Tag: Pastoral Ministry

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Preachers are nothing

joshnmarda

“Success always comes from God, and from God alone. This is true both for pioneer missionaries and for preachers and teachers in local congregations: only God gives growth (1 Cor 3: 6-7) The effectiveness of missionary work and the effectiveness of pastoral ministry depend neither on individual persons and their gifts nor on programs or rhetorical techniques, but on God’s agency. Preachers are nothing (1 Cor 3: 7). The nature of the ministry of the gospel prohibits deference to and exclusivistic respect for individual preachers and teachers, as they are all instruments of God on whose work all “success” depends.” … Continue reading Preachers are nothing

Missions & EvangelismLeave a comment

10 Reasons to Share the Gospel with Someone Today

joshnmarda

1. It is a joy to talk about the greatness of God. 2. It helps us remember the work of Christ on our behalf. It will remind us of His love for us. 3. It will keep us from becoming proud if we really think about what we are saying. 4. The person who has not repented of their sins is in an absolutely desperate position. Dead, blind, slaves, these are all images the Bible uses to describe the unbeliever’s condition. This means if we really love a person, how can we not want to share the gospel with them? … Continue reading 10 Reasons to Share the Gospel with Someone Today

Pastoral MinistryLeave a comment

Humble help

joshnmarda

When we come alongside someone to help them, it is vital that we do so humbly. But what does that mean exactly? Here are four keys from Galatians 6. 1. Coming alongside humbly means you come gently, not harshly. Paul says in verse 1, “Restore one another in a spirit of gentleness.” Gentleness is basically humility in action. It means you don’t come in there like you are better than the person. It means you don’t come in there with a self-righteous spirit. It means you don’t come in there just knocking the person over with angry words. Instead as … Continue reading Humble help

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Showing Honor

joshnmarda

Ray Ortlund: Outdo one another in showing honor. Romans 12:10 I wonder if Romans 12:10 is one of the most under-obeyed commands in Scripture. I wonder if we have lowered our standard to “Do no harm to one another,” which is passive, and if we are not destroying each other we must be doing okay. But the gospel is all about the glory of God coming down on sinners (2 Thessalonians 2:14). Honor to one another is an obvious next step. But how many churches have you observed that made you say, “How they honor one another!” What might keep … Continue reading Showing Honor

Pastoral Ministry1 Comment

An accepting ministry part 2

joshnmarda

The difference between Jesus and the Pharisees is not in the fact that the Pharisees took sin seriously and Jesus didn’t. The difference between Jesus and the Pharisees is found rather in the way that they related to people they knew to have sinned – the way they treated sinners. I don’t want to take the time to get into exactly how the Pharisees treated ‘sinners. I want to make some unbelievably obvious comments about the way Jesus did. The first one being, he didn’t just avoid them. He could have you know, stayed up in heaven. When we read … Continue reading An accepting ministry part 2

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An accepting ministry part 1

joshnmarda

In Jesus’ day people had a caricature of what it meant to be holy. They thought it meant not ever hanging out with anyone who might be considered a sinner. In our day, people have a caricature of what it means to be accepting. They think it means never ever directly confronting sin. There are whole lot of people today who think that if we are going to avoid being like the Pharisees and if we are going to have an open, accepting ministry like Jesus we must by definition minimize the seriousness of sin. The thing is, whatever it … Continue reading An accepting ministry part 1

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Lies…

joshnmarda

In Ephesians 4:25 Paul says ‘put away falsehood.’ In other words, don’t lie. But what exactly does he mean by that? What does it mean to lie? Here are some examples I came up with: 1. I am speaking falsehood when I contradict the truth. I am talking about the times when someone is saying the opposite of the truth. 2. I am speaking falsehood when I distort the truth. I am talking about the times when what someone might say is technically true but they are using the truth in a deceitful way to either promote or protect themselves. … Continue reading Lies…