At Redemption Church in Jacksonville, FL, where I currently serve as pastor, for several years we had a partnership with a local food pantry that supplied groceries to those in need. This organization excelled at efficiently providing quality food. At least 100 families would monthly receive a lot of quality, fresh produce. However, from an eternal perspective, there was little produced. People receiving food stayed in their cars. They were often warmly greeted, but there was very little interaction. The goal was to put groceries into a trunk, not to get to know people or point them to Jesus. When I came on as pastor, one of the things I wanted to do was to redeem the food pantry. I had two goals: evangelism & discipleship.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Saturday, February 18, 2023
Striving for a Legacy: Farewell Sermon from Thomas Brooks
Thomas Brooks as a puritan preacher and a Navy chaplain in the 1600s, serving in London, England for many years. Many of his works are available online for free or very inexpensive. An excellent collection is available here: Thomas Brooks.
In his farewell sermon, he purposed to leave his congregation with a charge to pursue lasting, godly legacies. That is, individually and corporately, what commitments will leave a lasting impact. Interestingly, a legacy can also be defined as an amount of money or property left to someone in a will (Oxford Languages, "Legacy"). This Puritan Pastor left spiritual property to help his congregation make a lasting impact before they departed from this world.
What follows are the 27 legacies from Thomas Brooks, preached in 1662. They can be found the "The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks." The italicized words are my own brief commentary.
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