David Young's Blog (337)

WATCH WITH HIM

In that most intense time, as Jesus and His disciples gathered in the garden where He was arrested, He told us to watch and pray. What does He mean by telling us to watch, to watch and pray? Look with me at these verses from Matthew 26.

“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said…

Have you considered that God may speak to you in visions or dreams? Throughout the Bible God appears or speaks to people in visions and dreams. On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:17 Peter quoted from the end-time prophecy of Joel.

“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young…

This is the third in a series of blogs on developing faith by listening to God, adapted from my upcoming book, Faith, The Infinite, Ultimate Love of God.

We sometimes think of prayer as a monologue where we tell God what is on our hearts. But prayer is far more than that. Prayer is crucial among the ways that we hear the voice of God.

We listen to…

Listening to God begins with the Bible. God will speak personally to you through His word. James 1:21 calls us to receive with meekness the word of God grafted into us. God will graft His word into your heart.

Let me suggest 4 disciplines that are essential to developing faith from God's word in your life. First, READ it. Read it prayerfully. Read it hungrily. Read it…

In the next few weeks I would like to share with you something that I wrote in my soon to be released book, FAITH, Risking and Resting on The Word of God.

LISTENING FAITH

Jesus made it clear that there is absolutely nothing that God cannot do through you when you trust Him. He repeatedly told us we could do things…

TAKING NOTES

Do you take notes when you listen to sermons? Many people do. And it is a spiritually healthy practice. For those of you who do, and for those who would like to start taking notes on sermons, let me suggest some guidelines.

• Soak Up The Pictures.

When your pastor tells a story about…

Answering questions before a live audience can be tricky business. I wonder if it is easier or sometimes better in print.

Last night I listened to a recording of Eric Metaxis speaking on his book MIRACLES, at Rutgers University. The primary miracles Eric told about in his talk, outside of his own conversion, were on the fine tuning…

Answering questions before a live audience can be tricky business. I wonder if it is easier or sometimes better in print.

Last night I listened to a recording of Eric Metaxis speaking on his book MIRACLES, at Rutgers University. The primary miracles Eric told about in his talk, outside of his own conversion, were on the fine tuning…

Last week I shared a prayer that I invited people to pray every Sunday when we come together. "Lord, let me hear your voice." I actually began that by suggesting that people pray, "God, speak to me." Then I realized that God always speaks when His word is read and preached. That would be like asking Jesus to be present in a worship service. He told us in Matthew 18:20, that He is aready there.…

There are, of course, two sides to preaching. It is like a dance where the preacher and the people come together in the music of the Scripture and stirring of the Holy Spirit. 

Up to now in this series on preaching, I have only addressed the preacher. But I would like to write several blogs in the next few weeks on receiving what God has for you in a sermon. A pastor needs to teach and encourage some, if not all of…

There are, of course, two sides to preaching. It is like a dance where the preacher and the people come together in the music of the Scripture and stirring of the Holy Spirit. 

Up to now in this series on preaching, I have only addressed the preacher. But I would like to write several blogs in the next few weeks on receiving what God has for you in a sermon. A pastor needs to teach and encourage some, if not all of…

It has been some time since I have written a blog on preaching. In fact, you will have to scroll down past 10 blogs to May 9, in Thinking In The Spirit to find my last entry in this series. You have to scroll down 5 more to find the first of them. But I recently heard a sermon that made me long to emphasize keys to preaching without notes. The sermon I heard was taken from Colossians 3 & 4. And it contained vital truths for our lives. The preacher’s text began at Colossians 3:12 and…

The Gospels were written in Greek. But in all of them certain Aramaic or Hebrew words are included and are usually translated. 

One of the reasons for this is that the writer was present when striking Hebrew words were spoken. They were so vivid in Mark's mind, that he quoted them. I believe that is true when Matthew and Mark quote Jesus on the cross saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani," "My God, my God,…

Do you take a Sabbath from your writing. I recommend it, if you can. I say, if you can, because many of you write while maintaining a real job. And you won't write much if don't write in every free moment you can muster. 

But after retiring from active pastoring, I began trying to write full-time. At that point, God was convicting me of not taking days off, or taking time for spiritual and physical renewal in my 45…

A friend recently noticed a cane carved for me by my brother-in-law. And he wondered what kind of power tools he used. I told him I thought he didn’t use much more than a pocket knife and sandpaper. He said, "That would be a lot of work!" I too have hand carved several walking sticks, although not as beautiful as my brother-in-law’s. And I find that, though painstaking, the work can be very satisfying.

I feel the…

Mostly because of medical treatments, I don’t preach much any more. But from time to time, God still encourages me with a sermon idea. And at least with this one, I decided to publish a brief of the sermon in this blog.

Glory In The Cross

(C.I.T.: Paul wanted to avoid glorying in anything but the cross of Jesus.

Focus:…

In Matthew 28:8, we read,

"So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy."

Fear and joy do not always go together. And many translations emphasize the difference with something like “They departed with great joy, even though they were afraid.” However, this differentiation does not reflect the wording of this passage in the original language of  The New…

When I first thought about writing this series, I was primarily thinking of positive things God shows us through quiet things in the Gospel accounts. But the implications of some of them are negative. One of them accompanies the Great Commission.

Look with me at Matthew 28:16-17.

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to…

I write as a ministry. And I pray that people will come face to face with the Living God in my writings.

One of my books was just released, AGAPE, The Infinite, Ultimate Love of God. I pray that God will touch the lives of people through this book. I do pray that it will sell well. I pray, and I ask you to pray with me, that God will use it to touch the lives of…

In John 15:15 Jesus said something I don't think I have ever heard emphasized.

"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends."

The Great Commission actually begins with Jesus saying, “All Authority in Heaven and Earth has been given to me.” In a sense He is saying,…