Mark’s Mountain BBQ July 28, 2008
Everywhere I have ever gone, I have noticed that people are open to human touches – friendliness, compliments, smiles, gifts, tips, kindness, appreciation, a listening ear. These are the kinds of things that nurture human relations. It is in the exchange of human relations that we influence others for eternity. Ministry to people depends on human relationships.
Campton is the county seat of Wolfe County, Kentucky. Every Thursday night all summer long there is a singin’ on the street in front of the courthouse. People sit on the courthouse steps and in lawn chairs on the grass. There’s free lemonade as long as it lasts. For two or three weeks this summer the Pierponts were among the singers. (more…)
Gestures of God’s Love July 26, 2008
Last week I hiked and spoke in the Canadian Rockies. It was my job to teach a small group of collegians Biblical truths about the love of God. We drove high into the mountains. We stopped at various beautiful spots along the way. In each place I spoke. One of our teaching places was in Johnson Canyon. There I would teach them, among other things, to notice the gestures of God’s love all around them.
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Are You Holy?
Here is something to think about in preparation for our services this Lord’s Day: Are you holy? Do you believe you are holy? Would people who live with you say you are holy? Would your husband, your wife, your sons and daughters, your mother and father say you are holy? Would people who work with you in the world say you are holy? Would God say that you are holy? (more…)
An Hour of Personal Worship July 22, 2008
I am indebted to Tim Challis and Bill Ellif for these suggestions on how to spend an hour in personal worship: (more…)
Lake Louise-Alberta, Canada July 16, 2008
I’m headed here this morning to hike and teach the Bible to a group of young people. Yesterday on the plane I was meditating on 2 Corinthians 4:6 and I noticed a mention of the Creator God:
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
This looks like a great place to adore our Creator.
I’ve preached in some really interesting places. Jails, prisons, rest homes, streets, country chapels and city churches. I have a feeling this is one I will remember for a long time.
Grocery Bags July 15, 2008
I drove in one day with a trunk full of groceries. The children were small at the time. They all ran out to help me in. We stacked the grocery bags on the counter. They helped mom put the food away. I stood back with delight and watched them as they eagerly scrounged through the bags shouting excitedly about each item in them. (more…)
Chuck Swindoll’s Pastor Blog July 11, 2008
Chuk Swindoll has a blog for pastors. Good stuff.
I discovered this little story about Chuck Swindoll today:
In a society of shifting moral standards and a community given over to “speaking with a forked tongue,” I was reminded recently of an event that occurred a few years ago when our staff was invited to a large pastors meeting in Houston, Texas. One of the seminars was to be led by Chuck Swindoll, but he seemed to be running late. Finally he appeared on the platform before a large and admiring crowd. He looked awful—his suit was all wrinkled, his eyes were bloodshot, his hair was not quite in place, and he needed a shave. As he stood before that crowd I was sure he was tempted to tell them that he had been involved in some kind of spiritual warfare that lasted all night, but he had resisted the temptation and arrived victorious to teach them the Scriptures. Instead he told them the truth: He had forgotten the meeting, but as soon as his secretary reminded him of it he booked a ticket from LA to Houston; unfortunately, it was the red-eye flight. Once he arrived that morning he discovered that the airline had lost his luggage. He arrived at his room and washed his face and then realized that his Bible was in his luggage, so he borrowed a Gideon Bible from his hotel room. Then he said with a big smile, “So opening our Gideon Bibles, let’s look at….” Here was a sincere man of God. Ron Ritchie, Penninsula Bible Church, pbc.org
What Does a Bow Tie Mean?
Some people think wearing a bow time makes them look literary and intelligent, but of course, clowns wear bow ties, too. On a happy day you might find me wearing a bow tie. I wear a bow tie to celebrate something. So if you ever see me wearing a bow tie you might ask me what I’m celebrating. “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”
More Sun, More Rain July 10, 2008
On State Route 13 near the little village of St. Louisville, Ohio, just where the North Fork Licking River snakes under the highway south of the village, an old gas station stood between the railroad and the highway. It hadn’t been a working gas station for many years. On the mid-summer afternoon twenty years ago when we were there it was a fruit stand.
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