Posts Tagged With: Christ
Discipleship
I once had a chemistry professor (Dr. McKnight) at Hinds Community College who told all his classes upon their first meeting the following statement or something pretty close to it, “In chemistry, it is very easy to get bogged down, confused, overwhelmed and discouraged. When you feel yourself getting to this point, go back to [...]
Stewardship According to John Wesley
An outline of John Wesley‘s Sermon on Stewardship: “The Good Steward” Summary: Wesley uses this sermon to explain that we as God’s Stewards are not the owners of what God entrust to us, but temporary custodians. This applies to our souls, bodies, possessions, time, abilities and opportunities. Wesley states in this sermon that there will [...]
“All In”
When we read a sermon title on “Stewardship”, we know we are going to hear about giving our money to the church. The “money part” is often couched within the other aspects of living a life of faith. As members in the United Methodist Church, we vow to be faithful with our prayers, our presence, [...]
The Important Invitation
“Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.” -1 Chronicles 29:11 (NRSV Translation) This verse is part of King David’s ongoing [...]
John Wesley’s View on Money
As we begin our sermon series on the use of money, I thought it would be appropriate to give you an outline on John Wesley‘s view of money. This sermon can be broken down to 3 points: Gain All You Can, Save All You Can, and Give All You Can. “The Use of Money” Summary: [...]
The Transforming “I Will”
On a clear, cool Fall Sunday morning a young family makes their way to the altar of a local United Methodist Church. They had been attending the services for three months. After conversations with the pastor, and prayerful consideration, they made the decision to become members of the congregation. As they approached the chancel rail [...]
6 HUGE Mistakes a Pastor Can Make
I’m now coming up on my 10th year in ministry and I’ve discovered some mistakes (some I’ve made and some I’ve seen) which can greatly limit a pastors ministry. Here is what I have found: Mistake 1. Micro-managing your staff/volunteers. If there is a need to micro-manage because the job may not get done correctly, [...]
Dissension in the Church
”Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” Philippians 2:14-16 NIV I’ve been around a great many churches in [...]
5 Biggest Changes In My Life
Everything in life is about change. It’s a fact. If there is life, there is change however, that does not make us like change any better. I have found that anytime there is some sort of change in my life, it’s carries with it nervousness, anxiety, hesitation, a un-sureness about the future and wondering if this [...]
Communion Questions and Answers
CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE ON UMC PAGE Why do United Methodists call this sharing of bread and cup by different names, such as Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, and Eucharist? Each of these names is taken from the New Testament and highlights certain facets of this sacrament’s many meanings. Calling it the Lord’s Supper reminds [...]
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
The sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion are crucial means of grace, or vehicles, that God uses to reach humanity. They are channels by which the grace and love of God flows, and it is through them that we can receive prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace. They are outward and visible signs of an inward, [...]
Communion by Rev Ted Leach
For me, communion is a way of receiving God’s undeserved love, which we sometimes call grace. I cup my hands to receive the bread as a gesture of receptiveness. The bread and the cup are reminders of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, which was a celebration of the Passover meal on the night that [...]
Hold Yourself Accountable (Wesley Style)
I was doing some research today and I ran across these questions that are similar to the ones that John Wesley gave to the members of his discipleship groups. This was over 200 years ago and they are still good questions for Christians to ask themselves today. I challenge you to make these questions a [...]
Communion Testimony: Joshua Allison
Holy Communion is the most amazing, most wonderful thing a pastor can give to his or her people. It is better than anything else because it is the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and a means of grace. We should receive Communion as often as possible; weekly at least. It [...]
5 Types of Church Visitor
One thing pastors love is church visitors. Really, what we like even more is church visitors who become regular church attendee, but that process begins with visitors. It’s always a mystery why some visit a church and never come back. Those reasons may be the subject of another post, but one thing I’ve learned, much [...]
Outside the Wall’s
The teachings of Jesus say that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. He was the greatest model of someone being a servant to others. This is completely contrary to a worldly view where we are taught to put ourselves first. Becoming inward is something that happens quickly in our personal [...]
Keeping X in Xmas
A good friend of mine (Steve West) wrote this on his Facebook page and I thought it gave a wonderful explanation regarding a topic that there is so much confusion about. Surprised at my title, “Keeping X in Xmas“? Many statements come out this time of year by evangelical Christians decrying the use of the [...]
