Watching pornography in the quiet of your home is not a victimless crime.
Whenever you click to watch that video, another woman or child is further enslaved in a nightmarish life. You can set them free by refusing to watch that video!
In Cedar Springs, I invite you to join me on Friday, May 8, as we hear from Fight The New Drug about the dangers of porn, and what we can do to free ourselves, and to free these women and children …
I really enjoy my work with the En Gedi Youth Center. Our annual auction was a huge success, thanks to the generous people in Cedar Springs, and a local report wrote a story about this successful event.
“Never reduce Christianity to a matter of demands and resolutions and willpower. It is a matter of what we love, what we delight in, what tastes good to us.” —John Piper
“The man who has a hope for the next world goes about his work strong, for the joy of the Lord is our strength. He goes against temptation mighty, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labor without present reward, for he looks for a reward in the world to come. He can suffer rebuke, and can afford to die a slandered man, because he knows that God will avenge His own elect who cry day and night unto Him. Through the Spirit of God the hope of another world is the most potent force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joy; it is the very channel of usefulness.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Fast growth comes from overwhelming the smallest possible audience with a product or service that so delights that they insist that their friends and colleagues use it. And hypergrowth is a version of the same thing, except those friends and colleagues quickly become even bigger fans, and tell even more people. Often, we get sidetracked when we forget about ‘smallest possible.’ If you make the audience you’re initially serving too big, you will dilute the very thing you set out to make, avoid critical mass, and compromise the magic of what you’re building. You’ll make average stuff for average people instead of something powerful for the few. By ‘smallest possible’ I don’t mean, ‘too small.’ I mean the smallest number that eventually leads to the kernel of conversation that enables you to grow.” —Seth Godin
[VIDEO] An interesting discussion: Can postmodernists live a consistent life?…
Tomorrow (January 18) is Sanctity Of Human Life Sunday. Life is the most valuable thing we have!
In the West Michigan area, please support Alpha Family Centers’ efforts to promote life.
Live Action shares 10 reasons why you should march for life.
[VIDEO] One of the biggest perpetrators of the degrading of life is the pornography industry. There is a direct link between porn and human trafficking. Please watch this video all the way to the end―
We love presenting the message of Christ’s arrival in Bethlehem to our Cedar Springs community.
© Lori Oxford Photography
Yesterday I had the honor of speaking at our annual United service in Cedar Springs. I shared something I noticed about the New Testament church: These Christians spent a lot of time together, and that togetherness became a source of strength and told a story to the those watching the Christians.
In passages like Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-35, we see Christians not only worshiping together, but actively involved in living out their faith. Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts, captures something that Eugene Peterson would summarize this way—
“Christians are a community of people who are visible together at worship but who remain in relationship through the week in witness and service.”
This was not just Christians helping Christians, but Christians helping all the people in their communities. It was Christians who formed the first:
And this caught the notice of everyone. Aristides wrote to Emperor Hadrian about the Christians—
“They help those who offend them, making friends of them; do good to their enemies. They don’t adore idols; they are kind, good, modest, sincere, they love one another; don’t despise widows; protect the orphans; those who have much give without grumbling to those in need. When they meet strangers, they invite them to their homes with joy, for they recognize them as true brothers…. When a poor man dies, if they become aware, they contribute according to their means for his funeral; if they come to know that some people are persecuted or sent to prison or condemned for the sake of Christ’s name, they put their alms together and send them to those in need. If they can do it, they try to obtain their release. When a slave or a beggar is in need of help, they fast two or three days, and give him the food they had prepared for themselves, because they think that he too should be joyful….”
The Apostle Paul challenges followers of Jesus to constantly be growing in the outward demonstrations of our faith: to live our lives worthy of God’s calling, to get along with others, and to be making every effort to keep the bond on unity (see Ephesians 4:1-3).
With this in mind I have to ask myself: Am I doing this in my home town? Is there a strength and a story of Christ’s love that is told in my unity with other Christians? Am I helping to address the needs in Cedar Springs? What are people saying about Jesus because of my unity and service with other Christians?
Some great reading & watching from this weekend…
TOMORROW is our annual United Service in Cedar Springs. I have the privilege of sharing the Word this year. Stoked!
“You that have ability, and have talents, devote yourselves to God’s cause. Give yourselves up to his ministry. I would to God there were more of those who are successful in professions, men who either in medicine or law would attain eminence, who would consecrate their talents to the ministry….” —Charles Spurgeon
“There is a reason why Jesus not only calls us to simplicity and brevity, but also to persistence and tenacity [in prayer]. The demand for prevailing prayer exposes those who pray in a passing away, as if they are just trying to cover all their bases. They are not looking to God as their only hope. They are trying God out alongside other resources. Such praying does not prevail.” —John Piper
“Above all, grieve not the Spirit. Quench not the Spirit. Vex not the Spirit. Drive Him not to a distance, by tampering with small bad habits and little sins. Little jarrings between husbands and wives make unhappy homes; and petty inconsistencies, known and allowed, will bring in a strangeness between you and the Spirit. … The man who walks with God in Christ most closely, will generally be kept in the greatest peace. The believer who follows the Lord most fully and aims at the highest degree of holiness will ordinarily enjoy the most assured hope, and have the clearest persuasion of his own salvation.” —J.C. Ryle
Amazing discoveries! Life under Antarctic’s ice.
A great reminder from Steve Lindeman, the newest pastor in Cedar Springs: Rules.
[VIDEO] John Maxwell talks about the advantages of endurance.
I love Sarah Palin’s classy response to Richard Dawkins’ crude and insensitive tweet.
One of my favorite events in Cedar Springs each year is our annual UNITED service. On the fourth Sunday of each August, all of the Cedar Springs Ministerial Association churches unite for a combined worship service in Morley Park.
It reminds me of a dramatic part in one of George Whitefield’s sermons…
Looking up into Heaven, Whitefield called out “Father Abraham, whom have you in Heaven? Any Episcopalians?”
“No!” Whitfield called out, answering his own question.
“Any Presbyterians?”
“No!”
“Any Independents or Seceders, New Sides or Old Sides, any Methodists?”
“No! No! No!”
“Whom have you there, then, Father Abraham?”
“We don’t know those names here. All who are here are Christians—believers in Christ.”
On August 24, 2014, we will be united together in worship as Christians—believers in Christ. I am honored this year to be able to share the message from God’s Word.
I hope you can join us. Check out the UNITED website to get all the details.
I unabashedly tell anyone who asks me what my favorite book is … It’s the Bible. I have yet to find such a collection of writings that work every single time they’re applied.
Two summers ago we began a series of messages on the 119th Psalm. It appears that the psalmist shares my passion for God’s Word, as he writes time and time again the difference Scripture makes in his life.
The other thing that makes this psalm so cool to me is the organization of the 176 verses into twenty-two 8-verse segments, with each verse in a segment beginning with the the same Hebrew letter as its title. In the Hebrew language, the letters in the alphabet had their own meaning. In English an “n” is simply spelled “n.” It has no other definition or meaning. But in Hebrew the letter nun has both a spelling and a meaning. Nun is spelled nun-vav-nun (final), and it means both faithfulness and the reward for faithfulness.
Look at the three Hebrew characters that spell nun. Reading right to left it tells a story and gives the meaning of the letter/word—the one who is humbled in faithfulness will be the one who stands in righteousness. The perfect example of this is Jesus, Who humbled Himself when He came to earth and to the Cross, and then was exalted by the Heavenly Father to wear the crown of righteousness (see Philippians 2:5-11 and Revelation 14:14). Paul starts this passage by calling on us to “have the same attitude as that of Jesus” (v. 5), and concludes with the call to stick with it all the way to the end (see vv. 12-13).
The psalmist calls us to this same thing in nun (Psalm 119:105-112). The “bookend” verses say, “Your Word is a lamp for me… so my heart is set on keeping Your Word” (vv. 105 and 112). In between the psalmist commits himself to a life of humbly persevering to God’s ways, and reaps the rewards of a changed heart, the joy of the Lord, and a heritage to pass on to others.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day—and not only to me, but also TO ALL who have longed for His appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:10).
My heart is set on keeping Your decrees to the very end (Psalm 119:112).
Rewards here (new heart, joy, heritage) AND rewards in Heaven (a crown of righteousness). How awesome is that!!
If you have missed any of the messages in our P119 series, you can access them all by clicking here.
Leadership carries a heavy responsibility. I often paraphrase what the Apostle James wrote, “Not many of you should presume to be leaders because you know leaders will be judged more strictly” (see James 3:1).
Consider what was said to Jeroboam, the king of Israel: “And God will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit” (1 Kings 14:16, emphasis added).
A leader’s action has consequences not only for himself, but for all the people under his care. Sure, some Israelites were going to sin regardless of how Jeroboam lived, but his sinful lifestyle gave a nudge to those who took their cues from him. In other words, Jeroboam’s sin made it that much easier for others to sin.
I’m sure there were some Israelites who didn’t follow Jeroboam into sin, yet they were now exposed to God’s “jealous anger” (1 Kings 14:22) because Jeroboam’s sin removed the covering of God’s blessing on those northern tribes.
These principles still hold true today for me as a dad, a husband, a pastor, a citizen of Cedar Springs. And they hold true for you in your role as a spouse, a parent, an employer or employee, a Christian. Your sin may be the nudge to others that causes them to sin; your sin will remove God’s covering and expose people to His judgment.
It’s only as I am wholly—and holy—His that I can nudge people toward righteousness and preserve the covering of God’s blessing.
May our lives never arouse God’s righteous anger, but may we be a blessing by wholly serving Him all the days of our lives.
I am a huge fan of Alpha Family Center! Their ministry to young mothers in the Cedar Springs community is second-to-none, so I am so thrilled to be able to serve on Alpha’s board.
Alpha’s one big fundraiser for the year is coming up on Saturday, June 14, and it’s called Lifewalk. This is a short walk though Cedar Springs (starting and ending at Morley Park), with four stops along the way for prayer. We want to make a visible statement that we are supporting life.
This year we have added Liferun: a 5k run which also starts and ends at Morley Park. Immediately following this there will be a fun run for the younger kids.
How can you help?
Registration for Liferun opens at 7:30am, with the 5k race starting at 8:30am. The kids’ fun run will begin after the 5k (approximately 9:30am). Registration for Lifewalk opens at 9am, and the walk begins at 10am.
Please help us support and promote life in Cedar Springs.
Craig T. Owens 