Contributed by Peter Loughman on May 15, 2008
TOO IMPORTANT FOR MINISTRY
Years ago the retired church janitor had passed away and the family had asked the Senior Pastor to do the funeral services. The Senior Pastor informed me that I was to do the funeral service and not he, because, (and I am not making this up) because, “as senior pastor,
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Oct 25, 2008
based on 1 rating
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I read of a candidate for ordination into the ministry. He was having an interview with the bishop on the day before the ordination service. Feeling his unworthiness he said, "Bishop, if you knew how unworthy I am to be ordained by you, you would never lay hands on me."
The dear bishop replied,
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Baptist
Cymbala shares in his book, "Fresh Power":
"But just as there are people who watch from the bleachers and never know the challenge of competing on the court, we have millions of churchgoers who sit in pews every week without ever entering the game. They sacrifice nothing, strain toward no ministry
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
based on 1 rating
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I think of David Livingstone, the pioneer missionary to Africa, who walked over 29,000 miles. His wife died early in their ministry and he faced stiff opposition from his Scottish brethren. He ministered half blind. His kind of perseverance spurs me on. As I walk, I remember the words in his diary:
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Contributed by Jesse Bennett on Apr 5, 2009
based on 2 ratings
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JOY-SUCKERS
A "joy sucker" is someone who is determined to create either discouragement or hardship on your ministry. "Joy suckers" take on all shapes and sizes, but most often they are negative in their outlook, disappointed with their family, in need of attention or enamored with their own
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Baptist
Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 26, 2010
DRY TRUTH OR DYNAMIC LIES?
During my first year of ministry here, I asked a hypothetical question: If you had the choice of attending a church where the pastor believed and taught the Bible but was dry and not a very good speaker, or a church where the pastor believed that the Bible contained many
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Independent/Bible
Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 7, 2010
A Few Need to Die
Warren Wiersbe, Be Strong. (p. 30)
It is unfortunate but true that sometimes the only way a ministry can move forward is by conducting a few funerals. A pastor friend of mine pleaded with his church board to build a new educational [building] to house an exploding Sunday
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Baptist
Contributed by Ken Pell on Apr 6, 2012
based on 2 ratings
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HOLY JOY
Richard Foster describes holy joy like this:
"Joy, not grit, is the hallmark of holy obedience. ...It is a cheerful revolt against self and pride. ...Utter abandonment to God is done freely and with celebration. And so I urge you to enjoy this ministry of self-surrender. ...The saints
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Nazarene
Contributed by James Wilson on Nov 23, 2000
based on 120 ratings
| 3,527 views
Before her death, Judy Lawson became a spiritual Mother of scores of hardened criminals. "On her last Mother’s Day," according to Bill Myers, "she received 40 Mother’s Day cards from men whose life she touched." Her prison ministry began eighteen months after her son was brutally murdered. She knew
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Baptist
based on 3 ratings
| 2,464 views
In his Alpha Talk “What About the Church,” Nicky Gumbel tells this story about John Wimber, the founding pastor of the Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship and the Worldwide Vineyard Movement: “John Wimber was once approached by a member of his congregation who had met somebody in great need.
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Methodist
based on 1 rating
| 5,311 views
IDENTIFIES WITH OUR SUFFERING
His name was Joseph Damien, and you’ve probably heard his story before, but it bears repeating. A Belgian priest, he was sent in 1873 to minister to lepers in Hawaii. As soon as he arrived on Molokai, he began trying to build friendships with the residents of the
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008
based on 4 ratings
| 2,797 views
PRAYER FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
In Point Man, Steve Farrar tells the story of George McCluskey. When McCluskey married and started a family, he decided to invest one hour a day in prayer, because he wanted his kids to follow Christ. After a time, he expanded his prayers to include his grandchildren
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Contributed by Nigel Heath on Mar 29, 2009
In 1996 Reverend Christopher Gray a vicar was knifed to death in the grounds of his vicarage by a man he had been helping who had recently been released from prison.
Reverend Gray was apparently a great academic with a heart for the poor and disadvantaged. He turned down a good job in the
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Baptist
Contributed by Tyler Edwards on May 26, 2009
THE APOSTLE JOHN
Here are some of the things we know about John, John was one of the apostles. In fact he was the youngest apostle. His brother was the apostle James who is beheaded in Acts 12. He is the only apostle to not be martyred for his faith. And he walked in the inner circle of Jesus.
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*other
Contributed by Gregg Bitter on Nov 24, 2010
based on 1 rating
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70 FUNERALS IN ONE DAY
During a forty-year ministry, I would guess that many pastors do seventy or more burials. But this wasn't over the full span of his ministry. In fact, it wasn't even a full year. In one day, Pastor Rinkart did burial rites for up to seventy people and did the same the next
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Lutheran
Contributed by Brian Mavis on Oct 30, 2001
based on 5 ratings
| 1,790 views
THE OTHER SIDE OF ISLAM
As Dr. Samuel Schlorff, an expert on Islam with Arab
World Ministries puts it, "The truth is that there is
another side to Islam, a side that embraces violence
’in the way of Allah.’ . . . It holds that all men
are created to live in submission to Allah, as
prescribed by
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
based on 2 ratings
| 2,864 views
Now, what areas is the Holy Spirit fully engaged in? Each person is concerned about one or several issues in life:
(a) Everyone wants to be loved.
(b) Everyone wants his or her life to count.
(c) Life is empty without Jesus Christ.
(d) Many sitting here today are loaded down with guilt.
(e)
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Pentecostal
Contributed by Dave Mcfadden on Oct 20, 2004
based on 1 rating
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"One of the first verses of Scripture that Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, encouraged me to memorize was 2 Timothy 2:2. This is like a mathematical formula for spreading the gospel and enlarging the church. Paul taught Timothy; Timothy shared what he knew with faithful men; these
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Baptist
Sermon Central