What makes a good sermon? A great one? Lots of things make a sermon “good” or “great”- timing, jokes, illustrations, articulation, purity, holiness and truthfulness just to name a few. But there’s one thing, in my opinion, that can make any sermon, no matter how much it has of the above, a bad sermon. How to make a sermon bad: Don’t make Jesus the hero of the sermon. You may have an entertaining, powerful, funny, enjoyable sermon without Jesus as the hero, but it won’t be a good one. Jesus, and only Jesus, is the ….
By Steve Murrell Christmas morning. Sure is quiet around here. Not like the joyful, noisy, early morning chaos when we had three small sons and way too many gifts under the tree. Those days are long gone. We now have three adult sons who are sleeping late today. And we have a grand total of five gifts under the tree. On this peacefully silent Christmas morning, I’m reading Acts and thinking about “Immanuel… GOD WITH US.” (Matthew 1:23)Do you ever feel far from God, like Emmanuel is not particularly close? We all do at times.Acts ….
There are moments when God tests us with the very provision He’s given. Take Abraham for example in Genesis 22. God told Abraham to take his son, his only son, to Mt. Moriah and sacrifice him up there. Tests are necessary. We don’t like it. Some actually hate it. But we need it. It shows what’s really inside. You want doctors to be tested and to take their board exams. You want cars to be tested for safety. You want computers to be tested so that they work well. Tests are there to bring to ….
Relevance can become overrated.It’s easy to add too many trappings in a Worship service that it becomes all fluff and none of the Spirit in it.Even in our own spiritual lives, we try to stay ‘cool’ so that our friends will think it’s not that bad to become a Christian – that we can live for Christ and stay ‘cool.’“We can still drink, smoke and chew… and hang out with girls who do.”To separate from the world is “self-righteous, old school and holier than thou.”But let us not forget what happened to the One we ….
Two of my three boys play on baseball teams that I help coach. So, I spend many hours a week on the baseball field. My favorite time of the week is when we have baseball tournaments on the weekends. It seems that our teams have a knack for getting scheduled for the early morning games. When we play early in the morning, we have to get up around 6am to get to the ballpark on time (I thought weekends were for sleeping in!). There are many negative reasons why we don’t like playing early in ….
by Stephen Mansfield | Posted onSaturday, September 17th, 2011| Tags: character, Discipleship, faith, family, leadership, Lordship, love, making disciples, Parenting, Power of God, prayer, reaching the lost, Relationship, service, Will of God |no responses by Stephen MansfieldI received an email this week. It asked that I offer again a piece I wrote nearly two decades ago. I’m happy to do so. May it be an encouragement to those who serve in unnoticed roles.________________________________________Her name was Elizabeth Anne Everest. Few today will remember her. In fact, few would have known of her even during her lifetime, which ended in near obscurity in 1895. She was, after all, only a nannyone of thousands in Victorian Englandwho quietly spent their days caring for the children of other people. Strolling in a park ….
by Lynette LewisTHE FIRST EMAIL I read this morning was from a friend who was up in the middle of the night, having so much heartache. I sent her back encouragement and it struck me that what I shared might be encouraging to others. In this case, I was also exhorting myself. I trust this will bring encouragement to you, whatever you are facing. . .Oh my friend, I know this is one tough valley again, and you have been in it for a long time. My confidence and conviction for you is, THIS WILL ….
by Wolfgang Eckleben | Posted onSaturday, September 3rd, 2011| Tags: Blogroll, church planting, Discipleship, Discovery, leadership, Lordship, making disciples, mission, Obedience, prayer, priorities, Will of God |no responses by Wolfgang Eckleben HERE’S MY PRAYER for you and for myself today: “We…pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, He will honour you.” – 2 Thess 1v11 (The Message) Remember: God has called you… (Yes you! He’s got Kingdom business assigned to you) You need to stay “fit” to fulfill your calling… (are you getting enough spiritual ….
by Steve Murrell | Posted onSaturday, August 27th, 2011| Tags: Blogroll, Discovery, faith, gratitude, humility, knowing the truth, Lordship, some good geek blogs, Will of God |no responses by Steve Murrell(Editor: Originally posted July 10. Enjoy reading.)I’m back in Nashville after a two week trip that included ministering to leaders at Every Nation Church in London, visiting my son in Oxford and training church planters in South Africa. It also included the usual flight delays and monstrous airport security lines.One of my airplane books for this trip was Tim Keller’s King’s Cross, a study of the life of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. According to Keller, when Mark says Jesus spoke “with authority” it is like saying Jesus is speaking as the author. The New ….
by Ron Miller MANY PEOPLE THINK that an activity should not be considered sin based upon two sets of criteria. First, an activity is not sin if it does not hurt another person. Second, an activity is not sin if people willingly participate in it. These same people use these suppositions to justify behavior that is contrary to ethical standards for living defined in the Holy Bible. For example, people engage in sexually immoral behavior, which is any sexual activity outside the parameters of a marriage between a husband and wife, thinking it is not ….
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