Ray Stedman, in his book Authentic Christianity, tells a story about a man who was an alcoholic but accepted Christ and became a believer,
A friend who heard of his conversion questioned him about how he could believe all that “nonsense” in the Bible about miracles. “You don’t believe that Jesus changed the water into wine, do you?” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
Matthew 3 is an extraordinary chapter. Following 400 years of prophetic silence, God sent a man named John to stir the hearts of his people and point them to the promised Messiah.
Matthew’s narrative concerning the coming of Christ, the work of His forerunner, John the Baptist, and the state of the religious leaders, remind us how relevant the Word is to our culture and needs. Continue reading
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Our time in the mountains reminded me of a story about a man named Jack who was walking along a steep cliff one day. He accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon dropped straight down for more than a thousand feet.
He couldn’t hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear and rescue him.
“HELP! HELP! Is anyone up there?” Continue reading
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“What do you do when you’re not preaching?”
“It must be nice to work only one day a week.”
“I’d like to come and see you this afternoon. Since it’s not Sunday, I assume you’re free.”
“Do you have a job? Or just preach?”
“That was like a really good TED talk about Jesus!” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Preaching
The 19th-century evangelist, R. A. Torrey, was well known for his emphatic preaching on the 2nd coming of Christ. Biographer, Roger Martin, relates an interesting and somewhat humorous story from one such sermon.
Torrey was speaking to a crowd of nearly 3,000 in Chicago on the 2nd coming. As he concluded his sermon, he spoke eloquently about Jesus’ glorious return. The sound of the trumpet. The shout of the archangel. Torrey then concluded with these climactic words. Continue reading
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I recently came across this story attributed to theologian John Killinger. The manager of a minor league baseball team became so disgusted with his center fielder’s performance that he ordered him to the dugout and assumed the position himself.
The first ball that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth. The next one was a high fly ball, which he lost in the glare of the sun–until it bounced off his forehead. The third was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms; unfortunately, it flew between his hands and smacked him in the eye. Continue reading
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“God hates” is not an expression we often hear.
We preach about the love of God. We sing about it. We write about it. We read scriptures like “God so loved the world…” (Jn 3:16).
But, “God hates”? Continue reading
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Norma Jean and I recently watched the Alex Kendrick movie, “War Room.” It’s a faith-based movie about an aged widow, Miss Clara, who challenges her realtor, Elizabeth Jordan, regarding her lukewarm relationship with God and her anemic prayer-life
In the opening scenes Miss Clara says, “We fight for power. We fight for riches. We fight for rights. We fight for freedom. There always seems to be something to fight about. Continue reading
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There’s an old story about a Georgia farmer, ragged and barefooted, standing on the steps of his tumbledown shack, when a stranger stopped to ask directions. After giving the information, the farmer offered the fellow a cold drink, so he decided to pass the time for a few minutes and ask about his crops.
“How is your cotton coming along?” he asked.
Ain’t got none,” replied the farmer. Continue reading
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Have you heard the one about the preacher trying to “sell” a new idea to his elders. After his most impassioned plea, they voted down the proposal 6-1.
The elder leading the meeting said to the preacher, “Sorry, but it looks like you’re the only one voting for the proposal.”
“Well, that’s all we had on the agenda tonight,” the elder concluded. So he asked the preacher to lead a prayer to close the meeting. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
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