by Bret Capranica | May 5, 2007 | Pastoral Ministry, Personal, Time/Life Management
I tried to stay away from both my phone and my computer on Friday, so I did not post yesterday. I finish this evening, thinking back on the past few days. Thursday: 4:00 a.m. Up to shower and dress about an hour later than I planned. I don’t do well to get up on time if I go to bed too late. 4:30 a.m. My devotional Time. 5:30 a.m. Because I have a meeting at 8:00 a.m., I took the time to accomplish a number of normal tasks I knew I would be unable to do. I spent about 20 minutes doing some filing in my home office, reading, writing a memo I will use next week for a short meeting with Sunday School secretaries, sending a few tasks to our receptionist via e-mail, responding to e-mail, reviewing material for my first meeting of the day and I wrote a few notes to some in our church I had been praying for. 7:30 a.m. Kelly was up with Brie to feed her, so we did not have our time of reading together. I finished packing to leave for the office. 8:00 a.m. Meeting with two of our pastors regarding our Ministry Action Plans for 2008. We had a lively and very helpful discussion regarding how we will be developing and overseeing ministry next year. 10:00 a.m. Spent time reviewing and preparing for a number of financial issues, responded to e-mail, had a few phone calls and did some basic “next item” work on a number of projects. 12:00 p.m. At the gym to work out. 1:00 p.m. At home...
by Bret Capranica | May 5, 2007 | Time/Life Management
This is a time-management tool, I will be checking out in the next few days. Rescue Time: Effortless Time Management
by Bret Capranica | May 5, 2007 | Preaching
Video clip of MacArthur on the necessity of preaching: MacArthur on preaching – The Shepherd’s Scrapbook
by Bret Capranica | May 3, 2007 | Pastoral Ministry, Personal, Time/Life Management
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday are major study days for me. So here’s “tick-tock” for yesterday, Wednesday, May 2. 3:00 a.m. Awoke to shower an dress for the day 3:30 a.m. Devotional Time in my home study 3:45 a.m. Brie woke up and was ready to eat. This was a bit unexpected. She has been sleeping until around 6:00 a.m. but she did go to bed pretty early the night before, so my Devotional time was put off a bit to feed the little bundle. She was waiting for me with a huge smile, excitedly kicking, waiting to be fed. Sleep was not really on her schedule for this morning. She decided to stay awake and be fussy and playful and talkative to the tune of about an hour. She finally calmed down and I could put her back down without having to get up again too soon. 4:45 a.m. Back to Devotional Time 5:45 a.m. Checked a number of blogs and news stories 6:00 a.m. I had scheduled to do some work on my DMin project, however, I really need more than an hour to be effective with it. So, I spent the hour reading from Believer’s Baptism by Schreiner and Wright, a book I have been wanting to finish soon. I almost finished the book. 7:00 a.m. Breakfast with Kelly and spent time reading from Piper’s book, God is the Gospel. 7:45 a.m. Finished preparing to leave for work, and headed to make a visit at a convalescent home before heading to the office. 8:00 a.m. Visit at convalescent home with one of our members who will not...
by Bret Capranica | May 3, 2007 | Christian Living
Chapter 9 in Owen’s Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers Continued from his first point on how to mortify sin – Consider what dangerous symptoms your lust has attending or accompanying it: By applying grace and mercy to an unmortified sin (92). To apply mercy, then, to a sin not vigorously mortified is to fulfill the end of the flesh upon the gospel. Frequency of success in sin’s seduction, in obtaining the prevailing consent of the will unto it. This is that I mean: When the sin spoken of gets the consent of the will with some delight, though it be not actually outwardly perpetrated, yet it has success. (92). When a man rights against his sin only with arguments from the issue or the punishment due unto it, this is a sign that sin has taken great possession of the will, and that in the heart there is a superfluity of naughtiness (93). . . . if a man be so under the power of his lust that he has nothing but law to oppose it with, if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons, but deals with it altogether with hell and judgment, which are the proper arms of the law, it is most evident that sin has possessed itself of his will and affections to a very great prevalency and conquest (93-94). If your lust has driven you from stronger forts, it will speedily prevail against this also (94). When it is probable that there is, or may be, somewhat of judiciary hardness, or at least of chastening punishment, in your lust as disquieting...
