THINK STEPS, NOT PROGRAMS
In his book, Seven Practices of Effective Ministry, Andy Stanley writes: "Think Steps, Not Programs" (p. 88). The idea is this: Instead of having a strategic vision that focuses on programs, you have a strategic vision of a people-process, a pathway that takes people from
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 21, 2010
JUST WORDS
Samuel Clemens (better known by his alias Mark Twain) attended a Sunday morning service. He met the pastor at the door afterward and told him that he had a book at home with every word he had preached that morning. The minister assured him that the sermon was an original. Clemens still
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Brethren
Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 9, 2011
TONGUE IS LIKE A FIRE
When we were children, my brother and started a small fire in the field across from our home. We just wanted to burn off some briars and things so that we could clear the field to play. Wow, did we ever clear that field. The wind picked up and before long the fire was
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Paul Casteel on Jun 9, 2012
based on 3 ratings
| 3,960 views
HOW BIG IS YOUR FRYING PAN?
Adrian Rogers tells the following story,
"I heard of a fisherman who was fishing; and, if a fish was over 18 inches long, he just threw it back. And, somebody asked him, 'Why do you do that?' He said, 'Well, I only have an 18-inch frying pan.'"
Well, I
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Maurice Schaus on Feb 11, 2008
A WWII battleship was responding to the distress signal of a sinking ship. When they arrived on the site, they found a raft full of survivors, with a German sub hiding below. If you’re the captain, what do you do? Do you attempt to rescue the life raft, leaving your vessel vulnerable to attack, or
...read more
Denomination:
Lutheran
Contributed by Paul Wallace on Feb 13, 2008
On February 19, 1945, Marines landed on the beaches of Iwo Jima, fighting by inches to secure a beachhead. After four days of knock-down-drag-out battle, they finally cleared the southern end of the island, climbed Mount Suribachi, and planted a US flag. The commander wanted a larger presence on
...read more
Denomination:
Wesleyan
based on 1 rating
| 1,337 views
Just this past week one of the little guys in our church’s Friendship Company preschool program broke into song as he was doing some artwork---He sang, “Jesus loves me this I know---for the Bible tells me no.” What is it they say? From the mouths of babes??? Now while that little guy didn’t sing
...read more
Denomination:
Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Dan Steadman on Mar 22, 2008
Here’s a clean, crisp, twenty dollar bill that’s worth $20. If I wrinkle it up, and scrunch it all into a ball, how much is it worth? $20. What about if I step on it, and grind it into the dirt—even tear it? Yes, it’s still worth $20. If that’s true for a piece of paper with numbers and pictures on
...read more
Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 2, 2008
Illustration from Dying to Self - A wealthy university graduate chose to live frugally in a single room, cooking his own meals. As a result he was able to give two million dollars to foreign missions. In explanation of his choice he wrote these words: “Gladly would I make the floor my bed, a box my
...read more
Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2008
Teen Births Up The U.S. birth rate among teens 15 to 19 rose 3% in ’06, the first such increase since ’91. The finding surprised scholars and fueled a debate about whether abstinence-only sexual education efforts are working. Robert Rector, a Heritage Foundation senior research fellow, says that
...read more
Contributed by Ronnie Knight on May 9, 2008
Prayer Releases All Your Eternal Resources. I came across this acronym in a prayer study a few years ago. There is truth in that phrase because we have all experience God’s power revealed through prayer either as we see God miraculously answer that prayer or by seeing Him change us so that we can
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jun 9, 2008
Our cultural advertising motto is “sex sells.” Sex sells clothes, cars, food, beverages, even exercise equipment. “You can have the body that you have always wanted.” While they show two “perfectly” chiseled bodies using their equipment (always one male and one female), the message is that once you
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Church Of God
Contributed by Bill Butsko on Jul 21, 2008
based on 2 ratings
| 7,251 views
GOD'S GREAT LOVE
One time a father wanted to teach his son the lesson of God's great goodness. He took him to the top of a high hill and pointed northward over Scotland, southward over England, eastward over the ocean, westward over hill and valley, and then sweeping his arm around the whole
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Christian Church