In Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline, the author offers 10 Principles for Fleshing out Simplicity for today. They are listed as follows: 1. Buy things for their usefulness, not their status.2. Reject anything that produces control (obsessions, addictions) over your life.3. Develop the habit of giving things away.4. Be skeptical of the promise of…
Category: Simplicity
Simple Life
One of the resources I used for the weekend series I recently concluded was Simple Life by Thom and Art Rainer. Simple Life is a companion piece to the book Simple Church, utilizing the same concepts except focusing them on one’s personal life. Based on a research sample of 1,077 people, team Rainer conducted surveys…
How Much is Enough? (part 2)
Jesus devoted much of the Sermon on the Mount to a discussion about wealth and riches.Matthew 6:19-33. In this lengthy text, Jesus advocated favoring heavenly treasures over earthly treasures. He gives three supporting reasons for his argument.1. The world is an uncertain place (Matthew 6:19-20). Stuff will deteriorate, if it is not stolen by thieves…
How Much is Enough?
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” (Luke 4:18-19,…
Principles of Sabbath Rest (Part 2)
Yesterday I posted three principles from God’s example of remembering the Sabbath. Today I want to finish with a couple of additional thoughts. In Sabbath observance the Christian is encouraged to rest, reflect and rejoice. Those three steps lead us to a fourth principle: renewing our trust in God. In Genesis 1:29-30, Adam was reminded…
Principles of Sabbath Rest (Part 1)
While the command to remember to observe the Sabbath comes after the giving of the Law in Exodus 20, the concept of Sabbath is as old as creation itself. God instituted Sabbath on the seventh day following his creative work thus modeling it for all. What can we learn from the creation account that will…
Mary and Martha
Thinking about Sabbath and time and pressing schedules reminded me of a great story in Luke’s gospel. In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus is visiting in the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. It’s a simple thing, probably just conversation about the Old Testament Scriptures or the Kingdom of God or something like that. The scene is…
Living the Sabbath
One of the benefits of my education has been the wonderful people I have met along the way who have been superb resources to me in ministry. One such person is my friend of nearly 30 years, Dr. Ken Gore, chair of the Department of Religion at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. When…
The Principle of Sabbath Rest
“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.” (Exodus 20:8-10, NLT) My generation will probably be the last that remembers “blue laws.” Up until the 1960’s, most…
Eliminating the Competition
Martin Luther once said, “Whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, that properly is your God.” During the preparation of this sermon last week my mind turned to the infamous church of Laodicea found in Revelation chapter 3. God put a thermometer in their heart and discovered they were “lukewarm.” Not quite dead, but…
