by Bret Capranica | Feb 24, 2014 | Christian Living, Featured Articles
Last week I suggested a few bullet points of how you could practically serve another brother or sister (or group of people) in deepening your discipleship in Christ. One of the suggestions was to ask specific application questions of one another. Discipleship is more than a meeting. Accountability questions can be dodged and become legalistic. I’m certainly not suggesting they be used in such ways. Use them to simply stimulate each other’s thinking about how to apply the Bible more fervently, specifically, and intentionally to daily life. Recently, the way I have used these questions is to have someone choose a question for the group to think on through the week. When we get back together, we start off by talking about how we lived out (or perhaps did not) the application of the question. It has proved to be a helpful stimulus for me and others. Some of these questions were taken from a list one of our elders found online, and some of the questions were developed by a good friend who used questions he was asking himself after listening to various sermons at church. They are a random list given in no specific order. Here are some of those questions: In what ways am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? How am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits? How did the Bible live in me today? Am I enjoying prayer? Why/Why not? How so? Am I defeated in any part of my life? How, why, in what ways? How do I spend my spare...
by Bret Capranica | Feb 20, 2014 | Christian Living, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching
For those who will be attending Summit Woods Baptist Church this Sunday, here are a few ways you could begin preparing your heart for our gathering to hear God’s Word: Carefully Think Read Matthew 13:24-30, 33-36. Make a list that compares the telling of the parable (13:24-33) and the explanation of the parable (13:36-43). List things like the setting of both sections, the characters involved and what they refer to, etc. In one sentence, how would you summarize the main idea of this parable? How does this parable speak to the situation that Jesus has been facing with the fierce opposition surrounding him (Matthew 11-12)? When does Jesus say that expressions of sin and deception will be finally dealt with? How? Prayerfully Meditate Is Jesus referring to how the church is to deal with sin in her midst? How can you tell and why? How would Matthew 18:15-20 fit with what this parable is instructing? Does this parable teach that we should not confront false teaching in the world or apply church discipline? How and why? Think through how this parable should shape the way you think about God and how we should respond to deceptive teachers, false converts, and the general promotion of what is sinful or unbiblical in our world. How should you respond? Why is how Jesus deals with sin and those who promote it painted in such fierce and violent terms? Intentionally Act List ways you could apply this parable to your attitude and actions this week. Use this list as a prayerful reminder this week. How would this parable assist you in praying for...
by Bret Capranica | Feb 17, 2014 | Christian Living, Featured Articles
As I recently taught through Matthew 10, I urged my congregation and myself to consider how we could become more intentionally involved in each other’s lives to stimulate each other on to deeper relationships that produce biblical love and kingdom living. Discipleship is inclusive of engaging both non-Christians and Christians with the gospel. Here are a few bullet-point suggestions that would actually work with either. However, for the purposes of this post, let’s consider how you could invest more of yourself, more intentionally in the life of another Christian – or even two or three others regularly meeting together. Discipleship is not about checking off the following points. The following points are merely suggestions of how you could begin to think through ways to interact intentionally with other believers in a growing and ongoing way to develop more significant relationships for God’s glory. I don’t intend to annotate each suggestion. Use them as a beginning point to consider how it could flesh out specifically with you. In future posts I will give a few detailed suggestions for things such as applications questions, books to read, how to discuss a book together, etc. So here are a few suggestions on how to think about getting together with another Christian to encourage each other in more intentional ways. What to Do Converse Over Biblical Truth Read books of the Bible together Read excellent books Ask specific application questions of each other Memorize Scripture together Pray Together Pray about what you are reading Pray about what you are struggling with...
by Bret Capranica | Sep 11, 2013 | Christian Living
Here are a few notable quotes from John Piper’s chapter on John G. Paton, nineteenth century missionary in the South Pacific (from the book, Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ). I encourage you to read these quotes and consider how we approach the difficulties of our own lives from a God-centered perspective: Paton’s ministry’s lasting effect Today, over a hundred years after the death of John Paton, about 91 percent of the population of Vanuatu identifies itself as Christian, perhaps 14 percent of the population being evangelical (57). Responding to cynics who told him not to go: A certain Mr. Dickson exploded, “The cannibals! You will be eaten by cannibals!” . . . . Paton responded: “Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen redeemer” (58). Various quotes: I do not pretend to see through the mystery of such visitations – wherein God calls away the young, the promising, and those sorely needed for his service here; but this I do know and feel, that, in the light of such dispensations, it becomes us all to love and serve our blessed Lord Jesus so that we may be ready at his call for death and eternity (61). My...
by Bret Capranica | Sep 2, 2013 | Bookreviews, Charismatics, Christian Living, Pastoral Ministry, Video
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by Bret Capranica | Oct 6, 2012 | Christian Living, Featured Articles, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching
Carefully Think Read Matthew 5:33-37. Summarize in one sentence what Jesus’ main point is. How does this passage relate to what Jesus said in 5:17-20? What are the similarities and differences between this passage and the previous sections (anger: 5:21-26; lust: 5:27-30; divorce: 5:31-32)? Read through the following OT passages: Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21-23. What background to the give to what Jesus says in Matthew 5:33-37? In what ways does Jesus define “do not take an oath at all” in 5:34-36? What does this suggest about the nature of an oath or what is involved in the kind of oath Jesus is referring to? Why does Jesus indicate that one should not take an oath and call heaven, hearth, Jerusalem, or your own head to account for the oath? What is Jesus’ point in bringing up these examples? Instead of taking an oath, what is the primary focus of a righteous person? Prayerfully Meditate Why does Jesus attack giving oaths? Does this include taking an oath in a court room or for those who serve political office? Why or why not? In the course of daily living, why would an oath be necessary? What are the greatest challenges to honesty? When are you most tempted to lie? Why are we often tempted to hedge the truth in what we say we will do? What would it take for you to be able to live in such a way that your “yes” or “no,” is believably sufficient? Intentionally Act As you think about the way you approach your own personal commitments, what needs to change in...
