I subscribe to a website that shows you when e-books get discounted. One day, one of the books on sale was related to discipleship and being able to increase the depth of discipleship in a short amount of time. While on the surface this does not appear to be a problem. I found that the more I thought about it, the less I liked what … Continue reading No shortcuts to a deeper relationship with God
As the new year begins, I have made a decision to commit to praying the Daily Office using A Book of Prayer and Order (2020) [“BPO”]. This is a newly edited prayer book based on The Book of Common Prayer (1928). After discovering this amazing resource and spending almost two years studying and researching, I put together the BPO edition for our church. Having a … Continue reading 2021 Bible Reading Plan
Growing up in a Protestant tradition I’ve noticed that we don’t have much of a concept of why confession matters and to whom we are called to confess. Continue reading Confession & Prayer: Why we don’t experience healing from our sins
UPDATED: The video has been included for those who would like to be guided through the resource below. It is designed to help us pray intentionally in times of social strife and unrest. As we confess sin and plead with our Heavenly Father to provide us wisdom and to hear our prayers, we are forced to face our weaknesses. Forced to acknowledge the deep needs … Continue reading An Office of Lament in a Time of Social Strife
Over the last several years, the subject of discipleship has become an important topic for me. One that occupies my mind most days. I have spent a good amount of time reading, studying, discussing, and engaging in discipleship as much as I can. Of all the things Jesus said to his original disciples, and were written down for us to read in the Scriptures, what Jesus said about discipleship requires careful consideration. Continue reading “3 Reasons Lasting Disciples are not Made in the Church”
Over ten thousand, seven hundred words and I am only scratching the surface. I am writing this short introduction to let you know that this is not a short essay! I am also writing this introduction to ask you to take the time to read this entire essay and consider (or maybe reconsider) what you think you know about discipleship. I am not pretending that I have all, many, or any answers on the subject of discipleship. As a matter of fact, I may have raised more questions, and that may be a good thing. What I hope to do through this essay is to share how God has been challenging me to rethink how I have understood and undertaken discipleship in my own life. As a pastor, I feel the weight of this constantly. But, more importantly, as a disciple of Christ, this has become a passion that I cannot dismiss as someone else’s responsibility. Jesus has called me and you to make disciples. I hope this essay will help you understand some of the “what” and even more of the “why” of discipleship. Continue reading “The Foundational Purpose of Discipleship: Looking at One of Jesus’ Most Astonishing Claims about Discipleship”
I believe every person living will say a prayer to something or somebody at some point in time in their lives. When we pray we give our submission to something that is bigger than ourselves.
For myself, I can’t always say that I have had the best prayer life. I know that when things get hard I find it easier to pray but when times are easy I rarely will speak to God. I can catch myself at times living life as if I control what goes on in it. And when I do find myself praying I even catch myself doubting God in the midst of my prayers. I think a lot of times we pray and God may very well answer our prayers, but in our own doubts, we miss the answers given to us. Continue reading “Just Pray: There is too much at stake not to!”
This is not the official title of the message. But it is a critical truth shared in it.
This is one of the most convicting and sincere sermons I have ever heard on the subject of prayer. There are two reasons I commend this sermon to you. First, I know Rodney. He is a good friend and he is one of the godliest men I know. And, I have some knowledge of the issues he references, and because of this, I know that Rodney means what he is saying because he is living it out. There are few things that make a sermon more powerful than knowing that the one preaching is preaching from the experiences of their own journey. This is the case here. Continue reading “Rodney Bradford | “You Need to Plan to Pray””
