Last Opportunity?
I once heard a story about the great evangelist, D. L. Moody, and the Chicago fire of 1871. Here is how the story goes, on the night of the fire, Moody preached a revival service and wrestled with whether or not to give an altar call. He decided not to and it was just a few hours later that the city was up in smoke. Following the great fire and the loss of many lives, Moody, made a decision to never end a message without giving an opportunity for the people to respond to God’s Word. He knew that this might be their last opportunity.
read more // comments (0)Speaking to Middle Schoolers by Aaron McKee
Here are some quick tips for more effective sermons to a young teen audience, from Middle School Pastor, Aaron McKee.
Tip #1- Be Prepared: Know where you’re going with the message, or they will eat you alive. Been there, done that!
Tip #2- Keep their attention longer by including stories in your sermon. If you can, find video clips that illustrate your point.
read more // comments (0)Lessons on Giving from Jesus
Luke 21:1-4, While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” NLT
read more // comments (0)Be strong and courageous! by Dwaine Richards
Be strong and courageous! This phrase is mentioned four times in the first chapter of Joshua. God tells Joshua three times, in no uncertain terms, to “be strong and courageous.” I wish God was always this clear to me when telling me how I should act. It would have saved me a lot of trouble in middle school!
Should it be assumed that Joshua was feeling weak and timid? And that God was telling him to be the opposite? Perhaps overwhelmed by the position he found himself in… from aide to leader? Perhaps he knew what to do, but was not very confident. Maybe he was confident, just unsure how to proceed, and God was encouraging him that he was acting correctly. Either way, it was something Joshua needed to hear for two important reasons.
read more // comments (0)PK “Pastor’s Kids” Escape
Amazing! Outstanding! Loved It! Powerful! Excellent! So Much Fun! Thanks for Refreshing Me! Those were just some of the statements I heard following our PK “Pastor’s Kids” Escape last weekend in Bend. I agree with every one of these comments. I thank God for Dan Clements and the whole team he put together for this year’s PK Escape.
read more // comments (0)VISION by Pamela Weston
This past Sunday I sat back and watched in awe as a vision for a special needs ministry to children spread throughout our church. Before the morning was over we had a list of individuals, including professionals, willing to help in this area.
I love it when God gives the church a vision, then equips, and finally brings that vision into fulfillment! Proverbs 29:18 tells us that “where there is no vision, the people perish.” As a church and as individuals we need that constant breath of God’s revelation filling our lives. Many Christians live out their lives just existing from day to day. They have no personal sense of a divine summons or leading from God. This is not how God intends for us to live. He has a plan and purpose for our lives and he expects us to fulfill it.
read more // comments (2)My "To Do" list.
In Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive he writes about the importance of leaders asking themselves the following question: What is the one thing I do that really matters to the organization? After reading Lencioni’s book over the holidays, I found myself reflecting on my purpose and the mission of the Next Generation Ministries. As spiritual leaders and pastors we too need to ask ourselves a similar question. That being: What is the one thing I do that really matters to the kingdom of God?
read more // comments (0)Apple Lessons by Brad Shimomura
I jokingly say from time to time that Apple (the computer/media/all things tech company) has 2 goals. The first goal is to all to make everyone dependant on their devices and technology. If you are an iPhone user, you know what I mean. You have to be constantly checking on your facebook, twitter, email, myspace, and of course phone calls. When amongst other iPhone users it is perfectly acceptable to check on the status of any of these things while in the midst of conversation. This rule does not extend to non-iPhone users. Roberta and I recently had dinner with some friends who are non-iPhone users, and it was painful for us to not check twitter every 15 minutes. The Psychology professionals are now considering a diagnose of something called iPad, or iPhone Addictive Disorder. Symptoms include (when separated from your phone): anxiety, nervousness, clamminess, and a short temper.
read more // comments (0)Uncommon
Last fall I read Tony Dungy’s latest book, Uncommon. The book is based on a life lesson Coach Dungy learned from his former football coach at the University of Minnesota, Cal Stoll. Coach Stoll often told his team, “Success is uncommon, therefore not to be enjoyed by the common man. I’m looking for uncommon people.” In Dungy’s book he gives us thirty-one uncommon life principles to finding the path to significance in life.
Significance and success are not the same. God calls us to be significant not just successful. On page 218 Dungy says, “God call us to follow the dreams in our hearts, to pursue them with all of our might. Sometimes they will result in “success” in worldly terms, but other times it will feel more like futility. But we must remember that God’s scorecard is different then ours.”
read more // comments (0)do-overs by Troy Pomeroy
I've been doing some studying/teaching through the Kings and Chronicles and have observed some pretty amazing things.
1. The arrogance and stupidity of Israel (Judah later on too) never ceases to amaze me. They repeatedly thumbed their noses at God in spite of the constant warnings they received about impending judgment and doom that would befall them if they didn't repent and change their ways.
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