Tom Schmidt's BlogCalvin on Prayer I’ve continued my quest through John Calvin’s Institutes and been surprised by how incredibly practical and devotional it has been. Time and time again I find my heart encouraged and better equipped to love the Lord and others. This past week I finished Calvin’s treatment on prayer. Here’s some of my favorite […]
Evil Suspicions and the Gospel (1 Tim 6:3-5) “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, […]
Acts 29 Assessment As Rachel and I plant Cross of Christ Fellowship in Naperville, we have sought to be a part of the Acts 29 Network. This network of churches is united in several core convictions (gospel-centrality, reformed theology, complementarian leadership, empowered by the Spirit, commitment to church planting) and serves to train, equip, and […]
Calvin on “The Sum of a Christian’s Life (Forgetting Self)” Part of my training for being a church planting resident at Redeemer Fellowship–as we hope to plant Cross of Christ Fellowship in Naperville–is to read books in preparation of ministry. The longest and oldest book I’m reading is John Calvin’s “Institutes.” I’m reading about 125 […]
Coffee and Christ–Talking With Others about Jesus in Naperville Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks in planting a church is sharing the gospel with unbelievers. How do I go about connecting with unbelievers? Who should I talk to? Where will this take place? Church planter Jamie Page–pastor of the Church of DeKalb–provided me with […]
Cross of Christ Fellowship: Church Plant Celebration This past month we hosted an event at our church to inform and gather support for Cross of Christ Fellowship (an Acts 29 Network church plant in Naperville, IL.). The event was a great success, as over 70 people turned out to hear about Cross of Christ Fellowship! […]
3 Impossible Church Planting Tasks for Naperville (I’ve shared some of this in our most recent newsletter, but here’s the extended version) As we strive to plant a church in Naperville (Cross of Christ Fellowship), we are working on 3 seemingly impossible tasks. These pursuits are daunting and at times overwhelming, but we are encouraged […]
Here’s another song I wrote this past year: Upload your music for free at ReverbNation.com STENCH OF OUR REBELLION by Tom Schmidt Raging again, lifting up our voices; Crying out, ‘Let us be free!’ We’ll rid ourselves of His oppressive standards, We’ll do what we want, as we should. Building a place, where God […]
Estranged by Tom Schmidt Here’s a song I wrote this past year: Free embed music player from ReverbNation.com ESTRANGED by Tom Schmidt You are more than a pretty face, You are more than a nice smile, You are more than what say, Your worth’s not found in these things. You are more than a bank […]
Calvin on Psalm 103 I found Calvin’s comments on Psalm 103:1-2 particularly helpful: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me,bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul,and forget not all his benefits,”Ps 103:1-2 “The prophet, by stirring up himself to gratitude, gives by his own example a lesson […]
