based on 2 ratings
| 1,260 views
My first pastoral appointment was the Marissa and Zion United Methodist Charge in St. Clair County, Illinois, about forty miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Zion had only three members and no electricity or running water. In past decades light had been provided in the sanctuary by kerosene,
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Denomination:
Methodist
Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008
based on 34 ratings
| 4,732 views
Spiritual Health Checks
(True Devotions)
Rick Warren wrote, "The key for churches in the 21st Century will be church health, not growth." When a congregation is healthy, it will grow spiritually and enjoy the benefits of a live, vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. A healthy Christian
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Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 11, 2009
based on 1 rating
| 1,928 views
"THAT'S JUST DENNY."
John Ortberg tells of a man in a church he once pastored whom he called Denny. Denny was not a happy man. He had attended church his whole life, but he had never been happy. Even the expression on his face was perpetually negative - so much so that one day a deacon asked him,
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Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008
based on 1 rating
| 2,396 views
KNOWING YOUR WAY TO HEAVEN
The little church in the suburbs suddenly stopped buying from its regular office supply dealer. So, the dealer telephoned Deacon Brown to ask why. "I'll tell you why," said Deacon Brown, "Our church ordered some pencils from you to be used in the pews for visitors to
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Contributed by Steven Dow on Jun 12, 2004
based on 10 ratings
| 2,760 views
When is Jesus coming? The Bible is very clear that no one knows when that event will occur. It is kind of like trying to anticipate the next terrorist attack. People have their best guesses and the terror index goes up and down and so far nothing has happened here in the States. I actually
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Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2001
based on 242 ratings
| 3,295 views
I heard about an African-American who tried to attend a church. Sadly, the church wouldn’t even let him attend a service.
The pastor said, "You just need to pray about it."
About three weeks later the pastor saw him and asked, "Did you talk to the Lord about it?"
The man said,
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Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006
based on 6 ratings
| 2,962 views
Friendship Factor" A new Gallup study commissioned by Group Publishing shows that people with close friendships in their church are very satisfied with their congregation, less likely to leave their place of worship, and have a strong friendship with God. Church members who have a best friend at
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Contributed by Maurice Schaus on Feb 11, 2008
based on 1 rating
| 2,235 views
There’s a story in Greek mythology about a young man named Narcissus. He was a beautiful young man, and he knew it. One day Narcissus saw his reflection in a stream, and he instantly fell in love with the reflected image of himself. What he saw staring back at him from the water was so beautiful
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Denomination:
Lutheran
Contributed by Robert Fox on Dec 20, 2005
based on 6 ratings
| 2,511 views
The gifts of service are sometimes considered "second-rate." compared with gifts like "evangelism."
Without faithful Christians exercising their gift of service, the gifts of evangelism are powerless. It is quite true that people don’t “care how much you know until they know how much you
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Oct 31, 2007
I’ve been set afire by Ed Stetzer’s book, Comeback Churches. He did a study that examined 324 churches from 10 denominations that recently experienced renewed growth by conversion after a significant period of plateau and/or decline.
Not all comeback churches were contemporary. Many were blended.
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Denomination:
Pentecostal
Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 23, 2009
Donald Gary Barnhouse was a powerful preacher with a mind like a steel trap. One New Year’s Eve, back in the late forties or fifties, at the church’s watch night service, Barnhouse was administering a communion service when there was a noisy disturbance outside. A group of loud, drunken voices
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Denomination:
Christian/Church Of Christ
I remember years ago, when I was the pastor in another city, we had a man in our church that worked in a local processing plant. His name was Doug. One day, a new guy – a fellow by the name of Mike – showed up to work there, and Doug got acquainted with him and invited him to come to our
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Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
based on 5 ratings
| 3,563 views
"EVERY MEMBER IS A SINNER"
There's a worn-out story about the preacher who was getting fired-up in his sermon. He thundered, "Every member of this church is a sinner!" When he hollered this a second time for emphasis, there was a man on the back row who had a broad smile come across his face.
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Denomination:
United Methodist
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