Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 23, 2006
It is like the parable I read recently by Paul Kooistra, where he said, “I remember that one fateful day when Coach took me aside. I knew what was coming. ‘You don’t have to tell me,’ I said. ‘I’m off the team, aren’t I?’ ‘Well,’ said Coach, ‘you never were really ON the team. You made that
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Denomination:
Methodist
based on 12 ratings
| 3,390 views
"You are familiar with Albrecht Durer’s famous painting "The Praying Hands," but do you know the story behind it? The painting was inspired by the sacrificial, loving acts of a friend. Durer and an older friend were struggling to make a go as artists. Recognizing Durer’s talent, the older man took
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Denomination:
United Methodist
Contributed by Richard White on Sep 13, 2003
based on 16 ratings
| 2,655 views
There once was a woman who really felt she had nothing to share with or give to God and his people. During the services she would sit, sing softly to herself, pray to herself, engage in little small talk afterward. On Sunday the preacher gave a message on Expressions of Gratitude. When she went
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Denomination:
Christian/Church Of Christ
Craig Brian Larson, a Chicago pastor, wears many hats including serving as editor of the pastors’ resource “Preachingtoday.com.” He is especially talented in providing pastors with great anthologies from the movies that are excellent illustrations for sermons.
He shares this story. “As a kid, I
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Denomination:
Methodist
Contributed by Gene Gregory on Jul 23, 2007
based on 2 ratings
| 5,549 views
It was a cold, winter day. A carcass, on an ice floe, floated slowly down the Niagra River. An Eagle, flying overhead, spied the easy prey below, and descended upon it. He began to eat. As he did, the water of the river began slowly pushing the flow toward the falls. But could not the eagle,
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Martin Wiles on Apr 29, 2002
based on 4 ratings
| 1,621 views
Jenna Day tells of a Christmas 20 years ago that she remembers well.
At her small school in central Maine, there were two classes for each grade: the children who got good grades, wore nice clothes and whose parents were in the PTA, and the kids who were in the slow class, and got poor grades. She
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Larry Thornton on Nov 23, 2006
based on 5 ratings
| 1,647 views
God ... does not lavish his children with a jolly discipleship so that they may swim in spiritual ecstasy between conversion and death. God is a giver, but he does not give happiness. He gives redemption, meaning, security, love, victory, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And happiness is
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Denomination:
Pentecostal
Contributed by Martin Kim on Nov 22, 2004
based on 5 ratings
| 2,772 views
Christian A. Schwarz and his team from the Institute for Church Development in Germany analyzed responses from 4.2 million people, from more than 1,000 churches in 32 countries.
In the book he writes:
“An interesting corollary result of our research was the discovery that probably no factor
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Denomination:
Adventist
Contributed by Robert Walter on Dec 24, 2004
based on 4 ratings
| 2,000 views
Someone speculated what the first Christmas might have been like if Wise Women had come from the east instead of Wise Men.
First of all, they would have asked for directions and made it to Bethlehem on time. Second, they would have helped with the delivery, cleaned up the
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Denomination:
Lutheran
Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2008
Willing to Give More People who derive at least half of their wealth from entrepreneurial ventures would give more money away if they knew that charities spent less on administrative costs and more on helping their clients. They are also more likely than other wealthy donors to give additional sums
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Contributed by Dave Kinney on May 6, 2008
"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships…It has
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Denomination:
Baptist
In all knowledge and in every act of love the human soul experiences something "over and above," which seems very much like a gift that we receive, or a height to which we are raised. The development of individuals and peoples is likewise located on a height, if we consider the spiritual dimension
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Denomination:
Catholic
Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Sep 4, 2023
Great multitudes will follow as long as there is no price to be paid, no contract to sign, no commands to obey, no orders to follow, no sacrifices to surrender, no gifts to offer, no commitments to keep, no burdens to bear, no suffering to share, no hardship to handle, no effort to exert, no pills
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Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Dec 11, 2023
As we ponder Christmas time
And contemplate the season,
Help us remember the Christ,
For He is the true reason
That we celebrate Christmas
And make such jubilation:
He brought glad tidings of peace
And the gift of salvation.
So, just another Christmas?
Oh, no, may it never be.
As
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Scripture:
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Denomination:
Baptist