Pastor Wade Humphries

Hello friends.  I am posting a link to an article about praying for your pastor.  It is written by a pastor so it is filled with helpful insights.  Since I covet your prayers more than you know I thought it would be good to point you to this article.  Please read it and please pray for me regularly.  Once, when asked about the secret of his pastoral success Charles Spurgeon simply and profoundly answered, “My people pray for me.” 

Also, I encourage you to pray for the entire Longview Point staff using the guidelines you find in the article.  Thank you for your prayers.  Here’s the link:

http://blog.t4g.org/2009/01/praying-for-your-pastor.html

Blessings,

Pastor Wade

Hebrews 12:1-2

I want to share a book with you that has been greatly used of God in my life.  The book is Knowing God by J.I. Packer.  If you have not read this book I encourage you to buy it and read it.  I came across this book about the time I was finishing college.  I had come to a place in my life where I desired to put God first in my life.  I picked up Knowing God because frankly, I liked the title.  But as I began to read, I was captivated.  I had never read a book about God.  I had read Christian books, but never a book that dealt with the attributes, character, and nature of God.  I found this God-centered book spiritually nourishing.

The Lord used Knowing God in my life to teach me about grace.  In chapter 13, Packer defines grace as “love freely shown toward guilty sinners, contrary to merit and indeed in defiance of their demerit.  It is God showing goodness to people who deserve only severity and had no reason to expect anything but severity.”  Wow!  I remember reading this and being amazed by God’s unmerited favor.

Chapter 18 is titled “The Heart of the Gospel”.  This is an amazing chapter as Packer describes the beautiful reality of propitiation.  Packer’s explanation of Christ satisfying the wrath of God that we deserve is breathtaking.  You will gain a fresh appreciation for the cross when you read this chapter.

Knowing God is deeply theological and intensely practical.  In the first chapter Packer defines the stakes related to growing in the knowledge of the attributes of God.  He writes, “The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know God.  Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you.  This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”

Don’t waste you life, don’t lose your soul, and don’t stumble through life.  Embark upon a journey of learning about God and your life will begin to have a new perspective, a new joy, a new gratitude, and a new purpose.  A great place to start this journey would be reading Knowing God with an open Bible at hand.

Blessings.  Pastor Wade

I’m reading a tremendous book this week on prayer by D.A. Carson titled A Call to Spiritual Reformation.  In this book Carson leads the reader through a study of the prayers of the apostle Paul.   

Carson makes a comment about the need for parents to pray for their children’s spiritual condition, not just their success and material prosperity.

Carson asks the following question, “Do we not spend far more energy praying that our children will pass their exams, or get a good job, or be happy, or not stray too far, than we do praying that they may live lives worthy of what it means to be a Christian?”

He goes on to say that many parents “are joyous over their children’s material prosperity and not terribly concerned over their children’s utter indifference to the God who made them.  How will these values appear thirty years or forty billion years from now?  From eternity’s perspective, what should be the primary things for which we should pray for our children…?”

May God give us parents a holy concern for our children’s relationship with God!  Pray for your kids today.  Pray that they will know Jesus as Lord and Savior and grow in their relationship with Him.  Pray that they will live for His glory and not for the values of this world.  Pray that they will live a life worthy of His gracious calling (Eph. 4:1; 2 Thess. 1:11).

Blessings,

Pastor Wade 

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately in the area of leadership.  There are some books I wanted to pass on to anyone interested in learning more about being an effective leader.  Here they are:

1) Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders

This is a book that I pass on to the people in our church that God calls into vocational ministry.  It deals with so many different areas of leadership including time-management, the importance of reading, and the art of delegation.  I love the chapter titled “Essential Qualities of Leadership”.

2) The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley

This is a great book!  Stanley deals with five key areas of effective leadership.  They are Competence, Courage, Clarity, Coaching, and Character.  The section on competence was very helpful to me.  Stanley makes the point that devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing.  He encourages the leader to focus on the few things that the organization depends on them to do.  Also, I think Stanley’s book on vision titled Visioneering is one of the best books out on that topic.

3) The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make by Hans Finzel

This is a very helpful book for any leader.  As I read through the top ten mistakes that Finzel described I found myself saying, “Guilty!” to every one of them.  This book will help the leader to see their shortcomings and then address them.

4) Good to Great by Jim Collins

This is not a Christian book but it is filled with wonderful leadership insights.  Collins examines companies that have grown from good companies to great companies, far surpassing their competitors.  Some of the principles that Collins shares about these companies sound like biblical principles!  This is an interesting book that you will find hard to put down.  

There are many other books I could recommend but these are some great ones to start with.  But remember the best book on leadership is the Bible and the best model of leadership is Jesus Christ!  So read the Word daily and keep your eyes on Jesus.  And remember to depend upon His strength, guidance, and wisdom because He said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Blessings,

Pastor Wade                                                                                                 

Hello friends.  I want to pass on to you how God has blessed my life by reading different biographies.  The Lord has used many great books about great people to challenge me, inspire me, and teach me about living for Him.  I want to encourage you to learn from someone else’s life by reading biographies.  Let me help you get started.  Here are a few books that have been blessings to me through the years:

Just As I Am The autobiography of Billy Graham

Walking From East to West The autobiography of Ravi Zacharias

To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson by Courtney Anderson

The Heavenly Man The autobiography of Brother Yun

Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright by Michael Richardson

Quiet Strength The autobiography of Tony Dungy

More Than Just a Game The autobiography of Bobby Bowden

John Adams by David McCullough

I’m reading these right now:

Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden

Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years by Carl Sandburg

I’m getting ready to read:

George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century by Arnold Dallimore

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton

Grab a cup of coffee, sit in your favorite chair, and enjoy reading biographies!

Blessings,

Pastor Wade

Hebrews 12:1-2  

I wanted to pass on a prayer that I prayed this morning from the book The Valley of Vision.  This book is a collection of puritan prayers and devotions compiled by Arthur Bennett.  I highly recommend it as an aid to your devotional life.  The title of this prayer is “A Disciple’s Renewal”.  I encourage you to make this prayer your own and pray it to our great God.  There is something refreshing about admitting your weaknesses and shortcomings and asking the Lord Jesus to help you move forward and rise higher in your Christian life.  I hope this will be a blessing to you:

 ”O my Savior, help me.

I am so slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb; I am in the foothills when I should be on the heights; I am pained by my graceless heart, my prayerless days, my poverty of love, my sloth in the heavenly race, my sullied conscience, my wasted hours, my unspent opportunities.

I am blind while light shines around me: take the scales from my eyes, grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.

Make it my chiefest joy to study Thee, meditate on Thee, gaze on Thee, sit like Mary at Thy feet, lean like John on Thy breast, appeal like Peter to Thy love, count like Paul all things [rubbish].

Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be more decision in my character, more vigor in my purposes, more elevation in my life, more fervor in my devotion, more constancy in my zeal.

As I have a position in the world, keep me from making the world my position; May I never seek in the creature what can be found only in the Creator.

Let not faith cease from seeking Thee until it vanishes into sight. Ride forth in me, thou King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that I may live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.”

 Blessings,

Pastor Wade, Hebrews 12:1-2

Every parent needs to read this article by Albert Mohler.  As you read this story, consider the prominence that TV plays in your family life.  This article has surely made me think and evaluate.  May Christ be honored and treasured in our homes!

http://www.sbc.net/redirect.asp?url=http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=27834

Blessings,

Pastor Wade

Hebrews 12:1-2

I want to encourage you to read the book of Proverbs regularly.  A good way to do this is by reading the Proverb for the day of the month.  There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, so just read the chapter that corresponds with the date.  For example, today is April 2, so I read Proverbs 2.  When you finish a month just start over again. 

The purpose of Proverbs is to pass on wisdom.  They are sayings and thoughts collected mostly by Solomon.  As you read through this book regularly you will begin to internalize the wisdom that deals with so many areas of life.  You will also read the warnings of things to avoid in life.   For example, your marriage will be strengthened as you are warned of the temptation of adultery and the consequences of adultery (ch.6-7).  Proverbs encourages married couples time and time again to remain true to each other (ch.5).  Proverbs also has a lot to say about self-control, hard work, and the importance of remaining teachable (see 10:19, 24:33-34, 28:19, 13:10 just to name a few).  Parents will glean great insight into how to raise their children by pointing them to truth and correcting them when they go astray (23:17-35, 22:15).  It reminds you that true wisdom begins with fearing God (9:10). 

As your pastor I strongly encourage you to read a chapter of Proverbs every day in addition to your other Bible reading.  This practice has been an incomparable blessing to me.  You will be enlightened, encouraged, and strengthened by this habit.  You will develop the mind of Christ.  To make this point, wisdom is personified in chapter 8:17.  Wisdom says, “I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me.”

Blessings,

Pastor Wade

Hebrews 12:1-2

I wanted to pass on to our parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles a wonderful book for children.  The book is titled The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm.  I bought this book for my boys and we all love it!  What makes this book different from other Bible story books I have read is the emphasis on the BIG PICTURE; God’s plan of redemption.  This book shows how the major Bible stories are all part of one BIG story. 

Your children will be amazed by the power of God in creating the universe out of nothing!  Your children will learn that in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned, God already had a plan to forgive sin and defeat the serpent.  They will learn how Abraham was a part of this plan because God chose him to make a nation through whom He would send the Messiah.  They will learn the story of the Exodus and the passover.  They will learn how Abraham’s descendants, Israel, turned their back on God but God was gracious and preserved them as a people so that He could send a Savior.  They will learn that God was silent for 400 years but He broke the silence by sending His Son.  They will learn of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ which provides the only way for us to be saved.  They will learn about the start of the church and how the Gospel spread throughout the world.  They will learn about the end times reality of heaven and hell and the total victory of God. 

You and your children will love the illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker.  They are vivid and powerful.  One of my personal favorites is how the cross is foreshadowed in the garden of Eden.  It shows Christ triumphing over the serpent which is a fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.  I also love the picture of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  It shows her kneeling before God, praying in submission to God’s will that she was to be the mother of the Messiah.  I highly recommend you get this book for your children.  I want every child (and adult) in our church to understand the BIG PICTURE and how every story in the Bible relates to it.

Blessings,
Pastor Wade
Hebrews 12:1-2

Last Sunday I shared with our church family my desire that in the two weeks leading up to Easter Sunday we think seriously about and celebrate the Gospel.  I hope you celebrate the Gospel daily in your life, but this season affords us a special opportunity to focus our hearts and minds on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-4).  As you meditate upon the passion week (the week leading up to the cross), I have several books that might be helpful to you.  First, read Matthew 26-28; Mark 14-16; Luke 22-24; and John 12-21 for the historical accounts of the death and resurrection of Christ.  Read 1 Cor. 15; Romans 3:20-28; Colossians 1:19-22; and Isaiah 53 as a starting point to begin to think about the theological import of the death and resurrection of Christ.  Here are some of the books I wanted to pass on to you.

1- The Passion of Jesus Christ by John Piper
     This book has 50 brief chapters that deal with different implications of the death of Christ.  Chapter 1 is one of my favorite chapters as he discusses Christ absorbing the wrath of God that we deserve.  The doctrine of propitiation is breathtaking!  You will immediately gain a new appreciation for the holiness and the amazing love of God. 

2- Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney
     I love reading Mahaney.  His writing style is warm and passionate.  It feels like he is sitting across the table having a discussion with you.  This book on the cross is moving.  It’s a quick read, but every chapter is profound and thought-provoking.  Also, Mahaney is always practical.  He shares ways that you can apply the material to your life.

3- The Discipline of Grace (Particularly chapter 3) by Jerry Bridges 
     I love this book!  God has used it greatly in my life.  The entire book is wonderful but for the purpose of thinking specifically about the Gospel, read chapter 3 over and over the next couple of weeks.  It contains one of the best explanations of the Gospel that I have come across.

4- The Cross of Christ by John R.W. Stott
    This is a comprehesive look at the cross.  Stott masterfully pulls together different Scriptures to give us a detailed picture of the cross.  I especially like Part III of the book (chapters 7-9).  This section describes what the cross achieved; the salvation of sinners, the revelation of God, and the conquest of evil! 

Praise the Lord for the substitutionary atonement of Christ and the bodily resurrection of Christ.  Hallelujah, what a Savior!  Have a great week.
Blessings,
Pastor Wade
Hebrews 12:1-2