The Pic for Christianity

Purpose - Serve

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.” 36 “What is your request?” he asked. 37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” 39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. 40 But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.” 41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:35-45 NLT

Salvation of Human Souls

The glory of God, and, as our only means to glorifying Him, the salvation of human souls, is the real business of life. - C. S. Lewis

Eternal Security

In God's faithfulness lies eternal security. - Corrie Ten Boom

¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.   I John 5:11-13

Retro

Grace (Pray) All The Time

You say grace (a prayer) before meals. Alright. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and the pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. - G.K. Chesterton

Still

Prayer = Breakthrough

Every major breakthrough for the church in the book of Acts came about as a direct result of prayer. God performed mighty works for the propagation of the gospel and the declaration of His glory in direct proportion to the prayers of His people.
Radical Together, David Platt

A Prayer

Beautiful Lord God, you have always wanted only to love and heal me, but my waywardness has often prevented you, I know. Oh, Lord, save me from being like an oven that never cools, even when empty; deliver me from habits and patterns that would stoke the fires of unfaithfulness in my heart. Save me from being half baked and halfhearted; help me to renew and fulfill a wholehearted covenant with you. Save me from being like a silly bird, flitting here and there, looking for satis- faction from things that will never satisfy; help me to seek and find my soul’s satisfaction in you, and only you. Save me from being like a warped bow; straighten my heart and mind and life until it is all plumb and pointed ever and always to you. Turn me away from everything that would turn me away from you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Falling In Love With God by Bob Hostetler

3 Questions About Church

1. If you weren't on staff at your church, would you worship there? I think we've all served at churches that we wouldn't worship at. (I know I have). And many times we are in the process of transitioning them into a church that we'd love to attend. If you're in that position right now, this is still a great question to ask. Why wouldn't you want to worship there? And what is keeping other people away from the church that you serve?

2. If you didn't know ANYTHING about Jesus, what would you know about him after a normal weekend at your church? Think about your service yesterday. If you didn't know squat about Jesus yesterday morning; what would you know about Him or think about Him today? This is a question that we need to ask each and every week. How does your church communicate Jesus?

3. If you had a loved one who didn't know Christ, and they had one week left to live, would you take them to your church or another? In this last question, it goes one level deeper. How's your church doing at communicating the main message? Truthfully; would you take your dying unsaved mother to a service at your church or another church across town? How clear is the gospel presented in your church?

Craig Groeschel, Lifechurch

Christianty's Picture



Happiness

Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. - Helen Keller

Making Friends

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you. - Dale Carnegie

Listen To Others

The LADDER of Listening.

L - Look at the person speaking to you.
A - Ask questions if needed.
D - Do not interrupt.
D - Do stay on the subject.
E - Empathize.
R - Respond if needed.

No Limit

There is only one limit to what prayer can do; that is what God can do. - R.A. Torrey

Ministering In Everday Situations

Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings - it means being God's very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us.
Oswald Chamber

From Our Daily Bread

Receive love. Give love. Repeat.

A 9-11 Prayer

"Lord, take me where you want me to go. Let me meet who you want me to meet. Tell me want you want me to say, and keep me out of your way."
Father Mychal Judge, Fire Chaplain who died rescuing others on 9-11

The Indwelling Spirit Of God

Diety indwelling men! That, I say, is Christianity, and no man has experienced rightly the power of Christian belief until he has known this for himself as a living reality. Everything else is preliminary to this.  A.W. Tozer

Heaven is ...

Full of joy, full of life, full of peace, full of beauty, full of light, full of glory, full of goodness, full of love, full of God, full of wonder, full of worship, full of newness.

From revelation written by John.

The Pic For Christians

Three Stages Of The Great Work Of God Through Mankind and God's Church

Stage One
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE.

Stage Two
IT IS DIFFICULT.

Stage Three
IT IS DONE.

J. Hudson Taylor, Missionary to China

We Are The Church

It is high time that followers of Jesus Christ muse, embrace and speak the truth that we do not "go to Church." May we become very weary of the phrase "going to Church." Followers of the Way are the Church. We attend worship services, planning meetings, prayer events, concerts, small groups, Sunday school, and other meetings, but we are the Church, the missional people of God proclaiming The beautiful message of redemption and restoration. It is high time for this to be spoken and lived by followers of Jesus Christ, especially in the North American Church.

Purpose Is SO Important

No one knows where he is going; The aim of life has been forgotten and the end has been left behind. Man has set out at a tremendous pace - to go nowhere.  Jacques Ellul