What a Church Prays When Sending a Missionary

Missionaries don’t engage in missions because they decide to go. Missionaries engage in missions because they are sent by the church. Missionaries are chosen by the church, trained by the church, funded by the church, and sent by the church. The missions task is the responsibility of the church, which sends some of its best […]

Since You Aspire to Preach the Gospel

“Since You Aspire to Preach the Gospel”Romans 15:20-21September 13, 2026 W&N, I don’t remember the first time you mentioned your interest in missions to me. But I do remember that it has been a repeated conversation between us. You have always been interested in missions and taking the gospel to those who do not know […]

Our Missions Commitment

“Our Missions Commitment”3 JohnSeptember 6, 2026 Next Sunday we are sending out a family from GBC to serve as emissaries of Christ to SE Asia — W&N. They started preparing for this venture before they were even married (it was a desire they nurtured throughout their lives); and they began talking to us about it […]

Praying Daily for Your Daily Bread

When Jesus taught the Twelve disciples (and us) to pray daily for daily bread (Lk. 11:3), He is instructing us to pray for our daily need for food and our daily need for all the basics of life — the “staples” of life. He is teaching us to express our dependence on and trust in […]

“Give Us Our Daily Bread”

“Give Us Our Daily Bread”Luke 11:3August 23, 2026 One blistering hot day when they had guests for dinner, a mother asked her four-year old to give thanks for the meal. “But Mom, I don’t know what to say,” he protested. “Oh, just say what you’ve heard me say,” she told him. Obediently, he bowed his […]

“Your Kingdom Come”

“Your Kingdom Come”Luke 11:2bAugust 16, 2026 The coming of the King and the Kingdom of God are persistent themes in Scripture. Both the OT and NT are filled with verses that anticipate a coming King: And there are hundreds more references to the King and His Kingdom. And it is for that kingdom that Jesus […]

How We Come to Christ in Prayer

“Hallowed Be Your Name”

“Hallowed Be Your Name”Luke 11:2August 9, 2026 G.K. Chesterton said about the spiritual life, “The spiritual life has not been tried and found difficult; it has been found difficult and left untried.” In that statement he is inferring something important about the spiritual life — it is simple, but hard. The spiritual life is not […]

“Just You Wait”

It is a typical event on a playground (at least it was in my day). Two boys are squared off against one another. First words are exchanged. Then they are exchanged more vigorously and loudly. And then a physical tussle ensues. And one gets the better of the other. As the vanquished boy limps off, […]

If God is Your Father…

In teaching the disciples to pray, the first thing He taught was that if they belonged to Christ, then God is their Father. They could speak to Him as a “daddy” (Lk. 11:2; Mt. 6:9). What is the benefit of that relationship? Thomas Watson identifies at least 20 blessings for the one who has God […]

“Father…”

“Father…”Luke 11:1-2July 26, 2026 Some questions as we begin this morning: This morning we come to one of the most well-known passages of Scripture: the Lord’s Prayer. These words have been sung to multiple tunes, been recited in church many times, and even used at secular events as a source of comfort and encouragement. These […]

Love, Service, and Priorities

“Love, Service, and Priorities”Luke 10:38-42July 12, 2026 “Management theorist Russell Ackoff used to say that many of our problems are the result of being efficient at the wrong things. In one interview, he said, ‘The curious thing is the righter you do the wrong thing the wronger you become. If you’re doing the wrong thing […]

Plan to Pray

Do you pray? Do you have intentional time in conversation with God each day? If you don’t pray, or if your prayer life is less than you desire, is it because you don’t plan to pray? When Jesus instructs His disciples about prayer in Matthew 6, He tells them to “go into your inner room, […]

Love Your Neighbor

“Love Your Neighbor”Luke 10:29-37June 28, 2026 Rosaria Butterfield asks the question, “Christians have a powerful history of building schools and hospitals, of showing up during natural disasters to offer water and food and shelter and medicine. We have that history. But do we have the daily witness of Christian neighboring?” [my emphasis] It’s tempting to […]

Two Imperatives for Effective Fathering

“Two Imperatives for Effective Fathering”Luke 10:25-29June 21, 2026 John G. Paton was a missionary to the New Hebrides in the mid-1800s. One of the greatest influences in his life was his father who after almost every meal would go to a “closet” where he would pray — “Though everything else in religion were by some […]