preachingthegospeltomyself

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

You don't have to, you get to

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

Peace like a river Love so divine Those words kept singing Through the darkest nights Sweet hymns of freedom Anthems of praise Remind my heart To trust His name

Mac Powell, Northpoint Worship (This Is My Song)

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

If home is where my heart is then I'm out of place

MercyMe (Homesick)

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

The secret of joy is Christ in me - not me in a different set of circumstances

Elisabeth Elliot

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

As I took up life as a minister, I tried to understand why so many people resisted and rejected God, I soon realized that perhaps that main reason was affliction and suffering. ...But at the same time, I learned that just as many people find God through affliction and suffering. They find that adversity moves them toward God rather than away. ...When pain and suffering come upon us, we finally see not only that we are not in control of our lives, but that we never were.

Tim Keller

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

Paul said to his Ephesian readers, discouraged because of his imprisonment, “My suffering is for your glory.” Why? Because that is how it works. Suffering and glory are closely linked. Suffering glorifies God to the universe and eventually even achieves a glory for us. And do you know why suffering and glory are so tied to each other? It is because of Jesus. Philippians 2 tells us Jesus laid aside his glory. Why? Charles Wesley’s famous Christmas carol tells you. Mild he lays his glory by; born that men no more may die; Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth. Jesus lost all his glory so that we could be clothed in it. He was shut out so we could get access. He was bound, nailed, so that we could be free. He was cast out so we could approach. And Jesus took away the only kind of suffering that can really destroy you: that is being cast away from God. He took that so that now all suffering that comes into your life will only make you great. A lump of coal under pressure becomes a diamond. And the suffering of a person in Christ only turns you into somebody gorgeous. Jesus Christ suffered, not so that we would never suffer but so that when we suffer we would be like him. His suffering led to glory. And you can see it in Paul. Paul is happy to be in prison because “my sufferings are for your glory,” he says. He is like Jesus now. Because that is how Jesus did it. And if you know that that glory is coming, you can handle suffering, too.

Tim Keller

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

Mild He lays His glory by Born that man no more may die Born to raise the sons of earth Born to give them second birth

Charles Wesley

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

May the Lamb receive His reward in me

Tiffany Hudson (Elevation Worship)

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I shall…be united to the Ancient of Days, to God himself, who had no morning, never began…No man ever saw God and lived; and yet I shall not live till I see God; and when I have seen him I shall never die

John Donne

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

Money will buy a bed, but not rest; education, but not wisdom; companions, but not friends; a house, but not a home; amusements, but not happiness; religion, but not salvation

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

Sometimes God is glorified when sick saints get well. But more often than not, God is glorified when sick saints die well

Voddie Baucham

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

And He lives that death may die

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

It sometimes seems like all those around us have abandoned faith in the old gospel story, too. But God may be gracious enough to give us a nurse and a tutor—or a grandparent, coworker, classmate, or neighbor—who still believes and inspires us to seek him with all our heart, confident we too will find Scripture’s story true.

Kaitlin Miller

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

Real Church

Friendship begins, as C.S. Lewis wrote, when one says to another, “You too?” But in the church we say to one another, “You and I are not alike at all. We have no reason to be together. Except Christ. That makes us family. So even though we have nothing else in common, I’m with you. I’m for you.”

The church, then, becomes an apologetic for the gospel. Because there can be no natural explanation for why sinners of different ethnicities, ages, family backgrounds, marital status, financial resources, political views, and affinities would not just gather together, but covenant together. God must be real. The gospel must be true. Or else this family wouldn’t exist.

The gospel of Jesus doesn’t just make strangers into friends. It makes enemies into brothers and sisters.

Jared C Wilson

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

He is not safe, but He is good

CS Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

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Your new job is to save souls and earn your reward in heaven

[preachingthegospeltomyself]

In the dying In the rising Let it praise the Lord

Matt Maher