The Equipping Ministry, Student Workbook, SW15

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T H E E Q U I P P I N G M I N I S T R Y

Long, Thomas G. Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible . Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989.

Mitchell, Henry. Black Preaching . Nashville: Abingdon, 1990.

As an emerging leader interested in touching the lives of others with the Gospel of Christ, you should canvass the various principles covered in this lesson and seek to make your own ministry connection with an area in your life and ministry. What has been clear throughout this lesson is that it is not possible to ignore one’s own life and expect to see God work in a direct and powerful way. God desires to work through us , and in order for this to occur, he must work within us. We must wrestle with the meaning of these truths for our own lives, and be willing for the Holy Spirit to work specifically afresh in our lives as the precursor for working through our lives. Spend time meditating on the truths in this lesson, and ask the Lord to reveal to you the area or concerns he would have you bring before him for his cleansing, sharpening, and development. Take the time to pray with and for your fellow colleagues regarding the application of these truths on the Holy Spirit, and the preaching of the Word of God. Surely, any preaching that in fact claims to be both biblical and evangelical will always be nurtured by prayer. What you must seek from the Lord is not merely snatches and bits of hurried prayer, but a life orientation to the Spirit that will make every phase of your study and ministry an expression of prayer. The relationship of prayer and obedience is clearly seen throughout the word of God. E. M. Bounds eloquently argues for our lives to be deeply prayerful if we are to make the insights of the Word of God come alive in our hearts and minds. Notice how he emphasizes how prayer opens the way for obedience, and obedience makes prayer effectual in our lives: Our Lord Jesus Christ, “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,” had full liberty of approach and ready access to God in prayer. And He had this free and full access because of His unquestioning obedience to His Father. Right through His earthly life His supreme care and desire was to do the will of His Father. And this fact, coupled with another — the consciousness of having so ordered His life — gave Him confidence and assurance, which enabled Him to draw near to the throne of grace with unbounded confidence, born of obedience, and promising acceptance, audience,

Ministry Connections

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Counseling and Prayer