The Heidelberg Catechism - The Foundations Of Our Faith

Lamentations 5 The Prayer Of Despair London Bridge is falling down.  Thomas Brooks wrote a long treatise on the national judgment God brought on England through the fire in a bakery in 1666. In three days most of London was burning. The Mayor didn't take it seriously and set up the fire breaks necessary. Politics got in the way of safety.   1 Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace!  Brooks wrote: When righteous government fails  (1.) Order fails; (2.) Religion fails;  (3.) Trade fails; (4.) Justice fails;  (5.) Prosperity fails;  (6.) Strength and power fails; (7.) Fame and honour fails; (8.) Wealth and riches fails; (9.) Peace and quiet fails ; (10.) All human society fails.   In the church too. In 1662 There was an act of Uniformity that froze out congregational pastors and removed them from their pulpits. Brooks found himself alienated from most pastors because of his congregational principles. He followed...

THE SEVEN SECRET FIRES THAT MADE E.M. BOUNDS UNSTOPPABLE IN PRAYER Have you ever wondered what happened to the weapon that once won revivals? What if the greatest power God ever gave his church—the power that shook cities, broke chains, and opened heavens—is the very one we've stopped using? Everyone talks about miracles, strategy, and platforms. Few still talk about prayer. But history remembers a man who didn't just talk about it; he lived it until heaven bent low. His name was Edward McKendry Bounds, a quiet pastor from Tennessee. No crowds, no cameras — only a candle, an open Bible, and three hours before dawn. For 40 years, he met God at 4:00 a.m., and the world still feels those meetings. Before we speak of revival, we must enter the fires that birthed it — the hidden flames that turned one man into a living weapon in God's hands. Fire Nr 1 – Discipline Before Dawn It began in the dark - every morning. While others dreamed, Bounds rose at 4:00 ...

Deep down we each have a quota of pain. Each of us has been sinned against by someone—in our family, in our church, or in the world. It could have been a one-off event of sin, or an ongoing sin against us, that requires our forgiveness. The thing we need to forgive could have been done thoughtlessly or maliciously. But however it got there, it is now there. There is some sin against us that needs forgiveness.   At some point, we all have put a fence around our pain. We have said to ourselves, to others, and even to God, "This is so bad, what was done to me so wrong, the wounds are so deep, that not even God would ask me to ever consider forgiving the one who wounded me. Let me say up front that first, forgiveness is rarely a one-off decision. It's an ongoing process. Second, you can forgive a person who you report to the police. Third, you can forgive a person you set boundaries around. Fourth, you can forgive and still not be reconciled with the person because there is no rep...