From the Desk

 

of Pastor Ernie

From the Desk of Pastor Ernie

Quotes

WEEKLY INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT: December 16:

“To the downtrodden, the sad, the hopeless, he opened the door into a kingdom of light and liberty. To those who were terrified by the fear of malignant spirits he revealed a Spirit benignant, watchful and ever present, all-powerful and able at a word to banish the power of darkness. To men dissatisfied with the worship of idols he taught the pure service of one true God. To people whose imaginations were overwhelmed by the terrors and darkness of the grave he gave the assurance of a future beyond the grave in the bliss and peace of the Risen Lord. To the weak who needed support, to sinners bound with the chain of vice, to people unable to cope with the depressed morality of their heathen surroundings, he brought the promise of an indwelling Spirit of power. To the lonely he offered the friendly warmth and society of a company all eagerly looking forward to a bright day when Grace would come and this world with all its perplexities and troubles pass away.”… Roland Allen

WEEKLY INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT: December 9

“In a Christian community, everything depends upon whether each individual is an indispensable link in a chain. Only when even the smallest link is securely interlocked is the chain unbreakable. A community which allows unemployed members to exist within it will perish because of them. It will be well, therefore, if every member receives a definite task to perform for the community, that he may know in hours of doubt that he, too, is not useless and unusable. Every Christian community must realize that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the fellowship.” … Dietrich Bonhoeffer

WEEKLY INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT: December 2

“Suppose Christianity is not a religion at all but a way of life, a falling in love with God, and through Him, a falling in love with our fellows. Of course such a way is hard and costly, but it is also joyous and rewarding even in the here-and-now. People who follow that Way know beyond all possible argument that they are in harmony with the Purpose of God, that Christ
is with them and in them as they set about His work in our disordered world.
If anyone thinks this is perilous and revolutionary teaching, so much the better. That is exactly what they thought of the teaching of Jesus Christ. The light He brought to bear upon human affairs is almost unbearably brilliant, but it is the light of Truth, and in that light human problems can be solved.”… J. B. Phillips

WEEKLY INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT: November 25

“Popularity is the most dangerous spiritual state imaginable, since it leads one so easily to the spiritual pride which drowns men in perdition. It is a symptom to be watched with anxiety since so often it has been purchased at the too heavy price of compromise with the world.”… Stephen Neill

WEEKLY INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT: November 11

“Sin is sin, and we must not call it less than sin. It is not an act of love to explain sin away as a psychological determinism or sociological conditioning, for it is real and must be dealt with. Men need a Savior. Therefore, Christians in our generation must resist relativistic and deterministic thinking. If men are going to find a real solution to the problem of who they are, they must come to terms with the fact that they need a Savior because they are sinners in the
presence of a holy God. Sin is serious business.”… Francis A. Schaeffer

WEEKLY INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT: November 4

“No doubt the gospel is quite free, as free as the Victoria Cross, which anyone can have who is prepared to face the risks; but it means time, and pains, and concentrating all one’s energies upon a mighty project. You will not stroll into Christlikeness with your hands in your pockets, shoving the door open with a careless shoulder. This is no hobby for one’s leisure moments, taken up at intervals when we have nothing much to do, and put down and forgotten when our life grows full and interesting… It takes all one’s strength, and all one’s heart, and all one’s mind, and all one’s soul, given freely and recklessly and without restraint. This is a business for adventurous spirits; others would shrink out of it. And so Christ had a way of pulling up would-be recruits with sobering and disconcerting questions, of meeting applicants, breathless and panting in their eagerness, by asking them if they really thought they had the grit, the stamina, the gallantry, required. For many, He explained, begin, but quickly become cowed, and slink away, leaving a thing unfinished as a pathetic monument of their own lack of courage and of staying power.”… A. J. Gossip

C.S. Lewis analogy: “Good things as well as bad are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire; if you want to be wet, you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone. They are a great foundation of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you; if you are not, you will remain dry” 

Rick Howe: “Emotions … are the tip of the iceberg. There is much more beneath the surface. And when we explore that territory, we discover that we are active participants and contributors to our emotional states. Even if it seems that we have little control over our feelings per se, we do have a say about their entourage of values, beliefs, and desires. We can affirm them or deny them, embrace them or reject them, cultivate them or put them in check. This is what makes it possible for us to ‘school’ our emotions. Wisely or foolishly, in healthy or unhealthy ways, we all manage our emotions. This in turn plays an important role in the formation of our character. And this makes our emotions morally significant.…The pursuit of joy is a moral obligation” 

Henri Nouwen: “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day”

Richard Foster: “The decision to set the mind on the higher things of life is an act of the will. That is why celebration is a discipline. It is not something that falls on our heads. It is the result of a consciously chosen way of thinking and living”

“…when a Christian realizes his citizenship is in heaven, he begins acting as a responsible citizen of earth. He invests wisely in relationships because he knows they’re eternal. His conversations, goals and motives become pure and honest because he realizes these will have a bearing on everlasting reward. …He gives generously of time, money, and talent because he’s laying up treasure for eternity. He spreads the good news of Christ because he longs to fill heaven’s ranks with his friends and neighbors. All this serves the pilgrim well not only in heaven, but on earth; for it serves everyone around him.” – Joni Eareckson Tada, in Heaven: Your Real Home,

“Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is ‘finding his place in it,’ while really it is finding its place in him.” – C.S. Lewis

“Almost all of us labour under two very different evils, too much impatience and too much laziness. In our impatience we snatch at the day of Christ as something expected imminently, but in our carelessness we push it far off. Therefore just as the apostle has earlier corrected our reckless ardour, so now he shakes our sleepiness off us, so that we may look expectantly for the coming of Christ at any time.” – John Calvin

“What men call training and preparation, God calls the end. God’s end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now; if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious. God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process – it is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.” – Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest (as shared by Fran Harms)

Challenges

“Dirk Willems was a Dutch Anabaptist martyr who escaped from prison, but then turned back to rescue his pursuer, who had fallen through the ice. He was recaptured, as a result, tortured, and killed for his beliefs in May 1569” – (unexplained slide in Sept 29 message)

Homework from Oct 27 Sermon

Psalm 103

-Read this passage every day this week, and think about your perception of God, his character and nature, and how that affects everything else going on in your life

-Find ways to thank God for who he is, and for what he has done for you…

Prayer & Fasting Challenge

Join me, if you are able, as I pray and fast on Mondays. I will be in the sanctuary, or prayer room, between 12 and 1 on Mondays; you are welcome to join me!

Links

Resources

True Riches:What Jesus really said about money and your heart.

God and Money: How we discovered true riches at Harvard business school

“For those of you teaching S.S., leading bible studies, or teaching youth bible studies, this is an excellent resource, or abbreviated presentation, of every book of the bible. I trust that it will be a helpful resource to you! You will find it in the EFC library….

Alcorn, Randy. “Heaven” Carol Stream, Illinois, Tyndale House Publishing, 2004.

Wright, N.T. “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church” Broadway, New York, Harper Collins Publishers, 2008.

Burke, John. “Imagine Heaven: Near Death Experiences, God’s Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You” Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Publishing Group, 2015.

Eareckson Tada, Joni. “Heaven: Your Real Home… From a Higher Perspective” Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan, 2018.

Youssef, Michael. “Heaven Awaits: Anticipate Your Future Hope, Your Eternal Home, Your Daily Reality” Carol Stream, Illinois, Tyndale House Publishing, 2024.