In his book, Something Else to Smile About, Zig Ziglar tells a story about man who went next door to borrow his neighbor’s lawnmower.
The neighbor explained that he couldn’t loan him the mower because all the flights had been canceled from New York to Los Angeles.
“What do canceled flights from New York to Los Angeles have to do with borrowing your lawnmower?” the man incredulously asked. Continue reading
Filed under Discipleship, Excuses
There’s an exercise, which I borrowed from John Maxwell, that I’ve used through the years in Bible classes. In fact, why don’t you try it right now?
Write down the name of a friend who you greatly admire.
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Now write down one thing you admire most about your friend.
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Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
There’s an old story about two men who were fishing one Sunday morning and when the fish weren’t biting they began to feel guilty about skipping church.
One man said, “I guess I should have gone to church rather than gone fishing.”
The other man replied, “Well, I couldn’t have gone to church anyway, because my wife is home sick in bed.” Continue reading
Filed under Sunday Seed Thoughts
Good morning from Beverly Hills,
Hope you all are off to a fantastic new year. And that 2022 brings each of you prosperity, both materially and spiritually.
Renew. That’s been our focus this week. “Let’s renew in ’22” is our preaching and writing theme for the year. In a series of blog posts, we have defined, explained, discussed, and illustrated the how, when, why, and where of spiritual renewal. If you’ve missed any or all of these posts, we hope you will use the quick links to catch up. Continue reading
Filed under Weekly Recap
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day,” opined speaker and author Jim Rohn. The same is true for spiritual renewal.
By now, our readers know that our preaching and writing theme this year is “Let’s Renew in ‘22.” This week we’ve introduced, defined, and explained the concept of renewal.
Today, on Friday’s List, we offer some suggestions for renewal that are simple and succinct, yet powerful.
13 Ways To Renew Yourself Spiritually Continue reading
Filed under Friday's List to Life By, Renew in '22
By definition, a paradox is “a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality, expresses a possible truth.”
Jesus often spoke truths that contained a paradox. Here are three examples.
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt 10:38).
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matt 20:26) Continue reading
Filed under Discipleship, Renew in '22
Jeff Strite relates an interesting story about a woman who came to a preacher for counseling.
The woman said her husband had become distant. Her children were rebellious. They were deep in debt. Now she was experiencing medical problems.
The preacher said the more she talked the more depressed HE became. He wasn’t sure how to advise her. He admitted that he thought, “Your case is hopeless. There is no way out.” Of course, he couldn’t tell her that. So as many good counselors do, he asked her a question. Continue reading
Filed under Discipleship, Renew in '22
“None of us has enough inner strength to last a lifetime. We simply can’t make it,” wrote my friend and preaching colleague Gary Henry in his Daybook Enthusiastic Ideas.
“If we are to keep going, we must be ‘renewed’ fairly often. And this process must take place deep inside of us,” Gary opined.
Our preaching and writing theme this year speaks to the issue of renewal, which we want to introduce and define in each blog post this week.
If we are to make renewal real, if it is to become more than just a catchy slogan, then we must get deep inside ourselves. We must begin with three very important, fundamental steps. Continue reading
Filed under Discipleship, Renew in '22
Kenneth Cober was a 20th-century hymnist who wrote a hymn in 1960 entitled, “Renew Thy Church,” In recent years, some songbooks have adapted the hymn. The first verse goes like this.
Renew your church, our ministries restore:
both to serve and adore.
Make us again as salt throughout the land,
and as light from a stand.
‘Mid somber shadows of the night,
where greed and hatreds spread their blight,
O send us forth with power endued,
help us, Lord, be renewed.
Our word of the week, “renew,” will serve as our preaching and writing theme for 2022. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
For the past 20+ years, I have read this poem by an unknown author on the first Sunday of each new year.
It was a tradition that was passed on to me by my friend and preaching mentor Paul Andrews. After Paul’s passing, his son Bob continued that tradition. And I have as well, where ever I’ve been preaching.
It’s short and simple. But offers a significant and sanguine message. Continue reading
Filed under Sunday Seed Thoughts
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