SOUNDLIVING

How do I Pray for my Unconverted Loved One or Friend? In Romans 10:1 Paul wrote, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them (his fellow Jews) is that they may be saved.” We are told to pray for those things which are God’s will. John 14:13 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” God’s will is that those he has chosen will come to Jesus and be granted eternal life. John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever…

 . Nancy Pearcy and Anthony Esolen have recently written excellent books countering t he cultural attack on men and masculinity. This four-page summary of those books is very worth reading. Notes on Books by Gerard ReedFebruary 2024 Number Three Hundred Seventy-four***********************************************************************THE WAR ON MASCULINITYHimself childless, C.S. Lewis still wrote: “Children are not a distraction from more importantwork. They are the most important work.” Yet one of the more distressing developments during the pasthalf-century is the failure of men to embrace their traditional roles as fathers of children and providers/protectors of women. Whether or not this is the result of men simply…

I Got it Wrong – Reflections on 50 years in Ministry Part 3 Jerry Nelson In parts 1 and 2 of this series I wrote of other ways I got it “right” or “wrong.” See www.soundliving.org “Bigger is Better?” I was reared in post-WWII middle-America when everything was booming. Everything was bigger and better. In the church, as nearly everywhere else in society, numbers told the story of success or mediocrity. By the time I was first serving in a church, I intuitively understood that more kids in my youth group and larger crowds at events were the measures of…

Am I a Christian? Jerry Nelson Have you noticed the answers you hear when you ask evangelical Christians how they know they are Christians? At least in my social circles, I have heard such answers as, “I believe in Jesus,” “I received Christ,” “I asked Jesus into my heart,” “I went forward when I was young,” “I was baptized,” “I was confirmed,” or “I prayed to receive Christ when…”  What strikes me first about these responses is it seems the trust is more in the correct action than in Christ (“I prayed,” “I received,” “I asked”a). You may think it…