London 2012

August 15, 2012 by admin

Was any mention made in last Sunday’s service about the Olympic Games going on in London?

Billy Graham often began his sermons with references to what was happening throughout the world. It was like he skillfully combined the newspaper with the Bible to get his listeners’ attention. The opposite of this approach would be to never say anything in church about what’s being talked about by people on the street. What’s in the news would never be heard about in a sermon, a prayer, a testimony, an announcement, a call to worship, whatever.

In all too many church settings it’s like the Sunday service is in a time warp. From what’s said, the congregation members wouldn’t be able to tell if the year is 2012, 1995, 1968, or 1893 for that matter. The real world and the church world just don’t mix. You could figure out the year more by what people are wearing than you could by what’s said by the leaders.

Sometimes I hear ministers complain about their people not understanding the relevancy of the Gospel. My contention is that the pastor who never mentions what’s going on in the outside world sets himself up for this problem.

Will anything be said in your church this coming Sunday about the Olympic Games going on in London? Just checking!

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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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8 Survival Skills for Changing Times – Part 1-8

August 14, 2012 by admin

Downscaling – Part 8: Readings – 3

One of the most profound effects of inward simplicity is the rise of an amazing spirit of contentment. Gone is the need to strain and pull to get ahead. In rushes a glorious indifference to position, status, or possession. Living out of this wonderful Center causes all other concerns to fade into insignificance. So utterly immersed was St. Paul in this reality that from a Roman prison he could write, “I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11). To be abased or to abound was a matter of indifference to him. Plenty and hunger, abundance and want were immaterial to this little Jew with the Titan soul. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he said, and so he lived (Philippians 4:13, NKJV).

How cleverly Paul turned the tables on all those who taught that “godliness is a means of gain” by replying that “there is great gain in godliness with contentment” (1 Timothy 6:5, 6). He saw that the problem with material gain is its inability to bring contentment. John D. Rockefeller was once asked how much money it would take to be really satisfied. He answered, “Just a little bit more!” And that is precisely our problem—it always takes a little more …

But the wonderful thing about simplicity is its ability to give us contentment. Do you understand what a freedom this is? To live in contentment means we can opt out of the status race and the maddening pace that is its necessary partner. We can shout, “No!” to the insanity which chants, “More, more, more! …”

I still remember the day this reality struck me with unusual force. I was passing by some very expensive homes, and began pondering our perennial tendency to want something bigger, better, and more plush. At the same time, I was monitoring the rise of covetousness in my spirit as I admired those homes. I carried on a little inward dialogue. Was it possible, I wondered, to come to the place where you do not desire more house even if you can afford it? Couldn’t you decide on a particular economic livability and rest contented with that, even if your income exceeded it considerably? The response was swift: “Oh yes! It is not necessary to always crave more. You can live contented with what you have, with no further desire to accumulate more.” I’m quite sure I have not attained this holy contentment, but from time to time I have known a measure of its liberating graces and have found it a wonderful resting place.

Think of the misery that comes into our lives by our restless gnawing greed. We plunge ourselves into enormous debt and then take two and three jobs to stay afloat. We uproot our families with unnecessary moves just so we can have a more prestigious house. We grasp and grab and never have enough. And most destructive of all, our flashy cars and sports spectaculars and backyard pools have a way of crowding out much interest in civil rights or inner city poverty or the starved masses of India. Greed has a way of severing the cords of compassion. How clearly the Apostle Paul saw this when he warned that our lust for wealth causes us to fall into “many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9).
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Freedom of Simplicity, Richard J. Foster, Harper & Row, pages 87-88.

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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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8 Survival Skills for Changing Times – Part 1-7

August 13, 2012 by admin

Downscaling – Part 7: Readings – 2

Finally, the saints among us are often found in surprising places. They give the lie to the assumption that only the well-placed and powerful can make a difference. For example, women yield a disproportionate percentage of saints among us (15 percent of women are saints, as opposed to 11 percent of men). Blacks are twice as likely as whites to be saints among us. Saints are slightly more likely to be found in the South or earn under $25,000 each year. The saints are almost twice as likely to be found among those who did not graduate from high school as among those with college degrees. For the most part, the faith of the saints reveals a simple goodness.

They remind us of Jesus’ words that in the transformed values of the kingdom the ones that the present world considers the last shall be first. Many come from what society considers the least recognized and least powerful group: the nonwhite, female poor. When we think about the ones who change the course of history, we tend to include the powerful and wealthy, the presidents and their staffs. We think of those with position and education, with leverage and economic advantage. But the saints among us may matter far more. They are making a contribution to society too little recognized, too quickly overlooked.

It is true that the saints we found do not often stride down our government’s corridors of power, but their influence, because of its dailyness, is consistent. Many lack formal theological training, but have fashioned a workable faith that works in the push and pull of the businesses, factories, and neighborhoods they inhabit. They also stand close enough to daily need to be humble, not proud. If they stopped to think about it, they could resonate with the apostle Paul’s admonishment in 1 Corinthians: “Think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise … He chose the lowly things of this world … so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29, NIV). For all their simplicity, the saints among us leave a mark in our communities and in our lives.

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The Saints Among Us, George H. Gallup, Jr. and Timothy Jones, Morehouse Publishing, pages 44-45.

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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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8 Survival Skills for Changing Times – Part 1-6

August 10, 2012 by admin

Downscaling – Part 6: Readings – 1

My soul was drying up. I was tormented by the knowledge I carried about inside my heart and head. Others had not seen what I had seen in Asia, and I could not forget the people I had left behind. I was haunted by memories of millions of lost souls in North India, and the suffering, forgotten little band of native missionaries I knew was still trying to reach them for God.

So for two years, my heart had hardened. I had not shed a tear for them. In fact, I could not shed a tear for anyone or anything. Then as I prayed and evaluated my life in the light of eternity, it all changed. I let go of one materialistic thing after another-to surrender my ambitions and plans for future ministry in the safety and security of America.

During two weeks of prayer, I made a deliberate decision to put it all on the altar and let God once again have total control of my life. Suddenly, a dam of tears broke within, and I could once more weep and feel the love of Christ for lost souls.

My life-style was up for grabs. Everything and every action were tested against the literal teaching of Scripture. I decided that I would lay up no treasure for myself on this earth. I made a definite choice to put the kingdom of God first and trust Him to “add all these things unto me.”

Our life-style became simpler. My new car was the first thing to go. Insurance policies, savings accounts, credit cards, most of my clothes—everything that could be was sold off so the money could be sent to needy native brethren.

But we never missed a thing. It was such a joy to move in the flow of the Holy Spirit again. Suddenly we were free. We had wings like eagles to soar above our bondage to these material playthings. In one stroke, we as a family were again having a significant impact on a lost and dying world. We knew that we were exercising the mind of Christ about these things, and we began trusting our Father to provide for our needs.

A Changed Life-style

In fact, finding new ways to save money for missions became a game at our house. I started washing with generic soap instead of fancy brand names. Magazine subscriptions and wasted hours before the television disappeared from our lives as did the time I once spent matching the color combinations of my wardrobe.

I had no regrets. We were no longer seeking to improve our life-style, worrying about investment portfolios, saving for a rainy day—and all the other nonsense which cripples and destroys the lives of so many Christians in this country.
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The Road to Reality, K.P. Yohannan, Creation House, pages 144-145.

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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.

Share and Enjoy

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