Today's Word

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32?

Today's Preaching Insight...

Can Felt Needs Distract?

In a recent interview for the PreachingTodaySermons newsletter, Duane Litfin discusses the danger of preaching that focuses only on felt needs: "Felt needs can distract us because of the misdirection of our society, the pop culture, the advertising. People think they need all sorts of things they don't need, and they are distracted from the things they do need. It's almost a mistake to be asking, What are the felt needs of my audience? and use those as my take-off point. As an expositor, I work the other way around. I come to the text, and I ask,What is this passage saying? What is the truth here? Why does God want us to know this? What is the need in our lives this passage is speaking to? That is the need I'm going to try to raise in my introduction.

I don't start with my audience. I'm big into preaching to needs, but I don't begin with my audience and ask, What are their needs? I start with the passage and say, This is the answer. Now what question might someone pose to me where I would say, "Let's turn to this passage and look what God has to say?" In other words, you let the passage determine what the need is. Then that's the need you raise in your introduction and deal with.

That comes out of a confidence in the profitability of all Scripture. All the graphe, all the writings, are profitable for doctrine, correction, reproof, instruction in righteousness. God wants to grow us into the people he wants us to be through the graphe, through the writings, through the Scripture. It is God breathed, profitable for us. Now the question is, Here's a passage. How is this profitable? What needs to be reproved, corrected, and instructed? How do we need to grow in our walk with the Lord? How is this passage helping us do that? What is it speaking to? Why does God want me to know this? When I've answered that question at a deep level, I'll know what to do in my introduction."  (Click here to read the full article)]

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh: The Laws of Parenting

The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.
For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty. 
Toys multiply to fill any space available. 
The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it. 
Yours is always the only child who doesn't behave. 
If the shoe fits...it's expensive. 
The surest way to get something done is to tell a child not to do it. 
The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet. 
Backing the car out of the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.

[Judy Harder]

8/7
Today's Word for Pastors...

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.
Matthew 14:26-27

Today's Preaching Insight...

Excitement

Dealing with Psalm 135, pastor Paul Martin writes, "I'll tell you right now, the Psalmist is excited in this psalm. He cries, 'Praise the Lord,' ten times in twenty-one verses! Why should we be excited?

1. It is exciting to think about God as the Creator. "Whatsoever the Lord pleases He does. In heaven and in earth. In the seas and in all deep places." (verse 6)

2. It is exciting to think of God as present in every crisis. "He defeated many nations and slew mighty kings...and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people." (verses 10-12)

3. It is exciting that man can talk to God, and that God talks to man. If you look for God's delicate intervention in your affairs, you will see it. And sometimes, as Samuel Shoemaker says, "God is there flat-footed, sort of 'barging in.'" What a precious privilege, talking with the living God!

4. It is exciting to know that God wins the victory over evil by love...not by might or power, but by the Spirit of love. But He wins! I see them continually—men and women, once slaves to sin, now free through Christ. Alive, happy trophies of His love!  (Paul Martin, 'Get Up and Go')"

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book

Church Morph

In Church Morph (Baker), Eddie Gibbs talks about the trends and tools found in churches that are countering the decline experienced by too many congregations. He talks about the changes needed for churches to live out their mission in 21st century culture, and offers a host of examples of churches that are reaching out and making a difference.




8/8
Today's Word for Pastors...

"...Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
John 7:38

Today's Preaching Insight...

Sermon Seed: The Sacrifice of Isaac

Pastor Mike Glenn writes: Like most of you, I had a lot of trouble with God demanding that Abraham offer Isaac as a sacrifice. I never could figure out what God was trying to do with Abraham.

Can you imagine what was going through Abraham's mind? Can you imagine the anguish felt by Abraham and the mixed feelings he must have had toward God? Why would God mess with Abraham like this? To me, it just didn't make any sense.

Then I was in Old Testament class with Clyde Francisco and he was lecturing on this passage. He took his glasses off (that meant he was preaching, not lecturing) and started dealing with this passage.

In a way only the old preachers can, he set the scene—a grieving father, a trusting son, a lonely mountain—and then, he quietly turned to us and said, "Abraham's sin is the sin of many of us. We trust the gift, not the Giver. Abraham was now trusting Isaac to be the keeper of the promise, not God. God was reminding Abraham that the promise of being a great nation depended on God and God alone."

So, is that your sin? Do you trust your talents, resources, or abilities more than God who gave you those gifts? The difference may seem to be subtle, but trust me when I say that the implications are profound. God can use a person of limited abilities who lives in total trust much more than a gifted person who only trusts in him or herself. (Brentwood (TN) Baptist Church Daily Devotional)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh

Giving

A small boy stunned his parents when he began to empty his pockets of nickels, dimes and quarters. Finally his mother said, "Where did you get all that money?"

"At Sunday school," the boy replied nonchalantly. "They have bowls of it."

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

The LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands..
Psalm 138:8

Today's Preaching Insight...

Lawsuits among Believers

The issue is this: Can't we the redeemed of the Lord deal with our own problems within the family of God? It scandalizes a church not to be able to handle its own affairs. We are called to try to settle these issues as brothers and sisters.

Paul did not come up with this teaching on his own. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it is in direct concurrence with the teachings of Jesus, who in Matthew 18 gives a pattern as to how we should deal with grievances between brothers and sisters. Jesus gives this very clear scenario in Matthew 18:15-17. He suggests that, if you have a grievance against a brother or sister in Christ, go to that person, share your thoughts. If the person listens, you've made a friend for life. If not, take one or two other witnesses along with you, so that your word will be confirmed. If that person still refuses to listen, then take it to the leadership of the church. If this person even then refuses to listen, if the leadership of the church concurs with your concern, treat that person as if he was a Gentile.

What I extrapolate from the teaching of Jesus is that, if the matter is not that significant to you, move on. Don't get uptight over it. But if it is a significant matter of justice, you are welcome to pursue the issue in the civil courts. For God's sake, your sake and the witness of the church, don't be dragging every petty concern, every squabble before the civil courts. It damages the church both internally and externally.

Then Paul introduces a most significant fact. He reminds us that we are actually better qualified to judge with equity than are nonbelievers. With a note of sarcasm, he writes, "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels - to say nothing of ordinary matters?" (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).

(To read the full article "Lawsuits among Believers" by John A. Huffman Jr. at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Cross

The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany. Alongside the German-Austrian border, it towers 9,718 feet high. You can go up the mountain by cog railway or cable car but not to the peak. The last few yards, you must walk or climb. On the top of the peak is a cross. Climbers believe it is worth the sacrifice to make it to the cross. We feel that way about Calvary. It is worth it to make it to the cross.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Ephesians 4:30-31

Today's Preaching Insight...

Belief in Preaching

In his classic book Power in Preaching, W.E. Sangster talks about why preachers often seem to lose the power they once felt in the pulpit. One of the most important things a preacher can do, Sangster insists, is to actually believe in preaching. He observes:

"Grasp the fact that the heart of the Gospel is a meeting of God and man, and preaching provides the best medium for that meeting. Many people - many preachers even - find this hard to believe. They believe the Gospel and they believe that it must be proclaimed. What they cannot believe is that there is anything sacrosanct in preaching as the method of proclamation. St. Paul, of course, said that 'it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe' but printing was not invented then, nor the cinema, nor wireless [radio], nor television - and even the drama was in a primitive form. They have come to believe that there are better ways of proclaiming the Gospel than by preaching...

"And who can deny some force in this? A thousand will look at television for every ten who go to church. People love a 'show,' and if the show can be sanctified and do the work, need we worry by what road the wanderers travel so long as they travel home?

"Now all this is plausible, but it is not convincing to those who know the nature of the Gospel. That God uses these ancillary methods we do not deny, but we maintain that preaching is primary in the purpose of God. 'It was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of preaching...' It is God's good pleasure still.

"It does not turn on what the people like but on what He likes. It is not a question of our particular gifts but of the divine intention. As DR. H.H. Farmer says: 'The activity of preaching is not merely a means for conveying the content of the Christian faith, but it is in a real sense bound up with that content itself.' 'The necessity of preaching resides in the fact that when God saves a man through Christ he insists on a living, personal encounter with him here and now in the sphere of present personal relationships.'"

Today's Extra...

Gambling, Lottery

In an article for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Hal Lane writes: "Gambling shows a lack of love for others. The few who win lottery payoffs do not care where the money came from or who was hurt in the process. In their book, Selling Hope: State Lotteries in America (Harvard University Press), authors Clotfelter and Cook state that 10 percent of lottery players account for 50 percent of lottery purchases and the top 20 percent account for 65 percent of purchases. Many of these players are gambling addicts who are robbing their families of needed resources. How can a Christian feel good about benefiting from the misery of others?" (http://erlc.com/article/whats-wrong-with-buying-a-lottery-ticket)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 19:11

Today's Preaching Insight...

The Shepherd in the Valley of the Shadow of Death

What is to become of us when it is the Shepherd's valley of the shadow of death?

In the 23rd Psalm we see ourselves walking through darkness with the Shepherd as our guide. In C.S. Lewis' The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, as Aslan makes his way to the stone table he comes to a point where he does not allow Lucy and Susan to go any further. They are not permitted to make that last leg of the journey with him. It is a path which he must walk alone, into the heart of death and darkness. I say again, "What is to become of us when it is the Shepherd's valley of the shadow of death?"

Perhaps this is the place where our faith is most shaken. Those long hours before the dawn. That silence in which we so often live. You know the silence I speak of. That dead space between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Of course we will beg history (fooling ourselves that it in some way helps). We will say, "I know the rest of the story." But Peter, John and Mary did not have that. They are left with words. "On the third day I will rise again." "I will tear down this temple and in three days raise it up." They are left to contemplate possibility and promise. They are thrust into a crisis of faith.

As Jesus proceeded toward the cross He lamented over the abandonment He would experience by His disciples. Peter however insisted that he would not fail. It is here that Jesus informs him of his triple failure. Three times he would deny the Lord. Strikeout. Yet Jesus intercedes. Jesus said, "Peter, Satan has asked that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. And when you have returned to me strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32).

What is to become of us when it is the Shepherd's valley of the shadow of death?

Fear not. Christ has prayed for you. He has passed through the valley of the shadow of death for you. We need not fear any evil. Our salvation is not maintained by our fragile faith. But we are kept by the power of God. Our forgiveness is in His shed blood. In your crisis of faith, the long pause the deep breath, do not lose heart for hope flies on the wings of the dawn.

(To read the entire article, "Whose Valley?" by William Berkheiser at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book

Multi-Site Churches

One of the major trends in 21st-century church life is the multi-site church. If you are interested in learning more, one of the best resources you'll find is Multi-Site Churches (B&H Books) by Scott McConnell. The book draws on extensive research from 40 current multi-site congregations. If your church is considering this strategy, start here.

†

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
1 Timothy 6:6-8

Today's Preaching Insight...

Grandchildren: Regaining What Was Lost

In the Dallas Seminary Daily Devotional for 10-17-07, F. Duane Lindsey writes, "Asked if she had yet made a long trip to visit her son and his new wife, a woman replied, "No, I've been waiting until they have their new baby." When her friend thought the delay was to save money, she explained, "No, it isn't that. You see, I have a theory that grandmothers are more welcome than mothers-in-law."

Ruth and Boaz were no doubt delighted in their new baby. And Naomi was certainly welcome to lavish her love on her grandson. Like any doting grandmother, Naomi "took the child, laid him in her lap, and cared for him" (Ruth 4:16).

Because of his special legal status as the heir of Elimelech and Mahlon, the neighbors said, "Naomi has a son" (v. 17). She no doubt treated him as her own son. In fact, the childcare that Naomi provided may have been on a more or less permanent basis. Ruth may have given Obed over to Naomi to raise as her own son, for he was the legal heir to the estate of Elimelech.

The name given to the child was Obed, meaning "servant," perhaps in anticipation of the comfort he would be to Naomi in her old age. Naomi found in her grandson Obed all that she had lost in Moab. In fact, she gained more than she lost, for she was back in Bethlehem with joyful family surroundings and a secure future."

Today's Extra...

Second Coming, Judgment

Dr. Ian Paisley, the fiery Irish cleric and politician was reputed to have been preaching one Sunday on the end times -- and in particular on the Day of Judgment. As he reached the climax of his address, he said that on the Day of Judgment, "there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

At that point an old woman put up her hand and said, "Dr. Paisley, I have no teeth." Paisley replied, "Madam, teeth will be provided."

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Ephesians 3:12

Today's Preaching Insight...

Let the Children Come to Me

In a sermon based on Mark 10:13-16, pastor Mike Milton observes, "As Art Linkletter used to say, 'Kids say the darndest things.' But in the passage today, it is Jesus who says the most amazing things. And what He says is not only about children but about each of us.

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them (Mark 10:13-16).

We have all heard about the infamous novel where a mystery was supposedly encrypted in the paintings of Leonardo di Vinci. Well, today, we come to a Scripture that has inspired many works of art. In fact, the "Suffer the Little Children" stained glass window in our balcony depicts Mark 10:13-16 and its parallels in Matthew 19 and Luke 18, the story of Jesus welcoming little children.

I once preached in Whitefield Chapel at Bethesda Home for Boys in Savannah, Georgia. That same scene was memorialized in a stained glass window in that chapel. Each Sunday, as I do here, I would look at it, but today, I want to say that there is a message embedded in that painting. I would call the painting "Children in the Arms of a Loving God." If God helps us today, we will be able to see with eyes of faith the truth behind the scene. In this scene of children in the arms of a loving God, God has placed a story to be told, lessons to be learned, a key to unlatch eternal life, and a promise to bring you ultimate happiness. Whoever learns these lessons and latches on to this key and leaves with this promise will never be the same."

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh

A drunken man stumbles across a baptismal service on Sunday afternoon down by the river. He proceeds to walk into the water and stand next to the old country preacher. The minister notices the old drunk and says, "Mister, are you ready to find Jesus?"

The drunk looks back and says, "Yes, preacher, I sure am."  So the minister dunks the fellow under the water and pulls him right back up.

"Have you found Jesus?" the preacher asks."No, I didn't!" said the drunk.

The preacher then dunks him under for quite a bit longer, brings him up, and says, "Now, brother, have you found Jesus?"

"No, I have not, Reverend."

The preacher now holds the man under for at least 30 seconds this time, brings him out of the water, and says in exasperation, "Man, have you found Jesus yet?"

The old drunk wipes his eyes and says to the preacher, "Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Matthew 16:16

Today's Preaching Insight...

Our Deepest Questions

Forty-one years I have served as a pastor. Throughout those years I have been bombarded with questions, honest questions, by sincere men and women who are trying to decide whether or not to say "yes" to Jesus.

Most of these questioners are genuine people, serious in their quest for spiritual reality. Some are young people, raised in the faith, who are now ready to throw it all out or have already thrown it all out, because of a cynical professor and/or friends who have put questions to them that they had never heard addressed before and are urging them to lifestyles contrary to biblical standards. Some have gone through life tragedies that have caused them to question everything. Some, in their intellectual development, have just come to honest questions for which they want answers.

Some of the questioners are adults who, for years have been nominal, cultural Christians, attending church because that is what you did in the communities where they were raised. They have never had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They have always thought that church attendance was a good thing to do and have put it at a level beside joining a service club, such as Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis, and taking leadership in the local PTA. But now they are discovering the pluralism of American culture. Some of their friends have totally dropped out of church; they don't have time for civic and specific religious organizations. Others of their friends are claiming a "born-again" experience with Jesus Christ and are not just attending church occasionally but have become extremely active in what they call "the family of God," personal Bible study, prayer, faithful worship attendance, weekly participation in a small group, reading books and attending Bible classes. Not only this, they are engaged in local and world mission projects, even giving ten percent and more of their gross income to the work of Jesus Christ.

Others who raise these questions to me come from completely non-religious backgrounds. They know nothing about the faith. A few have never been to church before. They tell me that the first time they came they didn't know when to sit and when to stand, and the language was foreign. It was all new. They were raising questions they had never raised before...

I could make a life work out of trying to answer each one of these. These are big questions, not easily resolved. But, sooner or later, you have to make a decision whether or not to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

(To read the entire sermon, "The Answers to Our Deepest Questions" by John A. Huffman Jr. at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Providence

The only survivor of a shipwreck came upon a small, uninhabited island. He prayed repeatedly for God to save him and everyday scanned the horizon for his answer. Even though he was exhausted and in despair, he eventually managed to build a little hut to keep him out of the weather and to store his provisions.

Then one day, after searching for food, he came home to find his little hut on fire. The worst thing that could have happened had happened. Everything he had was consumed. In his grief he cried out, "God, how could you do this to me!" Early the next morning, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. They had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the castaway. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation..."
Luke 17:20

Today's Preaching Insight...

Illustrations for the Lost

In a Preaching magazine article on reaching lost people within traditional worship services, Larry Moyer describes the importance of using illustrations that can be understood by non-Christians.

"Pastors who effectively use illustrations are the most relatable to lost people. Lost people do not understand the Bible, but they do understand life. Therefore, a pastor who uses illustrations effectively tells the lost person that he understands not only the scriptures but him and life.

"Years ago I was speaking in a church on the subject of marriage and the family using Genesis 2:18‑25. I was addressing the subject, 'Why did God start it all?' I told the audience that one of the reasons God instituted marriage was for companionship. God plainly said, 'It is not good that man should be alone.' I then addressed the subject of loneliness, giving the illustration of a 29‑year‑old single man from Topeka, Kansas, who said, 'For myself I can only describe the word 'loneliness' as being a gut‑level sick feeling at the pit of your stomach. It's so far within yourself that you fear you are in a trap and will never be set free.' After the service, a non-­Christian sought me out and said, 'You couldn't have described me any better. That quote really penetrated.' I had the privilege of taking him aside and leading him to the Lord."  (Preaching, Nov-Dec 2002)

Today's Extra...

Weddings

A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd (alternating between bride's side and groom's side). While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar loudly.

So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR all the way down the aisle.

As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard by the time he reached the front. The little boy, however, was getting more and more distressed from all the laughing, and was near tears by the time he reached the pulpit. When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the Ring Bear." (from Mikey's Funnies)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
Revelation 3:10

Today's Preaching Insight...

From Tired to Inspired

We all get tired. Somebody once told me the crucial question for ministers was not, "Am I tired in the work?" but, "Am I tired of the work?" I have to admit there've been times when I could answer either query in the weary affirmative.

Even preaching, my first love in the ministry, the thing I truly feel called to do, I've gotten tired in and of. There have been days when I felt I could make more impact throwing beans against the wall (or at the folks in the pews!) than by preaching. There have been days when study time insidiously morphed into e-mail time and sermon preparation sailed dangerously close to sermon rehashing. Even though I try to remain fresh and engaging, the very words I'm required to use Sunday after Sunday — believe, repent, confess, even Jesus — can sometimes lose their flavor. Depending on what's going on in the church — infighting, a scandal, simple doldrums — an imp seems to hover near my eye with brush and jaundice- palette.  I'm tempted to cynicism.

Been there? Because we preach as sinners to fellow sinners, we all have. Thankfully, for most of us, such times don't last. Thankfully, God's grace and power somehow waft back to our lives, lifting the sagging sails, refilling our preaching with purpose, clarity, and emotion.

It might be a vacation that does the trick or maybe a conference. The rekindling of power might come with sunshine after weeks of slate-gray skies. Or maybe it comes wrapped in some member's thoughtful, encouraging note.

(To read the entire article "From Tired to Inspired" by Gary D. Robinson at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Courage, Prayer, Worship

In his book Surviving Hell: A P.O.W.'s Journey, Leo Thorsness tells of the courage it took to worship in the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison in Vietnam. Thorsness tells of a memorable service after the prisoners were rounded up in response to a failed rescue attempt.

The senior ranking officer in one cell stood up one Sunday and said, "Let's have church service." The men agreed. The guard came in and forbade them from having a service. The men discussed the problem and said they were all committed to having a service the following Sunday no matter what. That Sunday, Ned Schuman stood to open the service, and the guards came in and took him off to be tortured. After that, the second-highest ranking officer said, "Gentlemen, the Lord's Prayer." While praying, about halfway through, he was sent to be tortured. At that, the third in command stood and said, "Gentlemen, the Lord's Prayer." The guards took him out for torture. Number four stood up and said, "Gentlemen, the Lord's Prayer." At this the guards not only carried away the officer but began hitting the soldiers with the butts of their guns, shouting for them to stop. Number five took his time getting to the center of the room; and before he could speak, the soldiers took him out. The guards locked the door behind them, and number six got up. "Gentlemen, the Lord's Prayer," he said.
Thorsness says that this time they finished it. He went on to say that even though five men were tortured, they all thought it worth it.