Ministry Wilderness Temptations

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness at least twice.  I know, there were three temptations, stones to bread, etc.  But I am thinking about the other temptation time described in Mark 1:35-39.  Mark launches his gospel with “a day in the life of Messianic ministry.”  During that Sabbath the first disciples got to see Jesus …

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Update #50 – June 2014

“One week…” That was my first thought this morning when I woke up. This is week 19 of the 20 week Cor Deo full-time program and it feels too soon to be finishing! We’ll send a fuller review and reflection of our time together soon but, for now, we’d like to ask you again to pray for us. Here are …

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Satan Hates the Holy Spirit

I think this might just be a blind spot in contemporary theology.  We know that Satan hates God and marriage and evangelism and even church planting.  But I have never heard anyone reference his hatred for the Holy Spirit. As I ponder this idea I see more and more evidence to support the statement used …

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Amazing Grace

A few weeks ago I had a very encouraging conversation with a thrilled believer. She had read a book about God’s grace and it was a delight to see her so stirred by what she saw there. She described how amazing it is that even though she was so guilty, the judge has paid the …

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With Me

Luke knew how to write a Gospel.  Okay, all four of them did, but I’ve been looking at Luke this Easter.  I’ve been struck by his personal attributes of tenacious attention to detail and his tender awareness of people. As a physician and man of science he was a diligent researcher who sought out the …

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Evangelising Me

The human problem is far greater and deeper than we’ve ever imagined.  Not only are we all guilty before God, but we are also dead-hearted toward God and we don’t have His Spirit uniting us with Christ or with each other.  This was not God’s design.  He made us to live in the freedom of …

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Three Versions of Divine Marriage

The Bible’s favourite analogy for the relationship between God and His people is marriage.  We have certainly mentioned this before on this site.  God’s great plan is to call out a bride for His Son from a fallen and sinful humanity.  God’s great promise throughout the Bible is that you shall be my people, and …

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Worldly Church

On a normal street in a town near somewhere, there is a church.  I won’t describe the building in any detail because this may cause you to either disassociate yourself from it and start pointing the finger at others, or to feel like I am pointing my finger at your type of church.  Let’s just …

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Life-Giving Love

As you read 1 John it is clear that John was profoundly marked by Jesus’ commandment in the upper room to love one another.  He grasped that this was more than a pragmatic suggestion, but that it went to the very heart of what it was to be a disciple of Jesus, the Christ, the …

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Update #47 – January 2014

The New Year has started with a bang for us at Cor Deo!  After three years in our last venue (for which we want to express our heartfelt thanks to the church for their generosity to us), we have now moved into a new home for the ministry.  We want to praise God for His …

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