TYPICAL TOPICAL

There are different formats that pass themselves off as "preaching."



Each theological seminary tends to magnify one style over others.



Some formats are "self-determining," that is: they have their main points dictated by Scripture.



Other types of "preaching" involve inserting the ideas and philosophies of the "Preacher" into them.



The most difficult style of preaching, and the most likely to err, is topical preaching.



In it, the "preacher" selects a TOPIC (led, of course, by the Holy Spirit). He then sets about the task of developing the topic, using Scripture verses to back his point of view.



One major issue with this preaching approach is that the preacher must constantly guard against allowing his point of view to supersede the view of Scripture on the subject.



He must also avoid using Scripture verses out of their context to "prove" his point.



Often, the verses chosen are really teaching an opposite principle, but because they sound right, seem "spiritual" or use language that makes them seem as though they "fit" the topic, he uses them, blithely disregarding their true meaning.



For example, suppose a preacher wanted his listeners to learn the importance of listening carefully, studying hard, becoming wise and doing the right thing.



He might search Scripture until he found Job 34:2-4. Hear my words, you wise men, listen to me, you men of learning. For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food. Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.



"Sounds good," you say.



Maybe so, but it would be an abomination to use those verses to teach the lesson he wanted learned, because they are the words of Elihu, about whom God, Himself, said, (speaking to Eliphaz) "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."



In fact, here is why God would be angry about Elihu making that statement:



1. It is self-serving. Count the number of times he refers to himself.

2. It is being used to accuse Job of doing that of which he is innocent.

3. It suggests that men determine what is right on their own...a very common approach in even today's secular society.

4. It teaches that together we can learn what is good, apart from God.



Now Job is a perfectly good book of the Bible...of course.



But one must be very careful about quoting Job, for it is replete with traps just like the one above.



In fact, to quote what Job says is to reveal his despair.



To quote what God says reveals His character, love and long-suffering.



But to quote Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar or Elihu as though they have anything constructive to say is to reveal one's total misunderstanding of the point of the book of Job, which is:



Religious people (Job's accusers) tend to misuse truths about God to beat the faithful over the head, especially when they are down, and God does not like that.



Two-thirds of the book deals exactly with that issue.



In fact, so many people misuse the book of Job, that I wonder whether they know how to read at all.



Job was not patient, yet we speak of the "patience of Job."



Job was righteous...God said so, yet we try to figure out what he did wrong to deserve his travails.



Job was depressed, wishing he had never been born.



Job was angry with God, questioning His motives and actions.



But Job was faithful.



For the faithful...truly faithful...the reward is beyond our wildest dreams.

A pastor once said to me, "There may be one meaning to a Scripture verse, but there are many applications."

Poppycock!

God's Word means what it means. Otherwise it would be arbitrary and capricious, and one could never be certain of its meaning. Its "meaning" would be subject to various interpretations and winds of doctrine.

If you are going to preach topically, at least let the Scripture dictate your topics and don't try to "proof-text" your sermons.



After all, not one soul on earth needs a behavioristic religious philosophy lesson.



Few souls on earth care about your "life systemology."



What they need is to hear the Word of God rightly divided.

The Bible is God' revelation of His character, His love for His Creation and His plan for its redemption.

I WISH FOR YOU

A HAPPY AND CHRIST FILLED NEW YEAR!

Why Did God Become a Man?

The following is an outline of a sermon by one of my favorite preachers, Dr. David Jeremiah.

I invite you to look up the scriptures, as they are not quoted completely in this post.

Most of all, I invite you to consider that the Mighty Creator, the One who holds more power in one hand than all of the power of all of the atoms in the universe, loves you enough to have come to live among us a sacrificial birth, a sacrificial life and a sacrificial death in order to afford you an opportunity to live with Him eternally.

God became a man to satisfy the prophecies of the Old Testament.

Luke 24:44 "All things must be fulfilled…concerning me."

Isaiah 7:14 "The Lord will give you a sign…"

Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem…whose origins are from of old…"

Jeremiah 31:15 "A voice in Rama…they are no more."

Matthew 2:16-18 "Herod…was angry…and put to death the children…"

Herod had been named "King of the Jews" by Rome.

He feared this new "King" would dethrone him

Foretold hundreds of years before it happened

God became a man to show us the Father

John 14: 9 "He who has seen me has seen the Father."

Jesus was God in a body.

To know who God is, you must know who Jesus is.

Jesus is not an idea of God, not a picture of God, He is God Himself.

Colossians1:15-19 "He is the image of the invisible…fullness dwell in Him."

John 1:1-3 "In the beginning…that has been made."

Before Jesus, man could only philosophize and guess about God’s nature. Now we can know Him.

If you want to know God, you must get to know Jesus. "I am the way…"

God became a man to save us from our sin.

I Timothy 1:15 "This is a faithful saying…that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

He had to become one of us so He could pay the penalty we should have paid.

He offers salvation to anybody who will come to Him in faith, trusting in, and only in, His finished work at the cross of Calvary.

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

John 1:29 "Behold the Lamb of God…of the world."

Without accepting Him we cannot be forgiven.

God became a man to sympathize with our weaknesses.

Hebrews 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize…"

Jesus’ temptations were not philosophical, they were real.

He understands you like no one else.

Apart from Christ there is only discouragement and despair at Christmas time.

Jesus came knowing what it would cost Him.

God became a man to secure our hope of Heaven.

He came down so that we could go up.

Until Christ is in you, you can’t go to Heaven…not Politically Correct, but I don’t care.

He had to come as He came to be what He was

He was both man and God

Born uniquely of a virgin with no sin nature.

He had to be what He was to live as He lived.

He lived a perfect life

He had to in order to be the Perfect Lamb of God.

He had to live as He lived to do what He did.

He could not have otherwise saved us.

If He had gone to the cross with just one sin, He would have gone in vain.

This Christmas remember that He was born to die; that His physical death, though horrible, did not compare to the moment when God left Him alone with the sins of the universe on his soul; and that His death provided that if you want to be with God forever, you can. His resurrection guarantees it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!

ASTONISHMENT AND AWE

I got a comment on my last post from Shari http://sharisnewblog.blogspot.com/.

We had communicated before, and she had communicated with my wife, Bonnie, about her dad.

But being the sort of addle-headed person I am, I had heard without hearing (more correctly: read without reading).

Turns out that Shari is the daughter of a radio announcer who recently went on to be with the Lord.

Turns out also that her father and I (long before he was her father) had spent time together in my home in Warner Robins, Georgia, playing radio announcer with an old Revere reel-to-reel tape recorder which we discovered generated RF (radio frequency).

When one spoke into the microphone, the signal could be picked up as far away as the house next door.

We played music for the guy next door, who could pick us up on his bedroom radio.

Interestingly, both of us actually ended up in radio, though neither seems to have known that about the other.

His name was Seymor C. Holmes III, but nobody really knew him by any name other than "Skip."

When I knew Skip, "rought around the edges" would have been the kindest thing one could say about him.

He tended toward the profane, smoked like a chimney and I'm not really certain what we had in common enough to be friends.

Not that we were close, nevertheless, he was occasionally at my house and we messed around with things that teens in those days messed around with.

Mostly, I think, I served as a diversion for him.

We did not stay in touch.

According to his own testimony, he did not "grow into a fine young man," but drifted downhill until late in life.

And then...Oh but then.

Something happened in Skip's life that you need to hear about.

In a presentation a couple of years before his death, he gave his testimony.

You can hear it here (click on the picture with the cross):

http://myspace.com/skipholmes

And I recommend that you do.

It is some 28 minutes long, so set aside some time, but it is worth every second of it.

I was moved to tears as I listened, and I don't do that often.

Every day, when I sign off my air shift at the Christian radio station (heard online at www.kingdom.fm, I say, "The Lord willing, I'll be back here again tomorrow, and if you'll join me, we'll praise God together through music and the Word. Have a beautiful day, today. Make it a Christ filled day, and I'll see you here, tomorrow. But if I don't see you here, I'll see you over there."

Skip Holmes, wait for me, Brother in Christ. I won't see you over here, but I sure do look forward to seeing you over there.

DAFFY DEFINITIONS?

I was listening to a radio talk show the other day.

The host was interviewing an author whose latest book defended the presence of illegal aliens in our country.

During the interview she made the most remarkable statement.

She said, "Somehow we in America have equated 'illegal' with 'criminal,' and that's unfortunate."

I fled to my thesaurus and looked up "illegal."

Here is what I found: unlawful; lawless; prohibited; criminal; illicit; unauthorized; illegitimate; unlicensed."

It seems there are those in this county who would make it their practice to define, or re-define, words to mean whatever they want them to mean at the time they are using them.

The way a society defines words depends on many factors, such as their linguistic origin, their historical meaning and, to a lesser extent, their common usage.

Sometimes common usage, over an extended period of time, can alter the meaning of a word.

"Cool" is an example.

"Cool" means less than warm.

But it began being used to mean something that is sociologically desirable, as in, "That is a really cool game."

Of course in that context the word "cool" has nothing to do with temperature.

Over time, as society used the word more and more to mean something "hip," [a whole different discussion. (Hint: it's not a body part)].

However, it is not the prerogative of someone to arbitrarily change the meaning of a word.

For instance, "marriage" has historically meant the union of a man and a woman.

Some have tried, unsuccessfully to one degree or another, to change its meaning to include the union of two people of the same sex.

If we do so, we will need to come up with another word that means what "marriage" used to mean.

I drive a 1995 Saturn SL2. If I decide to call it a 2007 Cadillac, will it become one?

The nature of something cannot be altered simply by changing its name, or ignoring its definition.

Therefore, that which is against the law may be referred to correctly as illegal, criminal, or any of the other synonyms listed above.

An illegal alien engages in unlawful behavior by breaking in line in front of those who go through the proper steps to enter this country, and is therefore a criminal.

Now all that's left to do is to decide to what level of criminality it rises and to react appropriately.

I wonder whether any member of our government is able to do that.

A TAXING SUGGESTION

I have, after much consideration of the present tax code, the proposed "Fair Tax" plan, and my own belief in a flat 11% tax on every earned dollar in the country - personal and corporate - over a poverty line, with no deductions (which, of course, would give the government more money than they'd know what to do with [although they most certainly would figure it out]), decided on an alternative plan.

The federal government (our universal fiscal savior) should tax us at the rate of 100%, taking every dollar we earn.

Then they could set up a chart by which they can discern the value of every person and decide how much each should receive.

How much do you think that might be for you?

Does the figure "$0.00" come to mind?

THE SUBJECT IS ONE BILLION

A good friend sent this to me.

If you haven't read it, do so, but be warned: This is too true to be very funny.


The next time you hear a politician use the word "billion" in a casual manner, think about whether you want the "politicians" spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were Living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.


While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division . .

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number, what does it mean?


A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you Each get $516,528.

B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.


C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family Gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??


Tax his land, tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.

Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Tax his pants, tax his coat.
Tax his ties, tax his shirts,
Tax his work, tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze, tax his beers,
If he cries, tax his tears.


Tax his bills, tax his gas,
Tax his notes, tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers, tax him more,
Tax him until he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.


Put these words upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom!"
And when he's gone, we won't relax,
We'll still be after the inheritance TAX!!

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Perm it Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax),
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax),
Liquor Tax,
Luxury Tax,
Marriage License Tax,
Medicare Tax,
Property Tax,
Real Estate Tax,
Service charge taxes,
Social Security Tax,
Road Usage Tax (Truckers),
Sales Taxes,
Recreational Vehicle Tax,
School Tax,
State Income Tax,
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA),
Telephone Federal Excise Tax,
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fe e Tax,
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax,
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax,
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax,
Telephone State and Local Tax,
Telephone Usage Charge Tax,
Utility Tax,
Vehicle License Registration Tax,
Vehicle Sales Tax,
Watercraft Registration Tax,
Well Permit Tax,
Workers Compensation Tax.


STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.


We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?


Can you spell 'politicians!'

And I still have to "press 1" for English.

THERE'S JUST WAY TOO MUCH PEACE

The following was stolen from Jeff H's Think Sink blog.

He stole it from Fox News Service (I think).

Thursday , November 15, 2007 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A 19-year-old female victim of gang rape who initially was ordered to undergo 90 lashes for "being in the car of an unrelated male at the time of the rape," has been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail for telling her story to the news media....

By faithful members of the Religion of Peace, who else?

This should certainly enhance their credibility as civilized members of the human race.

As any one can plainly see, they are a culturally superior group.

THE RELIGIOUS BRUSH-OFF

Have you ever gotten the "religious brush-off?"

Here's how it works.

You are given a responsibility by your church.

In the carrying out of that responsibility, you must coordinate with others, each of whom is given a part of the job of seeing that the overall responsibility is accomplished.

In the course of preparation, someone takes his part of the job somewhat less than seriously and the result is that the overall responsibility does not get accomplished like it should.

When confronted, the "slacker" gives you this number: "Oh well, Jesus can use whatever we have for His purpose."

That, my friend, is the "religious brush-off."

It is designed to let the offending party off the hook.

Fact is, he was too lazy, too pre-occupied, too lackadaisical or too whatever to realize how important his part of the operation was and tried to sluff off his failure on God.

That is an abomination, and is inexcusable.

Not that God won't forgive. Not even that God won't use what is left.

But it demonstrates the contemporary attitude toward God that He is a sweet little grandfather type who really does not deserve any more than a passing hug as we enter into His presence.

The splitting of a single atom releases enormous power in the form of energy.

The universe is made up of trillions of atoms to the trillionth power, each of which has the power of an atomic bomb.

God is more powerful than all of them all put together.

His right hand spans the universe that contains all of that energy.

We serve a God who is to be feared...which is the beginning of wisdom.

Now, I know that He is love. I know that He is merciful. I know that He is forgiving.

But when we substitute "respect" for "fear," we miss the point of whom we serve.

The Bible does not say, nor does it mean, "The respect of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

It says, and means, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

Until we recognized how fearful it is to be out of the graces of the Mighty Creator of the universe, we cannot begin to know how badly we need to repent and submit to His awesome power.

When we do, we then can realize His forgiveness, mercy, grace and Fathership, through Christ.

Until we do, we will continue to count as unimportant giving Him the very best we have, every minute of every day.

When we have a responsibility to serve Him, we need to remember who it is we are serving and what an honor it is to be entrusted with service to Him.

We will never reach perfection, but we should, no, must strive to give our best to Him in whatever it is He has asked us to do.

After all, He gave His very best for us.

TELL ME AGAIN: WHO DO WE THANK?

The following are exerpts from a few presidential proclamations at Thanksgiving time.

"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor - and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness." - George Washington (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God)

"It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to the land and naval forces engaged in suppressing an internal rebellion, and at the same time to avert from our country the dangers of foreign intervention and invasion.It is therefore recommended to the people of the United States that at their next weekly assemblages in their accustomed places of public worship which shall occur after notice of this proclamation shall be have been received they especially acknowledge and render thanks to our Heavenly Fathers..." Abraham Lincoln (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God).

"Resting and refraining from secular labors on that day, let us reverently and devoutly give thanks to our Heavenly Father for the mercies and blessings with which He has crowned the now closing year. Especially let us remember that He has covered our land through all its extent with greatly needed and very abundant harvests;..." ANDREW JOHNSON (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God).

"Therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, do recommend that Thursday, the 18th day of November next, be observed as a day of thanksgiving and of praise and of prayer to almighty God, the creator and the ruler of the universe..." U.S. Grant (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God).

"At no period in their history since the United States became a nation has this people had so abundant and so universal reasons for joy and gratitude at the favor of Almighty God or been subject to so profound an obligation to give thanks for His loving kindness and humbly to implore His continued care and protection...." R.B. HAYES (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God).

"...as a day of national thanksgiving and prayer, by ceasing, so far as may be, from their secular labors and meeting in their several places of worship, there to join in ascribing honor and praise to Almighty God, whose goodness has been so manifest in our history and in our lives, and offering earnest prayers that His bounties may continue to us and to our children..." CHESTER A. ARTHUR (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God).

"...with prayer and songs of praise devoutly testify their gratitude to the Giver of Every Good and Perfect Gift for all that He has done for us in the year that has passed; for our preservation as a united nation and for our deliverance from the shock and danger of political convulsion; for the blessings of peace and for our safety and quiet while wars and rumors of war have agitated and afflicted other nations of the earth;..." GROVER CLEVELAND (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God).

"A highly favored people, mindful of their dependence on the bounty of Divine Providence, should seek fitting occasion to testify gratitude and ascribe praise to Him who is the author of their many blessings. It behooves us, then, to look back with thankful hearts over the past year and bless God for His infinite mercy in vouchsafing to our land enduring peace, to our people freedom from pestilence and famine, to our husbandmen abundant harvests, and to them that labor a recompense of their toil." BENJAMIN HARRISON (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God).

"It has pleased Almighty God to bring our nation in safety and honor through another year. The works of religion and charity have everywhere been manifest. Our country through all its extent has been blessed with abundant harvests. Labor and the great industries of the people have prospered beyond all precedent. Our commerce has spread over the world. Our power and influence in the cause of freedom and enlightenment have extended over distant seas and lands. The lives of our official representatives and many of our people in China have been marvelously preserved. We have been generally exempt from pestilence and other great calamities; and even the tragic visitation which overwhelmed the city of Galveston made evident the sentiments of sympathy and Christian charity by virtue of which we are one united people." WILLIAM McKINLEY (who did not know we were not supposed to believe in, let alone thank, God).

So we are a secular nation, huh?

In your dreams.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!! HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE TO ALMIGHTY GOD!!

THE MAGIC OF MOTORS

I have an electric tool. It has an electric motor.

The motor is configured in such a way as to spin a drill bit when the trigger-switch is pulled.

Interestingly, I also have another electric tool. It also has an electric motor.

This motor is configured in such a way as to cause a rod to push out and pull in many times per second.

Now, these two tools perform vastly different tasks.

But they both use very similar motors.

Each motor has a core of iron with wire wrapped around it, a magnet wrapped very close to the wire-wrapped core, a set of "brushes" (really chunks of carbon) that rub against the casing and other similar components.

One motor is made by the Black and Decker company, the other by Makita.

No one in his/her right mind would argue that the more complicated motor came into being through a series of accidental assemblies perpetrated by the other simpler motor.

To the right is a biological motor.

It is used by certain bacteria to rotate their flagella for locomotion.

It is much more remarkably engineered than the most complicated electric motor ever devised by the most brilliant scientist.

Some life-forms have a biological motor that does not rotate flagella, but pushes a cellular rod in and out.

These cellular motors have some similar structures, some different structures, and operate in different ways. They also have fewer parts and are simpler motors.

The other day I was watching a PBS science program on TV which showed each of these biological motors.

Interestingly, the "scientist" on the program thought that the fact that there were two different kinds of biological motors with similar parts meant that one "evolved" from the other.

You would think that a scientist would be smart enough to recognize that just as each of my tool motors had to have been intelligently designed, so, too, would the extraordinarily more complex biological motor.

If you are a scientist reading this post, are you smart enough to recognize that truth?

PROOF THAT THERE IS AN ANSWER TO EVERYTHING

My sister sent me the statements.

I supplied the responses.


1. A shrimp's heart is in its head.
Mine spends most of the time in my throat

2. The 'sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick' is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.
Not for me. 'sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick' See...no problem.

3. Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.
What takes them so long?

4. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
So...never wear headphones for just an hour.

5. If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16 1969 , make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?
They carry the plague.

6. In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
For every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.

7. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
For the same reason that if a tree falls in a forrest and no one is around it makes not noise.

8. 23% of all photocopier faults world-wide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts.
And 68% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

9. Most lipstick contains fish scales.
Do most fish scales contain lipstick? I have a magician nephew who, when running from the cops, turned into a drugstore, stepped on the scales and got a weigh.

10. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.
OK...who checked that out?

11. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib.. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.
If you try to suppress evidence, you can go to jail.

12. If you keep your eyes open by force, they can pop out.
I do that every morning.

13. In a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where an ostrich buried its head in the sand.
Did anybody report any married casses?

14. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
If they could, what would they be looking for?

15. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
My pregnant neighbor IS a twit.

16. More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.
I'll bet the solicitors who have called me have tried to call every one of them.

17. Horses can't vomit.
Horses have never eaten Kibbles 'N Bits.

18. Butterflies taste with their feet.
Shrimp taste with their hearts.

19. In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all of the world's nuclear weapons combined.
My two year old neighbor releases more energy than a hurricane.

20. On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.
On average, 100 people swollow post-it notes before doing so.

21. On average people fear spiders more than they do death.
On average, people fear ball poin pens almost as much.

22. Ninety percent of New York City cabbies are recently arrived immigrants.
Legal or illegal?

23. Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.
But not for long.

24. Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.
Hey! I'm a white guy. I can't jump!

25. Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
You call this living?

26. It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.
But if you lead her to water you CAN make her drink.

27. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
Mostly, though, it's just flirting.

28. It's physically impossible for you to lick your elbow.
How do you think I became a man?

29. The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
When the seas rise from global warming, it won't matter anyway.

30. A snail can sleep for three years.
I do that every morning.

31. Your nose and ears never stop growing.
If I am the one person in two billion who lives to 116, how long will my nose be?

32. Our eyes are always the same size from birth.
At what gestational age do they acheive full size?

33. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
Mine still uses one.

34. All polar bears are left handed.
When writing, or just when using the phone?

35. In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
And they live to 116 years of age just to get it done.

36. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
And the theological significance is?

37. TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
You forgot about QUYRTIPOWER.

38. 'Go,' is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
So?

39. If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would stand seven feet, two inches tall.
The WBA could use her.

40. A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
So what does he do when the doctor says, "Say, 'Ahhh'?"

41. The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
So what did the Indians (oops-Native Americans) light their peace pipes with?

42. Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
I, on average, eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

43. Almost everyone who reads this email will try to lick their elbow.
See #28 above.

GRRRRR!

When I first visited Lehigh Acres, Florida, it was 1962.

There was one street, paved part-way into the community, and a few hundred people. It was mostly country living.

When I moved to Lehigh Acres in 1994, there were 28,000 people, an elementary school and a high school of sorts and lots of paved roads.

Today, the population has swelled to around 80,000, roads have vastly improved (though not enough to keep up with he need), and there are multiple numbers of schools of each age group.

And, oh yeah...Lehigh Acres is the crime capital of Southwest Florida.

There are disproportionate numbers of murders, muggings, car thefts, graffiti paintings, home invasions, drug busts, kidnappings and robberies in Lehigh Acres.

Here is a reference to one of the recent sad ones.

Mike and Vicki Culver are nice people.

I did some work for them some years back and they treated me with dignity and respect. They were thorough, business-like, yet friendly and talkative.


They have contributed to the community of Lehigh Acres for years.


They are givers. Their attitude is, "What’s ours is yours…we’ll share it." They do not deserve the treatment they have gotten from certain elements of Lehigh.

The people who burned their business two years ago, as well as the ones who robbed them recently, are not givers, they are takers.


Their attitude is "What’s yours is mine if I want it…so I’ll just take it."

They have been raised, as far too many have, to think, "I want what I want, when I want it, where I want it, how I want it, and you owe it to me."


Mike and Vicki, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

I hope the perpetrators are caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

And I pray that some day, somehow, they will catch the spirit of people like Mike and Vicki Culvert.

I also pray that law enforcement officials will begin to take seriously the need to get things under control in Lehigh Acres before it is too late.

VETERANS DAY

A REALLY BRIEF HISTORY OF VETERANS DAY

In November of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Armistice Day proclamation. The last paragraph set the tone for future observances:"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nation."

The name was changed to Veterans' Day by Act of Congress on May 24, 1954. In October of that year, President Eisenhower called on all citizens to observe the day by remembering the sacrifices of all those who fought so gallantly, and through rededication to the task of promoting an enduring peace. The President referred to the change of name to Veterans' Day in honor of the servicemen of all America's wars.

And this proclamation was issued this year:

I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2007, as Veterans Day and urge all Americans to observe November 11 through November 17, 2007, as National Veterans Awareness Week. I encourage all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through ceremonies and prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and to support and participate in patriotic activities in their communities. I invite civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, businesses, unions, and the media to support this national observance with commemorative expressions and programs.

A LINK WORTH CLICKING

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BobBurney/2007/10/30/a_shocking_%e2%80%9cconfession%e2%80%9d_from_willow_creek_community_church

And Here is a Great one (go to October 2 and watch the video...it's worth it).

http://simsdanny.blogspot.com/

DOES MATTER MATTER?

According to the law of the conservation of mass, usually attributed to Lavoisier, within some problem domain, the amount of mass remains constant--mass is neither created nor destroyed.

There are, theoretically, exceptions in such cases as black holes and or very exotic physics problems. But these have never been either tested or proven.

Even in the case of black holes, the matter entrapped therein is not destroyed, it is simply prevented from exhibiting itself in a currently observable way.

Enough physics?

OK.

What it means is this: every atom that has ever existed in the entire universe is still in the universe.

Even if one accepts the postulate of the so-called "Big Bang Theory."

All of the atoms were there and are still somewhere.

So, in pure science, there would never have been a beginning, for everything that is always has been and will be forever.

Joe...I thought you were finished with the physics, already!

Hey! Give me a break.

What am I...some kind of a scientific writer or something?

Point is, science makes no honest effort to describe, nor is it equipped to handle, the concept of a cosmic beginning, in spite of what it might like you to believe.

If, therefore, you place your trust and faith in science, you will find that there are no ultimate answers there...only descriptions and postulations.

So to understand "beginnings" we must look outside of science.

There are thousands of versions of "beginnings," by every society that ever has been.

There are many religious writings that purport to account for "beginnings," each contradicting, altering and/or sharing ideas with the others.

Except one.

There is one sixty-six volume set of writings that was written over thousands of years, by at least forty different authors of many different ages (not just a bunch of old men), most of whom had no contact with the others, and none of whom had access to the totality of said writings.

Yet their writings include "straight-line" logic about the nature of creation that, when understood in context, are consistant each with the other and weave a picture that could not have been conceived by, let alone enacted by human beings.

Those writings have been assembled into book form in a tome called The Bible.

The writings found therein were chosen precisely because of their continuity of thought and their ability to satisfy the mysterious inner longing of mankind's deepest need: the need to solve the issues of meaning and direction.

In The Bible we find the revelation of the character of the Creator.

Subsequent alleged "revelations" about or, supposedly, by Him reveal absolutely nothing new about His character, and are therefore absolutely frivolous at every level.

In The Bible we find the revelation of the Creator's absolute love for His creation.

Other writings present the Creator as some kind of capricious being whose character is both unknowable and untrustworthy.

In The Bible we find the revelation of the Creator's plan for the redemption of His fallen creation.

In every other writing, the "redemption" of man is arbitrary, and is subject to his ability to behave in a certain creator-pleasing way and to the ever-changing whim of the creator.

The important thing to understand, in order to grasp the meaning of The Bible, is that it is ultimately about, and only about, the Creator, whom we refer to as God.

Although The Bible contains the best philosophy that has ever been penned, it is not a philosophy book.

Although The Bible contains the best history that has ever been written, it is not a history book.

Although The Bible contains the best science that has ever been penned, it is not a science book.

Although The Bible contains the best dietetic information that has ever been written, it is not a dietetic book.

In fact, although it has often been viewed and treated as such, it is not even a book of religion.

Its main character, Jesus, spoke often and loudly against religion, as did the other New Testament writers.

The Bible is God's revelation of HIS character, HIS love of HIS creation and HIS plan for its redemption.

When The Bible speaks of origins, it assumes a point brought into being from timelessness by the Creator, stating, "In the beginning God..."

Note that in so stating, The Bible stands not at all in contradiction of science, rather it describes what is, in complete agreement with the law of the conservation of matter.

For if what is came from nowhere, then it is not.

But if what is was created, then it is.

Since we know empirically that what is, is, we can trust that the Creator of what is can be trusted to accurately communicate to us His "what is."

(This is true even if one comes from a political point of view that believes one can equivocate the meaning of the word "is.")

What we learn from the sufficiency of The Bible is that God's plan for HIS creation's redemption is found in, and only in, the person of Jesus.

Here, by the way, is the plan that The Bible presents:

Every person is a sinner. When a person accepts that, he/she can recognize his/her need to be accepted by the loving, but righteous and just, Creator, which cannot happen in the presence of sin.

The Bible tells us that if we believe that Jesus is God incarnate (in the flesh), that He was executed to pay our sin debt, and that God raised Him from the dead, illustrating that He has power over life and death, we can be gifted with life forever in His presence.

Finally, The Bible encourages us to commit ourselves to the person of Jesus and to unfaltering service to Him.

You can know Him, if you will.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Water is essential to life.

Too much water is dangerous.

Witness New Orleans.

Fire is almost essential to life.

To much fire is dangerous.

Witness California.

In New Orleans people besieged by Katrina fled to a football stadium for shelter.

While there, they exhibited the baseness of humanity by killing each other, raping each other, fighting with each other, defecating wherever they felt like it, whining to the federal government, crying about how Mommy Washington didn't come running, blaming the president for the disaster itself and otherwise acting like entitled, spoiled brats who wanted others to do for them what they were unwilling to do for themselves.

Then hundreds of them looted their own city, shot up their own infrastructure, rioted in the streets and otherwise acted like barbarians.

Come to think of it...that's just what they are.

In California, the largest evacuation of people in history, people besieged by 400,000 acres of fire, fled to a football stadium for shelter.

While there, and even on their way there, they helped each other, encouraged each other, pulled together, stayed organized, helped feed themselves, established law and order and behaved like civilized people.

As of this writing, there have been only two lootings. The looters were arrested and the prosecutor intends to (think of it) prosecute them.

People whose homes were not ravaged by the fires opened their homes to family, friends, neighbors and even perfect strangers.

My wife's sister, who lives in the affected area, is one who has opened her home to anyone who needs it, and if I know her, she will feed people who need feeding and will give of herself far beyond expectations.

Part of the difference between New Orleans and California is accounted for by the nature of the disasters involved.

But much of it is a difference in the way the respective residents look at life.

In the one case, entitlement, dependence and self-insufficiency are actively taught and encouraged by their political leaders and schools.

In the other, hard work, self-help, neighborliness and helping one's fellow man is the order of the day.

To be fair, some of the politicians in California tried to emulate the politicians in New Orleans.

That's because they were woven from the same cloth.

But the people of California would have none of it.

Personally, I am very sorry for the losses sustained by people in New Orleans and in California.

But I am awed by the differences in how each group responded.

Is there a lesson we might learn from this?

DISCIPLE, DISCIPLE, DISCIPLE

"My" denomination has a ministry that seeks to disciple its members.

This ministry has morphed over the years.

It started out as "BYPU," Baptist Young People's Union.

Then it became "Baptist Training Union"

Not satisfied with that, the name was changed to just "Training Union."

Next it became "Church Training."

Then "Discipleship Training."

And so it goes.

Today, churches kind of call it what they wish. Names like: "Christian Life Institute;" "Institute of Christian Growth;" and others have become common.

Whatever the name, though, the purpose of the ministry is to help Christians grow in their Christian walk by enabling them to assume various roles in ministry, realizing their spiritual gifts.

Lately there has been a move to include discipleship training in Bible study (Sunday School) groups.

This seems enigmatic to me, since doing Bible study is a quasi-intellectual pursuit, while training is a hands-on experience.

In other words Bible study is learning what God has said, is saying and will say, while training is putting what you have learned into practice.

Jesus did both.

He taught his disciples.

He also trained his disciples.

He showed them healings.

Then he let them "do the healing."

(OK, OK, I know...God does the healing...but I have a feeling that you know what I mean.)

I believe this is a good model to follow.

In my own case, I was very blessed to have been a part of a forward thinking discipleship ministry (then called "Training Union.")

I was taught how to present a lesson in front of people by using material provided in our Training Union Quarterly.

Sometimes it was a little stiff and contrived, but it taught me that being in front of people was not as painful as I thought, and that almost anyone could learn to do it (even if not everyone is called TO do it).

I was also taught the basics of leading music in Training Union.

My church Music Director, Jesse Cheek, took time during Training Union to teach whoever wanted to learn about time signatures, tempi, note values, dynamic markings and the like.

After my training, I became the Assistant Church Music Director, and had the joyful, if somewhat terrifying, experience of helping the congregation and choir sing hymns and anthems to God.

The rest, as someone has said, is history...not all of it good, but not all of it bad, either.

God has given me the privilege and responsibility of serving Him ever since.

I yearn to see churches take the business of Discipleship Training seriously...training Bible teachers, Music Leaders, Deacons, hospitality workers, nursery workers, community outreach leaders, etc.

Not just having members sit through "programs," like "Experiencing God," (and they are great), but enabling them to practice doing FOR God with their spiritual gifts.

Just as Jesus discipled His followers, we need to disciple our members.

MINISTERIALY SPEAKING

I am a minister, called into the Gospel Ministry when I was 17 years old.

For those of you wondering, I am 65 years old.

I was officially welcomed into ministry by Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand, Florida in 1962.

I have never been a pastor, but I have been a Minister of Education, Minister of Youth, a Minister of Music and a Minister of Christian Radio.

Let me assure you that a non-pastoral minister is not a "second class" minister.

Your church Worship Leader is a minister. So is your Education Director.

In fact, every one of us Christians is a minister in exactly the same sense that the pastor of the church is a minister.

The venue might be different, but the task is the same: point people toward Jesus, encourage each other in the Body of Christ and build each other up in the Body of Christ.

No doubt there are many so-called "para-church" ministries where you live.

You may have a Right to Life organization in your town.

Be certain of it...it is headed up by a minister (not necessarily a pastor...though it could be...but someone who ministers to the community through the organization).

Maybe there is a "soup kitchen" in your area established and run by a Christian who feels God's call to provide for the needs of the homeless.

I work for a Christian radio station (WJYO, 91.5 Kingdom FM, online at http://www.kingdom.fm/).

Our leader is a Minister of the Gospel.

He is not a pastor.

But think of it this way: between Sunday church services he provides music, Bible study, preaching and community information about local Christian events. That is not even possible for most churches to provide.

The "business" of being a Christian radio minister (or any other kind of minister, for that matter) carries with it awesome responsibilities for harmony in the body, stability, integrity, being above reproach, conducting oneself with kindness, gentleness, patience, love and the other fruits of the Spirit in leadership.

The leader of a Christian ministry must be called into ministry, first and foremost, or else he or she has no business leading a Christian ministry.

If a minister expects his/her ministry to be supported by its constituency, he/she must see to it that the needs of that constituency are being met...not by some ethereal subjective imaginations, but by actual investigation and analysis.

Far too often, what is blamed on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, is nothing more than "I thought of it...I want to do it...it excites me...I am a Christian, therefore it must be God's will."

The result is that the "ministry" struggles to stay afloat and its leader(s) can't figure out why.

Truth be told, money in ministry does not follow good business practices, enthusiasm, or wishful thinking.

Money follows ministry.

If people perceive that they are being ministered to in a significant way, they open their pocketbooks.

If not, the ministry is probably not touching the hearts of enough people to make a difference in their lives.

This might mean that prayerful consideration might be given to seeking out the kind of spiritual and leadership help that those who have gone before, and who are going forth now, can provide.

In other words, killing off self-pride and learning (at conferences, from other leaders of ministries like yours, etc.) from those whose knowledge and experience can help.

Worth thinking about.

MY FAVORITE MESSAGE OF ALL TIME

BY S.M. LOCKRIDGE

My King

My King was born King.

The Bible says my King is a seven-way king.
He's the King of the Jews; that's a racial king....He's the King of Israel; that's a national King....He's the King of Righteousness....He's the King of the Ages.....He's the King of Heaven....He's the King of Glory....He's the King of kings, and He's the Lord of lords.

That's my King.

Well....I wonder, if you know Him?

David said, "The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork."

My King is a sovereign King.

No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supplies. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings.

He's enduringly strong....He's entirely sincere....He's eternally steadfast....He's immortally graceful....He's imperially powerful....He's impartially merciful!

Do you know Him?

He's the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world.

He's God's Son....He's a sinner's Saviour....He's the centerpiece of civilization....He stands alone in Himself....He's august....He's unique....He's unparalleled....He's unprecedented.... He’s Supreme…He’s preeminent…He's the loftiest idea in literature....He's the highest personality in philosophy....He's the supreme problem in higher criticism....He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology....He's the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion....He's the miracle of the age.... He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him....He’s the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Saviour...... I wonder if you know Him today?

He's the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously…He supplies strength for the weak....He's available for the tempted and the tried....He sympathizes and He saves....He strengthens and sustains....He guards and He guides....He heals the sick....He cleanses lepers....He forgives sinners....He discharges debtors....He delivers captives....He defends the feeble....He blesses the young....He serves the unfortunate....He regards the aged....He rewards the diligent....and He beautifies the meek.

Is that the King you know today?

Well, my King is the key to knowledge....He's the wellspring to wisdom....He's the doorway of deliverance....He's the pathway of peace....He's the roadway of righteousness ....He's the highway of holiness....He's the gateway of glory....... He’s the master of the mighty…He’s the captain of the conquerors…He’s the head of the heros…He’s the leader of the legislators…He’s the overseer of the overcomers…He’s the governor of governors…He’s the Prince of princes…He’s the King of kings…and He’s the Lord of lords.

Do you know Him?

His office is manifold....His promise is sure....His light is matchless....His goodness is limitless....His mercy is everlasting....His love never changes....His word is enough....His grace is sufficient....His reign is righteous....and His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable....He's incomprehensible....He's invincible....He's irresistible.

The heavens of Heaven cannot contain Him…let alone a man explain Him.
You can't get Him out of your mind....You can't get Him off of your hands....You can't out live Him, and you can't live without Him.

The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him....Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him....The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree....Herod couldn't kill Him....Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him.

That's my King.

He always has been…and He always will be…He had no predecessor…He’ll have no successor…There was nobody before Him…and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him…and He’s not going to resign.

"Thine is the Kingdom....and the Power....and the Glory...."

All the power belongs to my King.

You may talk about black power, white power, green power…but it’s God’s power.
Thine is the power…and the glory!

We’re trying to get prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His.

Yes, Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory forever and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever and ever, and ever…How long is that? And ever...and ever... and ever, and ever… and when you get through with all the forevers, then.... AMEN!

What Did I Do When I Accepted Him?

I was sixteen years old when I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.

Not everything I believed about Him at that time was correct.

Over the years a lot has been revealed to me that I did not know when I was first saved.

But I did know that this person, Jesus, came from God, lived a perfect life, taught many things, and loved me enough to die for me.

Let me tell you about the process of my salvation, because it is the same for anyone who comes to Him.

Along the way I will quote Scripture verses, which is not my normal pattern, but which, in this instance, confirms what went on in my life when taken in the context of Scripture as a whole.

1. I recognized sin in my personal life.

Romans 3:23 tells me that I am not unique in this. Everybody who ever has lived, is living now and who ever will live has sinned (which means missing the perfect mark God has set, and failing to be in the center of His will every moment of one's life).

2. I developed a "Godly sorrow" for my sin.

John the Baptist had been put in prison. Jesus, we are told in Mark 1:15, went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, saying, "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news."

Repentance is not just being sorry that we are guilty of sinning, it is recognizing that sin grieves God and therefore we are sorry enough about our sin that we turn from it to Him through Christ.


3. I faced Christ’s claims on my life.

His Word tells us that God's will is that everybody be saved, that none should perish (II Peter 3:9).

Furthermore, He said that He loved me so much that He gave Jesus, God incarnate, so that if I would believe in Him and His finished work, I would be saved.


4. I believed God raised Jesus, who had been crucified, from the dead.

Romans 10:9 tells us that if we confess with our mouths "Jesus is Lord," and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved.


5. I placed my faith in Him and His finished work at the cross.

At the "end" He cried out from the cross, "It is finished," and thereby proclaimed that everything necessary to fulfill the work of salvation had been done once for all time.

We are saved by the grace of God, through our faith in Christ's work, not our own, according to Ephesians 2:8 & 9.


6. Finally, I committed to live my life in His service, whatever that entailed.

I have not done that as well as I ought, but with every passing day He enables me to be better at it than I was the day before...at least on those days when I manage to give up my selfish desires and yield myself to Him.

He has never failed me.

I have failed Him often...much more often than I should.

But when I fail Him, He is both faithful and just to forgive me, to pick me up and to reassure me of my right standing with Him for all of eternity.

Since He has set the highest possible standard, and since He has seen fit to fulfill it by the power of His Holy Spirit, and not by my might or power, how could I neglect so great a salvation?

He has protected me from the superstitious, non-sensical mumbo-jumbo that permeates so much of what passes for Christianity today.

He has never "micro-managed" my life, but has lain out eternal principles that, as I learned and followed them, have stood in good stead unfailingly.

(On the other hand, when I have strayed from those principles, I have suffered their inevitable consequences.)

He has taught me that His Word can be trusted to reveal to me His character, to reiterate His love for me and to remind me of the great plan of salvation He has provided.

Sometimes He has calmed the storms in my life.

Sometimes He has calmed me.

Either way, I have learned that the apostle Paul was right when he told us that, for him, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

I claim that for myself, too.

My prayer is that you have, or will, come to know the Creator of all that is, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

THE PHONEY BALONEY JESUS

I met Jesus when I was a teenager.

Every day with Him is sweeter than the day before.

But I am sick and tired of the phoney baloney Jesus being preached by so many in our country.

I just watched a very well known television "preacher" hold a "share-a-thon" on TV.

This guy was extoling the benefits of giving to his "ministry."

He proclaimed how God would not fail to bless those who gave.

He then proceeded to have several "testimonies" from some who gave thousands and reaped tens of thousands.

The next story was of an old woman in Bangladesh, or some such poverty stricken country, who rode a rickety old bicycle to collect thrown away food left-overs to feed her family.

In their benevolence, his ministry, helped by your wonderful giving, bought her a new bicycle with which to travel about picking up her scraps of food.

Oh...and they sent her some rice, too.

My question is, "Why didn't they just encourage her to scrimp and save up $5.00 to send to his ministry?"

She would have become rich practically overnight...probably sleeping in the king's palace!

Maybe they could have sent her some real balogna, instead of the phoney baloney tripe they regularly preach.

PREACH THE BIBLE?

In my survey of Southwest Florida's fastest growing, most "influential" churches, I have found some common threads.

As a church grows, there is a feeling of disconnect among its members if an effort has not been made to "cut it off at the pass," that is, to provide a connect among the members.

For most of the "successful" churches in our area this has meant an emphasis on relatively small ministry groups led by either "professional" or lay leaders.

Some have kept the framework of Sunday School as the basis of their small group ministry, others have used a variation of the Home Church idea.

Either way, it is the intimacy of the small group that has enabled the members to maintain the feeling of connectivity to one another.

Another common thread is the style of preaching.

Among the larger, growing churches in Southwest Florida, none is using a specifically or exclusively "seeker friendly" approach, although they all incorporate some aspects thereof.

The noticeable characteristic of their preaching is the preaching of the gospel..."gospel" meaning not just Biblical truth, but the Truth of Jesus Christ and His life, death, burial and resurrection for the remission of sin.

They do not emphasize "social ills," such as abortion, pre-marital sex, divorce, drug use, etc., although everyone of them is quick to point out their counter-productive consequences.

They do not specialize in "innovative" worship services, though every one uses a certain dose of same, such as drama, overhead projection, live instruments, etc.

The growing, "successful" churches have concluded that discipling cannot be done from the pulpit, because, by nature, discipling requires action and interaction on the part of individuals, not just listening.

What they seem to have "discovered" is, like Paul, the deep, deep yearning of people to have the spiritual darkness of their hearts filled with the hope of the Gospel of Christ.

Furthermore, they have found that those who have been saved never tire of hearing the "old, old story" over and over again.

The result is that 40 to 45 of 52 Sunday morning sermons preached each year in the simi-mega-churches in Southwest Florida are gospel messages that clearly lay out the plan of salvation and invite people to respond to it.

This is in keeping with what the Word of God instructs.

(Where some pastors got the idea that they have to prepare sermons on 52 different topics per year is beyond me. I would guess that it was taught to them in the sometimes arrogant, elitist and superficially intellectual environment of seminary or Bible college.)

Below are the Biblical references to "preach" or "preaching."

Look at them closely and then draw a conclusion about what the Bible says is to be preached.

Count how many of the references make direct reference to preaching THE GOSPEL.


Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mt 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mt 10:27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

Mt 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

Mr 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Mr 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

Mr 3:14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

Mr 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Lu 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Lu 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Lu 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

Lu 9:2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Lu 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Ac 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Ac 10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

Ac 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

Ac 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

Ac 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

Ac 16:10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

Ac 17:3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Ro 1:15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

Ro 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Ro 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Ro 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:

1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

1Co 9:14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

1Co 9:16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

1Co 9:18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.

1Co 15:11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

2Co 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,

2Co 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.


2Co 10:16 To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand.

Ga 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Ga 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Ga 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

Ga 2:2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.


Ga 5:11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

Eph 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Php 1:15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

Php 1:16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Re 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

MIX BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE?

Should a church or Christian ministry be a business?

Well, first of all, in the eyes of the state and federal governments, churches and Christian ministries are businesses.

Contrary to popular belief, churches pay taxes.

In most states, churches (and most 501C3 non-profit ministries) don't pay sales taxes, and they don't pay federal income taxes themselves (but they do withhold taxes from certain employee paychecks), but they do pay other taxes and assessments.

But my real question revolves around the often stated belief that churches or Christian ministries should adopt and observe "good business practices."

(For the purposes of this post, I shall hitherto forth use the term "ministry" to include churches and para church organizations operating in the name of Jesus for the purpose of filling a community or world-wide need.)

One could use Scripture to try to make that determination...you know: "count the costs," etc.

But then where does faith fit in?

The answer lies in what church members believe the ministry really is.

If the ministry is a group that sees itself as a sort of "holy club," with regular meetings about how to behave and do good things, then there is no particular reason not to act in a totally businesslike manner.

But if the ministry is a body of called out believers in a resurrected Lord with whom they have both a personal and a corporate relationship, then it dare not think of itself as a business.

Let me see whether I can create a clearer understanding of the nature of churches and Christian ministries, as compared with businesses.

A business is an entity whose purpose it is to exchange goods and services for some particular gain...monetary or otherwise.

It is a direct quid-pro-quo relationship.

I do this for you; you give me this in return.

For instance, a commercial radio station says to an advertiser, "You give me "X" amount of money and I'll produce a spot for you that will entice listeners to buy your goods and services, and that spot will air "Y" number of times per day.

A Christian radio station, on the other hand (one of those para church ministries) can, both by law and by ethical standards, only ask a business to support it and air what the FCC calls "business acknowledgements."

It is prohibited by law from issuing a "call to action" (asking the listener to do something...like "call such-and-such a number"), airing an "enticement to buy" (giving the listener some reason to purchase from that business as opposed to some other business), or using descriptive, qualitative phrases ("the best Quadrapones in Southwest Florida").

As a ministry, it should not want to do such things anyway.

A ministry is characterized by giving, not getting.

The role of the ministry, church or para church, is to give, and give, and give some more, and leave it up to God to provide.

Ministries are about reconciliation, encouraging one another in the body of Christ and building one another up in the body of Christ.

Ministries are about thinking of others as better than yourself.

That doesn't mean that ministries should not ask for or receive money...they should.

The money that comes to a ministry should be a response from those benefiting from the ministry and from those who believe in the ministry and want to see it continue.

Money (and other blessings) follows ministry.

If a ministry's constituency believes it receives a benefit from the ministry, or sees the value of the ministry as a benefit to someone believed to need the ministry, it will have the support it needs..

If a ministry is not being supported, guess what...it is not being perceived as an important ministry by its constituency.

The real answer is: A ministry (including a church) dare not think of itself as a business. As soon as it does, it risks alienating its base and going afoul of the law.

Furthermore, it risks substituting business practices for faith.

Here's the deal.

If a ministry wants to do something, and it is God's will that it be done, God will provide the way for it to get done in His power.

If a ministry wants to do something and it is NOT God's will, it will never receive the blessing from doing it that it would have if it had waited to discover God's will.

For instance, if a church wants to build a new facility but it is not God's will, the building, if it gets built at all, will never fully serve its intended purpose and may require "pulling teeth" to get it done.

If a church knows that God wants a new facility built and proceeds on faith that He will provide, stand back...there is no power on earth that can prevent it from being done.

That may not be good business, but it is excellent faith.

Faith pleases God.

Nothing else does.