I enjoyed a passing point made by Derek Tidball recently at Keswick. Here’s the text: “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” (2Cor.4:1) Derek pointed out that we live in a culture saturated by meritocratic thinking. You have to have a certificate to be able to everything. The same is often true in church world. People expect you to be able to do this and do that like the best of names. The pressure is on if you are involved in ministry, and the pressure is to live up to the standards of expectation imposed by the church. All too easily we can fall into the trap of thinking that we are in ministry because of our merit – our education, our training, our skills, our abilities, etc. But when we realize that we are in ministry through God’s mercy, that changes everything. Suddenly ministry becomes about response. It becomes about our wonder at His mercy toward us. It becomes a real sense of privilege, rather than pure pressure and evangelical purgatory (as some church situations can feel for some in so-called “service”).
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Why Do You Preach – Part 2
Sounds so seedy, doesn’t it? Both went to Rome for a Vatican getaway, allegedly at the Pontiff’s behest (yeah, like he needs her advice). So when all of the sudden out of the catacombs arrives an ill-mannered paparazzi photographer and snapped the two during their Italian tryst shopping for a glove that fit for two,
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Benny Hinn admits his “relationship” with Paula White
2240 State Route 136 :: Hillsboro, OH 45133 Average Attendance: 90-100 Contact Information Chad McConnaughey or Steve Emery (937) 364-0804 (937) 927-5731 (alt) chadmcconn@gmail.com Position Description Full-Time Ministry Position Small Town Community steve.emery@cpsagu.com Position: Full-Time Ministry position. The Sugar Tree Ridge Church of Christ is an established church in the community of Sugar Tree Ridge.
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Sugar Tree Ridge Church of Christ Hillsboro, OH Preaching/ Full Time
At the Saturday night tent revival the preacher announced, “Anyone with ‘needs’ to be prayed over, come forward, to the front at the altar.” Leroy got in line, and when it was his turn, the preacher asked him: “Leroy, what do you want me to pray about for you?” Leroy replied: “Preacher, I need you to pray for help with my hearing.” The preacher put one finger in Leroy’s ear, and he placed the other hand on top of Leroy’s head and prayed and prayed and prayed. He prayed a blue streak for Leroy
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Leroy’s hearing
How I missed this one in the Christian Post, Wall Watchers, I have no idea… but back in later July, an esteemed junior college or remedial high school Augusta State University threatened one student, “Change your Christian beliefs or you won’t graduate.” Seriously… any more questions about my theory on Christianity being the only legalized
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Augusta State University: “Change your beliefs or don’t graduate!”
Yesterday I shared about the contrast between the attention of the crowd one night and the significant distraction the next night – same venue, same weather, same chairs, different speaker. Perhaps something here might be helpful to you. Why were they distracted? 1.
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Why Did the Coughs Spread?
RALEIGH — Historians are combing through thousands of pages of Civil War-era documents, searching for the stories of North Carolina soldiers. Looking ahead of the War’s 150th anniversary, historians hope to get an accurate count of the number of soldiers from the Tar Heel State that died in the War. North Carolina is believed to have lost the most Confederate soldiers
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Counting NC’s WBTS war dead
As a speaker you should be able to sense the level of focus of your listeners. Before you say they always listen well, I would encourage you to follow this advice. Try being in the crowd and listening, observing, sensing what is going on around you among the listeners. If you have the privilege of attending a conference or large Christian event, you should have the privilege of experiencing the crowd from within the crowd with different speakers. Large crowd events are helpful because the large numbers both multiply and muffle. That is, in a small group there may be an individual who never listens – proportionately they are more of a small group than they’d be in a big group. Equally, it is quite the effect to sense distraction spread through a large crowd. What happens?
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When the Coughs Drop
Someone has said that you know it was a good sermon when you find yourself asking how the preacher knew all about you. That’s a nice sentiment that points to the importance of applicational relevance in preaching. Now allow me to give you my statement. This is not a complete statement, or a forever statement. It’s a today statement. I heard a great sermon this morning. (This post was written a couple of weeks back at Keswick, in case you’re wondering!) So I heard a great sermon. Here’s my statement, “you know it was a good sermon when twelve hours later you find yourself still pondering the powerful but simple take home truth, reminiscing over the clear images used to drive home the main points, reflecting on how engaged you felt by the message and the messenger, how excited you were, and still are, to look at the text, to pray through all that hit home, to take stock of your life in light of the text, to respond and be transformed by the message.” That’s my sentiment tonight that points to the importance of so knowing your text that you can take listeners by the hand and enter into it fully, of so thinking through your presentation that you have clear and concise main thoughts, an overwhelming master idea, an engaging manner of delivery, a contagious energy in presentation, a reliance on the Lord to move in peoples’ lives, and a targeted relevance to the listeners before you. Simple really, pull those things together and you’ll probably preach a decent message!
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Simply Good Preaching
Saving another battlefield from the Walmarts of the world.
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Central Virginia Battlefields Trust