References to christian articles written by theologans of the Christian Faith.
By Rev. James Smith Boy what a hassle! That’s generally how most preachers feel about the finances of the church. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we never had to deal with the money? Even Jesus handed the money purse off to someone else. Who wants to deal with it?! My wife currently handles the offerings of the church. For years we have struggled to find a software that makes the accounting of the tithes and offerings simple. I hate…
By James Smith 1. Tells you the truth – even when it hurts. One man who has been one of my mentors for almost 18 years especially stands out because of his honesty with me. Early in my ministry and marriage, he pulled me aside and explained to me that I was not very respectful to my wife in public. He explained that the ladies of the church would not honor me as a minister for this reason. At…
By David Church One of the most exciting and powerful methods of preaching is to share the story (biography) of a character in the Bible. This method is extremely valuable in building people and moving people from one level of ministry to another. God’s desire is to grow His Kingdom. His Word is full of ordinary and less than ordinary people who He used to accomplish this purpose. It would behoove us as pastors and leaders to use this…
By James Smith Despise not the day of small things. How do you build a church? First you build a man. – Thou are Peter and upon this rock will I build my church. If Peter did not mature, the church would not grow. God has chosen to build his church upon people. He has chosen to use your life to build His church in the village you are from. If you do not grow, your church will not…
(February 10, 2009) Good morning. I want to thank the Co-Chairs of this breakfast, Representatives Heath Shuler and Vernon Ehlers. I’d also like to thank Tony Blair for coming today, as well as our Vice President, Joe Biden, members of my Cabinet, members of Congress, clergy, friends, and dignitaries from across the world. Michelle and I are honored to join you in prayer this morning. I know this breakfast has a long history in Washington, and faith has always been…
(February 10, 2009) It is an honour to be here. A particular honour to be with you Mr. President. The world participated in the celebration of your election. Now the hard work begins. And now, also we should be as steadfast for you in the hard work as in the celebration. You don’t need cheerleaders but partners; not spectators but supporters. The truest friends are those still around when the going is toughest. We offer you our friendship today. We…
By Joe McKeever I know more about getting smaller churches to grow than larger ones. I pastored three of them, and only the first of the three did not grow—I was fresh out of college, untrained, inexperienced, and clueless about what I was doing. The next two grew well, and even though I remained at each only some three years, one almost doubled and the other nearly tripled in attendance and ministries. By using the word “grow,” I do not…
Why is it important or even necessary to study positions of prayer? The Apostle Paul expressed it well in Hebrews saying that he had much to teach them but found that they were stunted in their spiritual walk because of a lack of exercise in the things they had already been taught. "For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full…
“Are you known at the throne?” There is an interesting event in the 19th chapter of the book of Acts. Paul was preaching in Ephesus, and God was doing great wonders among these spirit’s people. Two Jews took it upon themselves to cast out demons like Paul, using the name of Jesus as their magic words. It did not work. Jesus’ name is not a magic word. It represents a relationship. Without the relationship, there is no power in using…
"Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?" says the Lord. "Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?" says your God. (Isaiah 66:9) You might have suffered many untold hardships in the past, yet you were not swallowed by them. May be you have undergone many embarrassing situations to the extent that you have become the laughing stock of friends and neighbours, yet you are still around to keep on keeping on. You have…