Posts by Gosnells CRC
Don’t Retire; We Need You
Sometimes I share an article that might resonate with young adults, sometimes with parents, sometimes someone who is struggling with a particular issue. Today’s article is from Ligonier (the late R.C. Sproul’s ministry) and is for our retirees – “don’t retire, we need you” is the message! And I couldn’t agree more. Read more…
Go ahead, Bring a Knife to a Gunfight
I enjoyed an article that Tim Challies wrote this week, entitled “Go ahead, Bring a Knife to a Gunfight”! It has nothing to do with either knives or gunfighting, but a lot to say about the simplest ways in which God can use our weaknesses in his service. Since we are all weak vessels, it has something to say to us all: Read more…
Let’s Keep Our Sunday Evening Worship
From time to time, I’m asked why we have two quite distinct worship services on a Sunday. There are lots of answers I could give to that question, but I’d like to share with you an article from the archives of Trowel & Sword (our former denominational magazine). I hope it provides you with some encouragement and food for thought. Read more…
Will my dog be in heaven?
If you’re looking for something interesting to read this week, can I suggest an article by Michael Jensen (Sydney Anglican, former professor of theology at Moore College). It’s about a question that you might think has an obvious answer, yet delves into the hope we have of glory to come: Read more…
Glowing Blue
I read an article just this week about how some of those challenges are known to us, other struggles are more private or known only to a few. I’ll link it below, encourage you to read it, and then follow along with me in the next paragraph: https://tessalind.substack.com/p/glowing-blue Along these lines, are you glowing blue? If so, I would like to encourage you to see if you might be willing to share your suffering. I’d be honoured to be able…
Evangelism for Introverts
No skills or strategies will compensate for true love for Jesus, true love for souls, and a true desire to have others share in your joy. We need the Spirit of God. We need to know the gospel. We need to be born again. We need to pray. We need to embrace being fools for Christ, made weak for Christ, and rejected for Christ. No personality type, diminished fears, or honed skills can replace these needs. But shy and quiet…
7 Secular Sermons You May Have Heard this Week
As Christians, we often think of sermons as something exclusive to Sunday morning church services. We view sermons as a special type of expository exhortation, in which a pastor, standing in a pulpit and with a Bible open, delivers a spiritual instruction to a congregation. But this limited view prevents us from recognizing the countless other types of “secular sermons” that are being preached to us daily through our screens, advertisements, and entertainment. Read more…
What Does Trouble Do?
I thought I would share with you this week a short article by Tim Challies on the theme of the troubles we experience in life and what it does for us. Tim writes: “To live is to experience trouble. There is no path through this life that does not lead through at least some kind of difficulty, sorrow, or trial—and often through a cornucopia of them. This being the case, we rightly wonder: What does trouble do? Though we may…
Save Room for Church Coffee!
I thought some of you might enjoy this blog post on Church Coffee. Now it’s written from an American perspective (and they don’t do great coffee at the best of times!), but the principle is probably still true: Save Room for Church Coffee!
On the Danger of Getting Too Much News
I recently came across this excerpt from a letter C.S. Lewis wrote to a friend. He wrote it in 1946, before the internet was invented, before the dawn of push notifications and instant news updates without pause every moment of every day, and yet the wisdom in these few sentences only grows more important the more our technologies and access to information increases. We’ve reached the stage now where we can hear of every new battle, every devastating famine, every…
The Modesty of Looking Away
I have an interesting article to share with you that I read just over a month ago, where Tim Challies reflects on “Modesty Requires Looking Away.” With that title, perhaps you can guess the theme of his article… however, you’d almost certainly be mistaken! In an age of 24/7 instant communications, news and social media, it’s very easy to get caught up by events and happenings that don’t really affect our lives and which don’t fall into our sphere of…
Make the Most of Sunday Mornings
I wanted to share an article with you this week from Desiring God ministries on how to make the most of Sunday mornings (or afternoons, for that matter!). The author has nothing radical to share that you may not have already considered before, but it’s a good reminder of how we can maximise this strategic opportunity as we gather together. In short, “Come Hungry, Leave Full” and “Come Early, Stay Late.” I hope you find it helpful! Read more…