For Christ & His Church

  A Praying Life (Ch.12-23)   By Paul E.Miller   This reflection is the continuation of A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller, starting from Chapter 12-23 (Part 3 to some parts of Part 4). In Part 3, “Learning to Ask Your Father,” Miller explores the struggles we face in asking God for help. In Part 4, “Living in Your Father’s Story,” he shows how a true praying life helps us see and trust the bigger story God is writing in our lives. I was deeply moved by what Paul E. Miller shared on pages 96–98 about how Enlightenment thinking has weakened spiritual practices and made even children afraid to express their faith. He mentioned his daughter Emily, who was scared to write in her science notes that she prayed, and young Luke, who hid the fact that he prayed for his father in Iraq. These stories were heartbreaking and made me realize how such culture can easily spoil the children and make them feel ashamed of their faith. It challenged me to pray more intentionally for m...

  A Praying Life (Ch. 1-11) By Paul E. Miller   Paul E. Miller's "A Praying Life" starts by addressing why prayer often frustrates us, then shows where prayer can take us. The first part teaches how to approach God with childlike trust. The second part digs into the grown-up attitudes that actually block us from praying well. Together, they help move us from struggling with prayer to living a life of prayer.   1. How did the author engage with or challenge your thinking? Paul E. Miller challenged and deepened my understanding of prayer in several ways. First, he writes, “You can’t have a good story without tension and conflict, without things going wrong. Unanswered prayers create some of the tensions in the story God is weaving in our lives.” This helped me see my unanswered prayers not as failures, but as meaningful parts of God's greater plan. Second, he confronted my habit of limiting prayer to fixed times, such as morning personal devotion or evening ...

   The Familial Nature of the local church and Its Implications for Male Leadership Table of Contents INTRODUCTION .. 3 I. ..... THE TRINITY AS THE FIRST FAMILY .. 5 The Unity and equality with distinct roles within the Trinity . 5 The Trinity family is a perfect model for Earthly families. 7 II. ... THE EDENIC FAMILY .. 8 The Edenic Family was instituted by God. 9 God had intended Adam as the head of the Edenic family. 9 What does the word “Helper/ Helpmate” mean in Genesis 2:18? . 11 III. ...... THE FAMILIAL NATURE OF THE LOCAL CHURCH .. 12 The Adoption of believers into the family of God . 13 The Father of Believers is God . 14 God commissioned the apostles to lead the family of God in the initial phase. 15 The Apostles passed on the male leadership in the family of God . 16 Apostle Paul teaches male leadership in the Family of God in 1Timothy 2:11-14 . 16 A brief study on the phrase “husband of one wife” in 1Timothy 3:2 ...