Today's Word

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Titus 1:15-16

Today's Preaching Insight...

Presentation vs. Content

In a past issue of the Preaching Now newsletter, Michael Duduit wrote: "As the father of two boys, I'm learning some of my most important lessons around the breakfast table.

For example, I have learned that the nutritional value of the cereal is of far less concern than the box: what's on it and what's in it. Is there something interesting to look at on the box, and/or does it have some special prize inside? If Jimmy Neutron is on the box, then it's a keeper. (For those of you without small children, and who are thus culturally unaware of the latest cartoon celebrities, you'll just have to trust me on this.)

It appears that my boys consider presentation more important than content. While I know that's not true, I've also learned that they'll absorb some pretty nutritious content if the presentation gets their attention. They'll even eat healthy stuff if it looks interesting enough!

And that's a pretty good early-morning lesson for a preacher."

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book

Eyes Wide Open by Jud Wilhite and Bill Taaffe

It's important to primarily keep our eyes on Jesus. But what does God see when He looks at us? In Eyes Wide Open (Multnomah), Jud Wilhite encourages readers to understand how God sees them -- and how they should see themselves. The Sept-Oct issue of Preaching includes an interview with Wilhite, who is senior pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live/
Acts 17:26

Today's Preaching Insight...

Flavoring Sermons

In a recent article for his Ministry Toolbox newsletter, Rick Warren talked about ideas for adding interest to sermons to increase their impact: "There are many different "special features" you can insert into your message to add just a little bit more and capture the attention of the people. I have learned you can preach much longer when you use features interlaced in your messages. These features can include:

• Testimonies: When I get up to teach, people look at me as the paid salesman, the paid professional, but when we have a testimony, they are the satisfied customers. Personal testimony is still the most powerful form of persuasion, and it's why advertisers still use it.

• Skits or dramas: Just make sure the skit theme connects with your message. There are a lot of good resources out there to find scripts. (For more on using drama in your services, click here).

• Interviews: You can interview people live, by telephone, or on video to connect with your messages. A "man on the street" interview on video can be a good addition to your message as well.

• Film clips: Movies are so much a part of today's culture that they make terrific illustrations. Why? Because they represent a common language of the unchurched visiting your services each weekend. There is a site on the Internet (http://teachwithmovies.org/) that even categorizes the films by different character qualities that they portray.

• Intersperse songs between your points: At Saddleback we call this "the point and play" service. We've had an incredible response when we do this. We typically use this feature on Christmas and Easter. It breaks the service into modules, while maintaining high interest. Sometimes we perform songs by a soloist or a choir, and other times we sing congregational songs. Putting a song at the end of each point often adds an emotional, powerful punch that allows people to express what they feel as a result of what they've heard.

• Tag-team preaching: Sometimes we will actually have pastors share points. Another associate pastor and I will take turns during points of the message. I've done messages with my wife on marriage where she would do a point and I would do a point. I've brought in guest speakers and alternated points with them. Just having a different voice can shake things up just a little bit. It's also very helpful when you have multiple services to do!"

(Click here to read the full article)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Failure

A recent issue of the Friday Evenings newsletter notes that someone once said, "Falling down doesn't make you a failure, but failing to get up does." Thomas Edison was a man who saw many of his experiments fail, but he continued doing them anyway. He knew that it was better to get up than to give up. He was committed to excellence. In his search for a filament for incandescent light bulbs, he experimented with hundreds of fibers and metals. In 1879 he discovered a method for making an inexpensive filament that would handle the stress of electric current. Today we call his discovery "carbonized cotton fiber." Thread! But the filament was so fragile that it easily broke in an open-air environment. Almost by accident, he tried inserting the filament within an oxygen-free tube. To his surprise, the filament glowed! It didn't burn long, but it burned. Eventually he and his helpers discovered that the secret was in creating a vacuum within the glass bulb. And using a tungsten filament.

In the life of the Christian, we face many trips, tumbles, errors, and failures. The "voice" that visits us in those moments is not the voice of the Father, but of the adversary. He doesn't say, "Nice try." He shouts, "Failure!" He asserts, "You can't live this Christian life." Or, "You were better off before you started on this ill-fated journey." Or, "Stay down. You won't be missed." Or, "You deserve better than this."

It's the Other Voice that you want to hear. That Voice says "Let me help you with that." "I have been there before, and I know you can make it." "My strength is sufficient for you." "I will never leave you or forsake you." "Together we can become strong." Or, "Take my hand."

God wants to honor us for our achievements, not punish us for our falls. He is committed to be our companion, our counselor, our advisor, our helper, our friend. (To subscribe to Friday Evenings, write Tom Barnard at mailto:barnard22@cox.net)]

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Titus 3:8

Today's Preaching Insight...

Is Submission to God a Loss of Freedom?

Many people believe that if they submit their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, they will lose their freedom; they cannot do anything that they want to do in life. A tragic flaw in this reasoning is that a person who is not under the lordship of Jesus is not free. The Bible says that you are in bondage to sin, to the lusts of your own flesh, to the whims of an evil spiritual opponent who wishes you destroyed, and to a world that is alienated from the one who brings true freedom. Or as that great theologian Bob Dylan put it,

You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may the Lord
but you're gonna have to serve somebody.
(http://bobdylan.com/songs/serve.html)

This myth then precipitates another lie: You can be a disciple of Jesus without a radical submission to Jesus in every area of your life. This desire to have it both ways took on a very seductive heresy a few years ago when we heard about Jesus being our Savior but not our Lord. This is a lie. If He is not Lord, He is not Savior.

(To read the entire sermon "Four Myths about Submission in the Christian Life" by Michael Milton at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Conversion

Australia is the only country in the world to have a picture of a convicted forger on its currency. Francis Greenway came to Australia—as many early settlers did—as a convict. He had been convicted in England of forgery. Once in Australia, he changed his life. He began to use his hidden skills as an architect. Some of the most beautiful buildings in Sydney, Australia, were designed by him; and they put his picture on the Australian 10 dollar bill. They believed he had changed.

Jesus always believed that people could change. He also helped them to change, just as He will help you to change.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33

Today's Preaching Insight...

Is Jesus the model for pastoral preaching today?

One of the main arguments for inductive preaching in much homiletical literature revolves around the use of story in the preaching of Jesus. Surely we should preach as Jesus did, shouldn't we? In his book The Passion-Driven Sermon, Jim Shaddix takes a contrary position, arguing: "As heretical as it may seem to some, Jesus is not necessarily the best model for contemporary pastoral preaching. This obviously is not because of any flaw in His homiletic or His theology. Certainly Jesus was the quintessential master communicator and the general model for all preachers of all time.

"However, we must recognize the fact that He did not practice as the preaching pastor of a local congregation in the same vein as we know the ministry today. His ministry would better serve as a model for itinerant preaching as He engaged different crowds in various settings. Additionally, the content of the majority of His preaching and teaching would more closely parallel evangelistic proclamation as opposed to the edification of believers."

Today's Extra...

(Lack Of) Self Discipline

2006 marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sigmund Freud. Many of Freud's ideas are no longer accepted, while others are still embraced. What no one disputes is that he is the father of analysis and psychotherapy. In what is a strange irony, Freud was able to help others, but never able to help himself. He died of cancer in 1939 because he was unable to break himself of an addiction to cigars, having smoked a box a day even after having had his jaw removed.

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

[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]

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..
Psalms 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."