(via Sean Michael Lewis) Some very helpful thoughts from Charles Simeon (in Hugh Evan Hopkins, Charles Simeon of Cambridge [Eerdmans, 1977], 134):

“The longer I live, the more I feel the importance of adhering to the rules which I have laid down for myself in relation to such matters.

1st To hear as little as possible what is to the prejudice of others.
2nd To believe nothing of the kind till I am absolutely forced to it.
3rd Never to drink into the spirit of one who circulates an ill report.
4th Always to moderate, as far as I can, the unkindness which is expressed toward others.
5th Always to believe, that if the other side were heard, a very different account would be given of the matter….

The more prominent any person’s character is, the more likely he is to suffer in this way; there being in the heart of every man, unless greatly subdued by grace, a pleasure in hearing anything which may sink others to his level, or lower them in the estimation of the world. We seem to ourselves elevated in proportion as others are depressed.”

You can hear or read an excellent biography of Charles Simeon by John Piper here.

There’s lots happening at GPC.

Wednesday evening (9/30) marked the first night of JAM (Jesus and Me). Middle and High School students are leading this time for Primary age children. Rumor has it that they were visited by a very special guest whose theme song can be heard here.

Men’s Breakfast is this Saturday morning (10/3) from 8-9 am in the fellowship hall, and on Sunday we celebrate God’s promise to bless the nations through the the seed of Abraham as the Maier’s present Beck for baptism.

On another line, there are a number of helpful posts out there in various blogs that some of you have been reading. Here are a few that I found helpful:

Tullian Tchividjian, pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian posts some thoughts on anxiety from sources which have been helpful to him here.

Paul Miller’s book, The Praying Life has prompted a lot of positive comment. I would encourage you to take a look at what Justin Taylor has posted on the book here, and what Sean Lucas has to say here.

And as you know, I’m a fan of C.S. Lewis, here’s a teaser trailer of an hour long documentary on his life. It looks like you can download the hour long feature relatively inexpensively.

Daylight Savings Time seems to be paying dividends this week. I hope you’re enjoying the lovely weather.

As we make the turn into the Summer, our Sunday preaching will focus on matters of the Christian life. Beginning April 19, we’ll begin an eight week study on stewardship. I gather than when most hear the word “stewardship” their thoughts immediatly turn to money and giving. Though money is something which God places under our stewardship, it’s not the only thing. We begin Sunday by looking at Matthew 25:14-30 and Jesus’ Parable of the Talents.

After the Easter Sunday service, I’ve been asked to follow up and further to clarify what the resurrection age is. It’s a very good question which I’ll attempt to clarify at Twentystone. Also, others have asked about a summer reading lists. I’ve been working on my own list which I’ll post later, but in the meantime, I’ve posted links over at Twentystone to other summer reading lists that you can take a look at.

Lastly, the Men’s “Stick Together” is scheduled for April 24-26 at the Blue Ridge Assembly. Registration Cards must be turned in by April 22nd. Registration Cards are on the foyer table, please make your check out to “Redeemer Presbyterian”.

So, since the sumer, we’ve been displaying the sermon’s scripture passage as a word cloud. Word clouds are increasingly popular visual representations of the frequency of tags or words used to describe any number of categories of information on the internet. Because of the random nature of the word cloud and the use of a weighted size for a word, word clouds can chart a large number of tags. As such, the word cloud is a better graphic chart than say, a pie chart.

Personally, I’ve found the word clouds helpful in catching themes in the passages on which I’m preaching, I also find it more interesting to look at. If your curious as to how I generate these word clouds, I don’t. It’s an internet based program that you can use too. You’ll find it here.

Borrowing a posting title from an acquaintance, I’ll regularly post links to places of interest or events I come across.

Firstly, over at Twentystone, I have a link to a trailer of a new movie being directed by Steve Childs called And We Will Dance. Steve is a highly gifted and respected portrait artist in Winston-Salem. As you watch the trailer, you’ll recognize the music of another friend and group, Pearlmerchant.

Secondly, over at Life Together, you’ll find a post based on Mark Driscoll’s plan for Family Dinner Devotionals. Not a bad habit for us to get into.

Over at Drs. Scott and Jennifer Myhre’s blog Paradoxuganda you can read about the work in Bundibugyo which we are financially supporting through Pat Abbott, a member of the team there.

On Sunday February 22, we’ll be concluding our three part sermon series, The Foundations of Grace. Our sermon text will be Isaiah 62:6, 7 which reads,

I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

I preached my first sermon as a pastoral candidate at GPC on this very passage. The work of extraordinary prayer which God has employed through his watchmen have always stirred me to pray more earnestly for revival. During the sermon, I’ll be making use of some of those stories.

Speaking of stories, I recall that in 1985 while a student at Appalachian State, I watched a video of an aged seminary professor who preached on the role of prayer in the great revivals of the church. I don’t doubt that several who watched that video with me during that InterVarsity large group were bored out of their minds. Who on earth is this guy?

Granted, a talking head on a t.v. screen is not that exciting nor engaging, but I was riveted. The professor was Dr. J. Edwin Orr, and you can view some of his lectures, read some of his articles, and listen to some of his talks here. Almost twenty-five years later, I still love to hear those stories. Take some time and listen to them. You’ll be  inspired and challenged and encouraged by the gracious work of our Father through humble men and women throughout the ages.

Here are links to resources that I would recommend.

Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN has a number of free and very helpful resources — especially helpful are his biographies. Dr. Piper has helped me understand the place of suffering in the life of a Christian.

Sinclair Ferguson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC is a former seminary professor. Dr. Sinclair is the pastor-theologian I would love to be.

Pastor Tim Keller is pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. I have learned more from him about application of the gospel personally and to the culture. Though subscription to his sermons are not free, if you look through the links on the left, you find some free resources.

Dr. Sproul has been teaching for well over 30 years, and has a passion for making theology accessible. There are a number of free resources available at Ligonier.org

Pastor Steve Brown is a pastor’s pastor. He has shepherded me and numerous pastor-friends through difficulties.

Dr. Richard Pratt has a passion for making good teaching resources available world-wide. The ministry, Third Mill has a huge collection of sermons and teaching aids.

Reformed Theological Seminary has audio lectures of seminary courses by a very impressive cadre of pastors, professors, and theologians. You can also find resources through our denominational seminary, Covenant Seminary, though you have to have iTunes loaded on your computer.