I remember one Sunday leaving a church service and asking a close friend for feedback on my preaching. The friend said, “Maybe you’re called to teach instead of preach.”  My friend was only confirming what I knew. The sermon didn’t go well, and it was my fault.  

Launching new groups is one of the most impactful ways to cultivate a disciple-making culture within the church. As we strive to create environments where people grow together in faith, we need to think strategically about how and when new groups are formed. Group launch days provide churches with the perfect opportunity to help members not currently involved in small groups find a place to belong and grow.

Pastor Joe McKeever shared about an experience his friend Ralph Bethea had while distributing Bibles in Russia after the fall of communism. Bethea visited an older gentleman who talked of abandoning communism and returning to his mother’s faith.

What drives you to your knees in prayer? A pastor friend said, as I was listening to him describe a remarkably difficult time in his pastorate, that this event was certainly causing him to pray, and in his words, “anything that makes you pray is a good thing.” 

I was helping train the staff of Canton Georgia’s First Baptist Church at a retreat center in Peachtree City when our session was interrupted by an unknown lady with a terrified look on her face, saying, “New York City is under attack.” A passenger plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Maybe you’ve heard about this courtroom exchange between the defense attorney and a farmer who filed a bodily injury claim.

The older I get the more I see shadows of my father in the things I do and enjoy. Whether it’s the gait with which I walk, my general suspicion of politics, or my obsession with some details and my apathy for others, you don’t have to be around me very long to recognize that I am my father’s son. Another enduring trait passed down from my dad is my unexplainable affection for the Andy Griffith Show.

To me, the idea of “first things first” has always made beautiful sense. Therefore, one might ask, “Just what is the first thing I should do?” There is one act that eclipses all other things in importance that one might possibly do on earth, and it must be done while living on earth. And that one most important of all things is trusting Jesus Christ as Savior through sincere belief in Him as God and in calling on Him for salvation.

It is mind-boggling and heartbreaking to learn that another school shooting has taken place in America, and this time in our beloved state of Georgia. Apalachee High School in Barrow County became the latest target for a deranged and troubled shooter on Wednesday morning.

In 1787, when Benjamin Franklin was walking out of the convention hall, a woman approached him and asked him a question regarding whether or not they had been given a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin responded by saying, “A republic, madam - if you can keep it.”

When we think of being a missionary, most people think of someone who goes to another foreign country to spread the Gospel.  However, as we see from the Scripture passage above, the Great Commission is not limited to foreign countries.

Have you ever thought about why a pigeon walks so awkwardly? In a devotional reading in Our Daily Bread, Martin De Haan shared a pigeon’s eyes cannot focus as it moves, so the bird actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to focus.  The pigeon proceeds clumsily – head forward, stop, head back.

Pride is possibly the one sin that God hates most. I am not talking about the pride you take in a job well done or the pride you have for your grandchildren. That kind of pride is innocent and even good. What God hates is the kind of pride in which one feels better than someone else

Years ago, while meeting with a group of clergymen in London, someone asked Billy Graham what he would change if he could do his ministry over again. Without hesitation, the famed evangelist stated that he "would study three times as much as he had done, and he would give much more time to prayer.”

RANGLEY, Maine — It was the best hotdog I have ever eaten. Coney Island hotdogs, Tony’s hotdogs of Norfolk, Virginia, and the famous Tony Pacos hotdogs of Toledo, Ohio were all great hotdogs. But that hotdog, in a parking lot where the Appalachian Trail crosses on Maine Route 4, near Rangely was the best I have ever eaten.

I recall the following saying from my childhood: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  Though this phrase has a nice ring to it, nothing could be further from the truth. 

Doctors Bryson and Taylor (Building Sermons to Meet People’s Needs) said, “What you think about the Bible will not change what the Bible is. However, what you think about the Bible will determine the person you become.” They went on to claim, “The Bible has been uniquely inspired, marvelously preserved, and thoroughly proven.”

Robert Robinson lost his father when he was just a boy. Life in England was tough during the 18th century, and his mother realized she could not support her son by herself. The now single mother’s solution was to send Robert to London for training to be a barber. While he was there, Robinson became a Christian through the ministry of George Whitfield and dedicated himself to gospel ministry.

​It’s time for Friday Night Lights! Cheerleaders cheering, the crowd roaring, the thud of helmets and pads colliding, the ref’s shrill whistle piercing the air, the laughter and silliness in the student section, the electric atmosphere...

A woman’s right to reproductive freedom is being championed by politicians, Planned Parenthood, The Brigid Alliance, Reproductive Freedom for All (formally NARAL), the National Abortion Federation, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Democratic Socialists of America, the Democratic Party, Republicans for Choice, Party for Socialism and Liberation, The Libertarian Party, the Green Party of the U. S., Joy of Satan Ministries and many other political, professional and religious organizations.

2 Chronicles 7:14 has been the subject of thousands of sermons over the years.  I have several that employ 2 Chron. 7:14 among the more than two thousand sermons that are saved on my computer.  It is a seminal passage that, if followed, would make a distinct difference in the way our world looks today.

Preaching the Word of God is a true calling and should be undertaken with total effort and the utmost seriousness. Some people preach for selfish reasons or personal gain.

Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin!  The lyrics of this old hymn were as familiar to me as the pulpit from which my pastor preached in my home church.

Churches with successful Sunday School and small-group ministries seem have a good understanding of the following six key areas. These churches are consistently working to evaluate and adjust in these areas to ensure success.

Two psychiatrists reconnected at their 20th class reunion. One looked as though he had just graduated. The other appeared, as the expression goes,  “rode hard and put up wet.” Though the same age as his colleague, he looked much older — wrinkled and worn.