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Ohio State Marching Band
This is incredible synchronization. I would think it would be hard enough to play an instrument, but to do so while marching and making sure you hit all your marks – that makes this worthy of admiration. There’s got to be a sermon illustration in here somewhere. Continue reading
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Why Bother with Jesus?
Timothy Keller wrote in this book The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not Continue reading
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Leadership that Works
I’ve been rereading some of the leadership books stacked neatly on my office bookshelf as we seek to discover, equip, and engage new leaders in the church. As I read I am reminded how blessed we are to live in a time when there are so many good resources for someone who wants to keep Continue reading
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Is God Truly Optional?
I recently viewed the website of a church in California. Their website list a time for worship and the fact that they have a choir, a handbell choir, and even a Sunday School. There was even a notification on the website of a congregational meeting to ordain someone to ministry. You would not be surprised Continue reading
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Walking with God through the Pain and Suffering
On my Must Read List is Timothy Keller’s Walking with God through the Pain and Suffering. One does not have to be a pastor to understand that pain and suffering are a part of life. We work to stay healthy and whole. We pray that things will go well. But somewhere along the line the Continue reading
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Made in the Image of God
In my quiet time this morning, I was once again reminded of an incredible truth – we are created in the image of God. “So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” (Genesis 1:27) That image has surely been marred by the fall, Continue reading
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Prayer and Sports
Josh Graves, pastor and author of “The Feast,” wrote an opinion piece that was very insightful. Below is a portion of what he wrote: On November 28, 2010, Steven Johnson lined up as a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills. On November 28, the Bills were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers and they ultimately lost the game because Continue reading
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I Quit Wearing a Watch …
I quit wearing a watch a few months back. I’d love to say that I was making some great statement about not allowing time to master me, but the truth is that I was tired of the watchband pulling my arm hair. I did observe that removing my watch did not change the constant ticking Continue reading
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The Knock at My Door
It was only a few days after I became a Christian that I had a knock at my door. I opened it to find two young men wearing white shirts and plain ties who wanted to talk with me about God. Eager to learn more, I invited them in. They sounded knowledgeable and confident. Their Continue reading
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Dumb Decisions
As intelligent as most of us are, we still do some rather dumb things. Even so, there are some really outstanding incidences of dumbness around the world. For instance, an event reported in the UK Guardian relates the story of an unnamed man who got stuck on a second floor window ledge of his home. Continue reading
beyond the sermon 