As we begin a new year with an emphasis on prayer in the life of our church, it’s worth pausing to consider what exactly we are emphasizing. What is prayer? For some, prayer is merely talking to God. The Lord speaks to us in the Bible and we speak to him in prayer. This is right and good. Prayer is verbal communication with the God who has revealed himself in the Bible. In fact, the richest prayers are those prayed in response to God’s revelation of himself in the [...]

On April 22, 1877, Charles Spurgeon, pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in inner city London, preached on Isaiah 6:8. His sermon was titled “A Divine Call for Missionaries.” Isaiah 6:8 says, “I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I, send me.’” The sermon begins with Spurgeon saying that missionary work among the nations should be pursued because the lost are perishing and because the only way for them to be saved is through [...]