Today's Word

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

Today's Preaching Insight...

Teaching Spiritual Truths

"Parents believe that they are primarily responsible for the spiritual development of their children, but few parents spend time during a typical week interacting with their children on spiritual matters," states a report by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, CA. The report "underscores the need for churches to help parents address the spiritual needs of their children more intentionally and effectively."

The Barna study reports that 85 percent of parents of children under age 13 "believe they have the primary responsibility for teaching their children about religious beliefs and spiritual matters. Just 11 percent said their church is primarily responsible, and 1 percent said it is mostly the domain of their child's school. Few parents assigned such responsibility to friends, society or the media. Nearly all parents of children under the age of 13 - 96 percent - contend that they have the primary responsibility for teaching their children values. Just 1 percent said their church has that task and 1 percent assigned that role to the child's school.

"Related research, however, revealed that a majority of parents do not spend any time during a typical week discussing religious matters or studying religious materials with their children. However, about two out of three parents of children 12 or younger attend religious services at least once a month and generally take their children with them. Most of those parents are willing to let their church or religious center provide all of the direct religious teaching and related religious experiences that their children receive."

Don't forget the young ones under your pastoral care! 

Today's Extra...

Christian Media 'Outdraw' Churches

"A greater number of adults experience the Christian faith through the Christian media, such as radio, television or books, than attend Christian services," the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) announced, according to a story in The Washington Times.

The NRB categorizes this as a "wake-up call" for churches and producers alike, noting that while 132 million adults attended church in a recent month, 141 million used some form of Christian media.

While this outreach activity helps the public focus "on things that matter," said poll director George Barna, it won't get far without a supportive community. "The people factor must always be incorporated if Christianity is to be an expression of God's intent."

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
John 3:21

Today's Preaching Insight...

Faith makes a difference

Americans who help religious congregations not only give more time and money than people working with secular causes, but provide three-quarters of secular charity as well, according to a study that was reported in The Washington Times.

The study found that "religion-giving households" in 2000 gave 87.5 percent of all charitable contributions in the nation, for an average of $2,100 for each household. "Givers to religious congregations are dramatically more generous than others," said the report, issued by Independent Sector, a nonprofit research organization, and the National Council of Churches.

Six in 10 American households give to a religious congregation and more than 85 percent of those also gave to secular organizations, said the study . . .

"The influence of faith extends to volunteering," the study said, noting that 54 percent of regular worshippers also volunteer. That compares with a volunteering rate of 32 percent by Americans who do not attend a house of worship. Religious givers volunteer for secular charities as much as secular Americans, averaging about 10 hours a month. And the most actively religious people work the most volunteer hours. "In round numbers, one-third of the people give two-thirds of the time," the report said.

For more on this topic, check out The Grace of Giving by Bill D. Whittaker at http://www.preaching.com/resources/from_the_lectionary/11547537/faith%20giving/.

Today's Extra...

The Dying Man and Cookies

An elderly man was at home, upstairs, dying in bed. He smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies baking. He wanted one last cookie before he died. He fell out of bed, crawled to the landing, rolled down the stairs and crawled into the kitchen where his wife was busily baking cookies.

With his last remaining strength he crawled to the table and was just barely able to lift his withered arm to the cookie sheet. As he grasped a warm, moist chocolate chip cookie, his favorite kind, his wife suddenly whacked his hand with a spatula.

Gasping for breath, he asked her, "Why did you do that?"

She replied, "Those are for the funeral."

Find more humorous snippets like these at http://www.preaching.com/resources/humor/.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Philippians 3:12

Today's Preaching Insight...

Diversity

"The Church is called to be a Christ-centered community of diversity. Its very life proclaims the power of God to overcome the divisions that set people against each other. In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul announced, 'In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus' (v. 3:28). The church is to live as a people touched by Gods grace and no longer defined by the divisions that plague the world.

At least that's what God expects. But that is not what we find in far too many cases. Too often the divisions of the world are brought right into the church. Instead of reflecting the light of Christ, we mirror the broken world. Women are discriminated against, racial segregation persists and whenever an international conflict arises, those in the church are frequently uncritical cheerleaders for our nation's side in the hostility. But on top of all that, the church has its own problems with diversity. Differences in practice and opinion become occasions for distrust and fragmentation.

Among ecumenically minded Christians, unity in diversity has been one of our strong values. But as I recently heard it said, we sing our hosannas to the principal, but in practice too quickly we hear the cries, 'Crucify him, crucify him.' No matter how much we claim that we value diversity, living with it is tough work."

(From Diversity: Living with Diversity, Romans 14:1-9 by Craig M. Watts. To read the entire article on Preaching.com, click here).

Today's Extra...

Does Anyone Actually Proofread Church Bulletins?

The Sermon Fodder newsletter frequently offers a new batch of bulletin bloopers gathered from across America. Here's a sample:

Don't forget, Ash Wednesday is Monday, March 5th.
Several members of our youth department are collecting donations for Operation Graduation. Funds will be used for a drug and alcohol party following graduation on May 29th.
Additional volunteers are needed for next week's Easter Egg Nog Hunt.
We will have a Church-wide Christ-centered Easter Egg Hunt next Saturday for Toddlers through Grade 6.  We are accepting candy and individually wrapped monetary donations in the office.
The Seniors group will be heading off to the festival bright and early Friday.  We hope to see your smiling feces at 7:00 a.m. when the bus departs.
The Baby shower will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday.  All ladies invited. No clothing needed.   
Please be in prayer that authorities will catch the thieves who have been breaking into area churches in recent months.  There was a break-in at the Open Door Baptist Church last week.  Burglars entered through a rear window.
(from Bulletin Bloopers 2003 PT. III, by Sermon Fodder and Joke A Day Ministries. To subscribe drop an email note to Sermon_Fodder-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple...In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:26-27, 33

Today's Preaching Insight...

Communicating Across Generations and Gender

In her Preaching article on "Preaching to Women," Alice Matthews of Gordon-Conwell Seminary talks about the issue of cross-cultural communication as it relates to both generations and gender:

"It may be easier for us to grasp the reality of cultural difference in terms of different generations. When I am with any of my six grand­sons, I hear them speak a language different from my own. Yes, they use words that are in my vocabulary — words such as cool or awesome or radical — but they do not attach the same meanings to them. So I might ask Chris, "When you say that Eric is cool, what do you mean? What's cool about Eric? He seems pretty warm to me." I listen to the vast array of inflections used in the ways my grandsons pronounce a word such as cool, and I know that it is an important word with many meanings and many uses. I just don't speak that language.

"But if my husband, Randall, and I sit sipping coffee together after breakfast, chatting about our family, our work, and the day ahead of us, I can easily assume that he and I speak the same language. After all, we have lived together for more than half a century! But once in a while he says something that reminds me that we are not always speaking the same language. For example, though we both grew up during the Great Depression and share conservative attitudes about the way we use money, we do not talk about money in the same way. His father lost his job in 1933 and was unable to support the family. My father had work through­out the Depression, and though we were poor by today's standards, we never went hungry. As a result, I tend not to worry about losing every­thing we have in the same way Randall does. He is more cautious about spending than I am, coming out of a life experience that is different from mine. Thus, the words save and spend carry different freight for him.

"The same thing happens countless times between the pulpit and the pew. When a pastor steps into the pulpit on Sunday morning, the odds make it likely that nearly three out of every four adults waiting to hear the sermon are women, although the ratio will vary from church to church. But the reality is that most pastors speak to more women than men every Sunday. It is this reality that makes it practical and logical to think about women as listeners." (Preaching, May-June 2003)

(You can read the article in its entirely at Preaching.com by clicking here).

Today's Extra...

Book of the Week

Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collide, by Reggie Joiner (David C. Cook, 2009).

Former family ministry director Reggie Joiner looks at what would happen if the church and families both decided that they could no longer do business as usual, but instead combined their efforts and began to work off the same page for the sake of the kids.

Written to support the Orange Conference and Tour, Think Orange shows church leaders how to make radical changes so they can:

engage parents in an integrated strategy;
synchronize the home and church around a clear message;
recruit mentors to become partners with the family;
provoke parents and kids to fight for their relationship with each other; and
mobilize the next generation to be the church.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
Acts 26:20

Today's Preaching Insight...

Sermons must be rooted in God's Word

In his book The Passion-Driven Sermon (Broadman & Holman), Jim Shaddix reminds us that scripture must be the foundation of every sermon.

"While it is certainly not wrong for a preacher to utilize information from outside the Bible to support, illustrate, or apply the truth of God's Word, a line is crossed when the observations and assertions of some other preacher, psychologist, researcher, or futurist become the primary content of sermons. And it doesn't matter whether the contentions are those of a Christian or non-Christian. . . . Regardless of how enticing it may be, human wisdom will never positively affect the spiritual makeup of mankind." 

Today's Extra...

Strength

According to wire service reports, a New York man has set a record for the most records in the Guinness Book of World Records. His name is Ashrita Furman, and he is the first person to hold 100 records at the same time. His records include a mass poetry reading of the poem "Precious" in 111 languages, 27,000 jumping jacks in five hours, and eating 38 M&Ms with chopsticks in one minute.

Furman has held 234 total records, but many have been broken. He is quoted as saying, "I believe we all have an inner strength that we very rarely use." He also said, "I just love the challenge of trying to be the best in the world in something." While we might question the need to be the best at something rather than to simply do our best, we would all probably agree that we have inner strength we rarely use.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 2:6-10

Today's Preaching Insight...

Superman

Wouldn't it be a comfort to have somebody like Superman watching out for us? Got a flat and no jack? No problem for the Man of Steel! He can pick up the car, hold 'er steady while we change the tire, and never even break a sweat!

But why waste such a magnificent creature on small stuff? Save him for when we're stricken with a fatal disease. Why, he can fly into the future, retrieve the cure, and be back before one second has ticked by! (George Reeves never did that, but the comic book hero used to all the time).

Did Mom and Dad break up? Superman can fix it. Am I saddled with some fear or compulsion, habit or addiction? You know the Man of Tomorrow must be able to help!

After all, that's why they call him "Superman," isn't it?

But, let's face it; reality is more steel than Superman will ever be made of. And fantasizing does little to salve our suffering.

Well, what about God, then? He's real, isn't He?

(To read the article, "Is Anybody Up There?" by Gary Robinson in its entirety at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh: Proverbs from Fourth Graders

A 4th-grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in the class the first half of the proverb, and asked them to come up with the rest. Here is what they came up with:

Better to be safe than... punch a 5th grader.
Strike while the... bug is close.
It's always darkest before... daylight savings time.
Never underestimate the power of... termites.
You can lead a horse to water but... how?
Don't bite the hand that... looks dirty.
No news is... impossible.
A miss is as good as a... Mr.
You can't teach an old dog... math.
If you lie down with dogs... you will stink in the morning.
Love all, trust... me.
The pen is mightier than... the pigs.
An idle mind is the... best way to relax.
Where there is smoke, there's... pollution.
Happy is the bride who... gets all the presents.
A penny saved is... not much.
Two is company, three's... The Musketeers.
None are so blind as... Helen Keller.
Children should be seen and not... spanked or grounded.
If at first you don't succeed... get new batteries.
You get out of something what you... see pictured on the box.
When the blind lead the blind... get out of the way.
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you; cry... and you have to blow your nose.
(from The Daily Dilly)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Romans 3:20

Today's Preaching Insight...

Consider Shorter Attention Spans

In the May 2003 issue of Ministry magazine, executive speech coach Patricia Fripp observes, "Today's audiences have very short attention spans. The first and last thirty seconds have the most impact. Don't waste those precious seconds with trivialities. Come out punching. . . . You might start with a story, an interesting statistic, a startling statement - anything rather than something predictable. Being too predictable can be boring.  With the advent of the TV remote control, no one watches anything that stands still long enough to bore. Today's audiences will forgive you for anything except being boring. . . .

"We must keep our audience's needs in mind. In the first sentence or so, you want people in your audience to elbow their neighbors and say, 'This is going to be good. I'm glad we're here!' When a sermon is immediately compelling, it's as if you forget everything else. It's important to memorize the first three or four sentences of your introduction. This allows you to start fluently, connecting with your audience."

Today's Extra...

Influence

Rivers gain more attention than the little streams that create them. You can name the great rivers of the world, but you cannot name their tributaries. However, without the tributaries, there would be no river. And it must be remembered that the smaller streams, while less well-known, are purer and are found on a higher elevation. Some of our lives are tributary lives. It is our role to provide the pure water from the higher elevation that enables another to be a mighty river of power and influence.
J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Romans 4:2-3

Today's Preaching Insight...

It's Not About You

We make statements that are saturated with self as if worship is all about us:

"Why can't we sing more of the songs that I like?" 
"I don't think the preacher should talk about this or that!" 
"I can't believe so-and-so didn't talk to me today!" 
"No one ever notices what I do in the church."
Here's the problem: Worship isn't about getting anything; it's about giving everything to God! The above attitudes make us idle judges of activity rather than active participants in adoration toward a holy God. Christian consumerism defines the quality of our worship by the number of ministries for people, the size and quality of our buildings, the popularity of our pastors, the style of our music and an obvious determination to make people happy. One concern emerges as primary: "What have you done for me lately?"

Unfortunately, we still fall short of making everyone happy, and God is disgusted with our obvious worship of and preoccupation with ourselves. Our efforts to be seeker-sensitive and self-sensitive have made us insensitive to the Divine Presence who is to be the focus of our worship. Or, as the apostle Paul said, we have "exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Rom. 1:25, NASB).]

(To read the full sermon, "It's Not About You" by Adam Dooley at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Optimism

There is an old Far Side comic that illustrates the power of perspective. As with many of Gary Larson's comics, it contains animals that behave like people. There is a family of dogs deep in an underground fallout shelter, while there is a nuclear holocaust on the surface. One of the dogs says, "Well, we must face a new reality. No more carefree days of chasing squirrels, running through the park, or howling at the moon. On the other hand, no more, 'Fetch the stick, boy, fetch the stick.'"

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."
Romans 9:31-32

Today's Preaching Insight...

Preaching Occurs in Context of Relationship

In his book Reaching Generation Next, Lewis Drummond quotes the late H.H. Farmer (from The Servant of the Word): "Preaching is telling me something. But it is not merely telling me something. It is God actively probing me, challenging my will, calling me for decision, offering one His succor, through the only medium which the nature of His purpose permits Him to use, the medium of a personal relationship. It is as though, to adopt the Apostle's words, 'God did beseech me by you.' It is God's 'I-thou' relationship with me carried on your 'I-thou' relationship with me, both together coming out of the heart of His saving purpose which is moving on through history to its consummation in His Kingdom."

Drummond adds: "The activity of preaching means much more than merely conveying the content of the Christian faith. Preaching Christ is a unique activity. It becomes an event, an event wherein God Himself actually meets and addresses people personally."

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book...

Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow

When sorrow comes into our lives, many questions surface: why did God allow it to happen, why wasn't there healing, and much more. Nancy Guthrie brings biblical insights to bear on such questions in her new book Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow (Tyndale House). This can be a resource for preaching and teaching but also a helpful volume to share with families who struggle with loss.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:15-16

Today's Preaching Insight...

Preparing to Preach

In a paper at the meeting of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, Michael Quicke observed, "The more casual and unprepared that listeners are as they come to worship the less likely they are to experience God. All worshipers, preacher included, should make space and time for genuine prayers of preparation. "Who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully" (Ps 24:3,4). Snatched seconds of perfunctory routine before worship smothers spiritual possibilities within worship.  "True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:21) and be sensitive to God who is spirit. Spiritual insensitivity to God beforehand can condemn to spiritual insensitivity during worship. The outcome is a Unitarian utilitarianism - preachers "do their own thing" which may or may not have any relevance to hearers "doing their thing."

"Preachers need to include themselves in more rigorous practice of prayerful preparation that stills the spirit (Psalm 37:7) and raises expectation that God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are involved in a spiritual happening in worship for the whole community.  God's word does not return empty. God's seed in good soil can make an astounding difference--"bearing fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold. " Worshipers should prepare with openness to what fruit they might bear. If you think a sermon is going to be a waste of time, nine times out of ten it will be. If you believe in an active present God anything could happen.

"Preachers have a responsibility to model sensitive preparation for worship. In the crescendo of interruptions often leading up to the service prayer should not be treated as a routine to be squeezed out by more important matters, but the foundation for prepared minds and hearts of everyone. Listeners can be encouraged to pray in the days leading up to worship by specific information. Preachers can share next week's Scripture text and theme and ask listeners to prepare by reading and reflecting themselves as well as supporting the preacher in preparation. The more seriously preachers reflect personal conviction about the Trinitarian dynamic of worship and preaching, the more seriously listeners will prepare with them."

Today's Extra...

Faith, Prayer, Atheism

There was a little old lady who would come out every morning on the steps of her front porch, raise her arms to the sky and shout, "Praise the Lord!"

Well, one day an atheist moved into the house next door. Over time, he became irritated at the little old lady. So every morning he would step out onto his front porch and yell after her, "There is no Lord!"

Time passes with the two of them carrying on this way every day. Then one morning in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted, "Praise the Lord! Lord, I have no food and I am starving. Please provide for me, oh Lord!"

The next morning, she stepped onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. "Praise the Lord!" she cried out. "He has provided groceries for me!"

The atheist jumped out of the hedges and shouted, "There is no Lord. I bought those groceries!"

The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted, "Praise the Lord! He has provided me with groceries and He made the devil pay for them!"