In his book, The Externally Focused Church, Rick Rusaw shares the story of Tom Maharius, the least likely person to make an impact on any community, let alone New York City. A casualty of the 60’s hippie movement, and heavily involved in drugs use, Maharias’s downward spiral came to an abrupt end
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Baptist
Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 17, 2009
Remember with me if you can when your last child was born. For my wife and me it was in Hoffman Estates Medical Center, on October 17, 1986 at 1:58 a.m. We entered the hospital on a cool dark evening with great expectation about what was soon to occur. Birth pains gradually came in shorter and
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Baptist
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
based on 2 ratings
| 1,522 views
When Shackleton, the great explorer, was planning what proved to be his last expedition to the Arctic seas, an interesting incident is said to have occurred. Shackleton was seated in an office in London, speaking to a friend about his forthcoming expedition. The friend said, “I am surprised at the
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Contributed by Tim Adams on Dec 1, 2009
Remember Jonah? He fought the will of God. He was miserable in his hometown when he heard the will of God. He ran away to Tarshish and was miserable on the whole trip. When you have to hide in a belly of a ship to get away from the storm you brought upon yourself by disobedience you’re always
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Baptist
CHILDHOOD REMINDERS
When I first came to Wichita Falls, Joe and Eloise were living over on Hursh, and I remember going to call on them one day. The front door cradled a lovely stained-glass window. When I asked about it, Joe said, "It’s from the old church in Vernon." Every time he entered and
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by James Dunn on Jan 29, 2002
based on 65 ratings
| 2,350 views
William Gladstone, in announcing the death of Princess Alice to the House of Commons, told a touching story. The little daughter of the Princess was seriously ill with diphtheria. The doctors told the princess not to kiss her little daughter and endanger her life by breathing the child’s breath.
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Baptist
based on 3 ratings
| 3,319 views
Children often receive a confidence boost from their mothers when they are down. Wherever a child may have a sense of low self- esteem, a mother build that child’s confidence through her words of encouragement. Enrico Caruso is but one example. As a child his mother encouraged his talent for
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United Methodist
Contributed by Evie Megginson on Oct 15, 2004
based on 1 rating
| 1,939 views
Twenty years later Rembrandt painted another picture of himself. As a young man he determined to deny himself no pleasure. He, therefore, sought out every delight and followed his appetite. Hence, one by one the torches of his life went out. Having been untrue to himself, he lost faith in others.
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Baptist
Contributed by Timothy Smith on Jan 1, 2005
based on 12 ratings
| 4,733 views
George Barna wrote The State of the Church in 2002. Barna conducted a survey of self-pronounced Christians and here’s what he found about their knowledge of the Bible.
Now, remember these are Christians..
• 48% could not name the four Gospels.
• 52% cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus’
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Christian Church
Contributed by Douglas Vincent on Mar 17, 2006
based on 2 ratings
| 2,061 views
Erwin Mcmanus asked a highly educated UCLA graduate what he was planning to do with his life. Looking for clarification he asked, “you mean to pay the bills?” Erwin answered with no small amount of passion, “No, not to pay the Bills” He went on to explain to him that if his only goal was to pay
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Methodist
Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Nov 16, 2006
Noel Coward, a well known British playwright and comedian in the 20th century, once played a prank on ten famous men in London. He sent each of these distinguished men the same note which read: “We know what you have done. If you don’t want to be exposed, leave town.” Within six months all ten
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Assembly Of God
Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 26, 2001
based on 117 ratings
| 2,487 views
Shohoiya Yokowai spent 28 years of his life in prison. It was not a prison of bars & locks & wardens, but a self-imposed prison of fear. He was a Japanese soldier on the island of Guam during WW2. And when the American forces landed, he fled into the jungle & found a cave in which he hid for 28
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Richard Goble on Jan 2, 2008
based on 1 rating
| 2,195 views
Under New Management
A certain Army man had been a heavy drinker for 35 years. For all those years he had been angry; angry with everyone and everything. Finally, he encountered Christ and his whole life changed.
He was speaking once before a group of medical people. He told them of his
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Baptist
Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Aug 23, 2008
“In a market-driven age we are accustomed to think of every church having a special niche, of every visitor as a prospective customer, and every aspect of worship designed to satisfy the consumers. Paul was reminding the Galatians that the gospel was not a product to be peddled on the marketplace
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Other
And I have something else to say it. We share the same story as this crippled man did: we can’t walk and others carry us. The pastor, the elders, church board, somebody from your family… your religion is a second hand religion. Others are carrying you… You are just passive watcher, crippled
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Seventh-Day Adventist
Contributed by Charles Wallis on Jan 22, 2009
“The need for human relationships is a deep as anything humans experience. Infants who are given adequate amounts of food and water die if they do not receive human contact. Adults surrounded by people all day long cry out for friendships that will break down the walls of loneliness around them.
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Pentecostal
Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Jan 26, 2009
based on 1 rating
| 2,668 views
WHAT WOULD YOU THINK?
What would you think if I said, "We’ve decided that sometimes, instead of having praise and worship music, we’re going to listen to Marilyn Manson? And sometimes instead of celebrating the Lord’s Supper with bread and juice, we’ll celebrate it with Jack Daniel’s. And why not
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 2, 2009
WHAT OTHER GODS?
What other gods could we have besides the Lord? Plenty. For Israel there were the Canaanite Baals, those jolly nature gods whose worship was a rampage of gluttony, drunkenness, and ritual prostitution. For us there are still the great gods Sex, Shekels, and Stomach (an unholy
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Other
John Bevere states, “However (eternity), it’s not just a matter of ceaseless time, as it is not subject to time. Eternity transcends time. To speak of eternity in terms of merely perpetual duration is to miss the full picture. To capture the best view of eternity, we must look at God Himself. He is
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Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational