Today's Word

[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."

[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!"

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
Galatians 3:10

Today's Preaching Insight...

Let stories do their job

In a recent issue of Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox newsletter, storyteller Steven James encourages preachers to "Trust the story to do its work. In nearly every book on public speaking and preaching I've read I see the same advice: 'Tell 'em what you're gonna say. Say it. Then tell 'em what you said.'

"That might be a good way to teach someone how to bake a casserole, but it sure stinks when it comes to telling a good story. Maybe that's why Jesus never did it. Not once. Instead, he spoke in metaphor, story, and imagery that appealed to curiosity and imagination. He didn't preach three-point sermons, he preached one-point sermons - and most of the time he didn't even tell people what that point was!

"Jesus rarely explained his stories, in fact only once in Scripture are we told specifically why Jesus told a story (Luke 18:1), and only a couple of his story explanations appear. Jesus trusted his stories to do their work in the hearts of the people listening. This leads us to one of the great paradoxes of education: The more you explain a story the less impact it has. Think about it. Haven't you heard someone use a great illustration and then spend the next 30 minutes draining all of the impact out of it? We end up diminishing rather than expanding the impact of a story by explaining to people what we think it is supposed to mean."

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh: Don't Talk, Just Play

Here are some quotes from athletes and coaches that might have been better left unsaid:

* New Orleans Saint RB George Rogers when asked about the upcoming season..."I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
* "Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." - Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann 1996
* "You guys line up alphabetically by height." - Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach
* "You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a circle." - Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach
* Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson hooking up again with promoter Don King - "Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton."
* Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece - "I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to."
* Shaquille O'Neal, on his lack of championships - "I've won at every level, except college and pro."
* 1982 - Chuck Nevitt, North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice - "My sister's expecting a baby, and I don't know if I'm going to be an uncle or an aunt."
* 1991 - Steve Spurrier, Florida football coach, telling Gator fans that a fire at Auburn's football dorm had destroyed 20 books - "But the real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet."
* 1996 - Lincoln Kennedy, Oakland Raiders tackle, on his decision not to vote - "I was going to write myself in, but I was afraid I'd get shot."
* 1991 - Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John Jenkins - "He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings."
* 1987 - Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F's and one D - "Son, looks to me like you're spending too much time on one subject."
* 1991 - Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player - "I told him, 'Son, what is it with you. Is it ignorance or apathy?' He said, 'Coach, I don't know and I don't care.'"
(from The Daily Dilly)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:19-23

Today's Preaching Insight...

When Prayer Doesn't 'Work'

Whether it's a struggle with health, relationships, finances or sin, all of us, I would wager, have experienced what we conclude to be 'unanswered prayer'. Sometimes our struggle has reached a point where we wonder whether Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, didn't have it right when he wrote: "A leap over the hedge is better than good men's prayers. "

There is nestled in the center of the Old Testament book of Psalms what I would call the saddest prayer I have ever read. Amongst uplifting and encouraging psalms, we have this desperate appeal to God for help. From what we can gather, the writer of this psalm is experiencing an illness that has rendered him near death. Some Bible scholars believe the psalmist is battling leprosy - an infectious disease that attacks the skin, nerves and muscles. It mercilessly wastes away a person's body. We know that leprosy in the Ancient Near East was incurable and resulted in a person becoming an outcast: destitute and treated as wholly unclean. The psalmist writes how his affliction has been with him since youth, has left him near death and set apart, repulsive to others. He cries out to God, "Why, O Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me?"

The writer of Psalms 88:1 wrestled with the question of whether or not prayer 'worked.' He wonders whether he is like the dead, who are not remembered. Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of the psalm is its ending. Virtually all the psalms close with the writer praising God and rejoicing in His goodness and faithfulness. Psalm 88, however, ends with the refrain: "darkness is my closest friend". And yet, the psalmist turns to God as his only hope; he says, "In the morning my prayer comes before you." Why?

(To read the entire article "When Prayer Doesn't 'Work'" by Philip A. Gunther at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Accountability and Peer Pressure

David Jeremiah notes that, "On February 26, 1995, Barings Bank, England's oldest, declared bankruptcy after losing nearly a billion dollars. How could such a thing happen? Lack of accountability. A twenty-eight-year-old Barings trader in Singapore had been given too much authority - like letting a school boy grade his own tests. He lost money in stock trades and no one knew about it - until all of the bank's money was gone.

"If that trader had been surrounded by associates who were closer to him, his failures might have been caught before they turned into a freefall. It's hard to overestimate the positive influence that good and godly friends, mentors, and role models can have on our lives - or the negative results which accrue when we live life with a "lone ranger" mentality. Not only can friends keep us from going astray, they can move us in the right direction as well. Surveys have shown that in our disconnected culture most people have few, if any, close friends. How about you? Don't be a stranger! Be a good friend and you'll have good friends who can help you find, and stay on, the right path.

"Peer pressure can have a negative or positive effect. Make sure your peers are of the positive kind."
-Turning Point Daily Devotional, 7/23/03

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[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

Today's Preaching Insight...

Getting Help via Obedience

Too many people reach the point of being shattered, broken, hurting, lonely and discouraged before they seek God's help. A Christian counselor who works with corporate executives once told me that if he can be brought into a conflict before it escalates to a serious level, he usually can show people how to solve the problem. But this rarely happens because most of us are very reserved and will not freely expose what we are feeling and thinking until much later. By then the conflict is threatening to spiral out of control. Jesus knows our hearts, and He makes it clear from page one of His Word that obedience to Him should be our central focus. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and suffered the loss of everything they knew as right and good.

However, just as you can track disobedience down through the generations, you also can trace the benefits of obedience.

(To read the entire sermon, "God Delights in Obedience by Charles Stanley at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

More God

Blaine Morris is only 2 years old, and his vocabulary is limited. But when his family passes the church, he knows what it is and shouts, "More God! More God!" That should be the cry of the whole world—"More God!" That is what we need—not more money, not more weapons and not more industry. We need more God.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
Malachi 3:6
Today's Preaching Insight...

The Fears that Prey upon Your Congregation

Fears of various sorts crowd in on us modern men and women.

Some of us fear financial failure, producing ulcers in our intense endeavor to anticipate the ups and downs of the stock market, to analyze the stability of our jobs and to predict the future value pattern of our real estate. 

Some of us fear disease, becoming hypochondriacal as a result of the possible sicknesses which could afflict us or members of our family.

Some of us have a fear of other people, fear we might become unpopular, elbowed out to the fringes of the social set in which we run. Every high school student knows these fears. With all the positive contributions of fraternities and sororities, the core of such social clubs is the motivating fear of being on the outside of the "in group." We live in a horror of possible ridicule, the terror of being despised or talked about. What ends to which we will go to avoid being socially ostracized.

Some of us fear the breakdown of moral values that threaten to destroy America from within. Some of us fear the breakdown of moral values that threaten to destroy America from without.

International terrorism, right now, holds us in its grip. That's the intention of the terrorist! Osama bin Laden was quoted in the early days after 9/11 as saying this:

From the north to the south, from the east to the west, Americans are living in fear, and for this we thank God.

We fear war. Right now our world is paralyzed into inaction as we debate the pros and cons of war with Iraq.

You name it. We fear it. We fear earthquakes and floods. We fear not getting married and also getting married and not being able to make the marriage work. We fear not having children, and we fear the potential perils of raising children.

(To read the entire article, How to Fear the Right Things by John A. Huffman at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book

Kindling Desire for God

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Ephesians 5:11

Today's Preaching Insight...

Importance of Metaphor and Analogy

In the Feb. 5, 2008 issue of Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox newsletter, Rick notes, "If you want to communicate the vision for your ministry . . . you need to compare it to something that everybody already relates to. How many times did Jesus say in the New Testament, 'The kingdom of heaven is like...'? And then He'd give an analogy, a parable or a metaphor.

"Reagan was called 'The Great Communicator.' There's really nothing fancy about the way he communicated. He is simply a master at illustration. He has the ability to take big complex things - talking about the budget deficit so he has a pile of bills on his desk - and he says, 'One trillion dollars is a pile as tall as the Empire State building.' He used that illustration in his very first budget address. People could relate to that. It was a tangible thing you could tie into.

"Here at our church the whole Saddleback strategy is based on the baseball diamond like we teach in the Membership Class. It's something people can grasp onto. What's first base? What's second base? What's third base? That's an analogy that communicates a vision in something they can identify with."

Today's Extra...

Complaints

A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence. He's allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. "Cold floors," he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throat and says, "Bad food." They nod and send him away.

Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. "I quit," he says. "That's not surprising," the elders say. "You've done nothing but complain since you got here."

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
1 Thessalonians 2:13

Today's Preaching Insight...

Does Marriage Still Work?

Do we simply say that marriage is a human idea, predicated on human ingenuity, going through an evolutionary process and as it hasn't worked we'll move on to alternate lifestyles? Or do we say that marriage is a divine idea predicated on creation principles, as fundamental and vital to human well-being as natural laws are fundamental and vital to the orderly survival of the planet? The church needs to decide where it comes down on the issue, not just in theory but in practice!

Of course, if we insist on the biblical view of marriage in the churches, there is a great need for us not only to defend it but we must practice it in such a way that people will not be able to say, "Marriage doesn't work." Because when done God's way, marriage most emphatically does work!

(To read the entire sermon "Building Godly Marriages and 'God Kids'" by Stuart Briscoe at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh

Toy Disclaimers

Here are some disclaimers to be found at a toy department near you:

No beanies or babies harmed in the manufacture of this product.
Warning: This fad will disappear in 6 weeks.
Caution: Care Bears do not actually care very much.
Warning: This toy produces substantially less childish glee in real life than it does in the TV commercial.
Some dismemberment may occur.
In case of breakage, scream until dad buys a replacement.
Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously.
Use as an actual terrorist device not recommended.
Do not attempt to combine your Ultra Mega Warrior with your cat to make Ultra Mega Cat Warrior.
NOTE: The makers of "Queen Amidala's Naboo Dream Palace" assume no responsibility for the quality of the movie which spawned it.
Some assimilation required. Resistance is futile.
(from Pastor Tim's PearlyGates List — http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

Today's Preaching Insight...

Atheism and Morality

In his book What's So Great About Christianity, Dinish D'Souza argues that atheism is not so much driven by intellectual concerns as by moral ones - the desire to live as one pleases. He writes: "My conclusion is that contrary to popular belief, atheism is not primarily an intellectual revolt, it is a moral revolt. Atheists don't find God invisible so much as objectionable. They aren't adjusting their desires to the truth, but rather the truth to fit their desires.

"This is something we can all identify with. It is a temptation even for believers. We want to be saved as long as we are not saved from our sins. We are quite willing to be saved from a whole host of social evils, from poverty to disease to war. But we want to leave untouched the personal evils, such as selfishness and lechery and pride. We need spiritual healing, but we do not want it. Like a supervisory parent, God gets in our way. This is the perennial appeal of atheism: it gets rid of the stern fellow with the long beard and liberates us for the pleasures of sin and depravity. The atheist seeks to get rid of moral judgment by getting rid of the judge."

Today's Extra...

Appearances

Recently, through YouTube, the world became aware of Susan Boyle of Scotland. She was a contestant on the TV show "Britain's Got Talent." Susan is single, middle-aged and matronly as opposed to young and glamorous. The judges and the audience dismissed her, many rolling their eyes while others snickered.
But when she began to sing, the audience and the judges were shocked and spellbound. The smiles gave way to cheers and a standing ovation.

All three judges gave her high marks. They even admitted their prejudices. It was a great, feel-good story; but it also reveals a flaw in contemporary culture.
Too often we make judgments on the basis of externals. By the way, Susan developed her extraordinary singing ability in the church choir.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
1 Timothy 6:18

Today's Preaching Insight...

To the Disgruntled Preacher

For every preacher whose ministry has been destroyed because of sexual indiscretions, I wonder how many more have had their ministries spoiled by a sulky, dissatisfied spirit? I know from experience how easy it is to fall victim to this sin. You feel the Lord's call upon your life. You surrender. Filled with ambition for the Kingdom, you prepare yourself for ministry. Then one day while you're out there in the vineyard, toiling away, you look up and see another brother who started later and prepared less enjoying greater success than you. Before you realize what has happened, you have become a disgruntled minister.

In Acts 9, Luke records the Lord's conversation with one such servant, a man dealing with his own mixed feelings. Having struck Saul blind on the road leading to Damascus, the Lord turns His attention to Ananias. (Acts 9:10-19a.)

You can excuse Ananias for being a bit hesitant when he first heard God's command to go to Saul's bedside. Through the grapevine he'd heard about what Saul had done to the church in Jerusalem, how he'd been as destructive as a bull in a china shop. Ananias also had it on good authority that Saul was coming to Damascus to continue his bloody crusade. But was there something more than fear behind his objection? Did the very thought that the Lord wished to heal Saul and a sneaking suspicion that He was willing to accept and use him just like anyone else take Ananias aback? It's possible.

Slide yourself into Ananias's sandals for a minute. By the standard of the Law you're a devout man, respected in the community. That's how Paul describes Ananias later in Acts 22:12. For Paul to call anyone "devout" by the Law's standard was not faint praise. For years you've devoted yourself to Yahweh and have been one of the few Jews you know to accept Jesus as Yahweh's Son. Now He wants you to go and welcome the butcherous Saul into the Christian community. How would you feel?

Looking back we see that Saul's entrance into the Church forever affected the face of Christianity. This was a watershed event, but Ananias couldn't see it then. His uncertainty, his mixed feelings about the whole matter were hindering the Kingdom's progress.

(To read the entire article "To the Disgruntled Preacher" by Gregory K. Hollifield at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Lord's Supper

The oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere is the Mikve synagogue on the island of Curacao. It dates to the year 1732. Every day they sprinkle sand on the floor as a reminder of the years their ancestors wandered in the Desert of Sinai on their way from bondage in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. They thought a visible symbol would aid the memory. So it is for us in communion. We believe the visible symbols of the bread and the cup keep fresh for us the memory of our freedom from sin and our hope for a better promised land made possible by the torn body and shed blood of Jesus Christ.