Preaching Daily - April 14

 

Today's Word for Pastors...

Mark 9:23
" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

Today's Preaching Insight...

Living in the Spirit's Fullness

There are occupational hazards in being a Pastor.  Let me mention two of them. One of them is that while people expect you to be pious, you can come across as a little too pious at times -- like the lady who came to a pastor at the end of a service, and was very effusive in her gratitude.  She said, "That was the most wonderful sermon I've ever heard. That was absolutely fantastic!  It was so powerful, it has changed my life!" 

Well, what does a pastor say to something like that? This one decided that he had to be very humble about it, so he said, “Oh, thank you madam, but it was not me, it was the Lord!"  And she said, "Oh, it wasn't that good!"  So that's one of the things you have to avoid.

The other thing you have to avoid is assuming that people remember anything that you said.  One of the worst things a pastor can do is talk to somebody who has been in the service, and say, "You probably remember four weeks ago, I was talking about such and such a thing." It is just plain embarrassing for everybody.  The only reason the pastor remembers is that he just checked his notes.

(To read the rest of this article, click here to visit the official website)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Eternal Life

In his latter days, Johnny Cash, whose spiritual renewal has been well documented, produced a series of songs, now collected in a CD under the title Ain't No Grave. The music contains his musings on faith and life after death. The only original song on the album is one titled "I Corinthians 15:55." In case you need a reminder, the words that inspired Cash are, "Where, O Death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?" That song contains a stanza that says, "Oh, let me sail on with my ship to the East/And keep my eye on the North Star/When the journey is no good for men or for beast/I'll be safe wherever You are."

Preaching magazine is the premier resource for those who proclaim the Word. To begin your own subscription, go to http://magazine.preaching.com/subscribe/.