Sublime

Too often I look for my desires to be met in God’s good gifts rather than in God himself. I don’t want to dismiss the wonderful things I have received from his hand, just as David is not minimizing the value of green pastures and quiet waters. Still, there is an infinite qualitative difference between the gifts and the Giver; between the green gras

Gorman explains further, When Paul describes himself as an imitator of Christ and calls others to be imitators of him and thus of Christ (1 Cor 11:1), he is speaking, not about an option, but about a nonnegotiable mandate in which one does not deny but rather exercises one’s true identity as an apostle (and one’s true apostolic freedom), or, more g

John 3:16, “that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” There we are, think average Christian readers. This is the biblical promise of a timeless heavenly bliss. But it isn’t.

Worship is not for your benefit. As a pastor, I receive notes that say, “I loved the worship today. I got a lot out of it.” This is another misconception about worship. It isn’t for our benefit! We worship for God’s benefit. When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves.

This perspective declared that humanity’s true nature is to want strength, force, and sex, but church and society team up to repress these desires.

But for Paul, the “although” is indeed the “because,” meaning God takes on the “although” action to justify “because” God is minister.

The essence of GDP is this: We are to use all that we have, in all areas of life, for the good of others, to the glory of God — and that this is the most exciting life. To be a gospel-driven Christian means to be on the lookout to do good for others to the glory of God, in all areas of life, and to do this with creativity and competence.

The red thread that is both the center of and the impetus to testify to Paul’s story is the experience of the ministerial being of Jesus. The plot and purpose of the story is to reveal the divine hypostasis encountering our own hypostasis.

The Protestant pastor particularly is to help people’s longing heart find rest in God. Whether with words or practices, the pastor’s job is to shape people’s inner life, sending them further inward to find the presence of God.