Provocative Church

Friends Are Free Gifts From God

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:30:19 PDT

“We need friends. Friends guide us, care for us, confront us in love, console us in times of pain. Although we speak of “making friends,” friends cannot be made. Friends are free gifts from God. But God gives us the friends we need when we need them if we fully trust in God’s love.

Friends cannot replace God. They have limitations and weaknesses like we have. Their love is never faultless, never complete. But in their limitations they can be signposts on our journey towards the unlimited and unconditional love of God. Let’s enjoy the friends whom God has sent on our way.”

- Henri Nouwen

(ht: Dream Awakener)

A Sonship Which Comes By Promise

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:17:27 PDT

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6)

We are not the sons of God by nature in the sense here meant. We are in a sense “the offspring God” by nature, but this is very different from the sonship here described, which is the peculiar privilege of those who are born again. The Jews claimed to be of the family of God, but as their privileges came to them by the way of their fleshly birth, they are likened to Ishmael, who was born after the flesh, but who was cast out as the son of the bondwoman, and compelled to give way to the son of the promise.

We have a sonship which does not come to us by nature, for we are “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Our sonship comes by promise, by the operation of God as a special gift to a peculiar seed, set apart unto the Lord by his own sovereign grace, as Isaac was. This honour and privilege come to us, according to the connection of our text, by faith. Note well the twenty-sixth verse of the preceding chapter (Gal. 3:26): “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

As unbelievers we know nothing of adoption. While we are under the law as self-righteous we know something of servitude, but we know nothing of sonship. It is only after that faith has come that we cease to be under the schoolmaster, and rise out of our minority to take the privileges of the sons of God.

Adapted from Charles Spurgeon, “Adoption—The Spirit and the Cry,” as published in The Sermons of Charles Spurgeon: Sermons 1-200 (Vol 1 of 4)

(ht: Blogging Theologically)

Simple Dependence

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:19:02 PDT

But faith in Jesus is not simple agreement with his words in principle; it is dependence on him to such a degree that you renounce all other things in life that have occupied a place of supremacy.

-Joe Thorn from Note to Self

Would Anyone Miss You?

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:19:26 PDT

If you and your church were to disappear off the face of the earth tomorrow, would anyone in the community around you notice you were gone? And if the community did even notice would they say ‘we are really glad they are gone’, or ‘we are really going to miss them’?

-Tim Keller

(ht: Keller Quotes)

Why Is It So Hard To Repent?

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:19:50 PDT

It’s hard to repent. And while it’s hard enough to repent before a perfect God, it’s even harder to repent before an imperfect human being. To admit that you have injured or neglected another person, then to go the person and say, “I’m sorry. I’m ashamed. Will you forgive me?”—to do this is mortifying. It kills us to do it. You need to be a big person to give it a serious try. That’s the paradox of repentance, says, C.S. Lewis. Only a bad person needs to repent. Only a good person can do it.

- Cornelius Plantinga Jr, Beyond Doubt: Faith-Building Devotions on Questions Christians Ask, 242.

The Top 10 Most Read Books in the World

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:26:24 PDT

by Jared. Browse more data visualizations.

Use the Wrong People

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:20:07 PDT

In Jesus’ simple command to ‘make disciples,’ he has invited every one of his followers to share the life of Christ with others in a sacrificial, intentional, global effort to multiply the gospel of Christ through others. He never intended to limit this invitation to the most effective communicators, the most brilliant organizers, or the most talented leaders and artists — all the allegedly right people that you and I are prone to exalt in the church. Instead, the Spirit of God has empowered every follower of Christ to accomplish the purpose of God for the glory of God in the world. This includes the so-called wrong people: those who are least effective, least brilliant, or least talented in the church.

Building the right church, then, is dependent on using all the wrong people.

— David Platt -Radical Together

(ht: Of First Importance)

The Cure for Cold Religion

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:20:25 PDT

The reason our affections are so chilled and cold in religion—is that we do not warm them with thoughts of God. Hold a magnifying glass to the sun, and the glass burns that which is near to it. So when our thoughts are lifted up to Christ, the Sun of righteousness, our affections are set on fire. No sooner had the spouse been thinking upon her Savior’s beauty—but she fell into love-sickness. (Song of Sol. 5:8).

O saints, do but let your thoughts dwell upon the love of Christ, who passed by angels and thought of you; who was wounded that, out of his wounds, the balm of Gilead might come to heal you; who leaped into the sea of his Father’s wrath, to save you from drowning in the lake of fire! Think of this unparalleled love, which sets the angels wondering—and see if it will not affect your hearts and cause tears to flow forth!

— Thomas Watson (The Great Gain of Godliness), p. 87

(ht: Ordinary Pastor)

Horror Movie on Pornography

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:52:32 PDT

The story is about a husband and father and his battle with pornography. Actual home movies and interviews tell the story of the terror the family faces when a box of pornography is opened and something is unleashed.

This movie is intended to have the look and feel of the Paranormal Activity movies that have been so popular, all the while trying to get across the message on the danger of pornography.

Harmless will be out in limited theaters this fall and be available on DVD next year.

(ht: OneNewsNow)

Truth in Advertising?

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:21:21 PDT

Chuck Colson Remembered

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:59:00 PDT

To Be Completely Known and Completely Loved

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:20:54 PDT

Nobody who knows you completely can love you completely. There are people who think you’re great because they don’t really know you. There is nobody on the face of the earth who could know you to the bottom and love you to the skies. But we want that.

When someone likes you but doesn’t know you, it’s not that satisfying. And when someone knows you and doesn’t like you, that certainly isn’t satisfying. What we want is to be utterly known and utterly loved.

And on that day, at the coming of the Lord, we’ll finally get what we’ve longed for – from Jesus and one another. We’ll be utterly known and utterly loved. Yes, the future is a world of love, the kind of love you want, a personal love.

- Tim Keller

(ht: Keller Quotes)

Why The Missional Church Is Not Enough

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:42:00 PDT

The missional church in the United States is not missional enough. The local focus of mission is shortsighted. If we only make disciples who make disciples in our cities, thousands of unengaged, un-discipled peoples of the earth will not hear the gospel. To be sure, many ethnic groups are migrating to cities, which brings some of the nations right into the neighborhood. However, there remain many ethnic groups that do not migrate to Western cities. Western churches must send missionaries, not only across the street, but also across the world.

(read the whole post HERE from Jonathan Dodson)

Becoming A Source of New Life

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:07:18 PDT

Just read this quote from one of my favorite authors, Fr. Henri Nouwen:

“Good Shepherds are willing to lay down their lives for their sheep (see John 10:11). As spiritual leaders walking in the footsteps of Jesus, we are called to lay down our lives for our people. This laying down might in special circumstances mean dying for others. But it means first of all making our own lives – our sorrows and joys, our despair and hope, our loneliness and experience of intimacy – available to others as sources of new life. One of the greatest gifts we can give others is ourselves. We offer consolation and comfort, especially in moments of crisis, when we say: “Do not be afraid, I know what you are living and I am living it with you. You are not alone.” Thus we become Christ-like shepherds.” - Henri Nouwen

If you are a spiritual leader going through personal pain, tragedy or crisis, my prayer is that God will redeem that pain and allow it to be used as a source of "new life" for those whom God has entrusted to you to as their shepherd.

God is Love

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:17:00 PDT

The Bible is the record of a relationship between God and man. It explains how God loves what he has made and wants us to enjoy the fruits of his creative acts in fellowship with him. But it also tells us how some of the highest creatures rebelled against him and rejected his love, and that the leader of that rebellion seduced the human race into following him. Out of this tragedy has come the message that God has not abandoned us but instead has revealed an even deeper love by sending his only Son to live our life, to die in our place, and to rise from the dead so that we might dwell with him in eternity.

— Gerald Bray, God is Love (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2012), 11

(ht: First Importance)

The Gospel Story Line

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:26:05 PDT

Out of the cross comes the resurrection. Out of weakness comes real strength. Out of repentance and admitting you are weak comes real power. Out of giving away and serving others comes real strength. Out of generosity and giving your money away comes real wealth. That’s the gospel story line.

- Tim Keller

(ht: Keller Quotes)

Radical Christianity IS Normal

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:44:44 PDT

More Wicked But More Loved

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:38:00 PDT

The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God’s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope – at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin.

This also creates a radical new dynamic for discipline and obedience. First, the knowledge of our acceptance in Christ makes it easier to admit we are flawed because we know we won’t be cast off if we confess the true depths of our sinfulness. Second, it makes the law of God a thing of beauty instead of a burden. We can use it to delight and imitate the one who has saved us rather than to get his attention or procure his favor. We now run the race ‘for the joy that is set before us’ rather than ‘for the fear that comes behind us.’

- Tim Keller

(ht: Keller Quotes)

We Are Blind To Our Blindness

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:35:38 PDT

Here is a great quote from Paul Tripp:

Sin is deceptive. Who does it deceive first? I have no difficulty recognizing the sin of the people around me, but I can be quite unprepared when others point out my sin. Sin deceives ten out of ten people reading this column. Spiritual blindness is not like physical blindness. When you are physically blind, you know you are blind, so you compensate for this significant physical deficit. But spiritually blind people are not only blind, they are also blind to their own blindness. They think they see well. So the spiritually blind person walks around with the delusion that no one has a more accurate view of himself than he does.

You will never outgrow your need for the ministry of the body of Christ. The important question is, "Who helps you to see what you will not see if left on your own?"

Read the rest.

(ht: Vitamin Z)

Hipster Essentials

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:55:38 PDT

The Ultimate Poster of all things hipster by Viet Huynh. Own it (sorry no Brooklynite discount).

(ht: brand of flakes)

The Easter Story

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:23:19 PDT

Paiye of the Moi tribe tells the Easter story in his own words.

This is beautiful to watch.

(ht: New Tribes Mission)

My Medical Mission To Honduras

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:24:55 PDT

Click here to view these pictures larger

Generation Ex

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:58:00 PDT

The generation that once embraced the smiley face and peace symbol as cultural logos is now divorcing in historic fashion.

Divorce rates are higher for baby boomers than for any previous generation, while rates are declining, slightly, for society as a whole.

New research and census data reveal an unprecedented trend of Americans splitting apart as they turn grayer: In 2009, people ages 50 and older were twice as likely to divorce as their counterparts in 1990.

(Read rest of story HERE)

Palm Sunday and Jesus' Real Hour of Glory

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:05:00 PDT

Reflecting on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, John realized that many of those who cried “Hosanna!” were also in the crowd that shouted “Crucify him!” They went out to greet Jesus, not because they understood him to be the Son of God, but because they heard he was a miracle-worker. Crowds often follow a good show. The Pharisees despaired, however, when they saw the crowds. “Look,” they said, “the whole world has gone after him” (v. 19). John saw the irony of this. Jesus’ real hour of glory would be when he was lifted high up on a cross and the crowds had fallen away — not now, when they were running to greet him.

- John Killinger in Day by Day with Jesus

The History of April Fools Day

breichart@bigcreekchurch.com (Bill Reichart) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:52:27 PDT