A family is like many things, perhaps most like a garden. It needs time, attention, and cultivation. The sunshine of laughter and affirmation. It also needs the rains of difficulties, tense moments, serious discussions about the issues that matter. And there must be spade work, where hardness
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Denomination:
Pentecostal
Contributed by Andy Anquoe on Feb 15, 2007
There’s a story of a man who carried a small can of oil with him wherever he went. He wanted to go through life lubricating all the hard places and make it easier for those who came behind him. Whenever he came a cross a squeaky door, he poured some oil on the hinges. Whenever he came across a gate
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Jon Dart on Mar 6, 2007
based on 4 ratings
| 2,082 views
Taking the Plunge—Readers’ Digest Online, As Kids See It, Stephen McCormack, St. Joachim, ON, 1997
To my five-year-old son, Alex, jumping off the diving board that first time seemed an insurmountable challenge. He was too timid to manage it that day. On the drive home I tried to bolster his courage
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Nathan Parker on Mar 10, 2007
based on 4 ratings
| 4,760 views
Life Examples: Jacob: Wrestling with God (Gen. 32:24-32)
The story of Jacob alternately comforts and confounds. For while we could look upon many of his decisions with contempt-and even wonder why God would so favor such a man-it equally reassures us to realize that the God who extended grace to
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Scripture:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Mar 27, 2007
In his book Integrity, Ted Engstrom tells this story: For Coach Cleveland Stroud and the Bulldogs of Rockdale County High School [Conyers, Georgia], it was their championship season: 21 wins and 5 losses on the way to the Georgia boys’ basketball tournament in March, then a dramatic
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Denomination:
Pentecostal
Years ago a Christian Church in Albuquerque hired a church growth expert from California. I remember his presentation to the church board while I was a Youth Minister there. He gave many suggestions, but his biggest recommendation was that the church was located in a part of town that had no
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Denomination:
Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Steve Smith on Apr 4, 2007
ILL: THE TRIANGLE OF MINISTRY
If you picture a triangle – at the top is Jesus because we know “He is the way, the truth and the life.” At the bottom of the triangle are the different members of the body that God has uniquely placed here.
In the middle is the Holy Spirit. (READ JOHN 14.26)
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Vic Folkert on Apr 5, 2007
based on 1 rating
| 2,093 views
Robert Schuller tells of a time early in his ministy when he was experiencing great opposition. He was unable to sleep, panic-stricken, and the thought came to him, "Schuller, you’re cracking up." He desperately prayed, "Jesus Christ, are you dead or alive? I’ve been preaching it every Easter. But
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Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
THE NAIL-- As the story goes, they built a new church building and people came from everywhere to see it. They admired its beauty! Up on the roof, a little nail heard the people praising everything about the lovely structure except the nail! No one even knew he was there, and he became angry and
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by John Tung on Apr 10, 2007
In the movie “Life Is Beautiful” - nominated in 1998 as Best Picture for the Oscars - the main character Guido is placed in a concentration camp by the Nazis. Guido and his son, who is with him, pretend for his son that this horrible place is a game, with rules, so that his son doesn’t get too
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Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Greg Buchner on Sep 26, 2004
Illus. Pastor Bud Buchner, a well-known street minister in Lansing, MI, was once counseling with a man high on drugs and alcohol. The guy wasn’t being responsive to his invitation because he had to get to the bar across the Michigan Ave. in downtown Lansing. Michigan Ave. is a five-lane street that
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Denomination:
Methodist
Contributed by Brad Froese on Oct 6, 2004
based on 4 ratings
| 2,715 views
I can remember two separate mornings in my life, when I woke up early because I couldn’t breathe.
When I woke, my lungs had stopped breathing and I realized they weren’t taking commands from my brain. So I darted out of bed, standing in the middle of the room with my mouth wide open, prompting my
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Denomination:
Assembly Of God
Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Nov 14, 2004
One of the people I talked to told of an interesting incident that happened at a family gathering. She suddenly found herself under attack as some of the other family members decided to bring up everything that she had ever done wrong. They reminded her of things from long ago and accused her of
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Denomination:
Methodist
based on 5 ratings
| 2,090 views
I love the story of the little boy who told his mother he had determined that he was six feet tall. When she asked how he had arrived at this conclusion, he told her he had used his shoe to measure and that he was six shoes tall. With a loving smile she sweetly told him that his shoe was not twelve
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Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Jess Bousa on Jan 2, 2005
based on 6 ratings
| 2,886 views
Columnist L. M. Boyd recently described the amazing good fortune of a man named Jack Wurm. In 1949, Mr. Wurm was broke and out of a job. No job and no money, just like some of us here. One day he was walking along a San Francisco beach when he came across a bottle with a piece of paper in it. As
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Denomination:
Pentecostal
Contributed by Herman Abrahams on Jan 16, 2005
After the Crash
The police in a particular town received a call reporting a car being driven wildly through the streets. Within three minutes two policemen in a squad car received the alert and rushed to intercept the offending motorist.
The policemen stopped at an intersection and was shocked
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Denomination:
Charismatic
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