Links & Quotes

February 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

link quote

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

Some thoughts on creativity: 8 Creativity Lessons From A Pixar Animator

Tim Elmore on how to connect with others: Who Do You Connect With When You Teach?

“Thy poor prayer would have no force with Omnipotence if force were needed; but His love, like a spring, rises of itself and overflows for the supply of all thy needs.” —Charles Spurgeon

[VIDEO] Comedy from Ken Davis: Why I Don’t Have A Cat

Insight from Mark Driscoll: 5 Things To Look For In A Good Bible Teacher

“Don’t pray for sermons, let sermons come from your prayers. So, as long as I’m meeting with God, I will always have something to say.” —Chilly Chilton

Michael Hyatt’s excellent advice to leaders: 5 Reasons You Should Smile More As A Leader

Encouragement from Max Lucado: A Passion For The Forgotten

John Stonestreet on the dangers of pornography: The Root Of Sexual Exploitation

Only a little time left to download a free song from U2 and help end AIDS: Fight AIDS With (Red)

“The fundamental issue for any of us is to feel loved. If we feel loved by the significant people in our lives, we are more likely to reach out potential for God and good in the world.” —Dr. Gary Chapman

An interesting study on missionaries and societal success: The Truth About Missionaries

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Sunday Recap

February 2, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Another great Sunday worshiping with my church family and learning more about prayer! Here are a few take-aways that I hope encouraged you today.

Salt & Light - prayerPrayer isn’t supposed to look like this Jonny Hawkins cartoon!

In the cycle of prayer, your level of peace will determine your level of perseverance. This is why it’s so important to be immersed in God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to give you His discernment. Keep on praying!

“The worst of it is that we can believe God about everything except the present pressing trial. This is folly. Come, my soul, shake off such sinfulness, and trust your God with the load, the labor, the longing of this present.” —Charles Spurgeon

“God’s silences are His answers. … Some prayers are followed by silence because they are wrong [this is where we need God’s discernment], others because they are bigger than we can understand [this is where we need His peace].” —Oswald Chambers

God was going to give Hannah a son, but the time was not yet right. God needed a strong man in a dark time, and it wasn’t dark enough yet! (see 1 Samuel 1:1-17)

God feels & sees

In the meantime, remember this: God feels all of your infirmities, and He sees all of your tears.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Sunday Recap

January 19, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

In remembering Sanctity of Human Life Sunday we looked at some sobering, heart-breaking stats—

Planned Parenthood reported:

  • They performed 327,166 abortions in the course of one year and only 2,197 adoption referrals.
  • That’s 149 abortions for each adoption referral (149:1).
  • In order to hit this astronomical number they had to perform approximately one abortion every 96 seconds.
  • That means they killed more than the population of Grand Rapids AND Lansing. Combined!
  • They did all of this while receiving over $540 million in government grants and reimbursements.

But we also learned some happier stats from Alpha Family Center of Cedar Springs—

  • Alpha has been providing pro-life, pro-family services in Cedar Springs for 22 years.
  • 11,300 baby and toddler related items were given out in 2013. That includes 1000+ packs of diapers, 214 cans of formula, 900 jars of baby food & baby cereal, and nearly 5200 articles of clothing for babies, toddlers and pregnant women.
  • Alpha’s counselors provided over 1000 peer counseling sessions, taught 850 parenting classes, and gave 70 free pregnancy tests.
  • And they did all of this without one cent of government aid! 

Please support Alpha with your prayers and financial support.

In our series on prayer, I shared this great quote from Charles Spurgeon:

“Why do I not call on God’s Name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and invent plans? Why not at once roll my self and my burden on the Lord?”

Great questions! In answering those we learned this great truth: How we pray is how we will live!

Pray = Live

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

It’s Good When God Says, “No, Never, Certainly Not!”

December 30, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

No!My friend, God is fully aware of the situation you are facing. He knows what is happening in your life. Here’s the good news—the great news: you are not going down, but you are going through!

“What does God want from you in your difficult time? He wants you to believe His Word—His promises! He wants you to fully trust that He is with you in your struggle. It does not matter if all hell is coming at you, His presence will never be taken from you, even in the midst of your fears and tears. No dart of the devil—no powerful attack against you—will destroy you. Your Father already has a plan of deliverance in place. God is waiting for you to cling to Him in blind trust. He wants you to be able to face all your ferocious temptations, and say, ‘I may not understand this but I know my Lord will not forsake me. I am trusting Him to see me through!’ … God is saying, ‘You’re not going down. I am with you through all of this! If you will just seek My face and trust Me, I will bring you through—because I am always with you!’” —David Wilkerson

In Hebrews 13:5 God says, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”

But in English this isn’t quite strong enough. In this short phrase the Greek language uses five negatives. Let me try to state God’s words as they are literally written—

I will never, certainly not, by no means ever loosen My grip on you, and I will never, certainly not, by no means ever leave you behind, nor leave you helpless, nor leave you abandoned. 

Commenting on this verse, Charles Spurgeon wrote—

“This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord’s company, assistance, and provision. … Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave you nor forsake you, be much in prayer for grace that you may never leave the Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.”

Oh my, what a word of hope! God has not abandoned you, friend. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that He is close to the brokenhearted and the beat-up. He will never, certainly not, by no means ever leave you, so don’t leave Him but cling even more tightly to His unshakable promise!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments »

Forgetfulness Can Be Deadly

November 24, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

GratitudeSome folks asked me to share the quotes I used in my message today in our Grateful Heart series. Ask, and you shall receive!

“It is no wonder that the Lord’s people should be satisfied with the goodness of their Lord. Here is goodness without mixture, bounty without stint, mercy without chiding, love without change, favor without reserve. If God’s goodness does not satisfy us, what will? What! are we still groaning? Surely there is a wrong desire within if it be one which God’s goodness does not satisfy.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense out of our past, brings peace for today, and create a vision for tomorrow.” —John Maxwell

I’m looking forward to wrapping up this series next Sunday!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

10 People Every Christian Should Know (book review)

November 12, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

10 People Every Christian Should Know10 People Every Christian Should Know is a quick survey of notable Christian movers and shakers from the 1600s through the 1960s. Warren Wiersbe gives us a quick overview of their lives, attempting to whet our appetites to learn more about them.

By no means are these in-depth biographies, but rather short biographical sketches of their lives. Rev. Wiersbe quotes from other biographies and works written by the person being studied to give us insight into why they belong on this “Top 10” list. Each chapter contains Rev. Wiersbe’s recommendations about which books to read by or about that person to go deeper in your study of their life and beliefs.

I don’t have any arguments with the list of distinguished people who made this list, and I found the book recommendations in each chapter helpful, as well as the extensive list of reference books and biographies at the end of the book. The only thing I found slightly off-putting was Rev. Wiersbe’s commentaries into why the spiritual experiences of some of the subjects weren’t what they were portrayed to be. It would have been far better for him to simply say, “Here’s what happened, and here’s where you can read more.” Other than that, I would recommend this book as a great starting point for anyone who loves studying history as much as I do.

By the way, the Top 10 people covered in this book are:

  • Matthew Henry—Bible commentator
  • Jonathan Edwards—pastor
  • John Henry Cardinal Newman—pastor
  • J.B. Lightfoot—Bible translator
  • J. Hudson Taylor—missionary
  • Charles H. Spurgeon—pastor
  • Dwight L. Moody—pastor
  • Amy Carmichael—missionary
  • Oswald Chambers—professor
  • A.W. Tozer—pastor
Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Lord, Save Me

October 27, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

He shall save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

C.H. SpurgeonLord, save me from my sins. By the name of Jesus I am encouraged thus to pray. 

Save me from my past sins, that the habit of them may not hold me captive. 

Save me from my constitutional sins, that I may not be the slave of my own weaknesses. 

Save me from the sins which are continually under my eye that I may not lose my horror of them. 

Save me from secret sins; sins unperceived by me from my want of light. 

Save me from sudden and surprising sins: let me not be carried off my feet by a rush of temptation. 

Save me, Lord, from every sin. Let not any iniquity have dominion over me. —Charles Spurgeon

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

The Holiest Moment

October 2, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

The holiest momentThe holiest moment of my week shouldn’t be singing songs.

It shouldn’t be listening to a profound sermon.

Not even partaking of Communion.

My holiest moment should be my going out to show Christ’s love to a hurting world.

“The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when God’s people—strengthened by preaching and sacrament—go out of the church door into the world to be the Church.” —Ernest Southcott 

“To a man who lives unto God nothing is secular, everything is sacred. He puts on his workday garment and it is a vestment to Him. He sits down to his meal and it is a sacrament. He goes forth to his labor, and therein exercises the office of the priesthood. His breath is incense and his life a sacrifice. He sleeps on the bosom of God, and lives and moves in the divine presence. …  You housemaids, you cooks, you nurses, you ploughmen, you housewives, you traders, you sailors, your labor is holy if you serve the Lord Christ in it, by living unto Him as you ought to live. The sacred has absorbed the secular.” —Charles Spurgeon

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments »

Don’t Give Up!

September 20, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

My dear pastor, I know the ministry can seem to be unrewarding at times. Maybe you’re even wondering if all of your labors are even making a difference. Hear this loud and clear: Your ministry is making an eternal difference … Don’t give up!

Let these encouraging words from Charles Spurgeon sink into your heart:

C.H. SpurgeonPutting our hand to this plough and looking back will prove that we were unworthy of the kingdom. If there be a hundred reasons for giving up your work of faith, there are fifty thousand for going on with it. Though there are many arguments for fainting, there are far more arguments for persevering. Though we might be weary, and do sometimes feel so, let us wait upon the Lord and renew our strength, and we shall mount up with wings as eagles, forget our weariness, and be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might….

As the rain climbs not up to the skies, and the snow flakes never take to themselves wings to rise to heaven, so neither shall the word of God return unto Him void, but it shall accomplish that which He pleases. We have not spent our strength in vain. Not a verse taught to a little girl, nor a text dropped into the ear of a careless boy, nor an earnest warning given to an obdurate young sinner, nor a loving farewell to one of the senior girls, shall be without some result or other to the glory of God. And, taking it all together as a mass, though this handful of seed may be eaten of the birds, and that other seed may die on the hard rock, yet, as a whole, the seed shall spring up in sufficient abundance to plentifully reward the sower and the giver of the seed. We know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. (emphasis added)

Keep preaching God’s Word: it IS making a difference.

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Heaven’s Dew

September 16, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Heaven's dewHis heavens shall drop down dew (Deuteronomy 33:28).

“What the dew in the East is to the world of nature, that is the influence of the Spirit in the realm of grace. How greatly do I need it! Without the Spirit of God I am a dry and withered thing. I droop, I fade, I die. How sweetly does this dew refresh me!” (Charles Spurgeon)

May you find the refreshment of the dew of God’s Holy Spirit today!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »