Preaching Daily - March 21

Today's Word for Pastors...

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Today's Preaching Insight...

Discovering Church

Matthew 16:13-18: Let's enter an imaginary time tunnel and journey back about 20 centuries. As we do, remember that in the place we find ourselves there is no United States of America. The modern civilizations of Europe, Australia and Canada, as well as other contemporary cultures do not exist. Even the nation of Israel looks completely different.

In the first century, there are no Christian traditions, and we certainly find no denominations or churches. Where we're imagining ourselves standing, no one has even heard the word church before; and the Jewish culture of the day exists in the context of a pagan Roman government that dominates the land of Israel. On top of all that, the official religious leaders of the day are proud, self-serving and corrupt. It was in such an environment that the church began.Whenever we want to understand a topic or term such as church, we should begin at the passage of primary reference. It helps to ask where the word first appeared and in what context it was used. Surprisingly, the first mention in the New Testament of the word church wasn't from the the apostle Paul. Peter didn't coin the term, nor did any of the other apostles. It was Jesus.

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

Today's Extra...

Spiritual Ledership

Oswald Sanders' great book Spiritual Leadership (Moody) may one of the most valuable books about leadership every published. He covers a variety of topics that relate to the work of church leaders and encourages leaders to lives that are effective and godly.]

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