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In this book I am sharing one basic truth: God saves us to transform us into Christ's image and to flow through us in the saving of others. This truth is so important to God that He mentions it over and over again in the Bible. It can hardly be missed, unless you have become blinded to it. And that can happen when we allow something else to take its place. Unfortunately, many western Christians no longer believe that a saved person must be a witness of Christ. Wrong conclusions about being "saved by grace" and being objects of "the love of God," have led many to a selfish, comfortable, passive lifestyle of unfruitfulness.

This book on the church of Thessalonica confronts us as Bible-believing Christians with the strategic and visionary way early followers of Christ understood the good news of the Gospel, internalized it and lived accordingly--with great impact. Rev. Dr. Ed Gross succeeds in confronting Christian readers with the amazing love of God in and through the life and witness of the Thessalonians. Through reading, reflection and discussion the reader will feel the pressure early Christians and those still persecuted faced, as well as the glorious hope they embraced in the midst of harsh conditions - and through it may experience growth in understanding discipleship and being true witnesses of the risen Christ.

In offering these sermons to a wider readership, I am seeking to repay a debt. It is a large debt, because in many ways my Christian life has been shaped and enriched by sermons, beginning with the sermons I heard in the church in Glasgow where I grew up and where Dr Harry Thompson made scripture vividly alive. My indebtedness continues through the numerous occasions when I have been ministered to by the sermons of others, including published sermons-as many of my footnotes will demonstrate.

f you have offspring and live long enough, you will hear them say, "Daddy, you've told that story before…a thousand times. I could even tell it for you and not miss a word." As the number of children increases the repetition multiplies because you forget to whom the story has been told. Well, you don't want anyone to feel left out of the fun, so you retell it anyway, while they plan for your time in a nursing home.

ON DECEMBER 28, 2012, BARBARA AND I celebrated our 50th year of marriage. Most of our friends would ask her, "Barbara, how did you put up with him all those years?" Admittedly, it has not been easy for her. She started dating me because she thought I needed help and she became my helpmate and soul mate. Today, she used her computer skills to show me how to cut and paste the manuscript of this book. She has been a fantastic mother to our three grown children, mother-in-law to our children's spouses, and grandmother to our three grandchildren. God has been the source of Barbara's strength. She has worked as a school teacher, church worker, Disaster Relief worker and homemaker. Most of all she has been a faithful, loving wife. Our stories are about our Christian walk. The success that we have had we attribute to our attempt to follow the steps of the Master Teacher, Jesus. We acknowledge that we owe much to Carson Newman University where we met, dated, married, where I taught for 35 years and where several members of our family have graduated. We are happy to continue to support CNU with financial resources and volunteering our time on campus. Over the 35 years at CNU I kept a file of my favorite quotations which are included throughout this book and are credited where possible.Thanks to Benita Claiborne, there are fewer mistakes in this book because of her fine eye for errors, to Bethany Carpenter for her computer skills in assisting with page arrangements, and to Dr. Connie Bull for proof reading the manuscript.Thank you to all who read my previous book, "Daddy, You Have Told This Before." A professional educator in Iowa read it and called me "the Will Rogers of Tennessee." A friend, who was a college president, said mine was the only book he had read twice, except for the Bible. Many responses from readers have been encouraging.

Many of the stories of women in the Bible have been sadly neglected. These imaginative interpretations of just a few of these remarkable characters give even familiar stories a fresh perspective and allows the listener to enter into their reality in a different way, bringing them to life once more. They allow us to capture the emotions of these very different women as we rediscover the eternal truths of faith and love, betrayal and grief, victories and defeats.Chancel drama need not be intimidating. It can be as elaborate or as simple as you like. These narratives have been performed as one woman playlets complete with costuming to sermons delivered from the pulpit while wearing just a simple scarf as a headdress.The sermons can also be used as the springboard for a group Bible study or a discussion on the roles of the characters in their own time as well as similarities and differences with our lives and times. Such groups do not need to be limited by gender as these narratives will touch the hearts and minds of both men and women with a deeper understand of their lives and the role they played in God's story of love and grace.Enjoy!

I have designed this book to help Christians who are ready to walk with Jesus. And especially for those who have had some basic training in the elements of NT Discipleship. As you start, if you are extremely blessed, you may become a disciple in 100 days. It took the Apostles over 1000 days in the direct, miraculous, personal presence of God, Himself! That is why 100 days might not be nearly enough time. But, with the Holy Spirit's help, it could be more than enough. And you could even find yourself so blessed that God uses you to start a Disciple Making Movement (DMM), which reaches your entire area for Christ! This has happened before and is happening today. Why not in and through you? God's great love is for you and your region, too!

The purpose of the study was to determine which factors related to congregational receptivity toward the use of visual media in preaching by exploring factors including generational group, gender, dogmatism, postmodernism, and postliteracy. The study consisted of a researcher-designed, cross-sectional quantitative survey of attitudes toward the use of visual media in preaching. The survey was completed by 113 respondents age fourteen or older at New Hope Community Church of the Nazarene in Tempe, Arizona. The research findings contradicted the popularly held notion tying age to receptivity toward visual media, and underscored the importance of pastoral integrity in a visual hermeneutic.

A Liturgical Resource for Year B.Chris Warren is Pastor of the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro. He has a Master's Degree in Divinity from the Vanderbilt Divinity School, a Master's Degree in Music from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor's Degree in Music from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. He has served in many capacities in local congregations, at the presbytery, and General Assembly level for the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination. Reverend Warren is married to Reverend Joy Warren, and they have two wonderful children, Emma and Micah.

A Liturgical Resource for Year A.Chris Warren is Pastor of the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro. He has a Master's Degree in Divinity from the Vanderbilt Divinity School, a Master's Degree in Music from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor's Degree in Music from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. He has served in many capacities in local congregations, at the presbytery, and General Assembly level for the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination. Reverend Warren is married to Reverend Joy Warren, and they have two wonderful children, Emma and Micah.

So what IS this book? That's a great question. At first, I suppose it could be said that it is a collection of writings, a hodgepodge if you will created but not really belonging to a collection. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, "hodgepodge" goes back to medieval times and referred to a stew made of items that did not belong together. None of those items were disgusting alone, but collectively, they just didn't work.Were that to happen here, I would be most disappointed. I have come to think of my writing, my little children of the mind, as one. Many years ago, I began going to a spiritual director, an Episcopal brother trained in the field, spiritually challenging and intuitive about matters divine. I went out of a sense that I needed a person and place where I could bring my life to someone who could help me see what God was up to, one who could give good feedback and call attention to important traces of the divine.I began to officially journal, though I had been doing so since college. Journaling is ultimately a dismal experience, for a good journal is meant to be burned just after death. This is so that the writer will be utterly honest and it is hard to be so forthright with an audience in one's mind. But it is dismal also because, as one looks back and rereads a journal, the writer is likely to also see that the same handful of limitations, blind spots and preoccupations that were present at the start of life are still there.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to A Funeral may seem inappropriate as the title of a book that talks about deaths and burials. But as a former teacher astutely observed, words have uses rather than meanings. Funny is one of those words. Something may be funny/ha-ha-amusing, humorous or funny/odd-unusual, out of the ordinary, even weird. And there are times when a thing is simultaneously funny/ha ha and funny/odd.My experience across more than sixty years of ministry has included all three uses, and that fact began early. Though a Baptist, I began like a Methodist serving a circuit of two rural churches. They referred to me as their pastor, but I was more like what the Air National Guard calls a "week-end warrior." I was a college student in Birmingham, the churches were 120 miles away in Chambers County, and I had no car when the first one called me. One met on first and third Sundays, the other on second and fourth Sundays. On fifth Sundays I went hungry! And to keep things interesting, though the churches were in the same Alabama county, one operated on central time and the other on eastern.I discovered this pattern applied in ministering to those who were genuinely grieved as well as to those, to put it nicely, "less emotionally stressed"; of whom there are many. Moods and happenings have run the gamut from: pious to secular; heart-breaking to funny bone-tickling; sublime to ridiculous; holy to irreverent. A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to A Funeral, therefore, seemed most appropriate as a title.

Some of the most important spiritual happenings have occurred in the dark. My book is a trilogy of walking in the dark. I share stories from my work in the physical darkness as I walked the streets of different cities late at night, sometimes all night long.In ministry at night in the "worst" part of the city it was not unusual to walk where the cloud of potential violence was part of the scene. This introduces another kind of darkness, that of the darkness of the spirit. Today we live with the stress of potential violence of another kind from the awareness of terrorist activity in different parts of our world.Violence, whether written in the bold letters of mass murder or in the pain of personal, even self-directed violence as in suicide is always very difficult to walk into. Learning to walk with people in their own world of pain is not easy. I share my stories of outreach to people at night on the streets of five different cities.Another form of darkness of the spirit is on display in most cities today in the form of homelessness. What is it like to be alone at night in the city? Walking with someone who is in this situation is not easy. It was not an easy thing for me to do.In a book about ministry it might seem strange to introduce the topic of running. This is the first time I have shared stories of my running. Some of this was done as a way to promote my work of night ministry. But I started running before I was involved in Operation Nightwatch. Now, some 40 years, later running and other kinds of physical exercise have become very popular.

Matt's sermons come to us in what is the best of times and the worst of times for preachers. It is the worst of times due to the cultural chaos that consumes us as well as the increasing disregard for-even derision of-Christian faith. Even the very premise of preaching-the act of one person standing up before a group of passive listeners to deliver a monologue prescribing beliefs and behaviors based on ancient texts-seems ludicrous in our technology- and entertainment-driven world. But this is also the best of times for preachers, for few moments in human history have been more desperate for a word from beyond our human capacities than ours. As he demonstrates so well in these sermons, Matt Rich humbly yet confidently steps up to speak such a word. It is a word forged in the crucible of life lived among people seeking to be faithful in a perplexing world. For his own understanding of preaching, Matt claims, as he states in his introduction to this volume, a definition that comes from Marilynne Robinson's exquisite novel Gilead: "trying to say what is true." Indeed, in his life and ministry as well as in his preaching, Matt strives to say what is true. He names grace, as Hilkert would call it, and he speaks the truth. Not a bad definition of preaching, for, in the end, what is preaching but bearing witness to the Word who came to dwell among us, "full of grace and truth?" And heaven knows we need all the grace and truth we can muster to help us navigate through these challenging days for the church, and we need preachers like Matt Rich to lead us. So read and ponder this good preaching, these sermons that name grace and tell the truth, and be led anew to encounters with the Living Word.

William Gaskill received his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1978 and his Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1991. He has served two congregations, The Avondale Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania. for 16 years, and his current position as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Merchantville, New Jersey since 1994. He has been a guest preacher at numerous congregational renewal week ends and at conferences on the Holy Spirit. He has travelled widely in the US, to Israel, Egypt, India, the British Isles, several islands in the Caribbean, and most recently walked the 500 mile Camino de Santiago with his oldest son Mark who is also a pastor.He and his wife Jean were married in 1971 and have three children and seven grandchildren. After the loss of their youngest son Jonathan, in 2007 Mr. Gaskill published his book, Gold Mining in the Pit of Sorrow: A Journey Through Child Loss and Grief which is still available.

The 365 reflections (plus one extra for leap years) which follow arise from personal experiences with God and life over seven decades on this earth. I share them in hopes that they may bring smiles - or more - to you as you experience God and life for yourself. My recommendation is that you try them one day at a time. Enjoy!

In the spring of 2015, I was asked to teach a four-week class on “Writing as a Spiritual Practice” for my church, Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The class drew more interest and participants than I anticipated, and to sustain that interest, our pastor, Gary Furr, initiated a monthly writers group for all who wanted to continue their writing activities. I have been a regular participant in that group, and the other members have provided me generous affirmations of my work.In fall 2015, Gary Furr published a collection of some sermons, prayers, and songs he had written over the course of his ministry. He encouraged me to consider publishing a collection of my own work with the same company he dealt with, Parson’s Porch & Company. Inspired by his success and his support, I began pulling together this collection of my writings and editing them for publication.

The collegium of preachers to which Steve Montgomery and I belong now has it plate exceedingly full of expectation, demand, and responsibility. That plate is full because we now live in a culture of commoditization that is bent toward self-destruction and death, in which human persons and creaturely possibility are ruthlessly transposed into marketable goods. The force of that commoditization is immense in the ominous pursuit of security and domination. In the midst of that force, the preacher is expected to speak some good news that is at the same time honest and compelling.

Margaret has just lost her Mom and is now living with her Uncle John in a new town. She is having trouble in school and struggling with friendships. It looks pretty grim for Margaret until Laurel, the magic swan, enters her life. Journey to Joona with Margaret, Laurel and her companions - a fabulous land of beauty, color. and music. Meet Laurel, the talking swan who seems to know every detail about Margaret and all of her friends. Will Margaret find a way through her sadness as Laurel becomes her fast companion? Read and find out!

The invitation to compile a book of sermons came as a surprise. I have served churches and seminaries now in five states, in five different regions, over the course of sixteen years since my ordination to the ministry of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2002. In every pastoral call I have accepted, I have preached nearly every week, excluding the blessed six Sundays a year gifted for vacation and study leave. Thus, I have quite a well of sermons to which to return for reflection.When I draw sermons out of the well, I catch glimpses of the people for whom they were written and to whom they were once delivered. I catch glimpses of the moments in time in which they were written. And I catch glimpses of the God who is the source, salvation, and sustenance of all that is.I also note the variety of preaching styles I have deployed over the years-from more pedagogical and didactic (reflecting my foundational call as a teacher in and for Christ's church) to more dramatic. The diversity in my preaching styles is a mere shadow of the profound diversity that is biblical literature. Preaching always emerges for me out of meditation on and study of specific biblical passages. Different passages yield different sermons, not only different messages, but different ways of carrying the message. Every time I preach, I am seeking to open scripture in such a way that the people I have been called to serve can hear it today. Surely sometimes more successfully than others.

This guide was written in follow-up to my best-selling book:"Are YOU More Likely To See Bigfoot or A Short Sale Approval Letter?"The purpose of this guide is to help Homeowners, Real Estate Agents, Attorneys, and anyone else navigate what seems like an ocean of paperwork and headaches.What follows is taken from more than 10 years of short sale negotiations and processing, and more than 10 years of helping hundreds of Homeowners and Real Estate Agents all over the country. Much of this information comes from "off-the-record" conversations with Supervisors, Vice Presidents, and even people in the offices of the CEO and President for some of the country's largest banks.Processing and negotiating short sales has to be the most ridiculous process on the planet. With the help of this guide, you too can make it to closing!!!

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.Dr. Karl Travis gives us a treasure trove of sermons which exemplifies the best of today's preaching. Preachers will benefit from his examples of sermons, and still others will benefit from his insights into the Christian faith.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.Take, Read, and Heed.

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.Mark Zimmerly is a seasoned preacher who throughout the year provides his congregation with scholarly, yet practical, insight into the text from which he has chosen to preach. Good Intentions is a fine example for pastors and congregants alike.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.Take, Read, and Heed.

The beatitudes are not mild, pious platitudes without strength or deep meaning; they form a challenge hurled into the teeth of normal world standards. The first three Beatitudes are the "great reversals" of Jesus; heaven's standards are seen to be the direct opposite of earth's. God's evaluation of people is shown to be far different from humans' assessment. The continuing profile of the member of God's kingdom reveals character fashioned by God's measurements, not by people's standards.I am convinced that believers need to revisit the Beatitudes from time-to-time to maintain the creative tension they present for Christian living in our progressively secular and permissive society. In a time marked by sharp moral and ethical indifference and decline, kingdom citizens are to represent their King well and unashamedly. I have not fully achieved that goal, but with God's help, I will remain on the way.

The world has changed much since Ronald Reagan was president. The common cultural trend of keeping religion and politics in separate boxes has ended. Separation of church and state, while historic, has been argued, ignored, and changed in emphasis multiple times to suit our own agendas. The idea that you can maintain separation of church and state simply by forbidding the public support of any given candidate is not keeping the church out of politics, it is simply forcing the church to be non-partisan. The church has pushed a political agenda through specific issues since the beginning, and especially in more recent times around issues of civil rights, global relations, economic issues, and marriage.

This book offers the author's theological and biblical thoughts, informed by a unique perspective based on his knowledge of what was achieved when a strong missionary society agreed to cooperate with a sympathetic government in advancing Christian schools in West Africa. In the early eighteenth century, the British government was successful in claiming this prosperous part of West Africa, which they identified as the Gold Coast. This period of history, centered in the eighteenth century, came to be known by historians as "the scramble for Africa," and a scramble it was. Germany gained colonies that were then snatched from her at the end of World War I. Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and others likewise gained colonies, but by any measure, Great Britain gained the upper hand, the largest population, and most prosperous territory. Out of it, France emerged with the largest territory.

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.In this book, Jon Ashley provides a series of sermons called, My Life Purpose: How to Discover God's Call, which is designed as a workbook for study and self-examination of God's call in one's life. Rev. Ashley is well versed in scripture and the art of proclaiming God's Good News.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.Take, Read, and Heed.

I want to share an amazing story, a story about God's amazing Grace. God has given me a new life. He did so because he died on the cross for me and for you. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at the age of 19 years old. I was at home and it was late at night. God hears our prayers at any time and any day! We can call on him any time! So my Christian life began.I want to share an amazing story, a story about God's amazing Grace. God has given me a new life. He did so because he died on the cross for me and for you. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at the age of 19 years old. I was at home and it was late at night. God hears our prayers at any time and any day! We can call on him any time! So my Christian life began.