Pastor Wade Humphries

I wanted to share a moving excerpt from John Owen’s book Communion with the Triune God concerning Christ’s role as mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5):

The Father communicates no issue of His love unto us but through Christ; and we make no return of love unto Him but through Christ.  He is the treasury wherein the Father disposes all the riches of His grace, taken from the bottomless mine of His eternal love; and He is the priest into whose hand we put all the offerings that we return unto the Father.

Blessings,                                                                                                                                        Pastor Wade, Hebrews 12:1-2

Here’s a great quote from Charles Spurgeon about how God uses our suffering for our ultimate good.  I love the first line. 

Dear child of God, anything that promotes your sanctification, or increases your spirituality, is a good thing for you. I have had my share of physical pain, and perhaps more of it than most who are here; and bless God for it. If it comes again, I ask him for grace to bless him for it then; and now that it has gone for a while, I freely bless him for it, for I cannot tell you all the good that it has wrought in me. Oh! how often a proud spirit has been cut back by affliction and trial, like a vine that is made to bleed, that the clusters that followed the pruning might be all the better and richer! The mown grass is very sweet and fine; and so, often, are believers who have been deeply tried. This tribulation, as Paul says, “worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Wherefore, bow humbly before the Lord, my tried and afflicted friend, and see at least some of the reasons why he thus puts you in he dark chamber of tribulation.

Blessings,                                                                                                                                        Pastor Wade, Hebrews 12:1-2

“The divine resources for a moment by moment triumph in Christ are limitless; but the utter need of the helpless creature never ceases….Every moment in a spiritual life is one of unmeasured need and super-human demands, and the supply of enabling power and grace must be constantly received and employed.”     Lewis Sperry Chafer in He That Is Spiritual

This quote reminded me of my constant need for the filling of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of the Word of God!

Blessings,                                                                                                                                  Pastor Wade                                                                                                                       Hebrews 12:1-2

“If God were small enough for us to fully understand him, he wouldn’t be big enough for us to worship.” 

**quote from Bill Mitchell, a staff member with International Students, Inc. as shared in Chapter 8 of Is Your Church Ready?: Motivating Leaders to Live an Apologetic Life

Blessings,                                                                                                                                 Pastor Wade                                                                                                                          Hebrews 12:1-2

I wanted to share with you a link to a helpful article on the subject of Biblical meditation.  Enjoy and apply!

http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2010/01/how-to-meditate-on-gods-word.html

Blessings,                                                                                                                                     Pastor Wade, Hebrews 12:1-2

“The battle for our Sundays is usually won or lost on the foregoing Saturday night.”  J.I. Packer

“Come on the lookout for God and leave on the lookout for people.”  John Piper

Blessings,                                                                                                                                    Pastor Wade; Hebrews 12:1-2

I want to encourage you to learn to pray short prayers.  There are times when earnest desires can be communicated in a concise way.  I don’t believe every prayer should be a short prayer.  The Bible tells us in Colossians 4:2 to, “Continue steadfastly in prayer” and in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to “pray without ceasing.”  Surely long, unhurried times of prayer will be a integral part of our communication with God.  I hope that all of you have had the joy of experiencing what the hymn writer calls a “sweet hour of prayer.”  But, there are times when a short prayer can communicate the depths of your soul to God.  Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because a prayer is short it has no depth.  Some of the prayers I’ve studied in the Bible are indeed short yet theologically profound.  Let me give you some examples:

1) Show me Your glory

In Exodus 33:18 Moses expresses his desire to experience more of God’s greatness.  He wanted to know God better, see Him more clearly, and learn more of His majestic character.  What a rich prayer to pray!  I believe this prayer should be a part of our times with the Lord as we ask God to reveal Himself to us in a deeper way.  Read chapter 34 of Exodus to see the amazing way the Lord answers this request!  Moses had a incredible encounter with God!

2) Help my unbelief

In Mark 9 we read the story of the man with the demon-possessed son.  This man was almost hopeless.  His son had been tormented since childhood.  He had evidently heard about Jesus and decided to see if He could do anything for his suffering child.  The man wonders aloud if Jesus can help to which Jesus replies, “If you can!  All things are possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23).  The man, overcome with emotion and desperation cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”  The man wanted his faith strengthened so that doubt would be driven out of his life.  There are times in life when we ask God for something but even as the words pass our lips our minds are filled with doubt.  We doubt the power and wisdom of God to answer the urgent needs in our life.  Sometimes it’s good to pray the short prayer; “Lord, help my unbelief!”

3) Lord, save me

In Matthew 14:30 Peter cries this prayer out to Jesus as he sinks below the water.  The story is well known.  The disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee without Jesus when a storm threatens their lives.  As they struggle to keep their ship afloat they see Jesus walking towards them on the water.  Peter, impetuous but courageous, asks if he can walk on the water to Jesus.  Jesus grants his request and Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the water!  Everything is going well until Peter begins to look around at the waves crashing all around him.  He takes his eyes off of Jesus and places them on his circumstances.  Filled with fear, Peter begins to sink.  As he goes under the water Peter prays a very short prayer, “Lord, save me!” and Jesus does just that.  This prayer is the equivalent of crying out “Help!”  We find a similar prayer in Matthew 15:25 as a Canaanite woman asked Jesus to help her with her demon-possessed daughter.  Sometimes when we are overwhelmed with life and we find ourselves sinking, or hurting, or fearful, it is altogether appropriate to just cry out to Jesus “Help!”  In that short prayer you recognize that you have needs and God is the only one that can help.  Therefore, “Help” is a brief but theologically rich prayer. 

So, I hope you see that there is a biblical precedent for praying short prayers.  There are times in life that dictate the need for brevity.  Try crying out to God prayers like “Show me Your glory” or “Help my unbelief” or “Lord, save me” and see how they impact your walk with the Lord.  I believe short prayers like these can be of great value to us as we strive to be people of prayer.

Blessings,                                                                                                                                           Pastor Wade, Hebrews 12:1-2

I’m studying for a sermon which I will preach Sunday night that deals with the doctrine of revelation.  In this sermon I will be comparing and contrasting general revelation (creation and conscience) with special revelation (The Bible).  General revelation informs everyone, everywhere that there is a powerful, creator God that has moral standards, but a person cannot be saved if that’s all they know.  God gives us special revelation to unveil His plan of redemption, that He has made a way to save sinners through the death and resurrection of His Son.  I came across a great quote from the theologian Wayne Grudem concerning the wonder of special revelation: 

How the holiness and justice of God can ever be reconciled with His willingness to forgive sins is a mystery that has never been solved by any religion apart from the Bible.  Nor does the Bible give us any hope that it can ever be discovered apart from specific revelation from God.  It is the great wonder of our redemption that God Himself has provided the way of salvation by sending His own Son, who is both God and man, to be our representative and bear the penalty for our sins, thus combining the justice and love of God in one infinitely wise act.  This fact, which seems commonplace to the Christian ear, should not lose its wonder for us: it could never have been conceived by man alone apart from God’s special, verbal revelation.

Amen!  Thank You Lord for revealing your plan of salvation to undeserving sinners.

Blessings,

Pastor Wade

Hebrews 12:1-2

In my studies for Sunday’s sermon I came across this quote from Charles Spurgeon:

“Peter was called to repentance by the crowing of a cock; and the Lord can use a great many means of bringing sinners to himself! Omnipotence has servants everywhere; and God can use every kind of agent, even though it appears most unsuitable, to gather together his own chosen ones. He has called some of you; he has called some of you who have not yet come to him.”

Is the Lord trying to get your attention?  Is He calling you to be saved?  Are you ignoring the call or have you run to Him?

                                                                                                                                                                 Blessings,

Pastor Wade

Hebrews 12:1-2

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted.  I’ve been pretty busy lately with a mission trip, preaching at our youth retreat, vacation, and of course the demands of pastoring.  I’ll try to do better…

This fall I will be leading our senior adults in a Bible study on the prayers of Paul.  I can’t wait! I’ve been thinking lately about the senior adults in our church and their enormous potential for impact.  I came across a quote this weekend that really resonated with my thinking.  The quote comes from Bob Roberts in his book The Multiplying Church.  Here it is:

Old men and women play a crucial role in the future church; it isn’t to hold on to the forms, but to hold on to a personal Jesus movement in their hearts so that young people can say of old people, “Oh man, I want to know Jesus like they know Jesus.”  It is not, “I want to do church like they do church.”  The only way that will work is for old folks to pour themselves into young hearts and mentor and love them so much that they would die for them.

Wow!  What a thought and what a challenge!  May our younger generations see a love for Jesus and a passion for mentoring in our older generations!

 Blessings,                                                                                                                                                                   Pastor Wade, Hebrews 12:1-2