hands, which starts next Friday!! However, here is the challenge that Norma and I find once again (it comes around every holiday time) - how do we keep spending time with God each day when our normal patterns are disrupted and there are so many other things going on around us? We have been battling this last couple of weeks (not always successfully) to keep reading and reminding ourselves about the glorious grace of God and the cross upon which our Saviour died. I am reading, for the umpteenth time, 'Living the Cross Centred Life' to remind myself what an incredible sacrifice was made on my behalf and that I should be continually living in the good of that not how I feel or how others tell me I should feel. My wonderful wife is reading Carol Cymbala's book 'He's Been Faithful' and we are both dipping into a biography of George Meuller we have just obtained. As the Summer Holidays progress we want to stay near to the cross and remind ourselves of God's love and faithfulness to us, our family and the local church that we love the most. What a kind, merciful and gracious God we have!!!
Tony Graham
Summer Holidays
00-00-0000 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
Tony Graham
Summer Holidays
00-00-0000 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
Well the Summer Holidays have arrived; the children are finished with school until September, my friend Gareth and his family are already enjoying their holiday in sunny England (!!!). Plans are being made in the Graham household for our trip to Brittany with our good friends the Hands, which starts next Friday!! However, here is the challenge that Norma and I find once again (it comes around every holiday time) - how do we keep spending time with God each day when our normal patterns are disrupted and there are so many other things going on around us? We have been battling this last couple of weeks (not always successfully) to keep reading and reminding ourselves about the glorious grace of God and the cross upon which our Saviour died. I am reading, for the umpteenth time, 'Living the Cross Centred Life' to remind myself what an incredible sacrifice was made on my behalf and that I should be continually living in the good of that not how I feel or how others tell me I should feel. My wonderful wife is reading Carol Cymbala's book 'He's Been Faithful' and we are both dipping into a biography of George Meuller we have just obtained. As the Summer Holidays progress we want to stay near to the cross and remind ourselves of God's love and faithfulness to us, our family and the local church that we love the most. What a kind, merciful and gracious God we have!!!
Tony Graham
Summer Holidays
00-00-0000 | SGCM Blog | Church | Family Life »
Tony Graham