Hymn: Closer to Me (Elizabeth Prentiss)
Preacher Thoughts
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1y ago
I was happy to stumble across this hymn by Elizabeth Prentiss today. I had never even heard of it before. I find it quite unique in that we are singing to one another an invitation from Christ to draw near to Him. So often our songs reflect our desire for Him to draw near to us (Prentiss herself wrote, "More Love to Thee"), but in this hymn, it is Christ speaking to us to draw near to Him. Press closer!  Lovely words to meditate on at the end of lovely Lord's Day. CLOSER  TO  ME Press  close,  my  child,  to  Me;  Closer  to  Me.  Ea ..read more
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Keep Your Sails Up
Preacher Thoughts
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1y ago
Here is a little bit of free advice from a pastor who has been “at sea” for some time. One of the great advantages to maintaining a weekly Prayer Meeting is that you will catch the Wind when it blows.  Just this past week, two of our pastors were down and out with sickness. While we were able to get through our morning duties, prudence suggested we recuperate in the evening. That left the Prayer Meeting to the last man standing. I might say that, at this point in our church’s life, even if all the pastors were out of commission, I am sure the Prayer Meeting would stand. We have learne ..read more
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How to Wreck a Revival
Preacher Thoughts
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1y ago
In talking with some other pastors recently, I was encouraged to hear of a what appears to be a unique work among young adults in our city. Many of our churches have seen significant growth with this demographic, with many of these young folks becoming vital members of our churches.  I shared some of this encouraging news with our own young adults and then gave them a bit of a heads up. If this is a reviving work of God in our city, we ought to learn from the past and avoid interfering with it or wrecking it! To that end, I told them to avoid three things. 1. Dangerous Ethics Almost eve ..read more
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Christian Parenting Resources and... Opinions!
Preacher Thoughts
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1y ago
I have had the privilege of preaching, writing and collecting what I consider to be wise material on parenting for many years. One of my sabbatical projects has been working on a new parenting class I hope to teach in the fall. It is called something like, Pastor Paul's Parenting Opinions. The reason I am stressing opinions, is that the Bible actually has very little to say about the details of parenting. Wise parents will talk to those who have gone before them and collect (and evaluate) their opinions to chart their own course.  However, that does not mean the Bible has nothing to say a ..read more
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The Elements of the Internal Call to the Ministry - Wilhelmus á Brakel
Preacher Thoughts
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1y ago
 The Elements of the Internal Call to the Ministry This commission is both internal and external. An extraordinary, divine declaration is not an element of this internal commission. God does not do this, or does so only on very rare occasions, and thus one need not wait for this. There are other matters by which one may be assured of his internal calling. To these belong, first of all, a knowledge of the office. One must know what it means to be a servant of Christ, to be the mouth of the Lord, to proclaim that great gospel, to teach ignorant men the way of salvation, to be instrumental ..read more
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Why I Plan to Go to the Last “Together for the Gospel”
Preacher Thoughts
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2y ago
When the fella’s announced the first Together for the Gospel (the conference not yet known as T4G), I decided to travel down with my pal, Challies, to see what was up. I recall being pretty surprised at a guy named Mahaney. Those were some long introductions! Dever with his book endorsements and crowd surveys was as expected. I had not heard Mohler before, nor Duncan. Both were a delight. But, the real joy was when the four dudes would sit together right after somebody preached and talk about the sermon. They were modelling something quite wonderful… taking the Word and, as the Puritans put i ..read more
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The Grace Fellowship Church Fall 2021 Pastoral Internship
Preacher Thoughts
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2y ago
Grace Fellowship Church is now accepting applications to our second pastoral internship. Unlike our first class (held over five months through the brunt of the COVID-19 lockdowns), this session will run from September 13, 2021 to December 6, 2021. We are accepting two interns for this 12 week session and applications must be submitted by July 31, 2021. Accepted applicants will be notified by August 13, 2021. Interns are required to meet on site at Grace Fellowship Church on Monday mornings, plus Tuesday through Friday workdays (9-5). In addition, interns are required to attend all the public ..read more
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The Blank Card
Preacher Thoughts
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3y ago
He would have turned 21 today. Assuming I had remembered, he would be opening a blank birthday card from me in his dorm room.  It started when he was around 14 years old. Back then I used to write every kid in the church on their birthday. Just a little note to tell them I loved them and prayed for them and to urge them to believe the Gospel and trust in Christ. He had gotten a bunch of those in his life, but that year I sent the best one of all.  Somehow I ended up slipping a blank note into the pre-addressed envelope. It was the nothing card. It could not have gone to a better kid ..read more
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Announcement: The Grace Fellowship Church Pastoral Internship
Preacher Thoughts
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3y ago
Grace Fellowship Church is pleased to announce we are opening our pastoral internship starting on February 1, 2021. Details are below, including a link to the application page.  We were preparing to launch this program right when Covid hit. It does not appear much will be changing in the very near future, so rather than wait for that, we have adapted our original plan to fit our new circumstances. Truth be told, we think these new circumstances have sharpened our vision for the internship.  We will be accepting two interns for this initial run. They will need to be available on Mond ..read more
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Mediated Love: How to Fellowship in Masks Standing Far Apart
Preacher Thoughts
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3y ago
In Toronto we are required by our Public Health authorities to wear face masks and to stay 2m apart from one another as much as possible. Face masks and physical distance from our friends is an interruption to the ways we are used to fellowshipping in our culture. I come from a hand-shaking, hugging, back-slapping, shoulder-grabbing kind of church. We like each other and we are trying really hard to love each other. So, being told to cover our faces and not touch each other can feel like it is a direct prohibition against fellowship. That is certainly not the case though! There are many cul ..read more
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