Daring to Dream Again: Let Go… – Part 8

December 30, 2011 by admin

Let Go Of Our Painful Past—Part 8

In the last blog post, we left Hero about to become a Ranger.

Hero gulped. “But Sire, I-I doubt. The mettle of the powers is unknown to me. I fear its weakness against the force of Enchanted City.”

Another voice cried, “Power is always untested until it has been tried. No just cause!”

Hero spoke one last time. “Sire, my seeing is dim, and the voice of the Enchanter is near.”

Ranger Commander answered, “Dim sight is cured by choosing to see. We hear the voice of whomever we allow near. No just cause. Stand forth!”

Hero rose from his knees. Ranger Commander called above his head, “What is the pleasure of this company? Shall we induct this Hero, once of Enchanted City, now of Great Park, for the task at hand?”

A hurrah went up from the circle of Rangers, followed by another larger shout from the crowd standing beyond.

“To vows! To vows!”

Hero’s heart swelled with this honor. He would be a Ranger. He would fight for the King. He would give his forever pledge to protect the Kingdom, to be faithful.

“To the King!” he shouted.

“To the King!” all shouted back.

“To the Restoration!”

The kingdom—that’s the big picture too many in the church have lost sight of today. It was Christ’s key message. He talked about the kingdom again and again, His present and future kingdom.

Christ’s kingdom, or kingship, is wherever He is recognized as King, His will is obeyed, and subjects reap the benefit of His rule.

Heaven is that way. All subjects there bow before Christ as King. In heaven all are obedient to His will and reap great benefits. So, heaven is the kingdom, or kingship, of Christ. But, the kingdom is here as well. When we bow to Christ as Lord and obey His will, we are the ones who benefit as we live under His gracious kingship. In fact, Christ taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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Daring to Dream Again: Let Go… – Part 7

December 29, 2011 by admin

Let Go Of Our Painful Past—Part 7

Incidentally, the people of God held captive in Egypt were delivered. Moses was able to let go of the past. He truly did play the hero. And, aren’t we glad?

Let’s return to our young fictional Hero. He has heard the voice of his King speak in his heart that it is time to return to Enchanted City to begin the restoration of the kingdom. Painful memories from childhood, including the fact that he was called “Scarboy,” make this a hard assignment for him to accept—just like Moses.

“Ranger initiate!” called out Commander. “Stand forth for Revealing!”

With a pounding heart, Hero obeyed. He had always longed to be a Ranger, a protector of Great Park, but never, never had he felt so unworthy as at this moment.

Kneeling and bowing, Hero felt Ranger Commander’s hand placed firmly on his head. The voice which always filled him with awe spoke above him.

“Tonight we are gathered to induct the lad Hero into the corps of Rangers, protectors and watchkeepers for the King. What is your pleasure?”

The blue-cloaked men and women spoke as one; “Let the ceremony begin!”

The awful first question was asked: “Does anyone know just cause why this one, Hero, should not be invested with the office of Ranger?”

Each Ranger in the circle answered in turn.

“I do not,” said the first.

“Nor do I,” called out the next.

The lad kneeled in an agony .of suspense. He longed with all his being for this office, but he wished someone would speak to his unworthiness before he shamed them all by being a faithless Ranger.

“Nor I—nor I.” And so, round the circle came the pledges of faith. Hero could hardly believe that not one Ranger would show just cause that he was unworthy. Then the second awful question: “Do you, initiate, hold just cause against yourself?”

Hero sighed deeply. Revealing demanded honesty. Lifting his head, he looked into Commander’s eyes, “Sire, I-I am afraid. I am afraid of the task at hand.”

A murmur went up from the blue-cloaked circle. A voice cried, “No just cause! Even the most courageous fear the unknown task!”

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Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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Here’s What I Meant

December 28, 2011 by admin

“When you say you sensed the presence of the Lord in a powerful way during the sermon, what do you mean?” someone asked me the other day.

I appreciated the question because too often we use religious expressions that are ill-defined and therefore confusing.

The reason I made the comment was because the auditorium had gotten unusually quiet. I wasn’t preaching, but I’ve been in ministry long enough to know when this happens. The speaker wasn’t manipulating his audience; neither was he telling a moving story. It’s just that he was dealing with matters pertinent to where his people were, and it was obvious to me that they were hanging on his every word. And, this sense of incredible quiet lasted for a good six to eight minutes.

I questioned a friend I respect after the service regarding whether he noticed what I had. “How could I miss it?” was his response.

Another indication of the Lord’s presence is gentle tears in many eyes. Certainly a touching story can elicit that kind of response. But, that’s something different from what I’m talking about. What I’m referring to are tears when there’s no apparent reason for them to be surfacing, except for the fact that people are keenly aware of the Holy Spirit ministering to them in a most profound manner.

I sense that when Jesus spoke, the crowds were extremely quiet even though, for the most part, they were out-of-doors. I also believe there were more than a few who listened with tears in their eyes, even though Jesus wasn’t telling emotional stories.

Anyway, there are two evidences that His presence has again invaded His church in a powerful way. And, that’s what I was referring to by my comment.

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Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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Daring to Dream Again: Let Go… – Part 6

December 27, 2011 by admin

Let Go Of Our Painful Past—Part 6

Moses didn’t use the words “I have a painful past.” But he might just as well have, because going back to the Enchanted City in Egypt was the last thing he wanted to do.

Listen, Moses, dreaming God’s dreams for us often requires letting go of painful past experiences.

I’ve had to say those words to myself: “Listen, David Mains, dreaming God’s dreams for us often requires letting go of painful past experiences.”

And I repeat the words for you, whatever your name is. Dreaming God’s dreams for us often requires letting go of painful past experiences.

Do you identify at all with the words of this prayer:

Lord,

Daring to dream again sounds so good.

But sometimes memories of broken dreams haunt me.
Help me let go of the pain
That keeps me from responding to Your gentle nudgings.
Your presence encourages me to set aside fear

And to become a spiritual risk-taker.
I want Your dreams for me to be my dreams as well.

AMEN

If this prayer had been written in Moses’ day, he might well have resonated with it. At first it appeared he had no intention of coming out of hiding—of daring to•dream again. That left a question to be answered. How then could the people of God be delivered from their oppression?

The answer is that Moses needed to be healed of painful memories in order to do his divinely assigned job. He would have to learn to break through this barrier that held him back. The Lord needed to help His servant let go of the hurt of his past. Fortunately, that’s God’s specialty, isn’t it—healing broken people.

God would gently nudge Moses into action. His yet-to-be hero dared not live with a “forever victim” mentality. Sooner or later the “spiritual hero” side of all of us should begin to emerge also. That can happen as the church, which needs to be more than a ward for the walking-wounded, points the way to healing and helps us move forward.

If this doesn’t happen, we are a sad bunch indeed. We can’t be part of the Lord’s magnificent dream for this world if we are held back by painful memories.

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Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.