Today's Word

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Jeremiah 1:4-5
The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Today's Preaching Insight...

Shallow Leadership

Ron Edmonson writes: "Growing in our leadership abilities, knowledge and relationships should be a goal for every leader. Many leaders settle for status quo leadership rather than stretching themselves as leaders. They remain oblivious to the real health of their leadership and the organization. I call it shallow leadership. Perhaps you've seen this before in leadership. Here are seven characteristics of shallow leadership:

Thinking your idea will be everyone's idea...

Believing your way is the only way...

Assuming you already know the answer...

Pretending to care when really you don't...

Giving the response that makes you most popular...

Refusing to learn something new...

Ignoring the warning signs of an unhealthy environment...

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website) 

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Forgiveness

According to a recent news report, a Texas church received a lot of criticism for a sign that said, "Jesus Does Not Care." The membership of Community at Lake Ridge, a church in Mansfield, Texas, said they did want to be provocative, but their point was that Jesus doesn't care about our past. Some evidently took the sign to mean Jesus does not care at all about us. Others suggest that it is too permissive. Whatever the intent, the church has received 40,000 hits on its website. Maybe both sides have a point. Jesus does care about our past. He cares enough to provide forgiveness so we don't have to care about the past.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Psalms 139:15
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

Today's Preaching Insight...

Sermon: Thanksgiving

Bill Griffin tells the story of the leper in Mark 1:40 this way:

"'Hello, I'm a leper!' A man popped out from behind a building and stood right in front of Jesus. 'Please don't run away, Jesus!'

"'What's the matter with your skin?' asked Jesus.

"'Can't You see I'm covered with runny sores and crusty scabs?' No one wants to look at me, my face is so horrible.'

"'What do you want Me to do?'

"'You can make me better. I know You can,' said the man, falling on his knees in front of Jesus. 'If You don't, I'll scratch myself to death.'

"Jesus felt sorry for the poor man.

"'Don't touch me,' said the man. 'That's how you get it.'

"'I'm not afraid to touch you.' Jesus reached down and took hold of the man's arms and pulled him to his feet. The itching was gone. The sores started to dry. The scabs began to fall off.

"'Thank You, thank You, thank You!' shouted the man. 'What can I do to thank You?'

"'You can go to the temple, show yourself to a priest and say a prayer of thanks to God.'

"'Yes, yes; I will, I will!' promised the man hurrying off.

"'One more thing,' said Jesus.

"'Anything, anything,' said the man.

"'You don't have to tell anyone what I just did.'

"'I won't tell a soul,' said the man as he skipped toward Jerusalem; but the man was so happy and the walk to the temple was so long that he forgot and told everyone he met. Then all the other lepers along the road began to look for the wonderful Man with the healing touch." (Calvin Miller, The Family Book of Jesus, Bethany House, 2002.)

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the homepage.) 

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Encouragement

Joel Manby is the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment, a company that operates theme parks, aquariums and other family attractions. Manby was featured in the TV hit, "Undercover Boss." In the show, he mentioned that he took a job with Herchend because of their Christian values. While working undercover, Joel discovered what most of the bosses discover. Their employees work hard, have overcome many challenges and have good ideas. At the end of the show, when the workers find out they're working with the boss, Manby seemed genuinely touched when people wept at the words, "Well done," from him. In a later interview, Joel said he has come to the conclusion that CEO ought to stand for Chief Encouragement Officer.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Psalms 139:17-18
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

Today's Preaching Insight...

His Passion and Our Passion in Death

In George Seaton's 1956 film, The Proud and the Profane, the steps of a young nurse are traced to Iwo Jima where her husband had been killed in World War II. She goes to the cemetery where her husband is buried and turns to the caretaker, a shell-shocked soldier, who had seen her husband die. "How did he die?" she asked. "Like an amateur," he replied. "They teach you how to hurl a grenade and how to fire a mortar, but nobody teaches you how to die. There are no professionals in dying." 1

Death. Like some of the other words in this series on The Passion Story, death is a hard word. It sounds harsh. It has a roughness to it. It's cold. The word calls forth a variety of emotions--anger, despondency, fear, regret, relief, and sadness to name a few. Death. From the Greek word thanatos, it means the termination of life, the extinction of something. Everybody has or will walk through the chasm Psalm 23:4a called the "darkest valley"--the "valley of the shadow of death", that is. Again the Psalmist observed in 89:48, "Who can live and never see death? Who can escape the power of Sheol?" The answer? None.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Conscience

You never know where you will find a conscience. In York, Pa., an armed robber gave back what he would have stolen from a homeless man. According to news reports, a man by the name of Sanderson was stopped by an armed thief. At the point of a gun, Sanderson gave the thief his wallet, cell phone, MP3 player and a pack of cigarettes. The thief wanted to know if that was all he had, to which Sanderson replied that he was a resident of the homeless shelter. Something must have touched the thief. He reportedly said, "I can respect that." He then gave the man back all he had stolen.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Psalms 139:16
your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Today's Preaching Insight...

The World Is Not Enough

You can't take it with you! Or can you? A colleague recently told me about an interesting sight he witnessed. From the vantage point of a busy intersection, a funeral was in full procession. My friend, the captivated onlooker, watched the passing parade: a freshly washed funeral coach, limousines and the assortment of cars and SUVs of relatives and friends all with their headlights beaming. There was nothing out of the ordinary here except what coincidently happened to be following the last car in the procession — a U-Haul truck!

Some people do actually live and die as if they will be able to take it with them. Like the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, many long for an after life; even if it does resemble a "Temptation Island" one. In the gospel of Luke 12:13-21 there is recorded a story about a man who lived and died as if he could take all of his beloved possessions and honors with him. Instead of loading U-hauls and building pyramids however, he was building bigger barns. He lived for the day at hand.  He thought that this world would be enough.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the website)

Today's Extra...

Wrestling with God

About Wrestling with God: Loving the God We Don't Understand (IVP), David Dockery wrote: "In this most readable book, James E. White wrestles with the mysteries of our great and majestic God with a remarkable sensitivity to the struggles and doubts of faithful Christ-followers and seekers, as well. Those who read this book carefully and reflectively will indeed be drawn to embrace God faithfully and to love him fully with heart, soul, mind and strength."

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Matthew 10:29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows

Today's Preaching Insight...

Resurrection of the Body

Why did Jesus Christ come?

The historian Luke records the declaratory statement of the angel to the shepherds in Luke 2:10-11: "'Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.'"

The word savior literally means "rescuer." So why did Jesus come? Jesus came to give you salvation. He came to rescue you.

It is important to realize this salvation, this rescue, has individual and corporate implications. Let us look at this rescue, this salvation, in a three-step, time progressional perspective.

First, Jesus came to give you salvation (rescue) from an old style of life — an END.

Jesus came to help people with a past put that past behind them. Salvation is rescue from the past. You can't do this on your own. You need a Savior. What is for certain about the past?

Jesus rescues you from your bondage to past sin.

The fact is that none of us is perfect. All of us have sinned. The Bible tells us that there is no way in which we can atone for our own sins. We need a Savior. God became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ to die for your and my sins. If we repent of sin, confess our need, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all iniquity. The Bible uses a most graphic description when it declares, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Jesus also rescues you from a meaningless existence.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Attitude

A man was sitting in a doctor's office waiting room. He kept saying out loud, "I hope I'm sick. I hope I'm sick. I hope I'm sick." Finally the receptionist asked, "Why in the world would you want to be sick." He said. "I'd hate to be well and feel this bad." While happiness is not our primary goal, living by Christian principles and with a Christian attitude will result in more genuine good feeling than any other philosophy.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Matthew 10:29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Today's Preaching Insight...

Time, Our Most Precious Resource

The country band Alabama put out a song a number of years ago which has this chorus or refrain, describing quite well a common lifestyle of our generation:

I'm in a hurry to get things done
I rush and rush until life's no fun.
All I really gotta do is live and die,
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why. 

Time is our most precious resource. It is perishable and irreplaceable.1 God in his grace has given us all the same amount — 24 hours per day. The quality, joy, and impact of our lives are directly related to how wisely we use the time we have.

This does not mean that we have to hurry or hustle through life. At this point I'm really preaching to the preacher, because I am a card-carrying member of TOCA, an acronym for Type-A, Obsessive-Compulsive Association. There are many other TOCA members in this congregation. Many are stressed-out, over-committed, and spread too thinly.

(To read the rest of this article click here to visit the official website)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Abundant Life

In a classic "Peanuts" comic strip, Charlie Brown goes to Lucy for psychiatric help. He says, "What can you do when you don't fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?" Lucy leads Charlie away from her booth and says, "Follow me. I want to show you something. See the horizon over there? See how big this world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?" Charlie replies meekly, "No." She continues, "As far as you know, this is the only world there is...Right?" Even more meekly, Charlie says, "Right." Lucy presses on, "There are no other worlds for you to live in...Right?" Charlie admits, "Right." "You were born to live in this world...Right?" "Right," says Charlie. Lucy then explodes, "Well, live in it then! Five cents, please." While we may disagree with Lucy's counseling technique, we recognize she is on to something. We need to make the most of our lives and really live.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Today's Preaching Insight...

Today I want to introduce you to two people you know well. I have heard the first man described like this:

He's rich. Italian shoes. Tailored suit. His money is invested. His plastic is platinum. He lives like he flies — first class. He's young. He pumps away fatigue at the gym and slam-dunks old age on the court. His belly is flat, his eyes sharp. Energy is his trademark, and death is an eternity away. He's powerful. If you don't think so, just ask him. You got questions? He's got answers. You got problems? He's got solutions. You got dilemmas? He's got opinions. He knows where he's going, and he'll be there tomorrow. He's the new generation. So the old had better pick up the pace or pack their bags.

He has mastered the three "Ps" of life today. Prosperity. Posterity. Power.1

Who is he? He is the top salesman in his district, making it up the career ladder. She is the rising lawyer who was just made a partner at her prestigious law firm. He's the successful real estate broker who has more listings than he can handle — except he can handle them just fine. In the Bible, he is the rich young ruler. Until today, life for him has been hang gliding in a clear, blue sky — but he runs into Jesus. He has one question, What's in it for me, and what do I have to do to get it?

Here is the second person. He is called. He is gifted. He serves as an elder and a Sunday school teacher. He knows his Bible. He is committed to the Great Commission. He shares his faith. He is a true man of prayer. He is raising his family in the faith. He is a disciple of Jesus Christ. That is what people think, and that is the truth. But he also struggles. He struggles with one question, What is in it for me? Since I have given You so much, what can I get in return? I want health. I could use more money. I just want You to make my kids turn out all right. I just want to retire early.

(To read the rest of this article, click here to visit the official website)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Abundant Life

In a classic "Peanuts" comic strip, Charlie Brown goes to Lucy for psychiatric help. He says, "What can you do when you don't fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?" Lucy leads Charlie away from her booth and says, "Follow me. I want to show you something. See the horizon over there? See how big this world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?" Charlie replies meekly, "No." She continues, "As far as you know, this is the only world there is...Right?" Even more meekly, Charlie says, "Right." Lucy presses on, "There are no other worlds for you to live in...Right?" Charlie admits, "Right." "You were born to live in this world...Right?" "Right," says Charlie. Lucy then explodes, "Well, live in it then! Five cents, please." While we may disagree with Lucy's counseling technique, we recognize she is on to something. We need to make the most of our lives and really live.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Today's Preaching Insight...

Teach Us How To Pray

There may be no more familiar prayer in the entire world than the Lord's Prayer. It does not seem to matter where you go in the world; if you were to invite people to repeat those words with you the vast majority of people could say them. We may not know many other portions of scripture, and we may not know any other prayer or passage well enough to say from memory, but most of us could work our way through the Lord's Prayer. There might be some division over one part of that prayer, and that would involve whether to say forgive us our trespasses, or forgive us our debts or perhaps forgive us our sins.

The Luke version of the prayer found in Luke 11, which is the version preferred by Roman Catholics, differs from the Matthew version, because it does not include the last three lines about the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. However, with those few differences set aside, most people in this country and in many places around the world could repeat the words of the Lord's Prayer. It is a prayer that many of us learned in our childhood and continue to repeat over and over again for the rest of our lives.

What concerns me this morning is whether or not repeating the prayer is all that we are doing. Has the Lord's Prayer become like the Pledge of Allegiance or the words of the national anthem; words that we speak without really listening to or considering what we are saying? I believe that the words of the Lord's Prayer are among the most revolutionary words ever spoken. When you stop to consider what those words actually say, and if you should decided to live out your life in accordance with what those words actually say, your whole life would begin to move in an entirely different direction.

(To read the rest this article, click here to visit the official website)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Perspective

Traveling through New England, a motorist stopped for gas in a tiny village. "What type of town is this?" he asked the station attendant.

"All depends," the native drawled. "Do you mean by them that has to live in this dad-blamed, moth-eaten, dust-covered dump, or by them that's merely enjoying its quaint and picturesque rustic charms for a short spell?"

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Romans 8:32
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?

Today's Preaching Insight...

Superficial vs. Spiritual Wisdom

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.

All this week, I've been wrestling with these words of 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.

Initially, what Paul is saying seems so illusive, so erudite, so remote from the practical problems with which we struggle that I was tempted to jump over this passage and move on to chapter 3. However, an expository preacher does not have the luxury of skipping over tough passages. Also, I sensed a still, small, inner voice urging me to keep on, saying, "Dig into that text, John. Don't rob its tremendous truth from your people, when I am so close to giving you an intellectual and spiritual breakthrough of understanding."

The breakthrough came for me when I backed off from these eleven verses, taking a look at them in the context of what had come before and what is to follow. It suddenly dawned on me that Paul is in the process of presenting a progressive argument that would touch the hearts and minds of fellow believers whose attitudes and lifestyles are not living up to the profession of faith which is theirs.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official web page)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Denominations

A Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog. Ever mindful of the congregation, they knew the dog must also be a Baptist. They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs. Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he had just the dog they wanted.

The owner brought the dog to meet the pastor and his wife. "Fetch the Bible," he commanded.

The dog bounded to the bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the owner.

"Now find Psalm 23," he commanded.

The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct passage, pointed to it with his paw.

The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased the dog.

That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him locate several Bible verses. The visitors were very impressed.

One man asked, "Can he do regular dog tricks, too?"

"I haven't tried yet," the pastor replied.

He pointed his finger at the dog. "HEEL!" the pastor commanded. The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw on the pastor's forehead and began to howl.

The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said, "Good Lord! He's Pentecostal!"

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Today's Preaching Insight...

Spiritual Accounting 101

"I found an old account ledger," writes Godfrey Davis, in his biography about the Duke of Wellington, "that showed how the Duke spent his money. It was a far better clue to what he thought was really important than the reading of his letters or speeches."

That's why Jesus talked so much about money. Someone has estimated that "one-sixth of the gospels, including one out of every three parables, touches on stewardship." Jesus knew that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also (Matt. 6:21). So let's look at one of His parables about the proper handling of finances.

Hear the Word of the Lord from the Gospel according to Luke 16:1-16:

1 Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 

2 So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'

3 "The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg — 

4 I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'

5 "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website)

Today's Extra...

Wrestling with God

About Wrestling with God: Loving the God We Don't Understand (IVP), David Dockery wrote: "In this most readable book, James E. White wrestles with the mysteries of our great and majestic God with a remarkable sensitivity to the struggles and doubts of faithful Christ-followers and seekers, as well. Those who read this book carefully and reflectively will indeed be drawn to embrace God faithfully and to love him fully with heart, soul, mind and strength."