Preaching Daily - May 11

 

Today's Word for Pastors...

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2

Today's Preaching Insight...

Almost Isn't Good Enough

Almost... It's a sad word in anybody's dictionary. It keeps company with expressions like "if only" and (in the South) "near 'bout."

Almost is a word that smacks of missed opportunities and fumbled chances.

Tim KcKee was edged out for first place in the Olympic 400-meter race by two-thousandths of a second. He almost won a gold medal.

Max Lucado gives us these sad statements that revolve around almost:

"He almost got it together."

"We were almost able to work it out."

"He almost made it to the big leagues."

"I caught a catfish that was bigger than me. Well, almost!"

As they say, almost doesn't count except in horseshoes and hand grenades.

[The rich young ruler was] an "almost" kind of guy... In terms of disciples, he was the big one that got away. He could have been the powerful establishment figure who might have won half the Jewish power structure to Jesus. One day he met Jesus and hovered on the brink of commitment. He almost claimed Jesus as the Lord of his life.

But almost is not good enough.

(To read the rest of the article "Almost Persuaded" by Bill Bouknight at Preaching.com, click here) 

Today's Extra...

Thanksgiving

There once was a poor, rural family who were greatly concerned because their little boy had not started talking. The family didn't have many resources to call upon, so the problem went on for a long time. One day, while the mother was making supper, she became overwhelmed and lost her concentration. She burned the meal. After she served the meal, the little boy tasted it and hollered, "I can't eat this. It's all burned." Shocked but happy, the mother hugged the child and asked, "Why haven't you been talking?" He said, "Up to now, everything has been OK."

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