Prayer

Prayer

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In his book Falling in Love with Prayer (NexGen), Mike MacIntosh writes: “When I was a teenager I wanted so much to be accepted by my peers, and I decided that a foul mouth was a way to act like a man. I noticed that most men swore and told dirty stories. So by the time I was twenty years …

Easter

Easter

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This illustration will at least be understood by the older folks in your church: One Easter Sunday morning as the minister was preaching the children’s sermon, he reached into his bag of props and pulled out an egg. He pointed at the egg and asked the children, “What’s in here?” “I know!” a little boy exclaimed. “Pantyhose!”

Grace

Grace

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In a cartoon from Forbes magazine, a tycoon is sitting in a lush office explaining to his granddaughter where he got his vast wealth. He says, “It was really quite simple. I bought a pencil for a penny, sharpened it, and sold it for two cents. With this I bought two pencils, sharpened them, and sold them for four cents. …

Preaching

Preaching

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When the local doctor began attending church services the pastor was delighted, and it wasn’t long before they were helping each other in their work – the minister referring people to the doctor, and vice versa. One person who received a referral from the doctor called at the church office with a note prescribing the pastor’s last four sermons. The …

Easter

Easter

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The Call to Worship had just been pronounced starting the Easter Sunday service in an East Texas church. The choir started its processional, singing “Up from the Grave He Arose” as they marched in perfect step down the center aisle to the front of the church. The last lady was wearing shoes with very slender heels. Without a thought for …

Taxes

Taxes

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The IRS auditor looked sternly at the man across the desk and said, “It is your duty as a citizen to pay taxes, and we expect you to pay them with a smile.” The man immediately broke into a wide grin and said, “That’s great! I was afraid you expected me to pay them with cash!”

Jesus the Door

Jesus the Door

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In his Turning Point daily devotional, David Jeremiah writes: “When Lucy cracks open the wardrobe door in C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, she symbolically encounters a spiritual world. Through that door she meets the King of Beasts, Aslan, who Lewis uses to represent Jesus, the King of kings. “Twice in the Book of Revelation, we …

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

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In his book Taking The Risk Out of Dying, Les Griess reminds us of the cartoon strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin is a little boy with an overactive imagination and a stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who comes to life as his imaginary friend. In one cartoon strip, Calvin turns to his friend Hobbes and says, “I feel bad I called Susie …

Home, family, love

Home, House, Family

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A little boy named Danny lived with his family in a trailer. One day someone asked him, “Don’t you wish you had a real home?” Danny’s reply was wise beyond his years. He said, “We have a real home. We just don’t have a house to put it in.” A house and a home are very different. A house is …

Motivation

Motivation

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An older man is on the operating table awaiting surgery. He has insisted that his son, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation. He is about to receive the anesthesia when he asks to speak to his son. “Yes, Dad, what is it?” “Don’t be nervous, do your best, and just remember, if it doesn’t go well, if something happens to …