Adam L. Feldman's Blog, page 17

VOV: Weaknesses

The following prayer is from The Valley of Vision (“VOV”), a collection of Puritan prayers. VOV is a prayer resource that I use and encourage you to get for your own library of spiritual classics. It is available in paperback and in a leather-bound version.

I selected this particular prayer in honor of Memorial Day. On this day, USAmericans reflect on the great sacrifice of those men and women in military service who laid down their lives to protect our freedoms. Our reflection on the brevity...

Peterson’s 5 Volume Series on Spiritual Formation

Eugene Peterson is one of my favorite authors who writes about Christian spiritual formation. (I wrote about him a few weeks ago in a post titled Speak to Me.) This month I introduce you to Peterson’s five volume work on spiritual formation.

Now, don’t let the fact that the series is five volumes deter you from exploring it. First, all five books can be read as stand alone works, or you can read them in the order that they were published (see below). Second, Peterson’s writing is very accessib...

Screen Silent

In case you missed it, last week was “Screen-Free Week” (SFW).

Our daughter’s elementary school participated in SFW. Students pledged to forgo screens-as-entertainment (video games, TV shows, movies, web surfing, phone apps, social media, etc) for the week. There were also periodic activities designed to get children outside and interacting with one another more. (For a host of reasons our family was unable to participate. We plan to have our own Feldman Family SFW in a couple of weeks.)

What i...

Character Bible Study Method

As a pastor, I periodically hear something to the effect of the following: “I know I should read the Bible more, but I don’t know where to start or how to go about doing it.” My response is relatively simple: make or get a Bible study plan and then do it.

This is why over the past couple of months I have been exploring various Bible study methods (such asS.P.E.C.K.A. and S.O.A.P., and less recently Lectio Divina) so that you have some tools at your disposal to make a Bible study plan. This mon...

Speak To Me

Who speaks to you? Whospeaks in such a way that it resonates deeply with who you are?

Here is a short list of people who speak to me. For the sake of this blog post, I have limited this list to persons whose words resonate with the fiber of who I am at the level of faith, hope, and love.

Scripture: Jeremiah

My favorite book in the Bible is Jeremiah. Jeremiah has guided me in my spiritual journey and ministry leadership. His perseverance through unbelievably difficult circumstances inspires my ow...

Resource: The Practice of the Presence of God

ThePractice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence, is a spiritual classic that every disciple of Christ should have in his or her library.

It is a relatively short read and can be read cover to cover within a couple of hours. I have given copies of this book as a gift to friends over the years, and have also encouraged people to read it while they are away on silent retreats or extended periods of solitude. Indeed, several people I know have read it in one sitting while on time of retrea...

S.P.E.C.K.A. Bible Study Method

The following Bible study method has been successfully practiced around the world and within a wide variety of cultures. This post was guest written by a friend of mine, Ken Sorrell. You can learn more about Ken below. Enjoy!

S.P.E.C.K.A.

S.P.E.C.K.A. is a simple method by which anyone, yes anyone, can facilitate a group as they study any passage of Scripture. S.P.E.C.K.A. is a highly participatory Bible study process that is focused on the application of the biblical truths discovered during th...

Losing and Gaining Ground: Sex

It is rare that you’ll hear on the news about a faith leader who is removed from ministry because he or shemismanaged time. Probably because it is not as sensational as a leader who is removed from ministry because he or she had a moral failure in the area offinancesor sex. Nonetheless, all three of these things—time, money, sex—compete with the Lord Jesus for a leader’s attention, affection, and allegiance.

I am exploring how leaders lose ground in the areas of time, money, and sex, and am pr...

Losing and Gaining Ground: Money

I am exploring how leaders lose ground in the areas of time, money, and sex, and am providing a few helpful tips to gain groundin these areas.A fourth area,“image,” will be explored in a special email sent during the week of April 14 only to those of you who subscribe to my blog via email.(CLICK HEREto subscribe.)

Losing Ground with Money

The Bible has a lot to say about money. Money has no inherent moral attribute. In other words, money is neither good nor evil. However, money can be used to f...

Lagniappe Thursday: Refocusing Lent

Today is “Lagniappe Thursday!”

Lagniappecomes to us from Louisiana French and means “something extra.” When you go to the donut shop and you purchase a dozen donuts and receive thirteen, you’ve been given lagniappe. Since I am committed to posting once/week, an extra post is extra special… its lagniappe for you!

Refocusing Lent

Today is the 23rd day of Lent. We are half way to Easter from Ash Wednesday. My question for you is simply: Do you need to refocus in the final weeks of Lent?

Now, I am no...