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This is the audio of an exclusive video that I shared with my Patreon supporters. We are currently in a series of lessons learned from Paul’s second missionary journey. This is the third lesson in this series.
Paul was very consistent and systematic in each city he visited. One of the consistent words Luke records about Paul is “reasoned.”
What does that word mean? Are there lessons from Paul’s example we can apply to our lives today? I think there is something very important and easily accessible for all Christians who want to be able to share their faith with unbelievers.
The Scriptures I reference in this video—Acts 17:1-5, 11, 16-31; 18:4, 18-19; Acts 8:26-39; Luke 24:13-45.
I also mentioned a blog post The Point of the Gospel. You can find that here.
My Patreon supporters get exclusive content, as well as early access to content that will be shared publicly at a later date. You can have access to all of this for just $5 per month. Your support will get you immediate access to not only this video, but all of the previous videos as well.
Having too many items listed as “priorities” on your To Do list can actually paralyze you. You have keep your list manageable to keep your leadership effective. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had on setting goals and making changes. This is also an important aspect of maintaining good mental health.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
According to Leslie T. Lyall, the secret of Hudson Taylor’s life and ministry could be summed up in four simple propositions: “There is a living God. He has spoken in His Word. He means what he says. And He is willing and able to perform what He has promised.”
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” —G. Michael Hopf
In lamenting the rise of worldliness in our churches, John Piper said, “About forty years ago, David Wells wrote a book called No Place for Truth, which made the case that in the American church, God rests far too lightly on the people of God. He doesn’t have weight. It was the same heart cry from Dr. Wells as from J.B. Phillips. God is marginal. God has little weight in our worship services and little weight in our lives. He’s taken lightly. He’s simply one among many factors rather than the all-consuming factor, and I have thought that if I were to write a book today with a similar burden, it might have this title: Your Christ Is Too Cheap, Your Heaven Is Too Distant, Your Earth Is Too Big.”
The Institute for Creation Research reported, “In July of 2024, Science magazine confidently reported, ‘The last ancestor shared by all living organisms was a microbe that lived 4.2 billion years ago, had a fairly large genome encoding some 2600 proteins, enjoyed a diet of hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide, and harbored a rudimentary immune system for fighting off viral invaders.’ That’s quite a statement that details an unknown creature living somewhere on this planet 4.2 billion years ago.” Of course, this is an unobservable, unprovable claim, but that’s part and parcel of the evolutionists’ claims.
Fight The New Drug explains what sextortion is and how to protect yourself and your family from this insidious online threat.
“What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.” —H.P. Liddon, nineteenth-century theologian
Lenny Esposito has a great podcast for Christian apologists called the Come Let Us Reason podcast. On a recent episode, Lenny used a passage in the Book of Jeremiah to talk about the inspiration of Scripture.
“God will work when He pleases, how He pleases, and by what means He pleases. He is not bound to keep our time, but He will perform His word, honor our faith, and reward them that diligently seek Him.” —Matthew Henry
As the first Christian church dealt with a serious complaint that could have split the church internally, there are a number of leadership gifts that are in play to provide a wise solution. Most of these leadership gifts get overlooked by the casual observer, but they are all absolutely indispensable. This is new exclusive content I regularly share with my Patreon supporters. Would you prayerfully consider supporting this ministry?
This is the intro to an exclusive video for my Patreon supporters. Your support would be so helpful and you will get some cool stuff too!
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
I’m proud to be a part of the Assembly of God fellowship that has its roots in missions. Alice Luce is a great example of a missions pioneer whose work in the 1920s is still bearing fruit today.
“Our nation’s founding document declared independence from Britain, but, with equal fervor, declared dependence upon God. Expressing ‘firm reliance on the Protection of divine Providence,’ the signers committed the American experiment to their Maker. The Spirit of 1776 was reverence and trust. So, as we mark this solemn occasion, let us seek a rebirth of true liberty, which is possible only when governed by divine law. For, without God, we can never have ‘liberty and justice for all.’” —Chuck Colson
“It is impossible to describe the abundance of peace and heavenly joy that often flows into my soul by means of the fresh answers which I have obtained from God, after waiting upon him for help and blessing; and the longer I have had to wait upon him, or the greater my need, the greater the enjoyment when at last the answer comes, which has often been in a very remarkable way, in order to make the hand of God the more manifest.” —George Mueller
The Institute for Creation Research reports on a study: “Physicists at Roskilde University in Denmark have shown that a single equation correctly describes the frequency of wing and fin strokes for a wide array of flying and swimming creatures, including birds, insects, bats, and whales.” Wow, it’s almost as if an all-wise Creator knew what He was doing!
T.M. Moore uses the understanding of wireless internet access to help Christians with a picture of prayer. “When we bend our increasingly Christ-filled minds, hearts, and consciences to the spiritual code-writing of prayer, we craft messages which shape the spiritual air as they course their way toward the Source of all living-water spiritual power, Who is filling all things with Himself. The more we pray with Christ-overflowing souls, the more we flood the spiritual airspace with the Lord, crowding out and sidelining those forces of wickedness which seek to jam those airwaves or fill them with spiritual disinformation. And the less spiritual ‘airspace’ the devil can command, the better for all of us.” —T.M. Moore
Don’t let fear keep you standing still. Take a swing and give yourself or your coach something to tweak. Check out this full conversation here. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“Our human minds cannot comprehend the immensity of [Christ’s] task and His sacrifice. We simply know that it was to save us, and that Jesus’ suffering is the most blessed influence the world has ever known.” —Dr. Henry Halley, Halley’s Study Bible
“Nearly half the Law of God is devoted to directing God’s people in how to worship Him. And while the specific practices of that portion of God’s Law have been replaced (Hebrews 7:11-18), the emphasis on worship and the idea that worship and life are related remains. The more faithful we are in worshiping the Lord the more we will love our neighbors with the justice His Law prescribes.” —T.M. Moore
The deaths of Nadab and Abihu is a tragic story, but I think there are some important leadership insights to be gleaned from it. I shared an exclusive video with my Patreon supporters. Will you prayerfully consider joining?
Everyone has great ideas. The problem is not thinking great things, but recalling them when you need them. I share some of my tried and true strategies in this video.
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Let’s celebrate others 🎉 Don’t just rattle off, “How are you?” and not even listen for the answer. Let’s ask more specific, meaningful questions to help people celebrate what’s good in their lives. Check out my latest Monday Motivation video, and then please subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Dan Reiland has a great post “7 Guideposts to Lead Yourself Well.” Dan wrote an endorsement of my book Shepherd Leadership, and we share the same passion for godly leaders to lead well.
Speaking of Shepherd Leadership, I received another really nice note this week from a pastor who has benefitted from reading it. If you are a pastor (or if you love your pastor), please take advantage of the special offer I have going for my book.
This post from the Institute for Creation Research is an excellent reminder about the importance of context when interpreting the Bible. This post is specifically talking about biblical passages related to Creation, but the points in this post pertain to all biblical interpretation. You may also be interested in a previous blog post I wrote called Context Is King.
Check out my exclusive Patreon video teaching on this idea of the lessons that can be learned whether we are delivered from trials or whether we go through trials.
Don’t rush through your Bible reading time. Slow down to savor the good stuff. And if there’s something you don’t understand, ask the “Chef”—the Holy Spirit loves to make God’s Word clear to you.
On a recent Breakpoint broadcast, John Stonestreet reported, “Even while many nations pump the brakes on radical transgender ideology and healthcare practices, Americans at both the state and federal level continue to push culture-wide affirmation, social transition of minors, hormone therapies, and harmful surgeries. Advocates frequently claim that so-called and misnamed ‘gender-affirming’ treatments—including surgery—‘save lives,’ that gender dysphoria is a permanent condition even among minors, and that regret by those who undergo such treatments are minimal or non-existent. Increasingly, research suggests otherwise.”
“Hazael’s historicity has never truly been in doubt; there are far too many inscriptions from the ancient world testifying to his existence.” Check out this archeological biography of King Hazael who appears several times in the Bible.
Dan Reiland notes, “Leaders navigate within the realm of pressure; it’s part of the landscape. It’s how we handle the pressure that makes all the difference.” Dan shares four ways the pressure of leadership is needed and helpful.
Be careful with non-biblical rules! I went much deeper with this idea in an exclusive video for my Patreon sponsors. If you want to get access to these exclusive lessons, it’s just $5/month. Check out my Patreon page to subscribe → https://www.patreon.com/craigtowens.
John Piper explains that there are three levels of how to live with material things. He then dives deeper into what the purpose of prosperity really is.
T.M. Moore has a stern word for pastors: “If we are faithful in telling the whole truth of the Gospel, not everyone will be thrilled with our preaching. We need to make sure Jesus is. When it comes to sin, let’s not mince words, and let’s not act like it’s not the big deal it is. No progress in faith can be made where sin is not consistently and thoroughly confessed, repented of, and forsaken.”
“Years ago, I tried to top everybody, but I don’t anymore. I realized it was killing conversation. When you’re always trying for a topper you aren’t really listening.” —Groucho Marx
I don’t know about you, but it gets my attention when a physicist says that “dark matter makes up 25 per cent of the Universe and we have no idea what it is!” I love some of the discoveries that are being made and theories that are being proposed concerning black holes. None of this in any way shakes my belief in a Creator who spokle everything into existence. If you would like to consider the beginning of the universe from a different perspective, check out Starlight And Time.
A reminder from a class I recently taught: you don’t have to go to a church building to be the Church of Jesus Christ—
“When the Holy Spirit is ignored or rejected, religious people are forced either to do their own creating or to fossilize completely. A few churches accept fossilization as the will of God and settle down to the work of preserving their past—as if it needed preserving. Others seek to appear modern and imitate the current activities of the world with the mistaken idea that they are being creative.” —A.W. Tozer
“Entomologists have discovered powerful antibiotics in their [paper wasps’] venom, and there is also an indication the venom may be used as a possible cancer treatment.” Whoa!
Dr. Kristin Collier is a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan and director of the school’s Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion. In a recent keynote address to medical students, she had some wise words: “The risk of this education and the one that I fell into is that you can come out of medical school with a bio-reductionist, mechanistic view of people and ultimately of yourself. You can easily end up seeing your patients as just a bag of blood and bones or human life as just molecules in motion. You are not technicians taking care of complex machines, but human beings taking care of other human beings. Let’s resist a view, of our patients and ourselves, that strips us of our humanity, and takes away from the very goal of why we went into this profession in the first place: to take care of human beings entrusted to our care in their moments of greatest need.”
The power of trusting God for our daily needs—
Dan Reiland shared a great post for leaders: 5 steps on a lifelong path to spiritual authority.
This is a short clip from a full-length video I provided exclusively for my Patreon supporters. Would you prayerfully consider supporting this ministry for just $5/month? All new supporters through the end of September will get access to both my content and access to all of the content I have already published.
The Holy Spirit showed some interesting thoughts from the story of the temptation of Jesus.
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Craig T. Owens 