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41 " If spiritual formation is the purpose of the church, then personal transformation should intentionally be the purpose of the small group ministry. Bible study is great. Fellowship is wonderful. Evangelism is essential. But changing and growing to be more like Christ should be the purpose of the small group ministry. "
― James MacDonald , Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling: Changing Lives with God's Changeless Truth
42 " Many pastors would rather preach God's Word and keep their distance than invest in a personal one-on-one counseling ministry. Most pastors counsel because they have to, not because they want to. "
43 " Word-centered people who enter counseling will be more likely follow the guidance set out in Scripture. Because they know more of the depth of their sin, they are more willing to allow other church members to help them stay on that right path. "
44 " Counseling is ultimately not about the counselee or the counselor, but about the Divine Counselor. "
45 " We are less interested in the number of disciples and more interested in the quality of discipleship. "
46 " Human sin is stubborn, but not as stubborn as the grace of God and not half as persistent, not half so ready to suffer to win its way "
― James MacDonald
47 " The body of Christ is about doing life together, and by doing life together sin is revealed. "
48 " I experience transcendence when something infinite reminds me I am finite. "
― James MacDonald , Vertical Church: What Every Heart Longs For. What Every Church Can Be.
49 " To disrespect a person made in the image and likeness of God is a lot worse than desecrating a flag. We should be offended and repulsed in the same way when God's image bearers are desecrated – abused, beaten, neglected, discriminated against, and not loved and taken care of as they should be. "
50 " The entity God created to traffic His transcendence has fallen far from its mission when it chooses instead to traffic what can be found on any street corner or at the local mall. You may ask, "But how has the church done that?" * By offering secularists what they find mildly interesting and calling it church.*By submitting to self-help sermons where encounter with God is not even on the agenda.* By letting the horizontal excellence of the show stand in for Vertical impact.*By substituting the surprise or shock of superficial entertainment for the supernatural.Church was designed to deliver what we were created to long for. Church must again be about a Vertical encounter that interrupts and alters everything. "
51 " The Scriptures were written with built-in tension between texts and its resultant theology. "
52 " God brings tests into your life because your faith in Him--your belief that He is in control and that He is good--can be proved only in times when life is hard. "
― James MacDonald , When Life is Hard
53 " The biggest obstacle to making Christ magnificent is the refusal to make yourself small. "
54 " The reason God responds to persistence is because prayer is changing the one who prays. As we pray, God is making us spiritually fit to receive what He is already willing to do. "
55 " The problem in the church today is that we treat God's glory as a by-product and the missional activities of the church as the primary thing when the opposite is what Scripture demands. We don't proclaim the gospel and feed the poor and shepherd the flock in hopes that God's glory will be the by-product of those activities. We seek the revealing of the glory of God through the methods He prescribes so that His glory is revealed in the church. When that happens, the lost are converted, the poor are fed, the saints live in unity, and much more, all as by-products of God's manifest presence in the church. "
56 " Remember, it’s not “stand firm for the faith” but “stand firm in the faith.” You’ve got to own it and live it. "
― James MacDonald , Act Like Men: 40 Days to Biblical Manhood
57 " When we ask people what they want in church instead of giving them what they were created to long for, we play in the very idolatry that church was created to dismantle. "
58 " The fundamental question in everything we do must be: Will this honor God? Does this display Jesus Christ? Does this make people see how awesome the LORD is? Failure to answer “Yes!” invites Ichabod. I have many, many wonderful "
59 " Satan mounts his mutiny against God through a deceitful stronghold: God is untrustworthy. In subtle and not-so-subtle ways, he places God's heart on trial by whispering insidious lies: "God is holding back on you. He wants you to jump through hoops in order to earn His love. He's stingy. He doesn't have your best interest in mind. You're better off trusting in yourself. Your resources and functional saviors work better then waiting and trusting in Him. "
60 " God’s Word doesn’t change, the message doesn’t shift. It can’t be compromised in any way. It’s where we stand firm. "