It is a topic we hear about almost incessantly. Churches are seeking, developing and empowering leaders. Your boss at work is looking for a leader on the team.
Many of us decide whether to read a book or an article, to download a podcast or to have our ears open at all based on whether we believe we are leaders. Our answer to the question, “Am I a/the leader?” is powerful. And it has more impact on our lives other than which section to browse through at the bookstore.
Who doesn’t want more blessings in their lives? We all hope for more of them, even pray for more of them. Yet we find in a Scripture a powerful truth that we can be the voice of blessing, stirring God’s hand to bless.
InĀ “The Power of the Prophetic Blessing,” Pastor John Hagee promises to reveal the power of blessings, not just from God and His promises, but from His people to others. It has “the power to revolutionize your life, and the lives of your children and grandchildren” (4). But you almost forget that the book is supposed to be about how you prophetically speak blessing into the lives of others because He spends so much time talking generically about blessings.
Continue reading “Book Review: “The Power of the Prophetic Blessing””
If you have spent any amount of time in the church you know something about God. You have heard and sang songs, sermons have come to you from the Holy Bible, you partake in the bread and cup of Communion, and you have heard innumerable prayers. While all of these have a valuable place in our spiritual lives, you may enjoy them regularly and never experience the most important part of Christianity.
As the worship portion of our service ended on Sunday, in that transition time before the message that I have to make on those days when I lead worship before speaking, I felt the need to ask whether or not we have really met God.
This week we finished a series based on most of Mark 6, “The Next Level.”
In Mark 6 we see find the Disciples hearing and obeying Jesus’ call to the next level, and also an example of when they missed His call. Like us, the Disciples were not perfect. We can learn what kept them from embracing and seeking the next level in their lives, and examine how missing one vital lesson from Jesus affected the Disciples and the lives around them.
You can download all four MP3 files as a compressed .ZIP file by clicking on the Next Level image below.
The Bible is more than a bunch of stories gathered over time. It is a historical record of people from the beginning of time to the end of the first century or so. It talks about how people related with God and how He intervened in their lives. There are success stories and there are failures.
At times we pick up the Scriptures and wonder if the stories of lives that are thousands of years removed from our own will be able to speak to us. If only we could see how God relates to us in our time, with our problems. Maybe we can finally believe that He is real and that He wants to be part of our lives.
Continue reading “Book Review: “I Am Second” (Thomas Nelson)”
This post is made up of portions of a chapter in my current book writing project.
You can find out more about what I am working on here.
Many people are aware of their gifting and passions, as well as the needs of their church. Each week when they walk through the door, they wait. Not to be escorted to their seat by an usher, not to hear Godās Word spoken through the pastor, and not to surrender their heart in personal worship. They wait to be asked to do what they believe they should be doing.
Is this you? You know your gifting. You know the church can be blessed by your use of that gifting. You are even available to jump right up and be part of what you know you should be doing. So why havenāt you been asked to do it yet?
Maybe you are being tested. No, you donāt have to rush home and pull out an old textbook or sharpen half a dozen Number 2 pencils. You may not have a clue that you are being tested, but you probably are.
Chris MacKinnon 