Today's Word

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

Today's Preaching Insight...

The Perfect Storm
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

Today's Preaching Insight...

Leaders Making Leaders

Where did the leaders go? According to a 2009 Barna Group survey, only 2 percent of those who identified themselves as Christians believe they have the gift of leadership.

New Testament leadership was comprehensive. It had its moments of tenderness and messages of tough love. It wept, laughed, warned, condemned and taught real-life lessons; but it always was a step ahead of the congregation. Paul said, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1, NIV).

Naturally, if there are followers, there must be a leader. And pastor, you are the designated leader. Leadership training is the organizational backbone of a growing church. "When a group lacks quality leadership, it will tend to languish. Leadership is a social construct. No one leads by himself." New leaders must be trained to take the place of those retired, wounded or missing in action. Your weekly message can be an awesome add-on, a training ground for discipleship and leadership.

Believers caught in the web of a post-Christian culture are seeking far more than three points and a poem. They want to stand on a firm foundation.

Albert L. Truesdale Jr., once said, "With all orthodox Christianity we believe that in spite of notable limitations, the Holy Spirit worked in the life of the Church to create the Creeds. They do now faithfully articulate the Triune God—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." Let's face it—our parishioners need to know more about God more than anything!

(To read the entire article, "Leading from the Pulpit" by Stan Toler at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Pulling for Others on the Court of Life

"The scoreboard said I lost today," Andre Agassi told the crowd. "But what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life.

"I found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could never have reached without you. Over the last 21 years, I have found you, and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life."

(Andre Agassi to the crowd on Sept. 3, 2006, U.S. Open, Arthur Ashe Stadium, Queens.)


[W]hen I was still a college student... I went to Hawaii with my parents where my dad was attending a printing and office supplies convention. While there we took a tour boat out to see the Pearl Harbor Memorial, a very moving experience. Down in the water we saw the sunken battle ship U.S.S. Arizona which became a watery tomb for the men caught onboard that infamous day of December 7, 1941.

As we were returning on the boat the waves of the Pacific began to rise. Rain showered down upon us. We were seated in rows out on the bow of the boat, and nearly everyone naturally rushed for cover in the cabin. But, bold venturous explorer that I was in my youth, I went all the way up to the tip of the bow and "Titanic" style, stood grasping the sides of the rail as the boat lurched up and down crashing through the rolling waves. It was a particularly vivid moment as I sensed I was fully alive, fully experiencing all the journey across the waters had to offer.

I felt a bit in common with the famed 19th century naturalist John Muir, who explored much of the Pacific Northwest. Once in 1874 Muir was caught in a fierce storm in the Sierra Mountains. He had just gone to visit a friend in a cabin, snugly set in a valley of those mountains. When the storm moved in Muir was not to be found in the safe tightly caulked cabin. He had instead gone out of the cabin into the storm, climbed a high ridge, and scaled a giant Douglas fir tree from which he could best experience the kaleidoscopic sound, scent and motion of the storm.

Why raise such storm-tossed images when thinking today of the church? Well because like the perfect storm, the perfect church is not all neatly fixed, flawlessly decorated magnificently complemented by the perfect choir and perfect ushers, perfect ministers and perfect officers. You already realize in one sense, there is no perfect church because there are no perfect people. Whatever perfection a church approaches comes as we learn to rock and reel and navigate through the ups and downs of our imperfect lives learning upon our perfect Lord.

What makes a church perfect is imperfect people like you and me caring enough about God and each other, and bringing enough of our real, broken, imperfect lives to the Lord who can take them and make us new. Jesus Christ, who turned water into wine, can turn imperfect people like you and me into new people. He can create the perfect, or the real, church.

(To read the entire article, "The Perfect Church" by Edwin Gray Hurley at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Words
by J. Michael Shannon

It happened in the 1840s in Uruguay. The Uruguayan Navy was desperate. They were fending off the navy of an aggressive force from Argentina. They ran out of conventional ammunition and thought their cause was lost. Someone came up with a creative idea. They would use old cheese as ammunition. So they raided the kitchen and loaded their cannons with old, hard Edam cheese and used it as cannonballs. Incidentally, they won the battle.

Is it possible for us to take good things and turn them into weapons? Words for instance can be used to edify; or, if hard, they can be used to destroy.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:11

Today's Preaching Insight...

More Tomorrow
by Larry Hatfield

Immediately after World War II the allied armies gathered up many hungry, homeless children and placed them in large camps. There the children were abundantly fed and cared for. However, at night they did not sleep well. They seemed restless and afraid.

Finally, a psychologist hit on a solution. After the children were put to bed, they each received a slice of bread to hold. If they wanted more to eat, more was provided, but this particular slice was not to be eaten - it was just to hold.

The slice of bread produced marvelous results. The children would go to sleep, subconsciously feeling they would have something to eat tomorrow. That assurance gave the child a calm and peaceful rest. More tomorrow! Isn't that really the basic longing deep inside each of our hearts?

It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out why we're that way. The longer I live, the more I see taken away from me. Oh yes, I've got more stuff than I've ever had in my life. I've accumulated a lot of stuff. I've got books I'll never read, work manuals I'll never work, catalogues I'll never order from.

Plus, I've got jars and jars of assorted nuts and bolts, electric wire nuts, picture-hanging brackets, and curtain rod implements. Stuff. The funny thing about it is that when I need some of this stuff I can never find it, so I wind up going down and buying more stuff.

Would you like to know what I do with the leftovers? I put them in the jar alongside the stuff I was looking for when I went down and bought new stuff. It's right beside the half empty gallon paint can I saved from one of my projects back in 1991.

Yeah, I got stuff all right but I'm also losing things — lots of things. My mind, for instance. My once active brain picks the dumbest times to go on sabbatical. Some things I'm still good at; some things I'd rather not discuss. I'm sort of like the professor on Gilligan's Island who was smart enough to make a two-way radio out of a coconut; but didn't have sense enough to fix a hole in the bottom of the boat. That's me all right.

And my eyes aren't as keen as they once were, which might have some redemptive value. At least when I can't think of someone's name I can always use the excuse, "I couldn't see you very well."

Yes indeed! I want more tomorrow, like the little children in the war camps. I need something to hold on to; something that will let me know that tomorrow is taken care of already. God knew that we were all going to be like those little children. That's why he so often referred to us as 'little children'. And one of my favorite 'little children' talks Jesus gave, came to us by way of the pen and parchment belonging to Matthew, His disciple: "Don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing," Jesus said. "Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

That's better than stuff stuffed into the closet. Better than stuff on shelves in the garage. Better than stuff in jars. That's even better than sliced bread!

Larry Hatfield is Pastor of Grand Assembly of God in Chickasha, OK.

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book

The Apologetics of Jesus

Norman Geisler is one of the most prolific and effective writers today on apologetics. He has joined forces with Patrick Zukeran to write The Apologetics of Jesus (Baker), which explores the apologetic methods and teachings of Jesus as detailed in scripture. Church leaders will find many helpful insights that can inform their own defense of the faith.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

Today's Preaching Insight...

The Offering: A Necessary Evil or an Unnecessary Evil?

I got a chuckle from a cartoon I saw a while back. It shows hundreds of people streaming out the doors of a large church sanctuary dressed only in their underclothing: men in their boxer shorts, women in their slips . . . One person turns to another and says, "That was the best stewardship sermon I ever heard."
Every Sunday morning, as part of our worship service, we take an offering.

Now when you think about it, taking an offering for God is a very strange thing. God doesn't need our money. God created the earth and the sun and the moon and the stars and the galaxies. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the Psalmist tells us. God's resources are infinite. Yet throughout the Bible, the primal act of worship by human beings is making an offering to God. In the beginning Cain and Abel made offerings to God. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the kings and prophets of Israel all made offerings to God. In the New Testament, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus went to the temple and made an offering to God. The Apostle Paul told the churches to take an offering every Sunday. A few minutes ago we took an offering in this sanctuary. And when I'm finished speaking, we are going to take the mother of all offerings: estimating our giving for the year. Clearly, the Bible and the Christian Church say you are to make offerings to God. Why? If God doesn't need our money, it must be because you and I have a need to give.

In my years in the church I have noticed two prevailing schools of thought about the offering. The first is what I call the old realist approach. The old realist is usually some no nonsense businessperson who says, "Look, you have to pay the bills. You have to keep the ministers fed, the lights on and the building maintained. The missionaries have to be supported. And nobody's ever come up with a better way of getting it done than to call a 'time out' after the sermon and have the organist play something pretty while you pass the hat and ask everybody to dig down deep in their pockets and pitch in their fair share." The old realist sees the offering as a necessary evil.

Across the aisle from the old realist sits the young idealist. He or she sees the offering as an unnecessary evil: "Why don't we live like the lilies of the field in this church? Why don't we just have faith and trust God to make ends meet? Why don't we pray instead of having stewardship campaigns and pledge cards and fund appeals?"

Now I have to admit that in the early years of my ministry I tended toward the young idealist approach; I tried to show my faith in God's abundance by making nary a mention of money in worship. I considered that way of preaching to be more spiritual. And it may be spiritual, but folks, it's not Biblical.

In Paul's eyes, the offering is neither a necessary evil nor an unnecessary evil - it is a necessary good, so important that it must be an integral part of the worship service. Listen again to his words: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income."

(To read the entire article, "The Offering" by Victor D. Pentz at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Thanksgiving

Many regard the Taj Mahal as the most beautiful building ever constructed. Most visitors to India want to see it above all other sights. It was built by Shah Jehan as both a mausoleum and also a monument to his beloved wife.

There is a legend about this famous building. The legend says that during the long process of building the Taj Mahal the emperor often visited the site and that he kept bumping into a dusty box which was constantly in his way. Finally one day he ordered, "Get rid of it!" They did, and only later discovered that the box contained the body of the very woman the building was built to honor.

The story may not be true, but it is certainly instructive. Everyone knows the purpose for Thanksgiving Day, but somehow in the very process of planning the day its purpose gets lost. The God that the day was designed to honor is often given only a courteous nod, and is sometimes ignored altogether.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

But I pray to you, O Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
Psalm 69:13

Today's Preaching Insight...

Will They Truly Not Depart?

When we read Proverbs 22:6 and say a child who is trained up in a godly fashion will always return to his roots, no matter how far he roams, it is true as a general rule, but not absolutely and always true, because every child has his own free will. But there is enough promise in this verse to let us know, when we are raising our children, that it is not in vain; enough promise to comfort the faithful and broken heart when the child strays.

Children are the source of great joy: Proverbs 23:24-25; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 17:6. They can also be the source of great sorrow. The same man who spoke of children as a joy, as arrows in a quiver and said, "Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them " — this was David, who also moaned those heartbroken words: "O Absalom, my son, my son. Would to God I had died for you! " His son Solomon would have broken his heart, too, if David had lived to see his idolatry. Rebekah said twice in Genesis that the marriages of Esau were a "grief of mind" and that she was "weary of life" because of him.

The waywardness of children is no respecter of persons. I think of a dear friend in the ministry who had a child on drugs, wandering over the country for years. No parent can point a finger at any other parent, for children are not robots who can be completely controlled, even by a loving Christian parent. And I do not wish to heap a pile of guilt on parents who have done all they could to train up their children right, and still the result has not been anything to write home about. There are no perfect parents, but most Christian parents I know truly desire to impart their faith to their children, and do the best they can.

(To read the entire sermon "A Promise for Parents" by Earl C. Davis at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh

All Time Dumbest Questions Asked by Banff Park tourists (as heard at the information kiosks manned by Parks Canada staff):

1. How do the elk know they're supposed to cross at the "Elk Crossing" signs?
2. At what elevation does an elk become a moose?
3. Are the bears with collars tame?
4. Is there anywhere I can see the bears pose?
5. Is it okay to keep an open bag of bacon on the picnic table, or should I store it in my tent?
6. I saw an animal on the way to Banff today — could you tell me what it was?
7. Are there birds in Canada?
8. What's the best way to see Canada in a day?
9. When we enter B.C. (British Columbia) do we have to convert our money to British pounds?
10. Where can I buy a raccoon hat? ALL Canadians own one, don't they?
11. Are there phones in Banff?
12. So it's eight kilometers away . . . is that in miles?
13. Where can I get my husband really, REALLY lost?
14. Is that two kilometers by foot or by car?
15. Where do you put the animals at night?
(from The Daily Dilly)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:12

Today's Preaching Insight...

Peter and Me

Every so often I find myself struggling to fully comprehend the enormity of God's grace and how to communicate it to you.

I take great relief in this biblical case study of Peter, the one who Jesus called "Rock Man," who had the kind of faith upon which Jesus was determined to build His church. Thank God for the biblical record of Peter's life. How exaggerated it has become in 2000 years of church history. I am so glad that I can be reminded it was Peter who ventured out on the water at the command of Jesus, only to take his eyes off of his Lord and begin to sink. How reassured I am when I read the Bible and am reminded that it was Peter who, the night of our Lord's betrayal, scoffed at the notion that Jesus should die on the cross, determined to protect his Lord, only to fall asleep during our Lord's agony at Gethsemane. Peter denied Him three times during His trial before the high priest, Caiaphas. How relieved I am to know that it was Peter, a circumcised Jew, who ate only kosher food and wouldn't think of associating with Gentiles, who God had to confront with that vision of unclean animals and hear God declare, "What I have called clean, you dare not call unclean." He then humbly adjusted his thinking so that he could go and share the Good News of the Gospel with that Gentile, Cornelius.

I don't feel so bad when I realize that it has taken me years to comprehend the impact of the Gospel upon my life. Then I realize that maybe yet I've not fully comprehended it. We may observe Peter the day Titus didn't need to be circumcised. Gentiles didn't need to become Jews to accept the Gospel, and even he, Peter, was free to sit down at the table in Christian fellowship, conversation and food with Gentile as well as Jewish brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Watch him as he comes to Antioch and does just that. Then those men who claimed to come from James arrive in Antioch, and Peter draws back and separates himself from the Gentiles, afraid of those who belong to the circumcision group, drawing other Jews with him, even dear, whole-souled, generous Barnabas. At this point, Paul had to confront him, his hypocrisy, his fear, his intentional or unintentional refusal to embrace the Gospel in the full acceptance of brothers and sisters in Jesus who were very different from himself.

...I am reassured by this case study. If Peter had a hard time getting a handle on this and took quite a while to understand and flesh this out, it helps us understand our struggle. It also helps us come to a deeper appreciation of the enormity of God's grace.

(To read the entire article "Accepting Others" by John A. Huffman Jr. at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Birth in a Grave
by Geoff Pound

Human tragedy is never ultimate. Purpose often springs out of chaos and light from the darkness.

Paul Tillich tells of a moving event that came to light during the Nuremberg War Trials. It seems that in Wilna, Poland, in an effort to escape the clutches of the Nazis, several Jewish people resorted to hiding in graves in a nearby cemetery. There, in such an unlikely place, a young woman gave birth to a child.

An 80-year-old grave digger was the only one there to assist in the birth; and, as he saw what was happening, he said in awe: "Great God, hast thou finally sent the Messiah to us? For who else but a Messiah could be born in a grave?"

The old man was wrong as to the identity of the child because the emaciated mother had no milk and very soon the child died. But he was right in another sense, for only God could do something as incredible as cause life to be born in a grave.

This is exactly what did happen on Easter morning and is the greatest of all symbols of God's ingenious resourcefulness. Out of that awful matrix of death and tragedy, healing began to flow.

(Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations, 1955, chapter 20. Quoted in Easter Sermon by John Claypool, Tragedy and Hope.)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
1 Cor. 10:21-22

Today's Preaching Insight...

To Be Like God?

Adam and Eve had such a good start in life.

They were created "in the image of God" or at the highest level of God's created order -- the only creatures designed for intimacy or holy communion with God (read the whole story in Genesis 1:1-3:24).

They complemented each other. Though Adam was the first to admit it, Eve probably joined the refrain, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh."

They were in charge of the whole deal. God said, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every thing that moves on the earth." Everything was just about perfect.

Of course, our fairer gender often suggest our Lord did make man first; only to conclude, "I can do better than that!"

Then there is the not so Biblical tale of God telling Adam to go, be fruitful, and multiply; only to witness the young man return with puzzled look on his face and inquire, "what's a headache?"

Regardless, it was a good start. Everything was just about perfect. But you know what happened. God said Adam and Eve could use, manage, and enjoy everything around them except for one thing: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Some things are just too big for mere mortals to handle. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented the extremes of complete knowledge -- omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. In other words, it represented the exclusive prerogative of the divine.

Hence, the Hebrew in this text is the strongest prohibition possible: "You must not, absolutely must not" eat from the tree or "you shall surely die."

Simply, reaching for divinity to be like God is not a human prerogative or part of the plan.

(To read the entire article, "A Good Start Stained" by Robert Kopp at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Mistakes

Many people love the sweet confection called Milk Duds. It was, however, the product of a mistake. The Hoffman Company of Chicago, the original producers of the product, was trying to make a perfectly round chocolate-covered caramel. They did not succeed and called the mistakes "duds." Not wanting a total loss, the company decided to sell the duds anyway. The name and the candy have been popular ever since. Sometimes you can bring victory out of defeat and success out of failure.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.
Luke 12:43

Today's Preaching Insight...

Take Courage

"God's well of grace must have a bottom to it," we reason. "A person can request forgiveness only so many times," contends our common sense. "Cash in too many mercy checks, and sooner or later one is going to bounce!" The devil loves this line of logic. If he can convince us that God's grace has limited funds, we'll draw the logical conclusion. The account is empty. God has locked the door to His throne room. Pound all you want; pray all you want. No access to God.

"No access to God" unleashes a beehive of concerns. We are orphans, unprotected and exposed. Heaven, if there is such a place, has been removed from the itinerary. Vulnerable in this life and doomed in the next. The fear of disappointing God has teeth.

But Christ has forceps. In His first reference to fear, He does some serious defanging. "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven" (Matt. 9:2, NASB). Note how Jesus places courage and forgiven sins in the same sentence. Might bravery begin when the problem of sin is solved? Let's see.

Jesus spoke these words to a person who could not move. "A paralytic lying on a bed ..." (v. 2, NASB). The disabled man couldn't walk the dog or jog the neighborhood. But he did have four friends, and his friends had a hunch. When they got wind that Jesus was a guest in their town, they loaded their companion on a mat and went to see the teacher. An audience with Christ might bode well for their buddy.

A standing-room-only crowd packed the residence where Jesus spoke. People sat in windows, crowded in doorways. You'd have thought God Himself was making the Capernaum appearance. Being the sort of fellows who don't give up easily, the friends concocted a plan. "When they weren't able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher" (Mark 2:4, The Message).

Risky strategy. Most homeowners don't like to have their roofs disassembled. Most paraplegics aren't fond of a one-way bungee drop through a ceiling cavity.

And most teachers don't appreciate a spectacle in the midst of their lesson. We don't know the reaction of the home-owner or the man on the mat. But we know that Jesus didn't object. Matthew all but paints a smile on His face. Christ issued a blessing before one was requested. And He issued a blessing no one expected: "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven" (Matt. 9:2, NASB).

Wouldn't we anticipate different words? "Take courage. Your legs are healed." "Your paralysis is over." "Sign up for the Boston Marathon." The man had limbs as sturdy as spaghetti, yet Jesus offered mercy, not muscles. What was He thinking? Simple. He was thinking about our deepest problem: sin. He was considering our deepest fear: the fear of failing God. Before Jesus healed the body (which He did), He treated the soul. "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven."

(To read the entire sermon, "Can God Forgive Me?" by Max Lucado at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book

The Power of Words and the Wonder of God

As pastors and church leaders, we live and die with words. The Power of Words and the Wonder of God (Crossway), edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor, offers the insights of a team of contributors to help us understand how God reveals Himself to us through words. The book contains chapters by Piper, Mark Driscoll, Sinclair Ferguson and others, plus a conversation with the various contributors.

Preaching magazine is the premier resource for those who proclaim the Word. To begin your own subscription and get a free year of issues, go to http://magazine.preaching.com/subscribe/.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Romans 10:15

Today's Preaching Insight...

Using Biography

Major sections of Scripture are biographical. The Holy Spirit's use of biography to communicate the Truth is a high recommendation for this source of sermon illustrations. Of course, the major difference is in who's handling the material.

Biography is defined as the "reconstruction in print or on film, of the lives of real men and women." The genre has a long history, dating from inscriptions on palace walls of Egypt and Assyria. In the second century, Plutarch wrote The Parallel Lives, comparing and evaluating the morals and achievements of four individuals. Every era of history has included some biographies that were more fantasy than fact, usually trying to enhance a life in support of a cause or an institution. In 1791 James Boswell wrote The Life of Samuel Johnson, described as "the first definitive biography." Biographies are now a staple of publishing and also television's History Channel.

The use of biography applies truth to real people and heightens listener response. People are always more interesting than things. Preaching the truth includes working with propositional statements, but these truths live when illustrated in the lives of others. Craig Larson wrote, "The average church attender finds People magazine more engaging than PC User. Listeners identify with people's emotions, thoughts, opinions, and weaknesses. While illustrations drawn from nature, mechanics and mathematics can help clarify, people illustrations are more likely to stir emotions. They are alive." Biography is a rich treasure for... people-centered illustrations. However, every kind of illustrative material has limitations.

(To read the entire article, "Illustrating Sermons with Biography" by Bill D. Whittaker at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Relationships

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Linda Wolfe holds the record as the most married woman in the world. The Guinness Book of World Records has verified it. Linda, 68, has been married 23 times. Her longest marriage was for seven years. She reports that her marriages have failed for a variety of reasons—some trivial, some significant. The most astonishing thing is that she wants to get married again, but it is not to keep the record. The reason is, by her own admission, that she is lonely.

We could look at that story and analyze and criticize. No doubt there is much to think about in this situation. We might think further and ponder how desperate loneliness makes us and how much human relationships mean to the average person. Whether she should marry again or not is a matter of debate, but we would agree that she needs companionship and fellowship. Loneliness is devastating.

[Judy Harder]

Dec 27, 2011

Today's Word for Pastors...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1

Today's Preaching Insight...

To War or Not to War: Who Wins?

In one fashion or another, we are all war veterans. Consider some staggering information that impacts all our lives: A group of scholars recently reported that since 3,600 B.C. our world has known only 292 years of peace! In 5,603 years, about 4 billion people (that's two-thirds of today's world population!) have died in more than 14,000 wars, large and small. The value of property lost in all those wars equals a solid gold belt 97 miles wide and 33 feet thick around our entire planet. That's some belt! Yes, indeed, we're all war veterans!

World leaders once more rattle sabers on the nightly news. Already men and women from our armed forces and those of our allies are waiting on the ground in the Middle East and close to North Korea, and in warships on the high seas, and they are ready to strike on command.

"No war talk here," a group of California Christians once protested to me after I mentioned in a sermon the Apostle Paul's occasional use of military metaphors. Some of them seemed ready to do battle over that passing reference. Reality is that the Bible has a lot of war talk, and a number of war heroes, in its pages. Let's see now: Joshua, Gideon, David, and others. . . .These Bible war heroes did battle for God. Throughout history, God uses war to fulfill His plans. Still, many Christians believe all war is wrong. Others note a serious conflict between the Old Testament warrior God and the peace-loving crucified Son of God in the New Testament.

The reason Christians are divided over war is that legitimate biblical arguments can be used persuasively to support both sides. Pacifists, citing the Sermon on the Mount, say Jesus teaches that we are to love our enemies and turn the other cheek no matter what. Those who disagree with them point out that the New Testament also makes clear that God makes human leaders His "agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer" (Romans 13:4). Scripture also instructs soldiers not to plunder war booty but to "be content with your pay" (Luke 3:14), and honors those war heroes who "through faith conquered kingdoms . . . became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies" (Hebrews 11:33-34).

Truth is, Scripture never presents a neatly defined list of good reasons for going to war. Eight hundred years ago Thomas Aquinas first spelled out a systematized "just-war" theory. War, he declared, is not the opposite of peace but is sometimes the way to achieve peace. For Thomas Aquinas, war was warranted when it met three standards: 1. Legitimate authority. Does the person or organization ordering troops to war possess the right to do so? 2. Just cause. Is freedom threatened and are people and neighboring countries safe from a tyrant? 3. Righteous intention. Does the nation going to war have any interest or intention in occupying, exploiting, or destroying another nation?

Later theologians added three more criteria to that just-war theory: 1. Last resort. Is fighting a war the only means left to right a wrong? 2. Reasonable hope of success. Are the goals of this war limited and achievable? 3. Proportionality. Is it likely that the human cost of going to war will be less than the human cost of not going to war? Just-war proponents argue that when these six criteria are met, Christians have a duty to fight. On the other hand, if any one of these objectives is not met, or likely to be met, Christians should refuse to fight.

So, who is right? Is it the pacifists or the just-war theorists? In a sense, both may be right! On the other hand, either side may be dead wrong! There is a "time for war" (Ecclesiastes 3:, but smart people don't get in a rush. Those hauntingly neat rows of white crosses in WWII military cemeteries around the world remind us that war winners still lose. And 30 years after the last plane evacuated American troops from Vietnam, soldiers from that war come weekly, and sometimes weakly, seeking help at our church. Three decades after they came home, that war still rages in their souls. When it comes to war, there are no winners.

(To read the entire article, "Wanted: Winning Warriors!" by R. Leslie Holmes at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh

What happens at these Fahrenheit temperatures...
What happens at these Fahrenheit temperatures:

+65 — Hawaiians declare a two-blanket night.

+60 — Californians put on sweaters (if they can find one).

+50 — Miami residents turn on the heat.

+45 — Vermont residents go to outdoor concerts.

+40 — You can see your breath. Californians shiver uncontrollably. Minnesotans go swimming.

+35 — Italian cars don't start.

+32 — Water freezes.

+30 — You plan your vacation to Australia.

+25 — Ohio water freezes. Californians weep. Minnesotans eat ice cream. Canadians go swimming.

+20 — Politicians begin to talk about the homeless. New York City water freezes. Miami residents plan vacation farther South.

+15 — French cars don't start. Cat insists on sleeping in your bed with you.

+10 — You need jumper cables to get the car going.

+5 — American cars don't start.

0 — Alaskans put on T-shirts.

-10 — German cars don't start. Eyes freeze shut when you blink.

-15 — You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo. Arkansans stick tongue on metal objects. Miami residents cease to exist.

-20 — Cat insists on sleeping in pajamas with you. Politicians actually do something about the homeless. Minnesotans shovel snow off roof. Japanese cars don't start.

-25 — Too cold to think. You need jumper cables to get the driver going.

-30 — You plan a two week hot bath. Swedish cars don't start.

-40 — Californians disappear. Minnesotans button top button. Canadians put on sweaters. Your car helps you plan your trip South.

-50 — Congressional hot air freezes. Alaskans close the bathroom window.

-80 — Polar bears move South. Green Bay Packer fans order hot cocoa at the game.

-90 — Lawyers put their hands in their own pockets.
(from The DailyDilly)





Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Preaching Daily
     
Today's Word for Pastors...

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16

Today's Preaching Insight...

Outside-In or Inside-Out

When it comes down to it, Paul is pretty well convinced that there are two options for our lives. One option is to be squeezed. We can allow our lives, our values, our attitudes, our convictions, and our relationships to be shaped and formed from the outside in by the forces of the world around us. The other option is to be transformed. Our lives can be remolded, reshaped, redesigned from the inside out by the wind and breath of the Spirit of God.

Paul hangs those options out in front of us. With great passion he calls for our response. Therefore: because you know the mercy and grace of God, because you've seen how God loves lost, disoriented, confused and broken people, because you know how God's love has been made real for us at the cross, therefore, for God's sake, for your own sake, don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold. Rather, let God remold your life from the inside out so that you may demonstrate in practice the good, acceptable, loving, life-giving will of God for you.

Paul is correct, of course. You and I know that if we let it, the world around us will squeeze us into its own mold. If we let it, the world will shape our attitudes, our values, our convictions from the outside in, until it squeezes the life right out of us.

If we let it, the world will squeeze us into the mold of materialism. That's the belief, the ideology, the conviction, the assumption that everything that really matters in this life can be bought and sold with money. It's the belief that I can have what I want and have it now; all I need is plastic. We will mortgage our grandchildren's future to have what we want and have it now.

One of the emerging pastoral concerns that we share is the concern for good folks, Christian people, who are being squeezed to death by the demon on debt and the demonic power of plastic. People whose lives are being controlled and managed by their credit cards. The crisis for many families today is not only the high cost of living, but the cost of high living. It's a profoundly spiritual thing, and later this fall, we want to try to work on that.

If we let it, the world will squeeze us into the mold of self-centered amorality. That's the assumption that there is no objective standard of right or wrong in this universe, and that my behavior is determined solely on the basis of what satisfies me. It expresses itself in many ways. We desperately need gun control in this country, but we will never control the violence of our culture until we deal with the underlying desire to have whatever we want, whenever we want it, by whatever means it takes to get it. It works itself out in a multitude of ways, but if we let it, the world will squeeze us into the mold of self-oriented amorality.

If we let it, the world will squeeze us into the mold of "squishy spirituality." I borrowed that term from Jonathan Yardley, the book critic for the Washington Post. When I shared it on the Internet a few weeks ago, I received more response than anything I've sent out there since I wrote on Moncia Lewinsky. In a scathing review of a book on "boomer spirituality," Yardley described "squishy spirituality" as a "blend of all the most self-absorbed aspects of pop psychology, New Age pseudo-mysticism . . . and half-baked religiosity. It completely rejects anything remotely smacking of authority . . . It is self-indulgent rather than self-sacrificial, and it is utterly devoid of anything approximating intellectual rigor." He says the bottom line of most contemporary spirituality is "What's in it for me?"

(To read the entire article, "Squeezed or Transformed" by James A. Harnish at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Cooperation

It has been well said that the man who holds the ladder at the bottom is about as important as the man at the top. Everybody wants to be the man on the top, but he would not be there very long without the assistance he receives from the man at the bottom. If he is wise, the man at the top will recognize the importance of the man at the bottom. If he does not recognize it, he may find his ladder slipping away!

J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
1 Timothy 4:1

Today's Preaching Insight...

The Next Ten Years

In an interview with Fred Craddock - a long-time preaching professor and writer who has made a major impact on how preaching is taught today - he discusses what he sees taking place in preaching over the next decade.

"I think, I hope in the future there will be an increase in the dealing with biblical content in the sermon. Some people will find that antiquated or quaint, but the fact of the matter is we live out of the reservoir or the well of the scripture. You can't get people talking about it if they don't know what it says. I think there will be an increase in the preacher teaching texts he preaches on, she preaches on.

"I try to do that here, and have for the last few years. If I'm invited to a church to preach, I ask, "Can I have the adult classes together during the Sunday School hour?" and I teach the text that I'm going to preach, on the assumption that if they get familiar enough with it they'll start thinking about it, they won't be intimidated by it, they won't feel put down because they didn't know it. They'll be partners in the preaching process. I think we're going to have more of the minister as a teaching preacher in the future."

Today's Extra...

Eternal Security

Adrian Rogers recently wrote, "Nothing can separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus your Lord. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38-39)  Neither death nor anything that happens after death, or anything that happens while you're living can separate you from God's love. If there were no other verse in the Bible that deals with eternal security, this one covers the base.

"Some people say, 'Well, if I believed in this doctrine, then I'd get saved and I'd sin all I want to.' Friend, I sin all I want to. I sin more than I want to. I don't want to! When you get saved you get your wanter fixed. As a matter of fact, you get a brand new wanter."