Church, Family, Marriage, Orphan Care, Parenting
John Beeson
Blessed to Multiply

Weeks before I received my first calling as a pastor, the elders decided that they were going to seek tWho wouldn’t want to experience God’s blessing? So, then, how can we step into the blessing of God? One of the straightforward ways the Bible teaches us that he blesses us is through children. Look, for instance, at the book of Genesis, where blessing is directly correlated to having children:

 

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen. 1:28)

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” (Gen. 9:1)

The angel of the Lord also said to [Hagar], “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” (Gen. 16:10) acquire property and build a new facility for the church. They informed me that leading the relocation and capital campaign efforts would be part of my job. As a fresh seminary graduate, I had precisely zero requisite experience for the task. I had no experience in fundraising or contracting. And, of course, seminary did not include any preparation for the task.

 Over the course of those years, I had to learn a lot, but perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that leading a congregation through a capital campaign could be a significant spiritual blessing.

Blessed to Multiply
Church, Gratitude, Prayer, Religion
John Beeson
You and the Universal Church

Healthy Christians know that the Church is bigger than their church. We call this the universal church, the collective body of all followers of Jesus worldwide and across history. This spiritual entity is invisible, transcending denominations.

Unhealthy churches and denominations communicate directly and indirectly that they are the only true church. Unsound churches make the opposite error: not drawing any boundaries for who is outside of the orthodox church.

But what does this mean for the ordinary Christian? For many Christians, it doesn’t mean much at all. Their only meaningful connection to the church is with their church.

You and the Universal Church
Recommendations, Culture, Music, Prayer, Science
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. What ‘gentle parenting’ misunderstands about human nature: Michael Reneau and Megan Dent explain, “A core feature of Jesus’ gentleness to sinners was his understanding that they were trapped in a world in which the sinful parts of their nature were likely to be tempted and exploited, again and again. In this sense, sinners were indeed victims. But Jesus suggests that their problem was not that other human beings weren’t catering to their every emotional need (and in the process, eliding their own), but rather that they had become lost in a longing that Augustine called concupiscence: an immense desire, or ardent longing for fulfilment that often leads one astray, toward hubris, power, violence, lust, or material greed.”

This Week's Recommendations
Church, Finance, Generosity, Gratitude, Prayer, Wisdom
John Beeson
Fundraising for the Glory of God

Weeks before I received my first calling as a pastor, the elders decided that they were going to seek to acquire property and build a new facility for the church. They informed me that leading the relocation and capital campaign efforts would be part of my job. As a fresh seminary graduate, I had precisely zero requisite experience for the task. I had no experience in fundraising or contracting. And, of course, seminary did not include any preparation for the task.

 Over the course of those years, I had to learn a lot, but perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that leading a congregation through a capital campaign could be a significant spiritual blessing.

Fundraising for the Glory of God
Spiritual Growth, Church, Evangelism, Generosity, Worship
John Beeson
Worshiping Through Our Service

Most Sundays, like most churches, New Life Bible Fellowship gathers to sing, pray, and hear the Word of God preached. This is a beautiful, biblical rhythm (Acts 2:42). But what if, on occasion, the most faithful way to worship is not inside the walls of the church but outside, serving our community? Once a year, we gather to Love Tucson. Before we worship, pray, and hear God’s Word together, we serve at a partner school.

Love Tucson is one of my favorite Sundays of the year.

Worshiping Through Our Service

spider

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The Dust Mite and the Spider

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The Dust Mite and the Spider

One day the spider and the dust mite met in the cool of the underside of a misshapen pillow.

Out of the pleasantries, an awkward silence grew. Intimidated by the size of the spider, the dust mite boasted, “Have you ever noticed how similar I am to an eagle?”

“You? Like an eagle?” the spider questioned.

“Oh yes,” the dust mite responded, gaining confidence. “An eagle. Like an eagle, I have a head, legs, and I lay eggs.”

A condescending smile grew across the spider’s jaws.

“Foolish, mite,” chuckled the spider. “You are nothing like an eagle! I am the one like an eagle.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1.       Darwin's Spider Shoots a 25+ Yard Web: Isn't God's creation incredible? If this was a movie, you would think it was over-the-top.

2.       The iPhone's Story: Wall Street Journal tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the iPhone was born.

3.       We Were in Marital Hell: Kay Warren has a beautiful way to use her raw transparency for the purpose of speaking deep truths. She poignantly shares, "I don’t approach this subject from the Hallmark-card version of marriage but from the blood, sweat, and tears of the trenches where our marriage was forged and is sustained. I know what it’s like to choose to build our relationship; to seek marriage counseling again and again; to allow our small group and our family into the struggle; to determine one more time to say, “Let’s start over” and “Please forgive me, I was wrong” and “I forgive you.” I know what it’s like to admit that my way isn’t the only way to see the world and to try to imagine what it’s like to be on the other side of me; to choose to focus on what is good and right and honorable in my husband instead of what drives me crazy; to turn attraction to another man into attraction to my husband... We’ve beaten the odds that divorce would be the outcome of our ill-advised union."

4.       Christ's Transfiguration is a Sneak Peak of Our Future: Michael Kibbe with an absolute gem of an article, "As with the Son, so with the sons and daughters—transfiguration happens through suffering. The glory that shone in Jesus’ face on the mountain was a foretaste of things to come, not only for him but for us as well. This is why Jesus is called the firstfruits of the new creation (1 Cor. 15:20) and the firstborn from among the dead (Col. 1:18). When we see Jesus’ face burst with light on the mountain, we are invited not only to recognize how utterly different from us he is as the divine Son of God, but also how like him we may be, if we follow him down the mountain to the cross." 

5.       6 Tech Habits Changing the American Home Tech Habits Changing the American Home: Barna shares research on six tech habits that are negatively impacting our homes.

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