Jonathan Shradar

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures forever; and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever; with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who divided the Red Sea in two, for

This is too great to not share. And I am a mindless robot. [vimeo http://vimeo.com/79695097] HT: Sunday Mag

"But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. "My son, give me thing heart" (Prov. 23:26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him. He wants to see you as you are, He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brother, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Confession and Communion in Life Together . We have spent so much time in religion demanding behavior that the end has been a lack of transparency and a guarding of our true selves from our

I need this reminder as I prepare to preach tonight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suIeoR2Wils

Mark Galli has an editorial in Christianity Today that interacts with the thought that, generally, a sermon about trusting God during difficulty is true and worthwhile. It is worth a read and since so much of it is good I thought I would share a large portion here. "So what's the problem? "If we look at the preaching and teaching in mainstream evangelical churches, apparently not much. Tune in to many a church website, and you'll find comparable sermon series on improving relationships, raising kids, practicing faith in the workplace, and, in general, living successfully. You'll find lots of good, practical advice, much of it grounded in Scripture, very often the Book of Proverbs. No wonder people flock to such churches; they are some of the few places where they can hear commonsense wisdom about daily life. "But if you think about it, you'll realize that most of that advice can be found in pop psychology books, self-help conferences, and other religions

Next month I will be 36. I am not young. Most of my hair is grey (and all the hair I have is on my face). But I know what it is like to be a young leader in the halls of power. I am thankful that early in my professional career I was surrounded by mentors that sought to discover strengths rather than age alone. Many people would be prone to expecting that wisdom only comes with age, and I understand the sentiment. But it that we true in the market place we would only have old inventors and institutions would never change. Our culture doesn't work that way but sadly, too many of our churches do. Whether you are young, inexperienced or at the least perceived as either, many churches have no place for you. Certainly not in leadership. So young leaders plant new churches and generational divides broaden. The more disturbing thing is that in many churches the young are overlooked out of insecurity rather than a lack of wisdom (but that is a whole other subject and sin all together.) Dav

Give this ten minutes. It will change your day. [vimeo http://vimeo.com/78211612] Josh White at Door of Hope in Portland.

I appreciate these words from Larry Osborne on what he wishes he had known about discipleship: I once thought that discipleship was something for super-saints. I thought that when you made a disciple, you made a leader. So I pressed everyone to become the equivalent of a spiritual Navy SEAL. That worked out great for those who were cut from the cloth of leadership, high drive, and type-A personality. They loved it. But it also left a lot our sheep beat up and bleeding. Those with quiet personalities, lower drive (some might call it contentment), and background gifts were left to feel inadequate and worthless. I had no plan for them. And, worse, I’d become an Accidental Pharisee, harshly judging everyone who was behind me in the following-Jesus line. I pressed everyone to become the equivalent of a spiritual Navy SEAL. I wish I’d known that a disciple is simply a follower. It includes everyone in the following-Jesus line. Some are at the front. Some are in the middle, and some bring up

I am thankful to be surrounded by young adults that love Jesus more than they love me and they often remind me and each other of their need for Him and Him only. While on vacation last week I received a text from one leader that quoted 2 John 9. "Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teachings has both the Father and the Son." Then this leader wrote: "May we never 'go on ahead' of the truth of the gospel in our lives or our preaching!" Amen and amen.