Preaching Daily - May 26

 

Today's Word for Pastors...

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Ephesians 5:20

Today's Preaching Insight...

Grand-Slam Christians

When I was in the seventh grade, I played little league baseball in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The name of our team was the Seals. What a name for a baseball team, especially out in the plains of Oklahoma. We were worse than the Bad News Bears, and we intended to prove it. Out of eighteen games, we had lost eighteen games. On the final game, the Bad News Seals pulled together. We smelled victory, and we wanted to win. I had gotten several hits in the game already, but in the final inning, I came up to bat. The pressure was on. I hit the ball deep along the sideline in right field. It was a fair ball. I ran to first. I charged to second. I headed to third. By this time, the right fielder threw the ball to the first baseman. We needed that extra run. It was great to get a single. It was wonderful to get a double. It was fantastic to get a triple, but it was more important to hit a home run.

With all my might, I raced towards home plate. My parents and brothers were screaming. The Bad News Seals in the dugout were cheering me on, and I made my way towards the hall of fame in the legendary history of the infamous Tulsa Seals. Unfortunately, the first baseman threw the ball to the catcher before I got to home plate. It was too late for me to head back to third. The catcher caught the ball high, and I dived in the catcher's breadbasket. Our WWF (World Wrestling Federation) fans would have been proud of me.

The catcher dropped the ball, and I was scrambling in the whirlwind of dust and dirt to find home plate. The catcher and I were wrestling in the dirt trying to touch home plate first. Luckily, I touched home plate before the catcher did, and I scored my first and last infield home run. I also brought in a couple of runs at the same time.

Folks, making a single, a double, a triple is unbelievably exciting, but nothing can compare with a home run. Yet in the Christian life, too many of us are content to become Christians and stay at first base as a Christian and as a church member only. Too many of us are content to stay at second: to study our Bibles, pray, worship in spirit and truth, and get plugged into a small group. Too few of us discover our spiritual gifts and get involved in ministry at third base. An even smaller percentage of Christians are home run hitters who make it all the way around the bases and come home. At First Baptist Church, my deepest desire is that many of you would get involved in missions and become grand-slam Christians.

(To read the entire sermon "Grand-Slam Christians" by Edward Erwin at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Hunting, Preferences
By Cybersalt Digest

Dad loved the outdoors, and because of his passion for hunting and fishing, the family ate a considerable amount of wild game. One evening as Dad set a platter of broiled venison steaks on the dinner table, his 10-year-old daughter looked up and said, "Boy, it sure would be nice if pizzas lived in the woods."

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