Encouragement for Biblical Pastors and Church Leaders

I was looking at a notebook from many years ago that had a collection of things from when I was much younger.  A little bit was from junior high, while most of it was from high school and some beyond.   They were mostly connected with Grace Community Church.  What was written was anywhere from very serious to amusing.  One of the things that stood out was a prayer that I wrote in a discipleship group paper from junior high.  Sometimes it is amazing looking back and being reminded of the struggles, and yet see traces of grace in what I was learning.
Pastors, Sunday School teachers, and even small group discipleship leaders -
Don't think that your time is wasted.   I also learned Bible verses as a child (and some as an adult too, of course), and some of that has stuck with me.   While people forget quite a lot, if the foundation is continually built on with Biblical truth - God can still use it in the lives of those you are pouring yourselves into.


Dear Lord,  please help me to realize that I will have hard times in life and that I should cling to you.  Please help me to realize there is  a price to pay.  In Jesus name, Amen.  

Much of what was in the notebook was when John MacArthur was doing a series on Charismatic Chaos along with a lot of notes from Scott Ardavanis' teaching (he was the college group pastor who now pastors another church)...and there were other bits of odds and ends.  Here's a small sampling (not entire notes of the messages), and obviously I editorialized my notes here and there at that time.

 What we think about God will shape our lives.
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Don't think you can handle things you really can't.  It's only your pride that says you can handle it.
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A small sampling of  my notes from during some of John MacArthur's messages on Charismatic Chaos: 

Matthew 7:15-23
False prophets in sheep's clothing, but are ravenous wolves.
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Hagan is a nutty guy who is supposed to have been in a glory cloud I think.
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In Corinth there was chaos because of mis-use of the gifts, plus all sorts of other horrible things. They weren't lacking gifts, just perverting them.  This is a lot like what is going on today.
Can you imagine seeing someone dancing on air like that lady did (as said Hagan)? Ha! Ha! Hee! Hee! How creepy!

Biblical.  Check with the Word, and use your mind and reason God has given you.
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Miracles do not necessarily produce faith in an unbelieving heart. 
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Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ not by signs and wonders.  Mark 1:38
They promise a Biblical orientation.  Why would God authenticate a person with bad theology?
(Some punctuation added & corrected.)
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From Scott Ardavanis: 

God doesn't have a standard.  He is the Standard.  
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Do not engage in any business that you can't ask God to bless.
Do not engage in any pleasure that you cannot give thanks to God for.
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1. We should be filled with awe how infinitely great God's knowledge is.
2. This should draw us to the fear of God.
3. It should give us great comfort.
Psalm 103:14
We are but dust.
(I had messed up the reference, and I added punctuation.)