Pastor John wrote his thanks to God for Bethlehem College and Seminary this morning. I join him in praising God for this initiative at Bethlehem! Disability ministries need pastors who have been prepared like Pastor John hopes they will be through BCS: At the heart of this vision is the invincible God, the infallible Bible, [...]
Archive for December, 2009
Why Bethlehem College and Seminary is Important to Disability Ministry
Posted in commentary, News on December 30, 2009 | 7 Comments »
“It is right and good to pray for healing.”
Posted in Book Commentary on December 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »
John Piper, from Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, page 25: It is right and good to pray for healing. God has purchased it in the death of his Son, with all the other blessings of grace, for all his children (Isa. 53:5). But he has not promised that we get the whole inheritance in [...]
Year-end Reminders of Why I Love Bethlehem
Posted in commentary on December 29, 2009 | 5 Comments »
We altered our usual routine and went to the North Campus for the Christmas Eve Service (we are Downtowners) and then the Saturday Evening Service. I was overwhelmed with gratitude to God both times: I don’t even think about whether my multiply-disabled son will be welcome. I know he will be. Spending 25 years at [...]
“He says there’s something worse than death. . .”
Posted in commentary on December 28, 2009 | 2 Comments »
A helpful word on disability, disease and death from Christmas 1983. As Pastor John has said when preparing to read his Advent Poems, ‘it did not happen this way, but it could have.’ Titled simply, “Jesus.” “Maria?” “Yes, my love, I’m here.” “It hurts, O God, it hurts! I fear The worst for me tonight.” [...]
Yes, He Has Authority Over Everything!
Posted in commentary, Scripture on December 23, 2009 | 1 Comment »
At the ‘weakest’ points of his life – before Jesus was even born and again just before a Roman official ordered him crucified – Jesus’ authority over government is affirmed: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, [...]
Gather up the shovels
Posted in commentary on December 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Driving seven hours in the car yesterday allowed me time to think on ‘wave four’ in the campaign to end abortion that I referenced yesterday. Here are some thoughts: Technologies can identify disabilities more accurately and at earlier stages of pregnancy than ever before. Our culture hates people with disabilities for a variety of reasons: [...]
Wave Four: The Disability Community Fills In the Grave
Posted in commentary, News on December 21, 2009 | 9 Comments »
Last week Pastor John tweeted this: Wave 1: Catholics say No to abortion. Wave 2: Evangelicals flood the land with CPC’s. Wave 3: Blacks and Latino’s bring it down. Which prompted this excellent post by Jon Ensor: The Third Wave of the Pregnancy Help Movement. That post will help make sense of Pastor John’s tweet. [...]
Tis the Season to Be in Other Churches
Posted in Uncategorized on December 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Lord willing, my family will be in South Dakota today (Sunday) as we visit extended family. One of the great blessings of being in South Dakota is attending a really good church, Central Valley Community Church, in Hartford, South Dakota. What makes it so good? God-centered preaching. Pastor Chris Gorman just gets better and better [...]
Pastor Matt Chandler is battling cancer
Posted in News on December 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I first became aware of Matt Chandler when he spoke at the 2009 Desiring God Conference for Pastors. I have come to deeply appreciate his church and his preaching. When he first experienced a seizure a couple of weeks ago, his response in the face of uncertainty was God-centered and God honoring. As I write [...]
2009 Year in Review
Posted in commentary on December 31, 2009 | 4 Comments »
We’ve been at this blog for more than a year and it has changed significantly in that time, particularly when we moved to WordPress and re-branded as The Works of God in September. I want to publicly thank Abraham Piper, the very talented web content editor for Desiring God and the creator of 22 Words, [...]
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