Parkside Mission

The following article is the product of what I adapted from early days of discipleship in campus ministry, my seminary training, and my work as a pastor in Atlanta. The result is a thorough but flexible personal devotion plan. Personal Devotion Plan by Trent McEntyre Approach Pray for God’s Spirit to give you understanding and submission to God and His will revealed in the Scripture. (Pray Psalm 119:10 or Ephesians 3:14-20) Study Read a paragraph or a chapter of the Bible. 1. List what the passage tells about God or Christ.      a. His character or attributes    b. His ways or works 2. List what the passage tells about us.    a. Our sins or limitations    b. Our likeness to God or potential   3. List examples to follow or avoid, promises to claim, or commands to follow.   Meditate   Now write out one or two (at most!) of the main thoughts/teachings you derived from the passage. For each teach...

Drive by ministry will not suffice. But if you were to simply drive through the area that we are moving to in July and will soon be serving through City Church Eastside and the Parkside Plant project, what would you discover? Well, let me do the driving for you and share a few snapshots and thoughts about the area. The first phase of our new work is exploring. We need to get our "gear" together (mainly a base of prayer and financial support) and then start surveying the area (getting to know the people and institutions that make up this interesting culture of about 30,000 people). 1.  First Stop:  The principal park in Atlanta We've initially named our new neighborhood and ministry focus "Parkside" for the neighborhoods surrounding Piedmont Park in the heart of the City of Atlanta.  Piedmont Park hosts festivals and concerts throughout the year, serving as a cultural fulcrum for greater Atlanta. 2. Morningside:  The northern territory of City Church P...

Psalm 31 Sermon 3rd draft The passage of scripture we are looking at this morning is a lament Psalm of David. David may have written it about the time he faced Goliath. David could have been talking about the time when he was on the run and hiding out from King Saul.   It might be a prayer that David prayed later in his life when his own son leads a rebellion to take David’s throne. We know for sure that David is crying to the LORD for help. And then when we get the end of the prayer, he is commanding all God’s people, love the Lord. So, the Psalm focuses on two things, facing stress and loving the LORD. Stress is an in big problem for most of us. Many of you have already experienced stress today, it getting ready and making your way to church.   There is stress related to time, money, work, and relationships. We continually have more to do that we have time to do it. I don’t need to convince you that we live in a stressful world. Whether you think of the financial downturn of...

Here is a brief paper that I wrote describing the process I ideally use to prepare a sermon. Trent McEntyre Preaching III – Directed Study with Rev. Jon Adams February 7, 2009 My preaching process and how my seminary education has shaped it There are many voices vying for our attention as we go through the day. The radio weather person tells us whether or not to grab our coats. Children call for our attention as they play. The supervisor at work lectures us about business priorities. So, when someone stands up to speak about God and His word, He better be ready. In a busy, information saturated secular society standing unprepared before an audience is like fishing without gear or bait. Here is how seminary has shaped how I prepare to teach, speak, and preach in the various ministry contexts where I work. Here is an outline of a process for preparation based the development I have received through seminary: 1.        Prayer – Dr. Frank Farrell introduced ...