If you haven’t seen it, amazing secular article about Matt Chandler & dealing with suffering.

Something That Said It Right.

The Hypocrisy of Feminists on the Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad.

Something That Says It Just Right.

18 Min. Sermon on Relationship of The Church & Culture.

Something Important To Consider.

Preparing for Financial Difficulty.

Have a Great Weekend.

LMac.

]]> http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?feed=rss2&p=3705 8 http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=3699 http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=3699#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:42:48 +0000 James MacDonald http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=3699 I am leading my church family through the New Testament book of Revelation this year called “The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Learning to Hope in the King and the Kingdom.” We started last fall and we’re going verse by verse, week by week through this final book in the book God wrote. Now that we are really into it, I see that the timing of this study could not be more perfect in light of the current events of our day.

Here’s a chart of the End Times that I am going through with the church family at Harvest. I trust it will be helpful to you in your personal study of the book of Revelation. And if you want to hear the whole message, “The Rapture Question,” follow this link to the Harvest Bible Chapel Web site.

“How do we prepare our children for these end times, these “perilous times”? (If and how to present these passages to our children.) Our kids are ages five and seven. We want them to trust in God and not be fearful.”

Dear K and J,

You ask a great question. My own children are seven, four, and one, so I feel the weight of it myself.

We here in America think about this issue as a future contingency. But in many respects, your question speaks to a present reality for many believers in other parts of the world. Places like China, the Sudan, and in certain parts of India, etc., can all be hostile to the faith, and Christian parents in these countries have to wrestle with this question as living reality. I’m certain I don’t have the final answer, but here are  a few thoughts…

The world is full of dark realities that children were never meant to grapple with. Part of our job as parents is to shield our children from such things — to protect their innocence for as long as possible.  So I’m not at all certain it’s necessary to burden our young children with the horrors of the persecutions of the last day, any more than it is necessary to burden our children with the horrors of the present day. I don’t constantly talk to my children about how I or they could die from cancer, or how our house could burn down. It’s simply not a burden they need to carry, and there is nothing they can do to prevent such things. Worry about today, Jesus tells us, for tomorrow has enough troubles of its own.  Some bridges need only be crossed when we get there.

Should a day of persecution dawn upon the American church, as it has already dawned upon the Church around the world, there will be no easy answers. Things will be gut-wrenching hard.  And in such times we can only do what Christians have always done when faced with persecution: trust in the sovereign, benevolent God who has promised good to us in Christ.

So if our children ask us questions along these lines, I think we must answer them with a calm statement about what the Bible teaches — according to their level of understanding and maturity.  And we must answer such questions with confidence, and a  full assurance of hope in what has been promised — that God keeps his own, that our present suffering cannot compare with the eternal weight of glory, and that even in death there is an ultimate hope.

Ultimately, I think that the best way to prepare our children for suffering and persecution is to prepare ourselves for suffering and persecution. Anxiety in our faces will produce anxiety in theirs. Peace in our hearts will produce peace in theirs. Some of us perhaps, are worrying about our children when we should be worrying about ourselves.

May God give us grace in that day,

Gerald

The Preacher Bow.

Something Insanely Cool.

Mind-Blowing Stop Motion.

Something Scientifically Theological.

The Bible=Rainbow?

Something That Will Be My Last Conan/Leno Link Ever (I Hope.)

Detailed Explanation of WHY Conan’s Final Speech Was Great Leadership.

Something That Made Me Laugh.

Angry Pastor’s Kid.

Something Complex but Important.

Does Being Focused on Evangelism Necessarily Lead To Liberalism?

]]> http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?feed=rss2&p=3665 3 http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=3655 http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=3655#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:01:53 +0000 James MacDonald http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=3655 One week ago today, I was in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on an assessment trip for Churches Helping Churches. What I saw, what I smelled, what I felt, what I heard was almost overwhelming. It would have been easy to look around and wonder if this took God by surprise. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I know that it did not. But what hope can we offer to the people around us when a crisis of epic proportion comes—a disaster like this massive earthquake, the death of a child, or a deadly terrorist attack?

I preached a message following the events of September 11, 2001, that still offers truth and hope from God’s Word—no matter what the crisis is. I trust that Questions in a Time of Crisis will meet you at your point of need today.

Avatar=Pocahontas?

Something I Really Enjoyed

Letterman DETROYING Leno.

Something Helpful

Excellent Thought On Explaining the Text In Preaching.

Something That Took Up My Entire Week

If You Somehow Haven’t Heard… churches helping churches.

Will you help the church? Go to ChurchesHelpingChurches.com.

Just wanted to make sure you are all aware of the mercy initiative being spearheaded by James and Mark Driscoll. It’s called Churches Helping Churches. James and Mark left late last night for Haiti and have just landed in country with a medical and camera team. They hope to capture the story regarding the state of the Haitian church and to report back to the church in North America. It is their hope that Churches Helping Churches will serve as a rallying point for the ongoing relief effort to the local church in Haiti, as well as prepare the North American church to respond quickly to future crises that will inevitably arise around the world. You can read about James’ heart for this new ministry here.

Please be in prayer for safety, wisdom, and a clear sense of direction from the Lord as the team ministers in Haiti. If you haven’t done so already, please consider giving to this relief effort. And for the most up to date information follow James on twitter.

Gerald