Thursday, December 28, 2017

A Few Considerations as a New Year Begins!

A Few Considerations as a New Year Begins
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

As we come to the close of one year and anticipate a new year of God’s providences, how can we discipline ourselves for godliness in a greater way? How can we fervently love Christ more and gaze upon His gospel with more frequency?

As a new year begins, I’d like to offer a few considerations.

1. Consider lessening your time on social media & with various entertainments & proactively devote more time to reading Your Bible.
I have no idea the amount of time you spend on social media but whatever the quantity of time you devote to it may be, consider lessening your time on these platforms and devoting more time to reading your Bible. Perhaps you’re a movie person or you’ve got that favorite show on TV you watch. Consider lessening the time you devote to such things and devote time to reading systematically, methodically, devotionally, joyfully, expectantly and faithfully through Scripture.

2. Consider waking earlier in the morning and spending devoted time in prayer & communion with God.
No time is ever wasted in communing with God in prayer. Do you find that you struggle with your prayer life? Do you battle with saying the same old thing about the same old things? Does your prayer life lack vibrancy and joy and power? Consider waking earlier and praying the Bible. Consider turning to Psalms and read a verse, then turn it into a prayer back to God. Then go on to the next verse and so on. Prayer is a conversation with God whereby He speaks through His Word and we respond and speak to Him in prayer. Commune with Him regularly, early, and fervently!

3. If you're not a member of your Church, begin the process promptly and serve others be held accountable by your local church.
Maybe you’re a regular attender. And you’ve been attending church for some time. Or perhaps you may have recently relocated to a new area and you’ve visiting a church. But have you become a member yet? This is important as you need the accountability, the shepherd-care over your soul, and the responsibility to serve one another and care for others in your local church. If you’re not a member of a biblically sound, bible-preaching local church with biblical leadership, make it a point to begin this process at the start of the new year.

4. Make it a goal to hand out gospel tracts and share the gospel *weekly*.
Many Christians say: “I just don’t know what to say to the nonbeliever about my faith.” I would strongly encourage you to have a tract with you as often as possible and frequently give out tracts to people. If you don’t know what to say, let the gospel tract help you and guide you. You could say to a friend (or a restaurant server, or someone at the drive-thru window, or a cashier, or a stranger walking by, or a neighbor), “may I give you something to read? This changed my life!” Gospel tracts can often go where we can’t! They keep it simple, clear, cogent, and memorable. If you don’t know where to get good and biblically faithful gospel tracts, start with Marv Plementosh at www.onemilliontracts.com.

5. Consider eternity regularly -- eternal, unending hell & eternal glorious heaven.
We do well to ponder eternity. May God kindly stamp eternity on our eyeballs every day. May we live each day as if it were our last and may we seek to grow in grace today and walk in holiness and walk in a nearer communion with Christ more so than yesterday. May we consider the coming certainty of unending eternities. May we reflect on the terrors of hell and the joys of heaven. May we think much of Christ’s intercession for us in heaven, His return for us, and His preparing a place for us in heaven. May we ponder the everlasting hope and joy and bliss of being with the triune God and seeing Him face to face. O may eternity impact us in these days.

6. Live every day as it if were your last. Repent quickly. Be holy. Pray earnestly.
If God would supernaturally tell us that we would die at 12:00midnight tonight, how would you then live? May the prospect that today may very well be our last propel us to prompt repentance, diligent holiness, and earnest prayerfulness. May we hate sin as a destructive monster and may we love Christ and pursue joyful holiness in Him with tenacity and perseverance. May we pray hard and pray often. May we live so close to Christ that the nearer we get to heaven, the closer our communion is with Christ. Number your days! Life is short!

7. Gather with your church with the mindset: "how can I serve others and encourage them today?"
Fight vigorously against the natural inclination to go to church go ‘get’ something. Yes, we do gather with God’s people and receive the Word and edification. But let’s also intentionally cultivate the notion that we gather with God’s people to serve and encourage and give and edify others. So, starting with the new year, make it your goal to gather with God’s people and practically encourage them, greet them, say a kind word to them and minister to them. Perhaps this may take the form of a handshake, a greeting, reaching out to a visitor & inviting them to sit with you, writing a letter to someone in your church family, encouraging your pastor/elders, approaching young people and teenagers and encouraging them. Consider the idea of making it a point every time you gather with God’s people to find one person in your church family and as you’re talking with them, make it a point to pray right then, right there, together with them (and better yet, bring someone else who is nearby into that spontaneous prayer time to benefit and learn and observe this). See how God may grow you and use you as you have the mindset of selfless, sacrificial, Christlike service to others in your local church.

My Personal Philosophy of Open Air Preaching.

Personal Philosophy of Open Air Preaching
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

I am a minister of the gospel. By His grace, God has called me to be a herald of the unfathomable riches of Christ. My ambition in life is to please God by magnifying His Son and proclaiming His gospel to the local congregation that He has called me to pastor and by pleading with sinners to repent of sin and turn to God in Christ by faith alone. I am not a full time evangelist. My calling in life is not to travel and be an itinerant preacher from city to city and from town to town. God has wisely and wondrously chosen me to serve His people of Christ Fellowship Bible Church in St Louis, Missouri. My foremost mission that God has entrusted to me consists in the faithful prayer and study of Scripture so that I can faithfully preach and teach His Word weekly. One of the duties of pastoral ministry that I firmly embrace is the evangelization of the lost. This can happen many ways and there are innumerable occasions for believers to proclaim Christ and His gospel to the lost, and one of the ways that I evangelize is by open air preaching, or, as some have titled it: “street preaching.”

In what follows, I delineate my personal philosophy of open air preaching and then break it down and define and clarify it phrase by phrase.

Philosophy Simply Stated:
I'm unswervingly committed to the proclamation of the gospel, with accuracy, boldness, & love,
while trusting God to save His people.

1. Preeminent Commitment!
When I go to the streets each week in St Louis, I remember that I am first and foremost a minister of the gospel. I’m a Christian. I am a man called by God, consumed with God, on mission to proclaim my Savior and to simply declare, as a herald would, the message of the King. The Sovereign One has sent me to go and make disciples of all nations. As a pastor of a local congregation, I cannot -- and I will not -- neglect the flock that God has entrusted to my care for the wonderful opportunity of open air preaching. I would be forfeiting my foremost and primary calling if I were to do so. But one of the ways that I can serve the flock of God is by leading in evangelism, taking folks to the streets with me, teaching and training others to evangelize, hand out tracts, articulate the gospel, start gospel conversations, and open air preach. My preeminent commitment is to Christ and His gospel and not to open air preaching. I cannot be infatuated with the ministry but forget to worship my Master. So I make it my preeminent commitment to go to the streets as a man of God, with the gospel of God, full of the joy of God, and eager to see God work through His Word, for the saving of lost souls and the edifying of converted souls.

2. Proclaim Christ!
I don’t go to the streets just to help people with physical needs. Though I often do have bags and prepackaged gifts of food, toiletries, blankets, etc. for those in need that I may come across, but I always will serve physical needs but emphasize the spiritual need they have -- to turn to Christ in repentance and faith to be delivered from the wrath to come! So when I go out, the engine that drives what I do is the proclamation of the gospel. Whether it’s a one-to-one conversation, or tract distribution, or open air preaching, or high school ministry, or college campus evangelism, I always must ensure that I’m proclaiming Christ. Paul said it so well to the Corinthians: we preach Christ crucified (1 Cor 1.23). This must drive me, compel me, enflame me, impel me, and launch me into the great sea of dark and sinful hearts that swarms me every day in St Louis. Whatever I’m doing, and especially in open air preaching, my duty never rests in arguments, explaining or defending or proving the existence of God, or trying to make someone just go to church. What’s more, I must never mock or ridicule the lost because they are, in fact, -- lost! I go to proclaim Christ! I stand to speak of my Savior! I lift up my voice and herald the only way to heaven through Christ Jesus and His righteousness! I unashamedly uphold the authority of Scripture, the glory of God, the worth and person and substitutionary atonement of Christ, His bodily, physical resurrection, and His soon-coming for judgment. Like any man who preaches, preaching is not dialogue, it is declaring God’s truth. So I don’t dialogue while I preach -- I declare the gospel of Christ when I preach. This often opens up the door for many wonderful dialogues with people after I’m finished preaching. I am a proclaimer of Christ -- and Him alone!

3. Loving Urgency!
Often I go through this scenario in my mind. What if God were to snatch me from this realm and drop me into the fires of hell for five minutes. While there, I could hear the screams of the damned, I could smell the fires eating away at flesh that cannot be consumed, I could see the endless multitudes of sinners who forever, everlastingly, and painfully will endure the undiminished torments of God’s just and righteous and angry wrath for endless eternities to come. Then God snatches me out of hell and brings me back to this earth. What would I then do? And how would I then live? For one thing: I would be urgent, focused, desperate in prayer, and loving in desperate warnings toward the lost! I’m convicted oftentimes when I don’t share the gospel because it just may be that in that moment I’m not believing in eternal hellfire. If I did, I wouldn’t fear man or care what they thought of me. I’d proclaim Christ and call sinners to repent and believe the gospel now for the salvation of their souls! So when I hit the streets, I must “speak the truth in love.” I must always speak in a manner that is full of love, grace, compassion, and mercy. I never want to be the stumbling block to someone. I never want to be the one to offend someone. May it always and only be the gospel message that offends, not the open air preacher that offends. And at the same time, I am a man in love with the truth. So I preach truth. I can have love all day long but I must speak the truth to men whether they want it, accept it, embrace it, or agree with it. My job is not to make people believe. My job is to preach truth. As Paul said: “I believed, therefore, I spoke.” And if I really believed that danger -- eternal danger -- was imminent, I would be far more loving in warning sinners of hellfire! Nothing is unloving of warning sinners of God’s angry wrath to come! Christ Himself, the man full of grace and truth, warned sinners relentlessly of the fires of hell and of judgment day! O how I must learn from my Savior and emulate Him more! So when I go to the streets and preach, I go with loving urgency in declaring who God is, explaining the dire and helpless condition of all men, and the accomplished work that Christ accomplished at Calvary as the propitiation and one-time sacrifice for His people. And I go presenting truth and pleading with sinners to come to Christ -- now, today, at once, without procrastinating! As Paul pleaded with and sought to persuade those in Rome to come to Christ, so I must go and plead with sinners and persuade them to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Christ. For now is the acceptable time! Today is the day of salvation! Eternity is soon coming! Delay no longer!

4. Total Trust in God's Sovereignty!
The confidence in all evangelism rests upon the unshakeable and unfathomable sovereignty of God. God not only ordains the ultimate end in the salvation of sinners, but He also ordains the means to save His people and that is through the prayers and faithful evangelism of His people. God’s absolute sovereignty does not diminish my responsibility to go and preach; rather, it fortifies confidence while doing it! God’s election and predestination and hardening of sinners is not an excuse for me to not go out and win souls; rather, it fuels my encouragement and confidence in knowing that God is working through His Word, for His glory, according to His plan, at just the right moment. I go and preach and I pray and trust. I preach my heart out and seek to persuade sinners to leave all and come to Christ at once. And yet I depend wholly on the Spirit of God to give light to darkened hearts and and to give life to spiritually dead souls. I pray and then I preach. I trust and then I travail for souls. I depend on God and I also declare my God! When I don’t see visible results that I ask for in prayer, I don’t stop being faithful when it seems that I’m not being fruitful. God tells me that it’s required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. I long to hear one day: well done, good and faithful servant. I know that just as Paul preached and the SPirit of God used that Word to bring God’s people to salvation, so I must preach the gospel and trust the Spirit of God to awaken sinners to life that God has appointed. So I go. So I preach. So I’m confident. So I trust. So I am desperate in prayer. And I preach with all my heart.

There are, of course, other benefits that come from faithful evangelism (and, specifically to the matter at hand, open air preaching). First, my own soul receives encouragement and grows in Godly courage as I speak the gospel in the public and before the masses of people that walk by. Second, I trust that true believers often walk by and may find encouragement in their own souls as they hear the person and crosswork of Christ being extolled and presented before sinners. Third, street ministry provides opportunities for me to bring other saints out with me for on-site, boots-on-the-ground discipleship, so that we can grow together in our going out to sinners and compelling them to come to the heavenly wedding feast! Fourth, going out to the lost regularly increases the burden for the lost in my own soul. It exacerbates the intolerable burden that countless millions are on the broad path headed for everlasting torment in the fires of hell. This leads me to prayer, to desperation, to Christ-centered preaching, and to more evangelism. And fifth, this evangelistic ministry magnifies Christ in the public square and brings Christ to countless souls that may never step foot in a solidly biblical and faithful local church. Rather than waiting for sinners to come to us, we must go to them! To God be the glory.

More resources on open air preaching can be found here and here.

My Philosophy of Preaching the Word in Corporate Worship.

Philosophy of Preaching the Word in Corporate Worship
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

God has called me to preach. He has placed upon my soul the weighty and blessed privilege of studying His Word and feeding His people with the truth of Scripture. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It is a consuming calling that I’m bound to and one that I must stick to His prescriptions for how I am to serve, what I am to say, and in what manner I must preach. God has not left it up to me to figure out how to preach His Word. He has clearly presented how His Word is to be taught to His people. In thinking through my philosophy of preaching the Word of God in the corporate worship of God’s people, I want to present some fundamentals that govern me and my ministry of the Word.

Here are 4 features drive me and my philosophy of preaching in the corporate gathering of the worship of the saints.

Philosophy Simply Stated:
*I'm committed to the exposition of truth, from God's written Word, for the growth of the Saints!

1. Biblical Exposition
I am unswervingly committed to the expositional preaching of God’s Word as my preeminent calling as an undershepherd to care for Christ’s people. He has called me to devote myself to the prayer and the ministry of the Word. He summons me to preach the Word and to be ready in season and out of season. Whatever I may do in ministry, the preeminent task that has been placed upon me as a minister of the gospel is to feed God’s people the food of God’s Word faithfully and consistently. He calls me to preach the full counsel of God and to leave to stone unturned and no doctrine unpreached. I commit to preaching through books of the Bible consecutively, verse-by-verse, so as to allow God to speak to His people through His Word, by His mouthpiece that He has called, commissioned, equipped, and empowered to preach.

2. Divine Truth
God has clearly commissioned me to preach His Word. In fact, I’m under obligation and I’ve been solemnly charged in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead -- I must preach His Word. I must study His Word so as to get at the meaning from the text and then I must deliver that meaning to His people with proper, specific, poignant applications for the spiritual benefit of His people. I commit myself to the study of, praying through, internalization, and bold declaration of divine truth as it is sufficiently revealed in holy Scripture. When I preach, I will preach truth from God’s Word. I will love the truth, serve the truth, seek to advance the truth, preach the truth, and warn against error so God’s people may know the truth, love the truth, and walk in the truth so as to bring utmost pleasure and glory to Christ!

3. Sufficient Scriptures
The source of my study and the theme of my preaching will be the word of the living God contained in Holy Scripture. I believe that the Bible is the sufficient, truth, inerrant, inspired, and authoritative word of the living God. As I declare God’s Word from the pulpit and present the meaning of the text, the application of the text, and the gospel of Christ in every sermon, I recognize that faithful exposition from the Scripture is in fact the voice of God speaking through His mouthpiece to His people. My study, then, must drive me to biblical study, desperate prayer, constant dependence upon God, and diligent work in the text so as to be prepared to stand in the pulpit and speak as a mouthpiece for God from His Word. My commitment is not to give people what they want to hear nor to tickle the ears of those who want to be entertained, but my primary job is to let God speak to God’s people through God’s Word as God has directed. I am a man under obligation to read the text, explain the text, and apply the text in every sermon I preach. The Bible is the word of God. And God reigns supreme over His people. So I must let God speak to His people through the heralding of His Word. This is my chief obligation.

4. Edifying Saints
The purpose of the gathering of the church is to edify God’s people and equip them to do the work of service. I believe that my duty is not to do the work of ministry alone but to build up, to edify, to equip, to instruct, to model, to exemplify, to prepare God’s people to actively do the work of ministry in caring for one another, teaching one another, discipling one another, evangelizing the lost, and glorifying God by playing a part in local and worldwide ministry. I preach the Word of God every week knowing that my foremost calling is to build up the people of God as I preach the Word of God. I must not skip over hard texts or difficult doctrines or uncomfortable truths. I will preach the full counsel of God and theological doctrines faithfully so that Christ’s people may be strengthened in the faith, established in the truth, equipped to expose error, and enflamed with love for Christ. I believe that the preeminent responsibility that God has placed upon me in the public gathering of worship is not to evangelize the lost (though I do and will present the gospel & call sinners to repent and trust in Christ alone for salvation) but it is to present the truth of Scripture and to proclaim the glory of Christ in such a way that God’s people are stirred to love and devotion to Him and equipped to serve Him in their lives.

How to Greet the Saints.

HOW TO GREET THE SAINTS
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

At the conclusion of Paul’s letters, he greets believers and exhorts believers to greet one another. Seemingly tagged on at the end of some theologically-rich epistles, readers can easily skim past these verses. But could it be that here in these final words, God instructs us through the pen of the Apostle Paul as to how to greet the saints (that is, every person who is in Christ Jesus). So, how should believers greet one another? How should we greet every single saint?

Here are 5 pastoral encouragements.

1. With INTENTIONALITY.
At the end of his epistle to the Philippian church, Paul says to greet ‘every saint’ in Christ. I think it’s fairly understood that we don’t naturally greet every single person we see on Sundays in our local churches. In fact, if we were honest, we probably would say that we would rather sit down, enjoy a moment or two to ourselves when we arrive moments before the opening of the service. And then when the closing prayer is finished, we would rather slip out the back and head home without interacting much with folks. But the loving and wise Spirit of God does not permit that mentality in the local church. Rather, through Paul’s pen, we are called to greet every saint. This is an imperative and something that we are all called to do. We are to greet one another with intentionality because we are tempted to sometimes sit and remain to ourselves and not approach anyone because, quite frankly, it takes effort, time, and sometimes patience to hear people pour out their heart (and even, receive some fairly messy situations and desperate prayer requests!). It’s easier to not greet people. But the Lord calls us to intentionally greet one another regardless of whether one is extroverted or introverted, outgoing or not!

2. With AFFECTION.
Many of Paul’s epistles speak of greeting one another with love, with a holy kiss. In that culture and at that time, this greeting was a mark of genuine love and tender affection. The believers greeted one another with the utmost tenderness and warmth. The imperative is to greet one another. How are we to do this? With great affection, with tender warmth, with genuine love, with brotherly kindness. Dear Christians, are we affectionate and warm and full of brotherly kindness when we greet the saints when we gather together? Are we warm towards them? Are we a “refreshment” to others when we greet them, welcome them, speak to them, and pray for them? Does your conduct, your demeanor, your care, your focus, your intentionality speak to your brotherly affection for your fellow believers? May the Lord help us to greet one another with affection and brotherly-love.

3. With IMPARTIALITY.
There is no partiality with God! Amazingly, the Apostle Paul reminds believers so frequently in his writings that there is no division amongst God’s people. Think of it: Jew and Gentile can worship the risen Christ together. The rich and the poor can worship Christ together, side by side! Yes, the young and the old can exalt the one, true God together, in worship! James speaks directly to this issue of greeting one another without impartiality. Dear friends: we could all be honest enough to confess that there are some people that we’re more comfortable approaching on Sundays and there are others who are, quite frankly, different than us! And if it were not for the saving grace of Christ, we probably would have no interactions with that person in our lives. And yet, by God’s wondrous grace and wise wisdom, He has brought many believers from different backgrounds and cultures together in this living and growing and wondrous organism called the Church! There are no boundaries or barriers or divisions! We are all one in Christ Jesus. All who are believers in Christ by faith alone belong to Christ! Perhaps you could make it a point to approach one person each week that you may not normally go up to and seek to warmly greet them and speak one encouraging word of grace to them for their edification! O the joy and sweetness in a local church if every saint approached one another without partiality to greet them, sit with them, talk with them, pray with them, and show brotherly kindness to them!

4. With SPECIFICITY.
Many times in Paul’s letters he greets people by name. The book of Romans (ch. 16) provides a perfect example of Paul’s profuse and specific greetings to the saints. In Philippians 4, however, Paul does not greet people by name, but he does say to greet every saint. Dear Christian: do you know the fellow saints in your local church? Do you specifically pray for them? Do you know their needs? Their struggles? Their fears? Their joys? Their evangelistic encounters? Their causes for rejoicing? Do you greet folks and just say week after week after week, “hi, how are you? How was your week?” Or is there any greater depth that you go into in probing the heart, digging for some specifics if a generic answer is given? How can you take the simple greetings and greet one another with specificity by asking good questions, heart-probing questions, and sermon-engaging questions, and Christ-focused questions? Paul greets the saints in Philippi and assures them that the gospel has permeated even the imperial palace of Caesar! O let us give such specific encouragements to one another of how God is working, how Christ is worthy, how the Spirit is empowering, and how the gospel is advancing! May the Lord help us!

5. With GRACE.
In a remarkably Pauline feature that distinguishes his conclusions from the rest of ancient Greco-Roman letter writing conclusions, he reminds the Christians of God’s grace found in Christ that is with them always! In fact, often Paul bookends his letters with the reality of God’s grace that is given to them (see, e.g., Philippians 1:2 and 4:23). Why? Because all that Christians are is theirs by virtue of God’s grace! Believers are nothing and have nothing except by God’s undeserved grace. Paul reminds the saints that their position in Christ is all of grace. And he reminds them that they are sustained in Christ all by grace! God will carry them to glory all by grace! Indeed, we stand confidently in this grace of God! So when Paul bids his farewell to the believers whom he affectionately loves, he reminds them of the wondrous and unfathomable grace of God that began the good work in them, that sustains the preserving work in them, and guarantees the sanctifying work in them till glory! O that we as Christians would greet one another with such thoughtful words of theological depth and richness! Consider how local congregations would be further edified and strengthened as each saint would speak a brief word of encouragement and truth to one another as we remind each other of God’s faithful grace and unfailing favor toward us -- in salvation, in suffering, in sanctification, indeed, in any situation! May the Lord help us to thoughtfully, theologically, and joyfully greet one another with grace-filled speech!

Why Invest In the Men?

Why Invest in the Men?
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Every Friday morning I meet with about 6-8 men from the local church where I serve. From the very first week that I moved to St. Louis, I have endeavored to meet faithfully with these band of brothers. I remember the very first Sunday I was on site serving as the pastor of Christ Fellowship Bible Church, I called all the men to the front after the worship service and told them of my passion to meet with them, invest in them, pour all that I am and have into them, and disciple them. After a brief discussion, we chose 6:00-7:30AM every Friday morning for our study time. And to this day, six years later, we still meet to pray, talk church ministry, and study the Word together.

A typical format of our Friday morning meetings is fairly simple and straightforward. From 6-6:30AM I often will pour out my heart and work through practical church-related items and ask some thought-provoking questions to generate discussion (e.g., why do we do music the way we do? Why don’t we have this or that?). Sometimes I lead in exegeting a hymn to teach the men to think thoughtfully about the music we sing. Other times I’ll lead in a brief biography study through a man from church history (I love the Puritans so often they will hear of a Puritan!). We have worked slowly and biblically through all the elder-qualifications, the church mission statement, how to lead at home, and the importance of family worship. All this said, I try to discuss practical ministry-related items with the brothers for the first 30-minutes. Then from 6:30-7:30AM we dig into the Bible in our study. Over the years, we’ve studied verse by verse through Romans, John, Joshua, Philemon and we’re currently progressing through Proverbs. We’ve also had lengthy and in-depth studies on family worship, expository preaching, expository listening, family worship, biblical forgiveness, and biblical counseling. We finish everything and conclude in prayer by 7:30AM sharp so the brothers can depart and get to work.

Why is it so crucial for me to invest in the men?

1. Joyous Obedience
As a shepherd called by God to care for the souls of Christ’s sheep, He calls me to entrust biblical truths to other faithful men who can in turn teach others also (2 Tim 2:2). Therefore, I count it a joy to obey God in the discipling and mentoring of other men. I think of the example Moses set in discipling Joshua. I consider Paul’s example in mentoring and discipling young Timothy. I think of the many companions that accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys. Rarely was Paul alone. So first and foremost, I count it a joyous privilege and divine blessing to obey Him in the duty of investing in the men that He brings to the church where I pastor.

2. Internal Transformation
As I meet with the men every Friday morning, the transformation is not only for the men who study the Word together with me, but one of the glories of leading the morning men’s studies consists in the internal transformation that God works in my own soul in my own time of personal study and prayer prior to meeting with the brothers. I consider my time of preparation for the biblical counseling study we had a few years back, or I reflect on our verse by verse study through Romans or the Gospel of John, or now working progressively through the Book of Proverbs, one of the foremost blessings comes from my own time of prayerful study in the Word, in exegesis, in commentary work, and diligently laboring for practical application points. In a word, why do I invest in the men of the church? In my preparation and study, my own heart is pierced, convicted by truth, and taught by God’s Spirit. And for this internal transformation and divinely worked sanctification that takes place in my soul, I am profoundly grateful and blessed.

3. Leadership Development
Jesus spent much time with His disciples. He invested in men to lead. He knew He would soon depart from this earth, ascend to heaven, and the work of gospel-proclamation would rest upon the shoulders of His followers. So he devoted Himself to developing leaders. Part of my motive in meeting with the men every Friday morning is to develop biblical leaders to serve in Christ’s Church. I understand the Spirit appoints men to ministry. I simply cannot make a leader. I cannot force someone into leadership nor should we lay hands on a man hastily. But I can, and indeed I must, give myself diligently to the training of men for ministry. I do this by modeling timeliness, faithfulness, punctuality, preparation, accurate hermeneutics, systematic theology, and a towering trust in the authority, sufficiency, and reliability of Scripture. I trust that the Lord will raise up elders and deacons from the Friday morning study as they receive the Word, grow in their theological precision, and live out biblical manhood in the home, in the church, and at work.

4. Family Discipleship
I can’t disciple the wives of the church. Nor should I. But I can disciple the men of the church who will disciple their wives and children as the family shepherds of their homes. So I invest in the men on Friday mornings so that I can disciple, more or less, the entire church through the heads of households. I hope to model for the men the primacy of Scripture, the glory of Christ, the wonder of the gospel, and the precision of theology so that they can learn and do these things in the contexts of their own family environments. Our church doesn’t have a youth group, nor do we have thriving children’s programs, nor do we have a full-blown women’s, or men’s, or retired, or singles, or college ministry. But what we do have is a solid and robust commitment to the investing of godly men to teach other men who can teach and disciple their wives and children. And, the women can encourage other women (even the singles, the widows, the divorced, the retired, the young singles). And the men can encourage other men! The goal is for the Friday morning men’s study to be a model of Bible-centered discipleship so that the men can do this with others -- starting in their own homes with their own families.

5. Contagious Influence
It blesses my soul to hear of people in the church meeting with other believers for fellowship, Bible reading, and study together. I take great joy in knowing that people meet together in “Bible-open” discipleship relationships so that men disciple other men and women disciple other women -- both young and old. I invest in the men on Friday mornings to also instill in the brothers the paramount necessity and urgent importance of regular encouraging one another in the things of God, from the Word of God. Then, the brothers seek out another man in the church -- whether it be a visitor, a regular attender, a fellow church-member, or a teenage child to get to know -- to take what we’re doing on Friday mornings and do this on their own throughout the week. This then produces an inter-personal web of discipleship relationships that permeates the culture of the church. Far from it being only the pastor-shepherds who do the soul-care of the sheep, this then produces an entire church that is involved in, committed to, diligently and proactively overseeing the spiritual wellbeing of the fellow members. So I meet with the men on Friday mornings because it also has a contagious influence on others who see that there’s nothing flashy, catchy, entertaining or super-difficult about the discipleship relationships in the Word. Then they reach out to others and care for and admonish others in the Word on a regular, consistent basis. May God bless these labors for His glory and for the spiritual edification of His church.

More podcasts and resources can be found at Pastor Geoff's website here.

Metaphors for a Minister of the Word.

METAPHORS FOR A MINISTER OF THE WORD.
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

The noblest of all callings that God could give to a man is to be a carer of the souls whom Christ has purchased with His own blood. To feed God’s people the Word, to shepherd God’s people through the journeys and trials of life, to counsel God’s people through unforeseen and painful heartaches, to protect God’s people from dangerous doctrines and teachers, to remind God’s people of the unchanging gospel and the sure-reality of heaven are just a few of the immense privileges that God places upon a pastor. But how does the Bible describe a pastor? What are some of the figures of speech that the Spirit of God employs to describe this calling? This essay will bring forth seven metaphors that speak of the minister of the gospel and his work.

1. Watchman (Ezekiel 33:1-9)
Watchmen are workers. They busy themselves by vigilantly keeping guard to protect the population that they are called to oversee. God told Ezekiel that he was appointed as a watchman for His people so that when he hears a message from God he is to give the people a warning from God. If he receives God’s message but chooses to not warn the people, then he will be guilty as an unfaithful watchman. But if he receives God’s message and does warn the people, then has delivered himself. When danger comes, the watchmen must sound the alarm to protect the citizens. The watchman cannot sleep or be careless; nor can be be indifferent or lazy. He must stay awake, be vigilant, be watchful, and be alert at all times because danger can loom from all fronts -- from both far away and from near (even from within at times!). So a pastor must also watch the flock to guard from encroaching danger from the outside and the inside.

2. Workman (2 Tim 2:15)
Workmen exert all their energy to do the required duties to the best of their abilities. Paul commands young, pastor Timothy to be diligent to present himself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. Consider a soldier who is faithful to please his commanding officer. Consider an athlete who works hard and competes according to the rules. Consider a farmer who works hard to receive his share of the crops. Just as a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer distinguish themselves by their zealous effort and tireless work-ethic, so ministers of the gospel must similarly be workers in the exegesis and expositing of God’s word. All who desire the privilege of shepherd-leadership desire a fine work.

3. Shepherd (John 21:15-17)
No one really desired to be a shepherd. It was hard, lonely, dirty, and lowly work. Shepherds had no fanfare and received no accolades from the masses. But shepherds had one driving duty: to care for the sheep that were entrusted to their care. Predators could lurk and swiftly attack so shepherds had to be vigilant to be with and watch over the helpless sheep. Shepherds had to provide still, quiet waters for the sheep to drink without harm from without or conflict from within the fold. Sometimes the sheep could tangle themselves in thorn briars and the shepherd would use his staff to free them. Or even a sheep may have wandered off and as he counted his sheep, one by one, one may be missing. He would never just let it die and move on with one less sheep, but he would leave the flock protected in a spot while he would go and diligently search till he found the lost and helpless sheep. Then he would pick it up and carry it home. May ministers of the gospel tend Christ’s lambs, shepherd Christ’s sheep, and tend His sheep (John 21:15, 16, 17) in following the Master’s steps who Himself is the good Shepherd!

4. Servant (John 13:15; Matt 20.28)
Our glorious Savior, on the night before He would be crucified, had the Passover meal with His disciples and he washed their feet. And on this occasion, he said that he has given an ‘example’ so that we also should do as He has done (John 13:15). Previously in his ministry, He told the disciples that it is the pagan leaders who lord it over their people and exercise authority over their people. But it must not be this way among Christ’s people, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave! Let every minister of the gospel remember that we are not to lord authority over our people but rather we are to serve them as slaves. Indeed, whoever wishes to be first must be slave of all! No task is too lowly, no people are too dirty, no chore is too messy.

5. Farmer (1 Cor 3:5-9 & Mark 4:1-20)
In writing to a church that he loved, and yet a church laden with many problems, the Apostle Paul affirmed that he and Apollos are servants of the Lord and servants of the Corinthian believers (1 Cor 3:5). He talked about how he planted, and Apollos watered, but God causes the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but God who causes the growth (1 Cor 3:6-8). We are simply planting seed, watering the seed and tilling the ground. Our Lord taught in a parable that a man sows the seed (which is the word of God). The seed falls on different kinds of soil -- on the road, on the rocky places, in the thorns, and on the good soil. The point? Be faithful to sow and scatter the seed of the Word faithfully and God does the heart-work in the hearer through the word which the preacher faithfully sowed. Sow the seed. Be faithful. Work hard. Don’t give up. Keep tilling! Keep sowing! Keep casting the seed!

6. Mother (1 Thess 2:7-8)
Everyone has a vivid picture in their minds of a nursing mother caring for a helpless, precious little baby. The Apostle Paul employed this imagery when he told the beloved Thessalonians that they proved to be gentle among them, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children (1 Thess 2:7). Consider the heartfelt love a mother has for the baby. The baby can’t reciprocate the love, vocalize gratitude, or do anything that’s affectionate. And yet the mother constantly thinks of her baby, cares for her baby, nurtures her baby, feeds her baby, protects her baby, watches her baby, and gives thanks for her baby! Ministers are to have such a fond, mother-like, affection for their congregations that they are pleased to impart not only the gospel of God but even their own very lives because the people become so dear to the man of God!

7. Herald (2 Tim 4:2)
In writing to young, pastor Timothy, the Apostle Paul gives him a strict charge from God almighty and the glorious and sovereign Christ. The simple charge is clear, decisive, necessary, urgent, and mandatory: preach the Word! The verb that Paul uses employs the language of a herald that a superior commissions with a message to impart to a group of recipients. Imagine an Emperor in the ancient world who could send an ambassador with a message to a city where the Emperor was soon to visit, the ambassador would take the message from the King and deliver it just as he received it to the intended recipients. The herald is to stand in the public, cup his hands, lift up his voice, and boldly proclaim the King’s message! It’s not the herald’s duty to ensure that people obey or respond accordingly. The herald simply proclaims the message that ha been delivered to him by his superior. As long as he faithfully imparts the message without adding or subtracting anything to it, or making it more palatable or less offensive, he has done his job faithfully. Every minister of the gospel is a herald. We are to herald forth the King’s message from the Word of God to the people that God brings to hear the truth. After all, Paul said: we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us! That’s what a herald is! It is the King addressing his people through the mouth of the messenger, the herald, the ambassador. May God instill in us a passion to herald His Word faithfully!

More at Pastor Geoff's articles page.

Why Do We Need Revival?

WHY DO WE NEED REVIVAL?
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

We must have revival or we will perish! One only needs to survey the Old Testament to find out what God does when God gives revelation to people and they reject Him, despise His Word, scoff at His messengers, and refuse to repent. The inevitable result is divine doom and devastating destruction. We must have revival. And yet, we fully embrace the biblical theme that pervades all of Scripture, namely, the absolute sovereignty of God. God alone revives His people. God alone regenerates the rebellious. Revival is primarily a work of God the Spirit. So, as we look around us in our 21st century society, we know that God alone is the One who can bring revival and yet we still must ask, ‘why do we need revival?’ To answer this, I’ll provide a handful of reasons.

1. For the sake of GOD.
We earnestly seek a revival first and foremost for the sake of our God. That means we long for God’s name to be displayed most magnificently and supremely. We want His fame to spread across communities, and cities and countries! We long for nations to worship the one, true and living God! We long for revival so that God receives the glory in reviving His people and regenerating the wayward.

2. For the sake of the CHURCH.
Second, we need a revival for the sake of Christ’s church. To revive something, by definition, means that there is some measure of life that existed previously. For God to revive us means that we are alive spiritually. Thus, a true revival is when God promotes holiness and a zeal for His glory that permeates the hearts of God’s people and propels them to live in holiness and fervent prayer married together with fervent evangelism. We long for God’s Spirit to rekindle the love for Christ and revive us by His Word!

3. For the sake of the LOST.
Third, we desperately need revival for the sake of the lost. Millions around us are perishing! Unless God sovereignly saves sinners, they are all headed to everlasting burnings in hellfire under the almighty and unresting wrath of God. We need revival and we beg for revival so that the mighty working of God may shine forth and that the unstoppable power of God may be manifested in the saving of souls! We hunger for revival because we have an intolerable burden for perishing sinners all around us!

4. For the sake of the GOSPEL.
Fourth, we need revival and we pray earnestly for it for the sake of the gospel. God has so put it in our hearts to see the the power of the gospel’s message demonstrated! Indeed, it is the gospel message that is the power of God! It is the power of this message to save. And we want this good news to travel far and wide and to convict men of sin and to bring them to deep repentance. And we long for this good news to show them Christ’s remedy and the absolute freeness of divine grace through repentance and faith.

5. For the sake of ETERNITY.
Finally, we desperately need revival because eternity is right around the corner. It’s near! Eternity is soon coming! We thirst for souls to be won to the kingdom in droves and to escape hellfire! Every living person will live eternally in either the bliss of heaven enjoying the beauty of Christ forevermore or the punishment of hell suffering under the unbridled wrath of God! May the Lord stir us to pray much and tirelessly, persistently and biblically, trusting that God will save His elect. So may we evangelize and pursue the lost so they may be won to Christ for all eternity!

More resources on revival can be found here.

God Gave You to the Son!

Consider the High Priestly prayer of Jesus to the Father in John 17:2 - "Even as you gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom you have given Him, He may give eternal life..."

John MacArthur elaborates on the glory of this marvelous reality that God gave a particular group of people to His Son:

"Having chosen to redeem them, the Father gave them to the Son as gifts of His love. Thus ... the disciples were infinitely precious to the SOn, not because of anything intrinsically valuable in them, but because they were promised to Him by His Father before time began (2 Tim 1.9; Titus 1.1)."

"Jesus' beautiful prayer in John 17 indicates, this divine promise was made from one member of the Trinity to another -- from the Father to the Son. As a tangible expression of His infinite love for the Son, the Father promised Him a bride (cf. Rev 19.7-8), a company of redeemed sinners who would honor and glorify the Son forever. In eternity past, the Father recorded their names in the book of Life (Rev 13.8; 17.8), and pledged them to His Son as a gift of His love. Thus, Jesus could pray: "Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. I have manifested Your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; they were yours and you gave them to me (17:5-6). A few verses later, Jesus again underscored that believers are a gift from the Father, given out of His love and for the purpose of His Son's glory: "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world!"

According to God's sovereign design, the Father draws to the Son those whom He has chosen to redeem, in keeping with His eternal promise. The Son, in return, receives and protects all those whom the Father draws. Because they are a gift to Him from the Father, he would never refuse them or allow them to be lost. He will raise them all to eternal glory."

SO Sinners are saved NOT because they are inherently worthy of salvation, or wise enough on their own to choose it (Eph 2.1-10), but because the Father lovingly draws them for the purpose of giving them as a gift to the Son. In response to the Father's love, the Son eagerly receives all those who are drawn because they are a gift from His beloved Father. The Son opens his arms to sinners, not because they either deserve to be embraced or seek such, but because He is exceedingly glad to receive the gift His Father prepared for him from before time began, and then sought and saved!"

When the Father, in eternity past, decided to redeem sinners, He did so with the ultimate intent of conforming them into the image of His Son (Phil 3.20-21; 1 John 3.2; Rom 8.29). Because they will be like Christ in their glorified state, the redeemed will forever be a supreme tribute to the Son -- reflecting His perfect goodness and proclaiming His eternal greatness!"

--from John MacArthur, John 12-22, MNTC, p.247-48.

Helping Our Children Prepare for Worship, Engage in Worship, & Respond Accordingly.
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Like every Christian parent, I want to teach my children to sit still and to engage in the corporate worship gathering of the saints! But it’s hard! It’s a battle! It’s sanctifying! But it’s a God-given privilege for me and my wife to endeavor to intentionally strive, to the best of our abilities with God’s help, to equip and train our children to prepare for corporate worship, to engage while in corporate worship, and to respond accordingly when the worship service has finished. In this brief write-up, I’ll provide four ways that we seek to help our children in this.

1) Attention!
Each Sunday when we’re in family worship prior to arriving for corporate worship, we tell our children to “pay attention” in the meeting of the people of God! Pay attention! Sounds simple! But this is intentional and we want to not only tell but help our children understand the high honor and wonderful privilege of meeting with the living God of the universe! One way we help in this is to model it for our children. That’s why we strive to have an open Bible before us while the Word is being preached. When the songs are being sung, we endeavor to stand and read the Words and sing together with our kids. When the pastor opens the Word and has the congregation stand for the public reading of Scripture followed by the pastoral prayer, it is our goal for our children to pay attention and participate in this. All in all, we desire our children to not tune out, but to actively engage in the meeting with the living God!

2) Notes/Picture!
We have 5 children. Their ages range from 8 down to 2. We provide one notebook and one pen for our children during the worship service and we encourage the older ones to draw during the sermon. We encourage them to listen for a few key words that will be said (from the text) and a few of the illustrations or Christians in history that will be mentioned. The goal here is for them to listen for these particular key words/concepts that I’ll mention in my sermon. We ask the kids to draw pictures of something that is said in the sermon. As they write notes or draw pictures, we seek to ask about it afterwards.

3) Apply!
Once the pastor has closed the sermon in prayer, it has been well said by someone of old, that the sermon has really just ‘begun.’ For now it rests upon the listener to be a doer of the Word that he has just heard. So we want to shepherd our children through the simple questions of what was just preached and how it affects them in their lives. Sometimes this may happen on the way home. Other times it may happen when we’re putting the kids to bed. It could even happen Monday morning when they wake up. But we strive to be faithful to instill in our children’s minds that the sermon is not just a data dump to sit through and endure, but rather it’s an opportunity to hear from God and to respond accordingly and to be changed for God’s glory!

4) Pray!
Another item that we try to model for our children is prayer before, during, and after the time of corporate worship. When our family gathers for family worship before the worship gathering with the saints, we pray for the preacher, for the Word to go forth with power, for the congregation, for the nursery workers, for all the teachers (of various age groups), for the lost to come to be saved, and for visitors. It’s also helpful to pray after church and thank God for the wonderful gift of sitting under His precious Word faithfully expounded and asking for His enabling grace to implement specifically what was said from the pulpit.

Our family is far from perfect. We don’t even incorporate these four principles perfectly, all the time. But we do, by God’s grace, strive to be intentional and faithful to God to instruct our children in the glory and majesty of God, and to model for and instruct them in the joyous privilege of meeting with God’s people and hearing the Word boldly preached! May God help us!

Specific Ways to Pray for Your Local Church

SPECIFIC ELEMENTS TO PRAY FOR IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

This is a list that provides many ways that you can pray for your local church.

pray for God's glory to permeate your church
pray for unity in the church
pray for almighty power in the preaching of the Word
pray for the administration of the ordinances -- baptism & Lord's supper
pray for biblical discipline and restoration
pray for repentance in the flock
pray for biblical forgiveness to be lavished to one another
pray for Christ-centered fellowship
pray for spiritual growth and maturation
pray for the conversion of the lost
pray for revival in our hearts and among us
pray for the suffering, persecuted, and those who are mourning
pray for the church leaders -- elders/deacons
pray for Christ's soon return & our readiness & waiting for him
pray for submission to Christ's leaders in the church
pray for a thankful spirit to reside among us
pray for workers to go out in Christ's harvest and labor for souls
pray for increased evangelistic efforts
pray for more people to serve God as missionaries globally
pray for reverence in the house of God
pray for more praying in and among God's people
pray for the marriages
pray for the parents
pray for the students
pray for the singles
pray for the widows
pray for the afflicted
pray for dependency on the Spirit of God
pray for commitment to the sufficiency of the Word in all things
pray for the musicians to be holy, pure and to serve without distracting
pray for the nursery workers and teachers to be patient and proclaim the gospel
pray for the true conversions of our youth
pray for fathers to lead in family worship at home with the children
pray for the flock to sacrificially practice the 'one anothers'
pray for generous, financial giving as a worshipful act in the church
pray for spiritual strength and protection from the evil one and his schemes
pray for the catechizing of our young people resulting in their conversions
pray for the exaltation of God's Word and Christ's gospel in your church
pray for the next generation that rises up to cling to Christ & follow Him
pray for those without work and in need of employment
pray for those who strive with wayward, unbelieving, godless children
pray for a greater longing for heaven
pray for a greater understanding of hell that would prompt urgent evangelism
pray for the Lord's soon coming to catch-up believers and take us to heaven
pray for enough suffering and hardship to keep us humble and dependent
pray for sexual purity among all of God's people at the church
pray for God's people to mortify sin quickly, decisively, violently & willingly
pray for increased love for Christ and an increased ravishing by His love
pray for more exposure to the gospel and more love for this message of redemption
pray for more filling and power of the Holy Spirit in and among God's people
pray for the Spirit to quicken souls during the preaching of God's Word
pray for believers to biblically counsel one another with God's sufficient Word
pray for the marriages of your elders to be strong, healthy, pure, and priority.
pray for God's people to wrestle with God in fervent prayer daily
pray for God to use the open-air proclamation of the gospel to quicken dead souls to life
pray for the Word to go forth without distraction and pray for earnest focus during corporate worship
pray for God’s people to all prepare diligently ahead of time for corporate worship and to be ready to worship God
pray for intimacy, power, fellowship, and rejuvenation to come from the corporate prayer meeting of the church

A Duty of Christian Wives: Praying!

A Duty of Christian Wives: Praying!
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Prayer is the mightiest weapon that God has given to us as children of God. Christian wife, whatever marriage situation you find yourself in, remember that God’s glory is on display and He never withholds anything good from those who walk uprightly. So keep walking in holiness. Keep it your ambition to be pleasing to Christ in all respects. And resolve to walk in God’s ways and to obey His Word rather than to succumb to feelings and emotionalism. You may be married to Haman-like man or you may have a Holy Gentleman, Christian wife, resolve to be a woman of prayer. Mighty prayer prevails. Fervent prayer prevails. Honest prayer prevails. Hannah was a woman who knew this by experience. How can you be a Christian wife who glorifies Christ in a maximal way? Remember to give prayer a priority place and maintain it as a daily duty.

1. Pray Early. You may be a working woman with a full-time job. You may be a retired lady with grandchildren that you help provide care for. You may be a young mother raising children in the home. Whatever season of life you’re in, dear Christian wife, prioritize prayer. Rise early to meet with God. We do what we love the most and what brings great pleasure. The glorious God of the galaxies and the Lord of the ages invites you to meet with Him and commit all your ways to Him. Before you start nursing or before you drive to work or before you go to the gym or meet with those ladies, seek to remember this helpful maxim: meet with God first and find joy in Him before you begin your busy routine for the day. In a sense, we can do much after we’ve prayed but we can’t really do much till we’ve prayed. So rise early, while it’s still dark if needed, and seek the Lord of creation by calling upon His name and giving thanks to Him.

2. Pray Persistently. Jesus told a story of a persistent widow who came day after day to an unrighteous judge and pleaded her case. She persisted boldly and would not give up until her cause was heard and her cause was won. She prevailed! She persisted! And if an unrighteous judge who could care less for a helpless widow would finally give in to hear the request of a pitiful woman, how much more would the righteous and compassionate Father hear the pleas of His children and answer their requests! Godly wives, be women of prayer. Pray persistently for your children -- by name. Pray for their salvation, for their usefulness, for their holiness, for their perseverance, for their purity. Pray for your church. Pray for your neighbors. Pray for your nation. Pray for your leaders.

3. Pray Earnestly. Like Hannah, be women who pour out your souls to God in prayer. Pray as if everything in your day depended upon God hearing you and answering your specific requests. Pray with specificity. Pray with earnestness. Pray with boldness. Pray with urgency. Pray with humility and submission to the Father’s will. But pray in such a way that you believe your prayers accomplish amazing things and that your prayers reach God and affect God and prompt God to do what may be humanly impossible. So pray earnestly and desperately. Maybe you need to pray for the closing of an abortion clinic around the corner. Maybe you need to pray for an unbelieving husband who is godless and blasphemous. Maybe you need to pray for prodigal children who currently live in worldliness and sin. Maybe you need to pray for revival in your church, in your city, in your country! Pray! Pray on! Pray earnestly!

4. Pray Biblically. Mary, the mother of Jesus, had a treasury of Scripture stored up in her heart. When the angel came to her and informed her that she would bear a child who would be the fulfillment of the Scriptures and bring redemption to His people, Mary responded with a bubbling forth of Scriptural praise! She was a woman who knew the Torah, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Undoubtedly she, as a righteous woman, was one who trusted God’s Word, studied God’s Word, memorized God’s Word, and sought to pray God’s Word. May you be encouraged to do likewise.

5. Pray Specifically. Perhaps you’ve heard the story of Charles Spurgeon and how, as a young teenager, he remembered walking in his home and standing outside his mother’s bedroom door as she specifically, boldly, loudly, faithfully, and with tears, begged for God to save little Charles. Of course Spurgeon gave all glory to God in the work of Sovereign grace in his regeneration, he attributed his salvation to the prayers of his mother. She specifically prayed for him and for his salvation. And God heard her specific petitions. And he answered specifically. Do you pray specifically? What are you worried about? What are you fearful of? What gives you unrest in your heart and soul? Why are you nervous? What do you want or need to be in control of? What is it that tempts you? What is it that you want to be happy? Pray specifically to the Lord for His help, His grace, His protection, His power. And he will answer.

6. Pray Largely. God tells us to open our mouths wide and he will fill it (Ps 81.10). He tells us that he is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or even think (Eph 3.20-21). So pray big prayers. Consider: if God were to answer “YES” to your every prayer and actually give you every thing you prayed for, what would be different? Would the president be converted? Would all your neighbors be saved? Would your church be revived with swarms of new converts? Would your children all be regenerated and passionately following Christ and mightily used by Him for the advancement of His gospel? Would your church send out many new missionaries from within members of your flock? Pray big prayers! Pray largely! Pray in faith! Pray in confidence! See how God will answer your requests!

7. Pray Expectantly. When Jesus descended from the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples attempted to cast a demon out of a young boy but they could not do it. And when the lamenting and desperate father approached Jesus, Jesus bewailed the pride of these men and told them that this can only be done in prayer (and fasting). Consider how important it is to pray and actually believe that God will hear and answer. Sometimes we pray but we aren’t alert in our praying and vigilant in expecting an answer! Paul told the Ephesians to be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints and to look for an answer. Be like Jacob who wrestled with the angel all night and expected that he would be heard and that his cause would be won. Submit to God’s sovereign decrees and at the same time, pray in humble, desperate faith knowing and expecting and anticipating that God will answer your prayers!

8. Pray Worshipfully. Like David who exemplified a man of worshipful prayer, pray as a worshiper! Be glad as a worshiper! Be mindful of God’s character and glory as you pray! Be humbled by His sovereign transcendence and His ever-present nearness as you pray! Be a worshiper and let your heart be full of awe and adoration as you exult in His great Name and gospel. Fill your heart with Scripture and respond with jubilant and prayerful praise. Christian wife, you have innumerable reasons to worship God in prayer! Consider the gospel by which you are saved! Think of the character of your triune God! Marvel at the intricate and incalculable creation God made and sustains! Glory in the church of Jesus Christ and all the myriads of saints of the ages that are saved by the blood of the Lamb! Worship! Pray! Rejoice! And give thanks!

A Duty of Christian Wives: Discipling Others.
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

As a Christian wife, God blesses you with the privilege of investing in other souls as others have invested in you. As you receive God’s Word in your daily study of Scripture, as you hear God’s Word preached from the pulpit week after week, and as you hear God’s Word read in the context of your home in family devotions or in bible reading with your husband, now God graces you with the joy of pouring what you’ve received into others.

So, be discipled and mentored. Be instructed and taught. Be submissive to your husband and allow him to read with you, read to you, teach you, and engage in dialogue about God and His Word together. But do not forget that you also have the wonderful, God-given opportunity to disciple others as well.

How can you disciple others? Here are five pastoral suggestions for Christian wives to consider.

1) Disciple in the home. A disciple means that one is a follower of Christ. To disciple in the home means that you follow Christ and plead with others to follow Christ together with you. You as a Christian wife may have children and you can disciple them in the context of your own home. You don’t need a big, flourishing ministry at church to “do discipleship.” Start where you are right in your home with those that God has entrusted under your care. Disciple your children toward Christ and show them, teach them, instruct them, and admonish them in the joy of following Christ!

2) Disciple on the go. You may need to go to the grocery store and perhaps you could take someone with you. You may be taking a meal to a family in your church that just had a baby so you may choose to take someone along with you. Disciple as you go may include bringing another Christian woman along with you as you go through the normal day to day activities. Perhaps you as a Christian wife are going to another younger mom’s home for an hour to encourage her while her children nap. Consider taking another woman from the church to join you for this fellowship, encouragement, and prayer. And ask good questions as you travel and talk together. Speak of Christ and of His gospel. Marvel at His grace and of His works! Discipleship doesn’t have to be a bunch of additional hour-long appointments. If you think and plan wisely, it could be done as you do the normal routine in your life as you bring another lady along with you in those duties.

3) Disciple when you gather (with believers at Sunday). Think of gathering with the family of God as opportunities for you to serve others. After all, we are to build up one another and we are to edify one another constantly. You may be primarily tied to the home as a Christian wife if you have smaller children. There’s nothing wrong with that. But refuse to fall into the thinking that you’re just not able to serve in the church because you’re too busy at home. Consider making Sunday a place where you intentionally and thoughtfully approach one person and initiate a Christ-centered conversation with them before or after worship. It may not be a planned gathering at Starbucks, but make no mistake, a Christ-centered conversation that advances holiness and stimulates thinking on Christ and on Scripture is discipleship! What if God graciously raised up 10 Christian women to reach out to 10 women at Church for this kind of verbal encouragement and discipleship ministry! May God use you to encourage others in your local church.

4) Disciple a woman in your church. Maybe you are a godly wife are in a season of life where you’re retired. Or perhaps the children have all moved out. It may be that your children are old enough and they’re all in school. Or, perhaps you’re married with no children yet. You can be a godly woman who disciples others by initiating a discipleship relationship with another woman (or two!) from your local church. Find a time and place that works. Pick a book of the Bible to read through together (e.g., Titus, Philippians, James, Romans). Talk through it little by little and apply it specifically. Pray for one another. You may even have small children and unable to get out of the home much of the week. But perhaps you could do it early on a Saturday morning while your husband is with the children and you gather with some ladies early for study of the Word and fellowship. The point of all this? To grow together with others and follow Christ together as the family of believers.

5) Disciple with much creativity. Let us not try to fit every form of discipleship into a cookie-cutter form that can’t be creative or adapted to your schedule. For instance, don’t underestimate the importance and encouragement of letter writing. Perhaps you are gifted in this and you love making, designing, and writing cards. So do this. And encourage women in the church regularly through this form of stimulating them toward Christlikeness. Or you may have time to make phone calls to ladies and share a Scripture with them from time to time and to pray together. May the Lord help you to be thoughtful, creative, intentional, and proactive in your pursuits of discipling others as a woman of God and as a follower of Jesus Christ.

This is part of the forthcoming eBook on The Duties of Christian Wives.

Some Benefits to Having a Paper Bible Open and On Your Lap

Some Benefits to Having a Paper Bible on Your Lap
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

I have the mobile and electronic devices. I have a computer. I have an iPhone. And I use them daily. They benefit me tremendously in my work, in my writing, in my communication, and in my research. So I have no problem with the electronic devices and tablets and gadgets per se. But I'd like to share a few pastoral thoughts about why it may be beneficial and prudent to go to church with a paper bible in hand rather than a tablet, or an iPad, or an iPhone. In fact, I would suggest that it would be worth your serious consideration whether you should leave your cell phone (or tablet, etc) in the car while you’re in church. I suggest that this is especially true for parents with young and teenage children.

In what follows, I’ll provide what I believe to be some benefits of having a paper Bible with you and open before you when you gather with God’s people to worship.

1. it aids you in focusing in Scripture alone rather than the temptations a device may bring. This may seem overly obvious but the cell phone is like bringing a truckload of temptations to your front porch. I’m not referring necessarily to sinful or immoral temptations. I’m just suggesting that we prioritize the Bible alone when we sit under the Word of God and there may be far fewer temptations when you have your paper Bible open on your lap and a pen and paper to take notes than there are if you’ve got your iPhone open with apps, calendars, scores, programs, games, and even ringers!

2. it prevents the endless distractions that could come with an electronic device (text/popup/reminder/internet). Having your cell phone with your Bible on it may bring an unnecessary distraction or temptation to respond to this text or that alert or this email or that breaking news report, but why even put yourself in that situation to be distracted? True, someone may say that there are many other temptations (people sitting near you, the instruments, the preacher’s attire, etc.). But we live in a digital, cell-phone worshipping age, and doesn’t it seem prudent to do all that you can to intentionally focus on God’s Word in God’s House rather than bring a gadget that may distract you from hearing what God has for you through the Word of God?

3. it sets an example for the children/teens to have an open Bible. This is the passion that gave rise to this article. Dear parents, how do you teach your children? Do you want to model for them to get a little Bible on their phone here or there? Do we really believe that when our children are on their phones that they’re doing nothing but studiously poring over the Scriptures? Perhaps -- and we pray this would be the case. But oftentimes, it isn’t. What if you have your children (children and teens and young adults) bring their paper bible with them to church and leave their cell phone in the car. And parents, you do the same! Set the example. Show them it’s good and proper and beneficial to have a Bible and to use it well, know it well, love it, know it, memorize it, and walk with it.

4. it serves in cross-reference study to have fingers in 2 or more scriptures to compare. It’s far easier to track with the preaching of the Word if the preacher goes from Scripture to Scripture and text to text and Testament to Testament when you have a paper Bible. It can just be quicker and more profitable to have your paper Bible open and turning with the teacher to the texts that he’s reading. You could even leave a piece of paper there in a text for further study at a later point.

5. it helps you learn the order of the books of the Bible better. This is mentioned because of the overwhelming illiteracy of the Bible in our day. It is good to know the books of the Bible and the order of the books of the Bible! One knows the order of the books of the Bible better when he has a paper Bible and is flipping from book to book rather than just going to a Table of Content screen and tapping the Book. Take 25 seconds and see if you can turn to Malachi, then Matthew, then Ruth, then Romans, then 1 Chronicles, then 1 Corinthians, then Hosea, then Hebrews, then Song of Solomon, then Philemon. See if someone can do it quicker in a paper Bible or on a tablet. I suggest it would be the person with the paper Bible.

6. it familiarizes you with the text & with locating Scriptures for future reference. As you track with the preacher by looking at the texts, words, phrases, paragraphs in your text you become familiar with texts themselves and where the texts are in your particular copy of God’s Word so that in future times of need, you can go back and reference a verse or section. Even though you may not remember the specific reference you may remember, for example, that it was on the top side of the left column on the left page of your Bible. This can only be done with a paper copy of God’s Word.

7. it may allow you to mark in your Bible a note or two or a cross reference. I suppose there may be some apps or programs that allow you to take notes on the digital devices, but it’s not the same as underlining a key word, or drawing a circle and connecting it to key word a few verses earlier, or jotting down an outline in a particular portion of Scripture in your own personal Bible for study. This is more readily available in having your paper Bible open and before you.

8. it contributes to the benefit of reading books (chapters) and not just reading clips/quotes (from a device). When we read on our phones or tablets we train ourselves to read little portions at a time (or, what can fit on a screen in front of us) and then as we keep scanning or flipping or scrolling to read more and more text, it can become burdensome and tedious. But having an open Bible on your lap more easily lends itself to lengthy Bible reading and focused times of saturating in Scripture.

9. it presents a kind of priority & seriousness as you carry and open and study your Bible. We don’t parade ourselves around carrying Bibles just to be seen and noticed by others. That would be arrogant and prideful. Nevertheless, there is something important about walking to church with a Bible in hand. You have your Bible and you understand that you’re in God’s House to study God’s Word with God’s people. As you carry your Bible and study your Bible, there’s a priority and a seriousness as you have it with you and set it before you and reference it with your eyes continually during the sermon.

10. it will not die if you use it constantly for 10+ hours. There's no battery life to the written text of the Bible! Quite simply, electronic devices have battery life that sometimes can fade out and die. But, of course, with your paper Bible, it never gets low in battery life!

SUMMARIZING & SIMPLIFYING the 9 benefits...
Quite simply, what are the benefits of having an open, paper Bible before you at church?

PROTECTION (from distractions as it protects you from unnecessary popups, texts, alerts, emails, scores, etc.)
FOCUS (helps you in focusing on Scripture alone as you zoom in on the book resting on your lap as the priority)
EXAMPLE (this especially is true for parents to model the setting aside of devices and guard from distractions)
STUDY (aids in cross-reference/turning to multiple scriptures as you flip from Scripture to Scripture in a sermon)
ORDER (with a paper Bible, you learn the order of books of the Bible far better than on a device)
FAMILIARIZATION (with texts/where they're located on the page for review at a later point)
NOTE-TAKING (jotting down notes in your paper Bible can be easier and more memorable than on a device)
SERIOUSNESS (take your bible to church to hear God talk; there's a reason God gave us a *book* & we use it)
SUSTAINABILITY (the bible just doesn't lose battery-life, doesn't die; it always has full charge!)

A Duty of Christian Wives — Teaching Children (and, Grandchildren)

A Duty of Christian Wives: Teaching Children [& Grandchildren]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

[This is part of a forthcoming eBook on "The duties of Christian wives."]

Timothy’s mother and grandmother had sincere faith and undoubtedly instructed him in godliness from a very early age. In fact, 2 Timothy 3:15 says that from his nursing days he knew the sacred writings which were able to give him the wisdom that led to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. That is to say, Timothy’s mother and grandmother taught him biblical truth even from the nursing years. Remember King Lemuel who was taught by his mother (Prov 31:1). Let godly wives never underestimate the power of teaching God’s Word to their children. And let grandparents never underestimate the power of the Scripture when pressing it home upon the hearts of the grandchildren. The Bible clearly presents a pattern of godly parents teaching biblical truth and instructing truth to children. Indeed, Psalm 78 says that this must be done so that the children we have can tell to the next generation to put their confidence in God (Ps 78:6-7). Let all parents and grandparents carefully heed these examples and seek, by God’s grace, to do likewise.

1) Teach Scripture Daily. Moses commanded the people of Israel to teach God’s words diligently to their children -- even when lying down and rising up, when at home and when traveling (Deut 6:6-9). May godly mothers carefully receive and diligently apply the truths set forth in the Old Testament and the command in Eph 6:4 to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Godly wives, make it your priority if God has graced you with children in the home to teach biblical truths to them every single day. Like a little water that is added over the course of time, a small tree will grow into a mighty and unshakeable oak tree. So it is with God’s Word. May you instruct your children’s hearts with God’s truth so that the doctrines of the Bible will sink deep into their minds and guide them all through life. From the youngest of ages, teach your children Scripture -- teach them about God, man, sin, Christ, the Spirit, the gospel, faith, repentance, the Church, and eternity.

2) Teach Godliness Practically. Godly wives, live out Christian piety in the home so that your children can see you. Don’t be a Christian just for the sole purpose of being seen and noticed by your children. But you should live out your Christian live in such a way that the doctrine you verbalize is enfleshed by your conduct. Your instruction should be preached by your lifestyle every day. As a Christian wife, show your children self control, the sufficiency of the Word, the importance and centrality of the local church, the need to pray for the unsaved around you, the joy of walking with Christ, and the priority of prayer. All that you teach with your mouth, preach with your life. Enflesh your instruction.

3) Teach Prayer Continually. Godly wives, you have the greatest weapon in the history of mankind always and ever at your disposal -- prayer. You can storm the mercy seat of the great King of heaven and earth and plead your petitions before Him in the name of Christ! So go often! Go frequently! Go humbly! Go desperately! Go persistently! Have your children obeyed you? Then go together to God’s throne and give thanks! Have they sinned by lying? Then go to God in humble repentance and beg for forgiveness. Have you sinned against them? Then seek their forgiveness and pray together. Is there a magnificent storm outside? Then worship God and extol His mighty power together! Teach prayer often and regularly. Teach different kinds of prayer, mothers. Teach your children to not only ask things of God but also to adore God for who He is. Teach your children to thank God for what He’s done and to praise Him for all His promises. Teach your children to pray for the lost and to beg God for the advancement of the gospel among the nations! Teach it, model it, and then actually do it. Pray together.

4) Teach Repentance Carefully. Godly wives, the more you grow in Christ the more you’ll see your sin. The heart-desires you have that control you at times, the anger that may come out, the selfishness that may manifest itself in various ways. So repent to God and repent to those whom you have offended. And let your children see this and hear this and join in with you in this. Godly moms, never underestimate the power of modeling repentance and contrition before the Lord. Show them that God is the holy God of the universe but also a merciful God to penitent sinners!

5) Teach Humility Preeminently. Be careful, Christian wives, how you present yourself. Guard your attitude! Guard how you talk about others and how you respond to others. Guard from pride! Set the example in instructing your children that humility is always better than pride. Pride is Satan’s way and humility is God’s way. Seek to teach this verbally and to live it out practically. Humility must be preeminent in your teaching. Show this as you relate to your husband, as you pray for other church members, as you go with your children to serve the needy and care for the helpless in the church. Teach and model humility as it is ultimately found in the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel!

6) Teach Theology Widely. While your husband is away at work, make it a point to be the resident-teacher to download God’s truth from His Word into the hearts of your children. This requires, godly wives, that you will first learn and study theology on your own so you can then impart it to your children. Never underestimate the importance of teaching theology and a biblical worldview. Teach theology in such a way that everything -- yes, every single thing -- is viewed through the purview of God’s sufficient Word. Teach them the attributes and person of God. Teach them about the depravity and wretchedness of all mankind. Teach them about God’s sovereign work in sending Christ to make propitiation for the sins of His people. Teach them about the Spirit who regenerates, sanctifies, and seals us for glory. Teach them about the beauty and necessity and involvement in the local church. Teach them about future things such as heaven, hell, the last judgment and the nearness of death.

7) Teach Submission Visually. As your children see you, Christian wives, submitting to your husband, you will actually be teaching your daughters not only how they should submit to their husbands (or showing your sons the kind of wives they want to find and marry) but you also will be modeling how all believers should be submitting to Christ Jesus. After all, the way a wife submits to her husband is to be a picture of how the church submits to Christ. So never underestimate the power of a submissive attitude as you honor your husband, respect him, speak well about him, do what he says, follow his leadership, and worship God in seeking to complete and bless him as your companion. This kind of godly attitude and conduct in your marriage relationship will teach submission visually for your children.

More resources on Godly motherhood can be found here and here.

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Thursday, December 28, 2017

A Few Considerations as a New Year Begins!

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

My Personal Philosophy of Open Air Preaching.

Friday, December 22, 2017

My Philosophy of Preaching the Word in Corporate Worship.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

How to Greet the Saints.

Friday, December 8, 2017

Why Invest In the Men?

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Metaphors for a Minister of the Word.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Why Do We Need Revival?

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

God Gave You to the Son!

Helping Our Children Prepare for Worship, Engage in Worship & Respond Accordingly!

Friday, November 17, 2017

Specific Ways to Pray for Your Local Church

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

A Duty of Christian Wives: Praying!

A Duty of Christian Wives: Discipling Others

Friday, October 27, 2017

Some Benefits to Having a Paper Bible Open and On Your Lap

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

A Duty of Christian Wives — Teaching Children (and, Grandchildren)

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