Stephen, here are my off-the-cuff suggestions to encourage Richard the young preacher.
- Guard your life with God jealously. Let no work interfere with your relationship with the Lord. Make your time with him in prayer, reading, and meditation a priority.
Richard is a fine Christian man and I believe he will be a good preacher.
Why am I sharing this with TFR? For two reasons: (1) I hope you will pray for Richard. There are some advantages to his current situations and some disadvantages. I pray the former will outweigh the latter. (2) If you have any words of encouragement for Richard, please share them and I will pass them along to Richard. We need to encourage all preachers, but especially young ones.
More on this young preacher at the link above, where you also may insert into the comments area your encouragement, so that Stephen may have them all in one place.
Some estimates indicate that about two billion people worldwide watched Prince William and Kate Middleton marry Friday morning in London. I wish them a long and happy married life together, but that is not what excites me. During the ceremony, most or all of the 12th chapter of Romans was read aloud. It is rare to hear any portion of Scripture read on secular television, but about 30% of the world's population heard Romans 12 yesterday. (There might be a good sermon idea there -- What the World Heard at the Royal Wedding -- many much-needed messages can be taught from the text of Romans 12). Let's pray that indeed the Lord will bless the reading of his word. [Isaiah 55:11].
--John Gaines, on the GospelPreachers Yahoo email list.
Dale and Adam let two ministers from the state of Alabama inform you about the damage from recent tornadoes, and tell you how you can help in the recovery efforts.
iPreach is part of the family of quality Christian podcasts on The Equip Network.
There's also the story on BNc: http://brotherhoodnews.com
I read Acts 28, our NT reading for today, some days back, and since then the Republic of Malta has been on my mind and in my prayers. I wonder if we have any work going on in that country? It’s a fascinating place, from some of the reading I’ve done. (Isn’t every place?) Does anyone know if any of our people are there?
These links here and here seem to point to a work going on, but I know nothing about them.
In the midst of military victories for King David (2 Samuel 10 and 12) we find him experiencing personal defeat in his own life. His actions also impacted his relationship with God -- having displeased Him (2 Samuel 11:27) -- and would bring about consequences within his own family as well. (2 Samuel 12:11)
Details well the progression of David's sin with Bathsheba, so that we may avoid temptation in our own lives. Good for teens and adults.
The distinction God makes between a murder and other killings is clear. While we may not agree with the way our government uses the death penalty there can be no debate as to its validity. Those guilty of murder may indeed be deserving of death but even so our attitude about it should be that of God: "Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death" (Numbers 35:31).
via freegroups.net
In 1999, the Church of England issued a 9-page statement on the church’s position on marriage that includes a reference to the union as between a man and a woman. Under the heading “Why is Marriage Important,” the statement says marriage comes from God.
“Marriage is a pattern that God has given in creation, deeply rooted in our social instincts, through which a man and a woman may learn love together over the course of their lives,” the statement says.
via cnsnews.com
Baptism is not a requirement of salvation, but it is a requirement of obedience.
If obedience is necessary for eternal salvation, as it most certainly is according to Hebrews 5:9, since Jesus "became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him," then how can baptism be a requirement of obedience but not of salvation? This denominational doctrine is a clear and direct contradiction of all New Testament teaching, both on baptism and on obedience.
From Charles Talbert's commentary on Ephesians and Colossians.