Daring to Dream Again: Become… – Part 11

March 30, 2012 by admin

Become World-Class Christians—Part 11

READINGS – Part 2

Is missions an option-especially for super-wealthy countries like America? The biblical answer is clear. Every Christian in America has some minimal responsibility to get involved in helping the poor brethren in the church in other countries.

God has not given this superabundance of blessings to American and Canadian Christians so that we only can sit back and enjoy the luxuries of this society—or even in spiritual terms, so that we can gorge ourselves on books, teaching cassettes and deeper-life conferences. He has left us on this earth to be stewards of these spiritual and material blessings. God wants us to become experts on how to share with others.

Believers have a date with destiny. They are to be servants to the expanding churches and movement of God around the world. We need to gain a sense of trusteeship, learning to administer our wealth to accomplish the purposes of God.

What then is the bottom line? God is calling us as Christians to alter our life-styles. We must find ways to give up the non-essentials of our lives so that we can better invest our wealth in the kingdom of God.

To start, I challenge believers to lay aside at least one dollar a day to support a native missionary in the Third World. This, of course, should be over and above our present commitments to the local church and other ministries.

I do not ask Christians to redirect their giving away from other ministries for native missions—but to expand their giving over arid above current levels. Most people can do this.

For many North American and Western European believers—millions of them—this can be accomplished easily simply by giving up cookies, cakes, sweets, coffee, and other beverages. Many of these junk foods harm our bodies anyway, and anyone can save enough in this way to sponsor one or even two missionaries a month.

Many are going beyond this and, without affecting health or happiness, are able to sponsor several missionaries every month.

Of course, there are many other ways to get involved. Some cannot give more financially, but they can invest time in prayer and serve as volunteer coordinators to help recruit more sponsors. And a few ware called to go overseas to become involved experientially.

The single most important hindrance to world evangelization right now is the lack of total involvement by the body of Christ. I am convinced there are enough, American and Canadian sponsors to support all the native missionaries needed to evangelize the Third World.
_________________________________
The Coming Revolution in World Missions, K.P. Yohannan, Creation House, pages 81-82.

———————————————

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.

Share and Enjoy

Daring to Dream Again: Become… – Part 10

March 29, 2012 by admin

Become World-Class Christians—Part 10

READINGS – Part 1

Ramji is small of stature and of dark complexion. He lives in a one-room house made of sun-baked clay. His ancestors are the aborigines of Western India. His language is an unwritten tongue called Mouchi. Ramji ekes out starvation rations for his family from a small parcel of overworked, undernourished soil which has been passed down the family line for generations. Jungle roots and occasional chunks of wild boar meat supplement the family diet.

Waghdev, the tiger god, is Ramji’s tribal deity. His sincere devotion to Waghdev is astounding. Though he has never seen a Hindu hymnal, Ramji can be heard singing the praises of his deity at almost any time of the day. Though he has never read any books about Waghdev, he has an amazing wealth of information concerning him.

Ramji has never studied for the priesthood, yet he faithfully offers sacrifices to his god. He is as meticulous•about the place, the time and the way in which he carries out his religious ceremonies as if he were guided by a manual of ritual. His annual blood offering (a slain chicken) is made in the hope that the tiger god will not molest his one pair of bullocks and 11 goats.

Strange, isn’t it, that you have never heard of Waghdev when there are so many like Ramji who worship him so devoutly? No, it’s not strange at all, for Waghdev is only a tribal deity. He is worshiped within the confines of a small geographic circle. Nor have his devotees ever dreamed of the necessity of proclaiming his virtues to others. Waghdev’s responsibilities are definitely localized.

As a missionary to India, it has been my privilege to gather information on numerous tribal deities. Frankly, the more I have learned about most of them, the more thankful I’ve been that their influence is circumscribed. But I have become more and more concerned about one particular tribe of people. Numerically they are a much larger group than any Indian tribe of which I know. They are widely scattered and possess a great diversity of languages.

The religion of the group which concerns me has little in common with the other religions of the world. There is, however, one apparent similarity between the followers of Waghdev and this larger group; it is their indifference toward the proclaiming of the virtues of their religion to others. Let’s scrutinize for a moment the religious practices of a typical devotee within this tribe and see how they compare with those of Ramji.

For the sake of convenience, let’s call this fellow Anthony. Our first contact with him convinces us that he is deeply religious. He is faithful to his ritual responsibilities and sensitive to spiritual values. His religion has made a commendable contribution toward his good way of life.

But let’s listen to Anthony’s prayers. His requests are woven around a tight little circle of loved ones and friends. They seldom reach beyond his localized situation and never—just never across the ocean. Obviously his god is a tribal deity.

Are sacrifices and offerings a part of Anthony’s worship? Indeed they are, and he is faithful in them. That is, as long as he can see some practical and personal benefit from them. If they will provide a more commodious place of worship for him, if they will lessen the amount of juvenile delinquency in his community and if they will provide schools where his children can become indoctrinated in his religion, then he is quite ready to give. In watching Anthony offer his sacrifices, one is convinced that the one who is the object of his worship is only interested in the local tribe.

It is already obvious to you that the tribe to which Anthony belongs is that large, gifted, and God-blessed group of people called Christians. It is that group which has been chosen of God to be a witness of the grace of Christ to every tribe, race and nation. But Anthony, who is so typical of many in his tribe, seems as indifferent to a world without Christ as Ramji is to a world without Weghdev.

To Anthony God is bilingual, speaking only the language of heaven and English. God has no concern about getting the Gospel into other languages. God is nearsighted, seeing only the needs of men and women in the English-speaking world. God is limited in His capacity to love and partial in His desire to receive worship. He is provincial and nationalistic.

_________________________________
Get with It, Man, Don W. Hillis, Moody, pages 22-25.

———————————————

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.

Share and Enjoy

What Do the People Think?

March 28, 2012 by admin

In my opinion, people in the pew are the best judges of whether or not sermons are effective. They know better than anyone else whether or not their lives will change as a result of what they heard preached. Believing this to be the case, it’s surprising to me how little their opinions are sought out by their pastors.

At the end of a sermon series, why not include a simple questionnaire in the church bulletin asking for feedback?

I found this series to be:

_____ Exceptionally helpful

_____ Helpful

_____ Interesting but not helpful

_____ Not all that much help

_____ Other ______________________

Here is how I intend to apply what I heard:

_____________________________________

_______________________
(signature)

Probably those filling out a response will be the people most positive in their evaluation. I would also think it is not a good sign of no one turns in a response. Even so, my feeling is that it’s better to ask than to remain in the dark.

———————————————

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.

Share and Enjoy

Daring to Dream Again: Become… – Part 9

March 27, 2012 by admin

Become World-Class Christians—Part 9

FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION

1. Grade yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best) as to how interested you are in people of countries other than your own. Explain the reason for your mark.

2. What is a country you would like to know more about? What about that country interests you?

3. From what you have read or heard, check three of the following continents where rapid church growth is being experienced:

Africa _______

Asia _______

Australia _______

Europe _______

North America _______

South America _______

Compare and explain your answers.

4. Give three reasons why North American Christians should become more global in their thinking.

5. What obstacles keep you from starting to become a world class Christian?

6. How might you benefit personally from becoming more globally aware?

———————————————

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.