Mainstay Ministries by Dr. David R. Mains

About Dr. David R. Mains...

For over three decades, ministers have looked to Dr. David R. Mains as their friend. Many consider him to be a master teacher of effective preaching. Over the years, he has repeatedly proven his ability to gently transform men and women with less than exceptional skills into life-changing speakers.

His background includes a decade of senior pastoring in Chicago at Circle Church, 20 years as Director of The Chapel of the Air radio ministry, winning the 1995 National Religious Broadcasters Television Programmer of the Year award, conceptualizing and writing 50-Day Spiritual Adventures used by over 50,000 churches and more than 5 million people, as well as authoring over 20 books, including Gold Medallion Award winners.

Through Mainstay Ministries and through his Sermon-Coach.com website, Dr. Mains continues to work tirelessly to help pastors create effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons. Dr. Mains believes that the only hope for our age will come through a great outpouring of revival. In the past, God has powerfully used pastors and churches as a vehicle through which He brings revival. The vitality and relevancy of the local church will play a key role in the desperately needed movement of God in our midst.

That's why Dr. Mains greatly desires to help pastors become as effective as they can be in ministering on behalf of Christ and His Kingdom.

A Sad Conversation

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 by David Mains

“Our church is really losing people,” a friend said to me recently. “Three years ago we were nearing 600. Now with one new pastor we’ve dropped to under 300. We’re going from two services back to one, but even then we won’t come close to filling the sanctuary. How we’ll combine the traditional and contemporary approaches, we’re not sure. But whatever happens music-wise, the preaching is still the major problem. Our pastor puts in a lot of time preparing, but his messages just don’t seem to connect with people’s lives.”

“Can your pastor solve his preaching problem on his own, or will he need someone to help him?” I asked.

“I’m not sure he would be open to help,” was the response.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I responded. So I asked it again. “Without help from someone else, do you think your minister on his own can make his sermons more relevant?”

“Probably not,” was his answer.

“Is there anyone in the church who’s qualified to help him work through this and communicate more effectively?”

“Not anyone I can think of.”

“What about one of those on the leadership team—an elder, or deacon, maybe a retired minister, someone in the field of communication?”

“Not really.”

“Then you need to get outside help. Otherwise it’s just a matter of time until you’re under 200 and dropping.”

“But where do we get help like that?”

“You’re talking to him!”

(LONG PAUSE)

“Ask him to breakfast and I’ll meet him.”

“I don’t think our minister would be open to that.”

“Then I can’t help you … but you have a serious problem, don’t you. Because you’re talking about key people going to church elsewhere, young people leaving the faith, your pastor over time being crushed by what’s happening, and many more I’ll not mention.”

(LONG PAUSE)

“The wife and I,” he confessed, “have been thinking about attending somewhere else too.”

“I guess that’s always an option. Don’t like it as much, though!”

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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.

(#153)

Daring to Dream Again: Break Out... - Part 5

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 by David Mains

Break Out of Our Comfort Zones—Part 5

You see, the real King might soon be saying, “I have a dream I want you to share in. Does that sound good to you? Do you think that if necessary, you could break out of your comfort zone? Could you put all you have at My disposal?” Twenty million dollars—that’s a lot of money. Well, it wasn’t really $20 million as such, it was 10,000 talents of silver. But 10,000 talents of silver in the citadel of Susa would have been worth about 20 million dollars today. That isn’t what the Lord was asking of Esther. He wanted her to put her very life on the line.

An evil man, Haman, had offered out of his fortune to place 10,000 talents into the royal treasury. The sum was enormous because the request that accompanied it was also. What Haman wanted was the privilege of killing all the Jews in the 127 provinces ruled over by King Xerxes. This monarch took the signet ring from his finger—his symbol—and gave it to Haman with the fateful words, “Do with the people as you please” (Es. 3:11).

It was then that cousin Mordecai made contact with the grown orphan girl he had raised. Esther had become queen of the land without revealing that she was Jewish. Mordecai encouraged her to beg her husband, the king, for mercy for her people. Mordecai wanted her to risk all she had been given-the comforts of the court, the title, the crown. This is the message he sent Esther.

Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place [God will do His “thing” no matter what], but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? (Es. 4:13-14)

Esther had no problem seeing God's hand in all that was happening. This is why I’ve been given what I have, she reasoned, my beauty, my marriage, my throne. She replied to Mordecai, “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (Es. 4:16).

So often we learn from Scripture that to be a part of God’s dreams for us we must become spiritual risk-takers. We have to break out of our comfort zones. We need to dare to dream.

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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.

(152D)

Daring to Dream Again: Break Out... - Part 4

Monday, February 20, 2012 by David Mains

Break Out of Our Comfort Zones—Part 4

Another woman we know of had similar feelings once about there being little she could do. She was a real-life orphan living in the citadel of Susa in Persia. This young woman had been raised by an older cousin, Mordecai. The Scriptures state that she was “lovely. in form and features” (Es. 2:7). In fact, she was designated the most beautiful of all the virgins in the vast domain of King Xerxes, and she was made queen.

Her role was to be a good wife to the king. Apparently that was the unique reason the Lord had brought her into the world. It wasn’t an easy job because her husband had a bad temper. But then it wasn’t the worst of assignments, either.

Breaking Out of Your Comfort Zone

Be careful, however, Esther. Don’t get too used to the good life. The Lord may someday ask you to break out of your comfort zone and participate in His larger dream. Soon too! So don’t wrap your fingers too tightly around what you've been given. Hold on to things lightly, with an open palm if possible—the court, the clothes, the queen’s crown.

Those things might have represented Esther’s comfort zone.

What's yours?

The position?

The salary?

The business you own?

The house?

The family?

The friendships?

The approval of parents?

The good life you live?

Your attractive appearance?

Your retirement package?

Your investments?

The recognition?

The title?

What symbol represents for you what the court and clothes and crown symbolized for Esther—or what the stagelights, the costumes, the applause, the leading roles symbolized for Thespia?

Do you know?

Let me warn you not to hold on to such items too tightly. Don’t clamp your fingers around them. Instead, hold those things with an open hand.

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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.

(152C)

Daring to Dream Again: Break Out... - Part 3

Friday, February 17, 2012 by David Mains

Break Out of Our Comfort Zones—Part 3

I believe everyone dreams that dream. If only there really were a king, a good and righteous king.

Certainly the destitute of the world hold to such a dream. But then, I believe, so do the most beautiful of entertainers, the most influential of leaders, even the most moneyed and educated and acclaimed.

We are the ones who know there really is a King, aren’t we?

Once His dream for this world had first place in our hearts. Now maybe the dream seems a bit fuzzy. It’s not as clear as it was before. Possibly other dreams have crowded it out. We’re not as willing to take the risks we once took to see that dream fulfilled. We’re older now, more guarded.

“Three minutes! Three minutes!”

As a lonely understudy, Thespia had determined to be the finest player in all Enchanted City. Unlike the other actresses, who became arrogant and haughtily cut all ties with their pasts, Thespia perfected her art in the streets. She refused to become enamored with the sterile practice rooms, the posh living suites, and the luxuries of the Palace of Players. She bound up her flaxen hair with common cloth and walked the marketplace, listening to how real people spoke words.

Often she went back to her own people, to Moire Oxan where they lived, to the stacked hovels where she had been raised. There she carried old grannys’ burdens that weighed their bent backs double and she brought tidbits of food for the always-hungry waifs. She wept when orphans were taken away to the Orphan Keeper and she felt the cold whistling through these always night lives, and remembered what it was to never have enough fire or power.

Their pain became her own, and their small and meager joys as well. Because she did not despise them, she was loved: and it was they, the street people sitting on the gallery floor, who called her name.

One night, one terrible night, her cousin’s wee babe wriggled in agony in Thespia’s arms while searchers hunted its mother who was foraging in a city-edge workshift. It squinched up its tiny face, took a last, long breath, and died. Shuddering with sobs, Thespia hid in a tower of the Players’ Palace. How could she act the next night, play the comic, with this terrible knowledge—that babies died who shouldn’t die in Enchanted City. She grieved with new understanding—there was little she, or anyone, could do.

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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.

(152B)

Daring to Dream Again: Break Out... - Part 2

Thursday, February 16, 2012 by David Mains

Break Out of Our Comfort Zones—Part 2

Would you be excited if God said to you, “I have a dream I want you to share in”?

I’m sure that sounds good! And I don’t want to discourage you. But this chapter underscores that those who accept God’s invitation to dream His dreams usually have to break out of what I would call their “comfort zones.” Such an invitation is extended to Thespia, a young actress in the book Tales of the Resistance. She is “the most beautiful player of all.”

The Dagoda of the Enchanter loomed in the middle of Enchanted City, so that none would forget the watching eye of the fire wizard. Close by, and a happier place was the Palace of Players. Here the people of the city, filled with weariness and heartsickness, came and forgot for a time their griefs and fears and pains.

Thespia stood in the wings of the stage brushing her long and luxuriant hair. She was the most beautiful of all the players and even now she could hear the house chanting her name. “Thespia! We want Thespia!” Many suitors sought her hand, but she turned them all away.

“Flowers from the Dagoda!” the assistant stage manager called. Thespia yawned and instructed that the gift be delivered to her suite in the Palace.

“Four minutes! Four minutes!” the callboy warned. Thespia straightened her gown and took one last look in the mirror.

Through a crack in the thick velvet curtain, she could see that the theater was full. It was almost time for the play to begin. Poor ones. Poor, poor ones. Forget for a while, then home again only to remember your empty half-lives. She whispered this hollow blessing over them. “See you t’night,” the lead actor shouted as he hurried to take his position. “QUIET!” warned the stage director.

“But ... ” Thespia wanted to protest to the actor; then she shrugged her shoulders and turned to wait for that always-thrill, the curtains rising and the stage filling with the sudden radiance of spotlights, then the sonorous voices of trained players. She particularly loved tonight’s play. The Return of the King had been banned for years, but recently several very old myth cycles had been restored to the Palace repertoire.

We need a king—Thespia quickly looked around as though the stagehands could read her innermost mind. Treason, this thinking; she knew it. Careful, or the most beautiful player of all could play a final role tied to a stake at Burning Place. The first rule all children of Enchanted City learned after branding was:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A KING.
DEATH TO PRETENDERS!

Senseless! she thought, and looked around again. If there’s no such thing as a king, why such a fuss? The placards, the lectures, the propaganda songs—“ ... no king, no king, the Enchanter’s the thi-ng.” Silence would have helped her to forget, but each protest made her wish all the more: If only there really were a king!

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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.

(152A)

Be Specific

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by David Mains

When I ask ministry students to tell me the subject they’re preparing a given sermon about, I don’t want them to respond by telling me their chosen text. I’m glad they have a passage in mind, because it gives direction to their thoughts. But a given verse or passage could be about several different subjects.

By way of example, if I’m told the sermon subject will be Psalm 1, I still don’t have the answer I’m looking for. The subject could be “where you get your counsel,” “the sad end of the wicked,” or “the practice of meditation,” to name just a few.

The same kind of fuzzy answer would be to reply, “I’m planning to preach on David.” Not only does this tell me (or a congregation) very little, but it’s not nearly as helpful as responding, “The Secret to Giant-Killing,” or “A Life of Praise,” or “The Danger of Dropping Your Guard.”

Once people have heard your sermon, they ought to be able to say specifically, “The subject our pastor preached about was ‘The Secret to Giant-Killing,’” or “‘The Age-Old Practice of Meditation,’” whatever. Not only is that much better than answering, “The sermon was about David” or “it was a study of the First Psalm,” hearing a specific subject focuses your sermon preparation in a much more productive fashion.

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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.

(#152)

Daring to Dream Again: Break Out... - Part 1

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 by David Mains

Break Out of Our Comfort Zones—Part 1

When I wake up I seldom remember what I've dreamed. People amaze me when they can recall not only what they’ve dreamed about, but the details as well.

In a similar fashion, when dreaming God’s dreams, I sometimes find it hard to get them into sharp focus. That’s because He doesn't always show me precisely what He has in mind. His dreams remain a bit fuzzy. Maybe that’s the nature of dreams.

The Old Testament character Abraham knew what it was like to follow a divine dream without knowing all the details. God had promised that he would be the father of many nations, but as the years progressed, he passed the normal fathering age. Yet Abraham continued to believe the Dream Giver because he considered Him to be faithful. Later in Genesis we see the picture of this old man and his miracle son walking up Mt. Moriah to sacrifice to God. Once again, Abraham must have questioned how God’s dream could be fulfilled if he sacrificed Isaac.

Another picture comes to mind from the New Testament, where people who heard God’s call must have wondered what He was really asking of them. Recall the fishermen (Simon, Andrew, James, and John) leaving their nets because Jesus called to them, “Follow Me ... and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). But what did that challenge mean? It would take a lifetime for them to find out. Even so, what a privilege to begin dreaming God’s dreams for them. That sure offered more sizzle than a lifetime spent in the fresh fish business.

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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.

(151D)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 16

Monday, February 13, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 16

READINGS - Part 5

On the Saturday before the crucial congregational meetings, John Maxwell and his 100 prayer partners went out to what they believed would be the future site of Skyline Wesleyan Church. The more they prayed, the more they began getting a strange feeling, first individually, then in groups. After unimaginable agonizing, they began to admit to each other that collectively they were hearing God say, “This is not your site!”

At the congregational meeting the next evening, John rehearsed the process they had gone through to decide to purchase the property. It had seemed right from the business point of view, from the financial point of view, from the church management point of view, and from advice they had received from many sources. But one thing could outweigh all those positive indications—the word from the Lord received through earnest and effective prayer.

Even though Maxwell knew that many would be disappointed, he had built up enough faith in the hand of God working in his life and the life of .the church through his prayer partners that he became bold. He recommended that Skyline Wesleyan Church withdraw the offer for the property. He also assured the congregation that if God was really telling them not to buy this property, it was because He had something much better in store for them. How much better no one could have imagined at the time!

The search process began once again. They located a beautiful 80-acre property and asked the owners twice if they would sell, but they were turned down both times. The prayer partners and others continued to pray. Soon a financial crunch came and the owners seemed more disposed to sell.

Skyline made a very low bid of $1.8 million for the 80 acres, and the owners by then were in such a tight situation they reluctantly said they would sell. But the owners insisted on some fine print: If Skyline could not get the land zoned for a church, they would agree not to sell the land but would return the land and also pay the owners interest on the amount Skyline had spent.

The church, cognizant of the risk, closed the deal only to find out through an independent appraiser that the true value of the land was $4.5 million. Skyline Church had taken an even greater risk than they thought!

The church was also forced to buy three times the number of shares of water rights than necessary, and they paid $120,000 for them. But drought set in on Southern California, the value of the water rights soared, and the owners begged them to sell two-thirds of the rights back. By that time the two-thirds were worth $250,000 and as part of the deal, the church persuaded the former owners to rescind the clause that they would have to give back the property if it were not zoned for their use. So God gave them the property for the price they had offered with no fine print, along with an extra $130,000!

But that is not all. They had the “80-acres” surveyed and found that the land was really 110 acres! Then the Water District needed 10 acres on the low part of the land and offered to trade 30 acres at the top, right where John Maxwell had envisioned the parking lot, for the 10. They now had 130 acres. Finally they were offered $4 million for a stretch of industrially-zoned land, which they did not need for the church anyway.

Skyline Wesleyan now has a lovely church site, probably worth more than $10 million, for which they ended up not paying a thing!

This was all because of prayer. Through prayer, the pastor’s prayer partners had heard God say, “No.” Their spiritual maturity caused them to be bold enough to follow what they knew would be an unpopular course of action. Once they followed, they began hearing a series of yeses from God that carried them, their pastors, the church board, and the congregation over the threshold and into the greatest era of Skyline Wesleyan’s history.

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Prayer Shield, C. Peter Wagner, Regal, pages 21-23.

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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.

(151C)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 15

Friday, February 10, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 15

READINGS - Part 4

Dr. Walter L. Wilson. Hundreds of thousands have been thrilled and challenged by the doctor’s experiences in soul winning, such as he has recounted in The Romance of a Doctor’s Visits. For example, in the account of “The Little Man in a Big City” he tells of his being alone in the great city of New York. Before he went out for a business appointment he had prayer in his hotel room, and requested: “My Lord, this is a large city of seven million people, and I am just a weak, unknown servant of Thine with no knowledge of the city and no acquaintance with the hungry hearts that may be there. Thou alone dost know whom Thou has been dealing with. Here is my body my feet and my lips. Wilt Thou take them today to some troubled heart and speak through me Thy Words of light and life? Thank You, Lord, I believe You will do it."

As he walked eastward on Thirty-second Street he passed a stationery shop and noticed a small leather-covered notebook in the window. This brought to mind his need of a book in which to keep his prayer list. Upon entering the shop he inquired of the little German owner thereof about the notebook. The size and the price were satisfactory; and the shopkeeper began to wrap it up. Just then Dr. Wilson said. “Do you know what I expect to do with this little book?”

The storekeeper did not know, and was astonished to learn that it was to be used as a prayer book. Thereupon he began to unwrap the package saying, “I am sorry, my friend, but this is a blank book; it is not a prayer book.”

That was just the opening Dr. Wilson needed. He explained that he made his own prayer book, using the left-hand pages for petitions and the right-hand ones for the answers. Then he added his testimony of knowing the Lord Jesus as His Saviour, and invited the shopkeeper to do the same.

The-reply was not surprising. “Mister, I have tried to find Gott for many years. I have gone around Manhattan and Brooklyn and the Bronx, night after night, attending many services, but failed always to find Gott. Can you tell me how to get Him?”

After explanation of the Scripture that the Lord Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Dr. Wilson led his new friend to the Saviour. The quest of the years had come to an end, for now the shopkeeper knew the Lord Jesus for himself.

And for the soul-winner only twenty minutes had elapsed from the prayer in the hotel room to the winning of another soul to Christ, because the life and lips of the servant belonged to the Holy Spirit.

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They Found the Secret, V. Raymond Edman, Zondervan, pages 127-28.

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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.

(151B)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 14

Thursday, February 9, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 14

READINGS - Part 3

“Oh, yuck!”

My daughter Laura stepped back and pinched her nose as I broke the neck of a hefty catfish, spilling its entrails into a blood-splattered bucket. Small price to pay for inch-thick, fresh fillets.

Small price, too, for building a relationship with the third fisher on this expedition, Jeremy.

Yesterday, sitting in my office for the first time, he wore a just-try-to-figure-me-out expression on his face. A high school senior, he came, he said, “just to keep peace with my mother.” Two days before, Jeremy had been expelled for pulling a hunting knife on a classmate.

“So, why did you do it?” I asked.

Silence.

“What was going on in your thinker when you made your move?”

More silence.

“Look, I just want to be your friend,” I said, but the words felt hollow.

“Prove it,” his eyes said, then shifted to the wall on my right.

For more than an hour I tried to get through to him. But I felt like I was rowing around an island, getting a general view of things but not finding a place to land.

“I have a girlfriend at school,” he said. They talk some, but not too much—afraid to get too close.

“Ever been hurt badly by someone?” I asked.

He admitted that he had, but he wouldn’t talk about it with anyone, not even his mother. Lord, help me, I prayed. This guy doesn’t trust his own mother, much less a probing stranger.

There, he did it again. Something on the wall to my right caught his eye. Oh, of course, the calendar. Nice picture: a swarthy Indian displaying his catch. Walleyed pike. I think.

I turned away, and then it hit me. I played my hunch.

“You like to fish?”

“Love it.”

“Really?” Thank you, Lord. “Been fishing lately?”

“Naw, not since we moved to town. But when I was a kid, we lived next to the Tensaw River, and I used to go every chance I got. It’s better to go when the water is high, where you can use a boat and set out a trout line overnight. Most of the time I caught catfish that way, and once I caught a fifteen pounder. But if the water is down, you wanna go for bream or bass that hang out around the stumps—course, you hafta know what you’re doing ’cause the water is hot and the fish are sluggish ...”

On he went for ten minutes and wasn’t even winding down when I interrupted, “It’s been a while since I’ve hung a fish myself. I’ve got a good mind to fool some catfish in the morning. Would you go with me?”

“Are you serious?”

“Serious as a heart attack.”

“I’ll go. What time?”

“Let’s make it seven-thirty, •unless that’s too early?”

“Not for me. I’ll buy the wrigglers.”

The next day, we threw the little ones back and kept seven. The net scales tipped seventeen pounds. Jeremy was beaming.

“I'll clean ’em for you,” he said.

He cleaned the first one, and I the next, tentatively curling my fingers around those dreadful spines.

“Sometime we should go hunting together,” he offered.

Who would have guessed—all this prompted by a picture on a wall calendar! And just two weeks earlier or later, that picture would not have been there.

I knew a Fisherman bigger than both of us was maneuvering the boat.

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Arlin Schrock, “Fishing in Holy Water,” Leadership 7 (Summer 1991): 38-39.

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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.

(151A)

New Sermon Series

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 by David Mains

Recently, I introduced a new eight-part series about destructive family patterns that all too often infiltrate the church family. I believe you and your people will find the messages biblical, relevant and helpful. Please use the link at the bottom of this blog post to visit my Sermon-Coach.com website.

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Did you download the pages of “Re”wording Our Prayers for Spiritual Change by Shirley Wilson? I am so grateful to her for making her creative work available at no cost. For my part, new suggestions about how to pray for revival are always welcome.

I am carefully going through these pages for a third time and once again finding the prayer exercise most beneficial. I especially appreciate the work Shirley did in writing a corporate prayer around each key word. The meditation quotations are also well worth processing.

Please click here to download this excellent booklet.

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Do you pay attention to the weekly Sunday Soundbytes, and does having my ideas prompt you to come up with your own thoughts? I know from experience that referencing current events in a sermon or service makes people sit up and take notice. Suddenly listeners are made aware that the preacher lives in the same world they do. Over the years I have repeatedly used such “connection points” and have yet to receive a negative response to any of them. That’s in contrast to many, many positive remarks received!

You can find the Sunday Soundbytes each week in our Sermon-Coach.com eNewsletter. Just use the link at the bottom of this blog post to visit the Sermon-Coach.com website and sign up to receive our free eNewsletter.

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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.

(#151)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 13

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 13

READINGS - Part 2

Out of Billings the travel agent had me booked on a trunk airline flight north, and so I went to the desk to check in.

“Sorry, sir,” the agent said, “but that flight’s canceled for today.”

“When’s the next flight?” I asked.

“Not till seven tomorrow morning.”

“But I’ve got to get there. I have a speaking engagement tonight.”

“Sorry, sir.”

I stepped away from the counter and silently thanked God for this disappointment, asking Him to show me the reason for it.

Just then another man stepped up to the counter, a big, burly character who, when he learned of the canceled flight, let out with an air-blue-ing stream of profanity.

“Look,” he bellowed, “you get me on a flight! I’m gonna lose a lotta money if I don't get up there!”

“I’m sorry,” the agent said meekly. “There’s nothing I can do.”

A third man came to check in for the flight. He too displayed his temper, though not so vociferously as the first.

I stepped up to the two men. “Since there are three of us,” I said, “why don’t we charter a plane?”

“Good idea!” the big fellow exclaimed. Turning to the agent he said, “Get us some information right away on charter flights!”

In a few minutes we were out beside a small plane. The big fellow sat up front with the pilot, we two smaller men in the back.

“My name is Malcom Randall,” my companion introduced himself.

“I’m Stanley Tam,” I said. “What’s your•business?”

“I work for the government. You?”

“I’m from Lima, Ohio. We reclaim and refine silver and also have a plastics sales organization.”

“You're here on business?”

“I’m speaking at a church tonight, telling about my experiences as a Christian businessman.”

“That’s fascinating. I wish I could hear you; but I’ll be tied up with appointments.”

“Would you Jet me share some of my experiences with you now?”

“Sure, why not?”

So I began my story.

“Say,” he interrupted, “I’ve heard you speak! It was at a service club or something.”

His sudden outburst threw me off for a moment.

“Well, how about that?” I said.

“Yeah, I sure have.” He pointed to a pin on his lapel. “It was at a Lion’s Club meeting somewhere. I’m out of town a lot, but I always try to get to the local club wherever I happen to be. Isn’t that something?”

It so intrigued him to have run across me before, I had difficulty getting back on course.

But finally he said, “Go ahead. Finish the story.”

As I continued, he grew more intensely attentive. I could see evidence of spiritual concern creep across his countenance.

“You know,” he said when I had concluded my testimony, “almost every night I get down on my knees and try to pray. I confess my sins.”

“Do you have God’s peace in your heart?” I asked.

He shook his head. “That’s something I know nothing about,” he said.

“May I tell you how to find this peace?” I asked.

He nodded.

Moments later there on the plane God honored me with the privilege of bringing another man to a personal knowledge of His Son.

“You know something,” this man said to me, “it was no accident the plane was canceled out of Billings. It was an act of God. He knew I needed to meet you!”

_________________________________
God Owns My Business, Stanley Tam, Horizon House, pages 143-144.

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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.

(150D)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 12

Monday, February 6, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 12

READINGS - Part 1

While driving down a country road, a friend cried, “Oh, stop! There’s bittersweet!” It was only when she pointed out the vines intertwined in the branches of the trees that I could see them. Then I wondered how I could missed the obvious touches of color in the late fall landscape.

My friend spotted the bright orange berries because she knew what she was looking for. She had trained her eye to see the beauty in the natural world, and she gathered the weeds and pods for lovely wreaths and arrangements. This visual keenness allowed her to see what other people could not.

We always find what we are looking for. When I was pregnant with each of our four children, it seemed as if the world was filled with other pregnant women! Our oldest son is an amateur ornithologist, and his eye spots birds on telephone wires or in soaring patterns that I never notice. David tells me how comfortable he is becoming with middle age; now that he is going grey, the world seems filled with other midlife, grey-haired men.

The same principle works when we are looking for God. Once the hunt truly begins, we see evidences of his Presence in all of life. We prayed, and a life was spared. There was no money, and an unexpected check came in the mail. We begin to see a pattern and think “God has walked in this place today.”

Begin the God Hunt by looking back. Attempt to remember the times when you were convinced you had found evidence of God’s presence. The supernatural encounter was startlingly real at the time. A miraculous healing took place in your extended family that people talk about to this day. You recall religious meetings where the room was filled with the power of the- Holy Spirit.

Begin by thinking: When I was a child, were there any times when I sensed that God was near to me? Quickly jot down enough details to make the memory clear, and continue through the other stages of your life.

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The God Hunt, David and Karen Mains, David C. Cook, pages 11-12.

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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.

(150C)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 11

Friday, February 3, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 11

FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION

1. When is it that God seems most removed from your everyday world?

2. Who is a person you feel experiences the presence of the Lord in an unusual way? Why do you think this is so?

3. As you look back on your life, what is a God Hunt sighting you recall?

4. What do you like most about going on a daily God Hunt?

5. Is there anything about going on a daily God Hunt that seems intimidating? What?

6. Talk about a time you believe God put a long-range spiritual dream in your heart.

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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.

(150B)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 10

Thursday, February 2, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 10

Continuing from Tales of the Resistance.

“Wait a minute!” cried Big Operator, turning to the lad. “What do you say, Hero? I need a chronicler right now out on the street. Do you want to see the King in action? The taxi can take you back.”

To see the King—at that moment Hero forgot all his doubts. He clasped Big Operator’s wrist in the Ranger way, grabbed his bag, and hurried to hop into the front seat of the taxi.

Amanda turned from the control board, shoved back her headset and earphones, and called, “Where are you going?”

Hero slammed the taxi door shut. The cabbie gunned the motor as the mechanic began to crank up the great door again. Hero leaned out the window and grinned. “To the streets. I’m going to see the King!”

There’s a lot more to this part of the tale than I've shared, but it ends this way ...

So Hero becomes the Keeper of the Chronicle of Sightings of the King. He was often in dangerous places, often filled with doubt; but he found more reason to believe than not to believe and he discovered for himself that in the Kingdom, where the King rules, believing is seeing.

That's what I want for you. I want you to learn that seeing—having to have everything proved so that no one could possibly doubt—isn’t believing. But often believing is seeing as we learn to interpret what happens with eyes of faith, experience the joy of sighting the hand of God in our every day, become like children spiritually, accept God’s invitation to play hide-and-seek, as we become skilled at God Hunt sightings, not missing a thing.

And because we keep track of His involvement in our daily lives, we’re excited to believe God’s longer-range dreams for us will come true as well!

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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.

(150A)

Praying for Revival

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 by David Mains

As I age, I find myself greeting each January with the thought that maybe this will be the year of the Great American Revival.

I prayed and fasted that we would see such an awakening in 2011. I will continue this practice in 2012.

In this regard, I have found a small, self-published book called “Re”wording Our Prayers for Spiritual Change to be most helpful. I have a new copy to write in this year.

Long-time church staff-person Shirley Wilson is the person who put this together. It is a 66-page compilation of “re” words that she defines, illustrates from Scripture, writes a corporate prayer about, gives questions for personal meditation or small-group discussion, and then provides space for readers to write their own prayer or prayers.

“Re” words include reaffirm, rebirth, rebuild, rebuke, reclaim, recover, rectify, redeem ... well, you get the idea. There are 31 in all (enough for a month) and each is revival-related.

I have gone through the booklet three times now and assume I will do it again a time or two in 2012. It helps me focus on my number-one prayer request of the Lord—another sweeping movement of the Holy Spirit.

To download a copy for yourself, please click here.

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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.

(#150)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 9

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 9

Here’s an important point. I believe it’s necessary to write these sightings down. We need to keep a record of them. A list like this is great for reviewing when the dark days come. I make God Hunt sightings a regular part of my prayer journal. To go on the God Hunt you may need to think in a new way. Some will have to learn to become like a child again, to renew that sense of wonder and delight. Others will need to break through a glass ceiling. Maybe you're not young like David was. That doesn’t matter. It's never too late to start something good.

Beware when you no longer sense the joy of the daily God Hunt. What happens then is that we become secular, just like the world. To be secular means that we restrict the sacred life to an hour or two on Sunday morning, seldom seeing the supernatural interface with our everyday world. What a sad way to live ... as secular Christians!

Let me return to Tales of the Resistance.

Big Operator gave the lad with the scar an unlikely assignment: Keeper of the Chronicle of Sightings of the King. The chief of the Taxi Resistance knew that those who look harder for what they seek often find more than they expect.

“On-street sightings!” shouted Hero. “But—but I’m terrible at Sightings! I could hardly find the King in disguise in Great Park! How am I going to find him here in Enchanted City?” ... “But what about my scar? All of the Enchanter’s men have a description of me by now. You yourself said there was a manhunt.”

Big Operator was not moved. “I need an operator with street savvy and Ranger training. It’s imperative that someone keep records of the King’s activities. Hide your scar. Stay away from lights. The weather’s turning cool; wear a scarf. Of course, this is a dangerous assignment. If you’re afraid ... ”

Hero started to say that it wasn’t fear, but at that moment the buzzer in the terminal sounded the yellow alert, indicating that a taxi was approaching in haste. A mechanic began to crank up the great garage door. At the same moment, a dispatcher at the control panel shouted, “Sighting!” The King had made himself known somewhere in the city. With amazement, Hero and Big Operator watched two frightened children climb confusedly out of the back of the cab. The door slammed; an echo reverberated.

“Hey!” shouted the driver. “I left the King t’bring dese kids in—but the Enchanter's car’s comin’! Better get back to action.” The cabbie indicated the location of the Sighting to a monitor, “Heraldry post 101; Moire Oxan.’ A pin was immediately stuck in the map of Enchanted City.

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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.

(149D)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 8

Monday, January 30, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 8

Unusual Linkage or "Timing

A third God Hunt category is unusual linkage or timing, such as when David hid in the very cave Saul decided to rest in. It was too perfect to be mere chance.

Unusual linkage and timing is getting on an almost empty airplane and sitting across the aisle from someone who desperately wants to know about Jesus and how to personally meet Him. God has provided an almost private setting and an hour and a half flight during which you are able to lead the person to the cross.

Help to Do His Work

A last God Hunt category is what we call help to do His work in the world. It’s having a new family attend the church with the very skills needed to replace those of a strong couple who have just moved out of town. It’s having a friend call and share a story that works perfectly for the closing illustration in a Sunday School lesson you've been working on. It’s saying, as David did, “I need a friend, Lord—a friend who’s like a brother. This future kingship assignment You’ve given me isn’t an easy one.” And the Lord responds, “David, I’ve prepared the king’s son, Jonathan, to be that friend to you.”

Those God Hunt categories, again, are:

1. An obvious answer to prayer

2. Unexpected evidence of His care

3. Any unusual linkage or timing

4. Help to do God's work in the world.

Occasionally a God Hunt sighting will fit several categories. That’s no problem. And sometimes a sighting is almost in a category of its own. Don’t worry about that either.

What’s important is the belief that the Lord is constantly calling to us, “Seek Me. I’m here. I’m not that hard to find. Just look a little. Come on, now!”

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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.

(149C)

Daring to Dream Again: Keep Track... - Part 7

Friday, January 27, 2012 by David Mains

Keep Track of God’s Involvement in the Every Day—Part 7

Answers to Prayer

One is an obvious answer to prayer. Let me illustrate. I hesitated attending a conference because I needed to prepare a rather complicated paper for a particular man. It was due the day I was to get back. I went to the conference anyway and was overjoyed to see that this person was also there.

When I checked in at the hotel desk, I was so surprised I just said hello and walked on.

As soon as I got to my room I prayed, “Lord, I’m amazed this man is here. How wonderful it would be if we could talk for an hour or so and work through some of our concerns in person. But this is a huge conference. I may never run into him again. Please allow that to happen—I’ll immediately ask him if there’s a time we can meet while we're here.”

I unpacked my things, went down on the elevator to the main lobby, and saw this man coming in the front door of the hotel again. We talked briefly and set a time to get together the next morning. To me that was a marvelous God Hunt sighting. The time together helped me immensely.

This might not seem like a God Hunt sighting to you, but, as I’ve already explained, I choose to give the Lord the credit for what happens on these occasions. I admit some of my “sightings” may be coincidence, but I prefer to believe most of them aren’t! And what matters is not whether I can convince someone else, but whether I’m satisfied that it’s the Lord at work.

Evidence of His Care

The second God Hunt category is unexpected evidence of His care.

I called from the office and asked my wife, Karen, “Where are you money-wise?”

I needed to head home and pack. We were using some frequent flyer award tickets to take a couple of well-deserved days away. I had very little cash in the bank, although I figured we could use a credit card if need be. But maybe Karen had money.

Her answer was, “My bank account is as low as yours!”

“Just wondered,” I responded. “See you soon.”

In the next few moments an old friend stopped by the office and said, “Heard you and Karen were leaving for a few days. Knowing how you guys live, I thought you might need some cash. It’s a gift; don’t give it back. Have a good time. The Lord go with you.”

Care of this sort is not an everyday occurrence. But I praise the Lord for friends and also for unexpected evidences like this of God’s care.

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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.

(149B)

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