Archive for the 'Retreat07' category
Retreat Photo Gallery 6
September 1, 2007 8:07 am
Retreat Quotes: Session 6
7:11 amSteve Whitacre
Philippians 3:10-15—Now I See What’s Next
“What he is aiming for is the attainment of the very purpose for which Christ called him. Anything less would be a betrayal of that calling.” D. A. Carson, Basics for Believers, 89.
“The implications are staggering. Christians should never be satisfied with yesterday’s grace. It is a shocking thing for Christians to admit that they have grown little in their knowledge of Jesus Christ. As Paul would later exhort Timothy, we are to be diligent in the Christian responsibilities laid on us, so that others may see our progress in both life and doctrine (1 Tim. 4:15-16)… We are not to leave old truths and prior steps of holiness behind, but as new truths and applications of old truths open up before our eyes, they should shape our knowledge and our living so powerfully that others see the improvement. Our sins become less and less excusable; those who are most saintly are invariably most deeply aware of how sinful they are and of how odious sin is to God. Holiness becomes more and more attractive. The glories of the world-to-come make all the glories of this world fade into dull grays by comparison.” D.A. Carson, Basics for Believers, 89-90.
Retreat Photo Gallery 5
August 31, 2007 5:14 pm
Retreat Quotes: Piper
12:10 pm
At the retreat, we gave everyone a free copy of John Piper’s When I Don’t Desire God. I highly recommend this book as fuel for your passion for God. It is a go-to resource if your devotion to the Savior has grown cold, stale, or lifeless. And if your devotion is currently hot towards the Lord, reading this book will be excellent preparation for the dry times.
I read this quote from page 18, Piper quoting C.S. Lewis:
“Pleasures are shafts of glory… The sweetness [of earthly pleasures] is still a beam from the glory… I have tried since to make every pleasure in to a channel of adoration. I don’t mean simply by giving thanks for it. one must of course give thanks, but I meant something different… Gratitude exclaims very properly, “How good of God to give me this.” Adoration says, “What must be the quality of that Being who far-off and momentary coruscations [=sparkling, gleaming, or flashing of light] are like this!” One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun.”
Retreat Quotes: Meditation
7:00 amWe didn’t have any quotes for session 5, so I’ll just give you the quotations that I read to prepare us for meditation together:
“Now I saw, that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, whilst meditation, my heart might be brought into experimental, communion with the Lord.” George Mueller
“Now what is the food for the inner man; not prayer, but the Word of God; and here again not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts…” George Mueller
“By slowing down and prompting us to think more deeply about God, journaling helps us feel more deeply (and biblically) about God.” Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, p. 210
And one other that I had on hand but didn’t get around to:
“…journaling blends biblical doctrine and daily living, like the confluence of two great rivers, into one. The journal can be a mirror in the hands of the Holy Spirit in which He reveals His perspective on our attitudes, thoughts, words, and actions. A journal is a place where we can give expression to the foundation of our heart, where we can unreservedly pour out our passion before the Lord.” Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, pp. 205, 208-209
Retreat Photo Gallery 4
August 30, 2007 7:04 pm
Retreat Photo Gallery 3
10:14 am
Retreat Quotes: Session 4
7:00 amVince Hinders
Isaiah 55:1-7—Now I See What To Do
1. God’s gracious invitation
2. Our response
Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.” Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology
- Consider
- Confess
- Commit
- Change
Retreat Audio
August 29, 2007 9:33 pmRetreat audio is now available. Download it here:
