In Preaching Articles: "giving up" showing 166-174 of 174

Though You Slay Me

By SermonCentral on Jun 21, 2022

For Shane Barnard, it came in the hospital room at the passing of his father. When the doctor informed Barnard and his mother that his father was dead, the flood of pain and shock came. As Barnard held his mother to comfort her, he says, as she wailed, she sang softly underneath her breath, the words of Job 1:21, "He gives, he takes, blessed be the name of the Lord."

Scripture: Philippians 3:10, John 6:66-67, Job 1:21

Tags: Worship, Perseverance, suffering, Surpassing Worth

Running The Race With God Beside Me: Eric Liddell’s Journey Of Faith - Part 2

By Duncan Hamilton on Mar 27, 2024

Liddell wasn’t for sale at any price. He told one congregation that ‘the greatest danger was victory,’ which he further defined as ‘bringing a man up to a level above the strength of his character’. He appealed to another to ‘keep sport free from anything that tends to lower its purity and value’ and to ‘engage in it’ for ‘the sport’s sake alone’. He revealed to a third that no cheering from an athletics crowd had given as much pleasure as his religion.

Scripture: Genesis 19:30-38

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Can I Get A Little Respect?

By Lance Witt on Jul 6, 2023

Respect is a big deal to me. I am so blessed to have a wife who has always affirmed her respect for me. I can’t begin to tell you how life-giving that has been. Through the years as a pastor, the most consistent message I have given to wives is this…”Your husband can do without a lot of things, but the ONE thing he cannot do without is RESPECT.” It’s not just true in marriage, it is also true in leadership.

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Creating A Healthy Team Culture

By Lance Witt on Jun 26, 2023

Culture is one of things that is hard to define but easy to feel. You certainly feel it when you visit a foreign country and you bump up against different customs and ways of doing things, but you also feel it when you enter a business or a church. There is a certain style or personality of an organization that is an expression of culture. I sometimes think of culture as the organization’s “way” of doing what they do. There is a Ritz Carlton “way” of doing customer service. There is a Starbucks “way” of doing business. There is a Crossroads Church “way” of doing ministry.

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John Piper, George Mueller, And The Pleasures Of God

By SermonCentral on Aug 9, 2022

God is like a great Niagara Falls—you look at it and think: surely this can’t keep going at this force for year after year after year. It seems like it would have to rest. Or it seems like some place up stream it would run dry. But, no, it just keeps surging and crashing and making honeymooners happy century after century. That’s the way God is about doing us good. He never grows weary of it. It never gets boring to him.

Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-18, Jeremiah 32:39-41, Psalm 119:68, Deuteronomy 30:9, Ephesians 2:7, Philippians 4:19  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Salvation, Unfailing Love, john piper, Endless Grace, Riches of Grace, George Mueller  (view more)  (view less)

5 Ways Ministry Leaders Start The Journey To Failure

By Ron Edmondson on Aug 1, 2022

One of the hardest things I do in ministry is interact with those who are no longer in ministry, but wish they were. They’ve been derailed. They messed up and either they got caught or the guilt got the best of them and they confessed. Watching this process over the years there appear to be some common reasons failure occurs. It doesn’t start at the failure. It starts months – and, perhaps years – prior. My hope is if we expose some of them we can catch a few people before it is too late.

Tags: leadership, pastoral leadership, avoiding trouble, avoiding burnout, church ministry, Leadership Failure, Exposing Blindspots, e, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Including Kids In Small Groups Benefits The Whole Community

By John Gilman Ii on Mar 19, 2021

Before kids, life was simpler, but it was a lot less fun. After kids, things get crazy. Everything takes more time, and you wonder what you did before the little ones were around. Going places with your kids becomes an adventure. You pack up everything you’ll need and some things you won’t. You make sure everyone’s eaten and used the restroom, even though you know they’ll be hungry and have to go again when you get there.

Tags: Children, family ministry, Church Small Groups

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Pastors Make On Sundays (And What To Do About Them)

By Charles Stone on Jun 18, 2024

For pastors, Sunday can be the most draining day of the week. Intense people interaction, teaching or preaching, seeing our critics, trying to remember names, and attempting to put our own problems aside to listen to other peoples' problems add up to a stress-filled day. The very day we want to be at our best requires more from us than any other day. As a result, we can easily make one or more of the 5 biggest mistakes pastors make on Sundays. Evaluate this list to find out how many you make.

Tags: Preaching, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, Sunday Morning, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

At Least 10 Things Great Churches Are For

By SermonCentral on Apr 20, 2021

The church has often, intentionally or not, been branded as a community of people who are angry and therefore are against everything not church-y. This is especially true when we so vocally voice our protests and gang up to boycott every business that doesn’t look conservative-Christian-friendly enough. I’ve listened to too much lately. From all sides. Some opinions I agree with and others I don’t, but what I’ve concluded is ultimately this: If I’m going to be known or listened to, I want it to be because of what I’m FOR, not what I’m against.

Tags: Grace, Community, reputation, church culture, community, grace  (view more)  (view less)