A New (and Better) Hope A New (and Better) Hope is a simple thought reflection from the Hebrews 7:11-12 about how Jesus is a new (and better) hope than Star Wars. October 23, 2015 Year B Hebrews 7:11-12 In the Star Wars saga, the fourth episode of the series (but the first one aired) is entitled “A New Hope.” The premise was that unlike the previous hope – Anakin Skywalker, there is now a new hope in Luke Skywalker, his... Read more
October 22, 2015 Year B 2 Kings 20:12-19 The king Hezekiah made a serious mistake by allowing the king’s son of Babylon to see everything in the temple of Jerusalem. This was a tactical mistake. Hezekiah essentially allowed top secret information to be passed into the hands of the enemy (2 Kings 20:12-15). There are tactical consequences to this foolish decision. But Isaiah revealed that there were spiritually top secret decisions as well which were disobeyed. The temple was not... Read more
Top Ten Sources of Free Inspirational Stories Top Ten Sources of Free Inspirational Stories shares the top ten places to look to find great stories to use in sermons and motivational talks. 10. Story Time Tales Collection of inspirational stories, most in the public domain. 9. Circulated Stories The blog shares good moral stories. More than 350 stories that provide inspiration and motivation. 8. Robert Fulgham From the author of All I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. He... Read more
October 21, 2015 Year B John 13:1-17 The hardest part of the Christian life is obedience. It is easy to hear what we should do. It is harder to do it. If one looks at the Christian life as a set of rules, then it would be easy to see why obedience is hard. However, Christianity is a relationship, and that relationship is based upon trust. Trust leads me to serve the one I trust out of love. This is... Read more
2 Timothy 1:8-18 Confidence and Loyalty When we talk about sharing the Gospel, there are two qualities which Paul emphasized in the life of Timothy as a leader. We need to have confidence in the Gospel and loyalty to Gospel. CONFIDENCE “So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me His prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.” (2 Timothy 1:8, HCSB) This is similar to the passage... Read more
2 Timothy 1:1-7 The Challenge of Christian Leadership SETTING: As you may recall, Paul endured two periods of imprisonment.… The Book of Acts closes with Paul under house arrest in Rome. Although he was linked to a guard at all times, he lived in his own quarters and was able to have visitors. After his release from house arrest, Paul embarked on yet another missionary journey, probably into Spain. Upon his return to Rome, he was arrested a second time.... Read more
Glorifying God Together In Unity October 15, 2015 Year B Romans 15:7-13 The purpose of Christ’s first coming is to bring believers together. “For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers,” (Romans 15:8, HCSB) Therefore, the church should be accepting of all kinds of people. The church should learn to let people glorify God together. “and so that Gentiles may glorify God for His... Read more
Pray Like a Gourmet by David Brazzeal Pray Like a Gourmet by David Brazzeal takes the metaphor of food and applies it to the Christian’s prayer life. He states that we are “surviving on spiritual “feeding tubes” is on life support, but not living life on your own with God” (13). He implores the reader to “taste it and digest it” as you read the book. This reminds of me of “taste and see that the Lord is good”... Read more
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) MOVIE SUMMARY: When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier, and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier’s former ally, Magneto. MOVIE THEMES: X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) is the third film in an X-Men trilogy. X-Men (2000) introduced the idea of mutants and their eventual conflict with humans. X2: X-Men United (2003) continued the conflict between humans and mutants. In... Read more
Top Ten Ways a Church Can Have a Spiritual Harvest 1. Retool your church A church can spend time updating it’s vision, mission, and values statements. It is important that the church review its existing documents in order to focus their ministry. Focus on the right things keeps churches from being distracted from good things. A church may have to also update to reach a digital generation. Does your church still use cassette tapes? Do you have an updated... Read more
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