Pray Network Forum

WITH THE WILD ANIMALS

The Gospel of Mark begins like thunder, with the prophecy of Isaiah and the ministry of John the Baptist. In rapid succession Mark runs through the events leading up to the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Then Mark rushes on without giving us the details of His temptation found in Matthew and Luke. But he gives a quiet detail not found in the other Gospels. Look with me at Mark 1:13

“And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him”

What does it mean that Jesus was with the wild animals? I think we can see some implications of this. And in bringing these out I need to admit that these are only implied. They may not be completely accurate. But they are worth thinking about.

First, this implied courage. Wild animals are dangerous. Wolves and wild dogs ran in packs in Israel in those days. Syrian Brown Bears were still in the area, as were many kinds of poisonous serpents. Weakness was a major part of our Lord's incarnation. And His vulnerability was at the heart of His temptation in the wilderness. To automatically assume that God would have protected Him would be very like the Muslim reason for not believing Jesus died on the cross. They say God would not have allowed His prophet to die in such a shameful way.

You also have to assume that Jesus was quiet. One important difference between humans and animals in the wild is quiet. Both predators and prey make very little noise. I suspect some of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness was agonizing. But Matthew 12 quotes from Isaiah 42.

“He will not quarrel or cry aloud,

   nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

a bruised reed he will not break,

   and a smouldering wick he will not quench,

until he brings justice to victory.”

If He was not quiet, Jesus wouldn't have seen wild animals.

And we have to assume Jesus could be still. I have a nephew who could coax animals to come to him when he was a child. I saw a black squirrel climb up his leg as he sat on a bench in a park in Vancouver, BC. They wouldn't come within 40 feet of other people. He was not old enough to start school when, on a visit with us, he caught a mouse in his hand. The mouse did bite him. But I couldn't have caught the mouse with a net. And whatever characteristics went into his unusual ability, the most obvious was persistent stillness. Jesus must have been very still as well.

Jesus must also have been at peace. Animals can sense when humans around them are disturbed. And they respond appropriately. Jesus had to have been somewhat disturbed by temptation. But at least between times of trial, He must have had an underlying peace that the animals could sense.

And of course He must have shown great tenderness toward the animals. Few things demonstrate the depravity of man as clearly as cruelty to animals.

I believe all this gives evidence of our Lord's authority over nature. There is not a great deal of difference in-kind here, from His ability to walk on water, calm a storm, or heal the sick. But if we think of His authority, as we sometimes think of human authority, overpowering those to whom it is applied, I believe we are thinking wrong. In Matthew 11 Jesus called to us with the same authority, that He said at the end of Matthew's Gospel had been given Him over Heaven and Earth. But in Matthew 11:28-30 He invites us.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

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I have recently been made more aware of serious problems in our nation, and of spiritual attack in the lives of people that I love. These things are frustrating. And one of the most frustrating factors in my seeing these things is that I cannot see anything I can do to have any appreciable effect. But while I cannot help in the physical realm, I know I can have great effect in the spiritual realm where the real battle will be fought. Paul wrote about this in 2 Corinthians 10. Verse 3 says as much.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.”

I am not exactly sure how to apply this truth. Paul is warning people who have not repented of sins against the church that he is coming with spiritual authority. But how he applies this seems to fit a much larger set of circumstances, including those that I am dealing with right now. Look at the following verses. Verse 4 reads,

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”

Paul says the weapons of spiritual warfare are not fleshly efforts. They do not come by screaming at people, although God can speak thunderously.  On a broader scale, they are not political, although they can affect governments. When Paul says they demolish strongholds, he is talking about the strongholds of demonic forces in the world and in the lives of people, sometimes even believers. This certainly describes things I have seen in the lives of people who cannot seem to let go of attitudes that are destroying them and others. It also applies to some who are being attacked by jealousy, intrigue, and infighting among colleagues. And I can see this in the culture of my own country, and around the world.

We see something of how this works in verse 5.

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

How do we confound ungodly arguments? Let me point out three crucial factors. The first is love. God's love for people will often overcome opposition. When we speak of spirituality, we have to include all the fruit of the the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. But possibly the most powerful of them is agape, the infinite, ultimate love of God in our lives. Next is spiritual knowledge. This must begin with the gospel by which lives are transformed. Sometimes this means simply speaking the truth even when it is opposed. When he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus just quoted Scripture. He did not convince Satan, but Jesus was not swayed by the temptation.

Finally, and many ways most important is prayer. In Ephesians 6:10-17 Paul gives us what are mostly defensive weapons. But in verse 18 he concludes with the power of prayer.

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

We break the power of the enemy by prayer. We extend the Kingdom of God by praying. And we can trust the power of God as we become more and more intimate with Him. You may not see revival as you pray. But you can know God is at work. And you never see revival without extraordinary prayer. You may not avoid evil in this world. Abraham interceded for Sodom. But it was still destroyed. Jesus could have avoided the cross. But I am so thankful that He did not. You will not be able to to keep the Antichrist from rising in the last days. But you will be able to endure all that comes upon the Earth. And you can build a shelter of prayer around those you pray for. And again and again you will turn the hearts of those for whom you pray back to the God of the Bible.

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From my @PhilNPPN archive ~

Pray TV Interviews:

Segment 01 / Dr. Roberto Miranda Interviews Phil Miglioratti

Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i53zyXALBl8

God bless America.  That is the poorest excuse for a prayer I’ve ever heard.

Americans bark out that demand hundreds of times every minute of every day.  That phrase has no humility.  That phrase has no confession of need.  That phrase offers no supplication.

Issuing this command to God is blasphemous.

A proper prayer for God’s blessing would be, at a minimum, “God, please bless America.”

A more appropriate prayer would be, “God, we have pushed you to the sidelines.  You Remain there Waiting for us to ask for Your Help.  Please, God, Restore America’s heart for You.  Make our nation receptive once more to Your Divine Counsel.  Make us again a house that accepts Your Blessing.”

America began as a God fearing nation.  Now, as a nation, I fear much of America has no place for God—but still we demand His Blessing.  U.S. Presidents call for this blessing of America as if the powers of Commander in Chief extend to the heavens.

By its faith, America used to receive Divine answers to its problems.  Now Americans believe that they alone can divine all the necessary solutions.  How is that working out for us?

Repeating all the stories of chaos and discord is unnecessary.  No American can escape what is happening.

I believe in God: man not so much.  America, once of God, is now of man.

Thus, by faith, I can no longer pledge allegiance to America.  So I will offer a “Prayer for Allegiance.”

I pray Allegiance with the Lord,

whose Kingdom is in Heaven,

And with the Savior, His Only Son,

One God, in Three Persons, indivisible,

with Salvation for all who believe.

 May God forgive the United States of America.

Significantly spiritual dreams and visions are not uncommon for Muslims to have during Ramadan. Pray that the Father would pour Himself out to our friends through the supernatural as they participate in Ramadan. Pray for believers in the Arabian Gulf to be open to the Spirit's leading as they interact and engage with locals. 

At sunset, there is a meal called Iftar that signifies the breaking of the fast.  After sunset prayers, another meal called Suhoor occurs.  During Ramadan, these meals are significant and are often a time for big gatherings of family/friends.  Pray that believers would have opportunities to attend Iftar or Suhoor meals with local friends and that they would be able to connect with, and build relationship with, their families.  Pray for walls to come down between locals and expats.

Ramadan is a month where cousins tend to have increased focus and discipline towards the Koran and to their prayers. There are often reports of locals feeling a nearness to God because of the good things they are doing during this month.  Pray that there would be a lingering dissatisfaction and an overall feeling of being unfulfilled with the relationship they have with God during Ramadan. Pray that their increased time in the Koran would breed questions and critical thinking.

Check out PTAP's Facebook page for more prayer info during Ramadan:

https://facebook.com/PRAYTAP

Click below to download PTAP's 30 Day Ramadan 2019 prayer guide.  This is a guide to help you pray for the Arabian Peninsula in particular.  So let's unite our hearts in prayer during the 30 days of Ramadan for God to build his church in the AP!

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001o-5oXt_8F1-zV7uytv2nsbWAQ8TvudWkc_oenNjwtsbjoaDUOZKcG2Qs2TDLdRcj9ROEe3ejLN11j4vXwUBdzRPO9MZUAIY_417QF1M1pad06yPZOGz2Pg9vTO5BQguLVoY0znQ_IlFYa8iMLN35vI4X9JdV_bzinw_j1CHtZA1xxdZqfP2wQYQMWzMtug6toIJ1KEWUYZ5SJ6C4zlL0qC5UFYNcMQCH9iV9CvucNcAPIMrIAhmkRACOZ0z4QLDP&c=GBlWO3VkRfKJ2q8gJ34V1FBq0L8WxgFA16Io1VAfc6-qjdmNJh8KJA==&ch=Fyt82L6SINUlfDKThi1OxAm1xGNrTZcTWRs5r-2scD5y8-7ZBW6-kg==

Effective preaching must be preceded by effectual praying. Occasionally, the King James Version of the Bible still has a better choice of words than more modern translations. That’s why I prefer the KJV for James 5:16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Assuming the righteous status of the preacher, effectual praying produces effective preaching. It matters little whether the sermon is categorized as textual, expository, topical, or the currently popular term, text-driven, a sermon will only reach its maximum potential if it comes from God through the preacher, rather than simply from the preacher to the people. In other words, before the preacher stands to preach, he should knell to pray. In his book, “Power Through Prayer” E.M. Bounds wrote, “Talking to men for God is a great thing but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men.” So, the preacher should never talk to the people about God until he has talked to God about the people! I have a copy of a cartoon which pictures a preacher in the pulpit with a concerned look on his face. The caption says, “It occurs to Rev. Jones in the midst of point #2 that point #3 misses the point entirely.” The way to prevent this from happening is to pray through the preparation, as well as the presentation of the sermon. As a member of the congregation, one should assume the role of faithful intercessor. Praying for the preacher is a vital and helpful act of worship preparation. So, whether you are the preacher or a member of the audience, the way to receive the maximum message from a sermon is to spend time with God prior to its delivery. If not already active in this, try it for your next worship service.

Guest blog Written by Sherry Schuman

Grandparents Day of Prayer and National Grandparents Day are similar but not the same. To understand their similarities and differences, we need to examine both, starting with National Grandparents Day.

National Grandparents Day

After a three-year battle that began in 1970, West Virginia housewife Marian McQuade convinced her state Congress to commemorate grandparents with a special day. This commemoration honored grandparents, provided them an opportunity to express their love for their grandchildren, and raise community awareness about the gifts grandparents can offer. The flower of the U.S. National Grandparents Day is the forget-me-nots.

Five years later, the United States Congress passed legislation declaring the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. They selected September because September denotes the autumn season of life. President Jimmy Carter gave his endorsement by signing the proclamation.

Grandparents Day of Prayer

In 2010, author Lillian Penner suggested a day of prayer to coincide with National Grandparents Day. Thanks to Mrs. Penner’s efforts, churches around the world observe Grandparents Day of Prayer. They encourage grandparents to pray for their grandchildren, both in private and corporate settings.

• Do you recognize the importance of praying for your grandchildren and their parents?
• Do you want to encourage others to pray for their grandchildren?
• If so, may I suggest hosting an event to celebrate Grandparents Day of Prayer?

You may want to host a prayer breakfast or a luncheon following your morning worship. Or you may want to offer an afternoon tea or evening dessert in your home. Perhaps your minister is willing to address the importance of praying grandparents and set aside a special prayer time during the worship service. The possibilities are endless. It is imperative; however, grandparents gather to pray for their grandchildren.

Conclusion

Both Grandparents Day of Prayer and National Grandparents Day occur on the first Sunday after Labor Day. This year's date is September 9th. Both commemorate the vital role of grandparent’s play in the family. The fundamental difference between the two is Grandparents Day of Prayer encourages grandparents to pray for the hearts, souls, and minds of their grandchildren.

We are asking grandparents throughout the world to unite in prayer for their grandchildren and their parents. We realize that Grandparents Day in your country may not be on September 9 this year. We would like you to participate on your Grandparents Day making it a day of prayer whenever it is observed.

On our website, christiangrandparenting.net/grandparents-day-of-prayer/,you will find two ways that you can participate in Grandparents’ Day of Prayer.

1. You can pray. Click Here to Signup and Download your copy of the 30-Day Challenge. Participants who register will receive an eBook “30 days of Prayers for your Grandchildren”.
2. You can gather and lead other grandparents in prayer. If you are willing to organize a Grandparents’ Day of Prayer event in your church, home, retirement complexes, etc., click on “To find out more about becoming a volunteer.” to follow the process. You too will receive the eBook “30 Days of Prayers for your Grandchildren”.

If you realize the urgency for a Day of Prayer for our grandchildren and their parents, will you help us call grandparents to join in prayer on September 8th? Christian Grandparenting Network is prepared to provide step-by-step guidelines, resources, and online tools for creating successful events.

Please check our website grandparentsdayofprayer.comfor more information, testimonials, promotional materials and free downloads.

For additional information or if you have any questions, please contact me.

Thank you for your consideration to participate in this event.

Guest blog by Sherry Schumann, Co-Prayer Director for Christian Grandparenting Network, Sherry@christiangrandparenting.net

If you have questions or additional information, email

Lillian Penner, lpenner@christiangrandparentinng.netor

Deborah Haddix, Deborah@deborahhaddix.com, Coordinators.

Ramadan 2019 starts this year on May 5 or May 6 depending where you are in the world. 

Click below to download PTAP's 30 Day Ramadan 2019 prayer guide in PDF form.  This is a guide to help you pray for the Arabian Peninsula in particular.  So let's unite our hearts in prayer during the 30 days of Ramadan for God to build his church in the AP!

http://pray-ap.info/downloads/AP%20Ramadan%202019%20Prayer%20Guide.pdf

Also check out PTAP's Facebook page for more prayer info during Ramadan:  facebook.com/PRAYTAP

Ramadan 2019 starts this year on May 5 or May 6 depending where you are in the world. 

Click below to download PTAP's 30 Day Ramadan 2019 prayer guide in PDF form.  This is a guide to help you pray for the Arabian Peninsula in particular.  So let's unite our hearts in prayer during the 30 days of Ramadan for God to build his church in the AP!

http://pray-ap.info/downloads/AP%20Ramadan%202019%20Prayer%20Guide.pdf

Also check out PTAP's Facebook page for more prayer info during Ramadan:  facebook.com/PRAYTAP

“The Prayer-Shaped Disciple” - It’s the name of the textbook I wrote for use in Seminary classes on prayer. It is also the name of the seminar I lead occasionally in churches. I led such a seminar in a church in west Texas earlier this month and will lead one in a church in Oklahoma next month. It is often the title of a sermon series I preach where I serve as Interim Pastor. To be shaped in the image of Jesus is to be prayer-shaped. He prayed at his baptism, He prayed from His cross, and He prayed all the way in-between. The most used verb in the ministry of Jesus was the verb, “to pray.” After all that they had experienced, His disciples requested that He teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). According to the writer of Hebrews, Jesus is even on this day, interceding for us, in prayer with the Father (Hebrews 7:25). Prayer is the priority of the Christian life. Oswald Chambers wrote, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” The more nearly we are shaped in the image of Jesus, the more nearly the world will be shaped by prayer. Mother Teresa said it this way, “God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil." At the beginning of each semester, I would say to my Seminary students, that everything you need to do ministry, properly, comes from God. So how can you minister effectively without being shaped in His image through prayer? Prolific prayer author, E.M. Bounds wrote, “Prayer makes a godly man, and puts within him the mind of Christ . . . and of prayer. If we really pray, we will become more like God, or else we will quit praying.” What kind of spiritual shape are you in?

STORYTELLING

When I was a boy, our pastor was Dr. Max Stanfield. That may not mean anything to you if you are not from Oklahoma, and now, if you are not really old. Dr. Max died in the dark ages when I was 13. But he was a marvellous preacher, and a wonderful pastor. He had been a college football player, and a collegiate champion debater. Above all else, I remember Max as a consummate storyteller. He used to tell the character stories in our two week Vacation Bible School. And he held hundreds of kids spellbound as he told the stories. In those days our church was growing rapidly. And Max was a very busy man. So it was not uncommon for Max to be called away when he was supposed to tell the story. And we were always terribly disappointed when someone else had to tell it. They just couldn't make a story come alive like Max.

As I said, Max died when I was 13. And yet the full length of my pastoral ministry, nearly 50 years, I told stories that I remember Max using in his sermons.” I am tempted to tell one or two of them to you now. But I believe Max would agree with me, that the most important stories you can tell in your preaching are directly from the Bible.

Telling Bible stories is a marvellous way of conveying truth. There is a biblical principle here. If I were to ask which parables of Jesus you remember, I would not be surprised if some of you could remember all of them. And I suspect, some of you could tell 20 or more Old Testament stories off the top of your head. Why is that? It is because good stories stick in your heart and mind.

I once heard Dr. Clyde Fant, Preaching Professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, tell about developing and cultivating storytelling skills for preaching, by telling stories to his children and grandchildren. Teaching children may be a mark of Christ-like ministry. And you can always find children who will listen to stories.

You may be aware that one of the greatest breakthroughs in missions in the past 30 years has been what is called Orality. Many of the yet unreached people groups in the world do not have a written language, or do not have the Bible translated for them to read. And many people do not read well, for one reason or another, even in America. Groups like Wycliffe Bible Translators are making great progress in translating scripture into new languages. But while they are learning the languages and cultures, they tell them Bible stories, and train new believers to tell the stories to others.

Frankly, I believe some of you would do well in your situation, to simply tell Bible stories for most or all of your sermons. This is actually a type of Expository Preaching. Have you ever heard R.G. Lee’s Payday Someday? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZepT-czgU When I preached story sermons, I would do the background work I wrote about in a previous blog.

Tim Ahlen, (http://fmbcdallas.church/speaker/877/) Pastor of Forest Meadow Baptist Church in Dallas Texas, may be the ultimate practitioner of this method, although I know many people who know much more about it than I. I have heard Tim tell a Bible story twice for the same sermon, taking a few minutes in between to emphasize the main truths of the story. When I did this, and I did it quite a bit, I would explain to my people that I was telling the story twice to help fix it in their minds. And I would encourage them to tell the story to someone else that week.

Another friend of mine, J.O. Terry, (https://www.google.com/search?q=j.o.+terry&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS729US731&oq=J.O.+TErry&aqs=chrome.0.35i39.9404j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) has developed Orality Networks across the world, and taught orality at Southwestern Seminary. He has done orality training in many countries with The International Mission Board, and through connections with other missions agencies. He teaches people to use groups of stories that relate to certain themes. In a recent email he wrote, “We are not necessarily trying to teach a single story, the use of longer story clusters helps to fix a story, it helps to increase the intensity or feeling about a story, and it tells the consequences or rewards of a key story.” Storytellers use his methods in many countries overseas. And they apply to the human condition everywhere.

I know of no better source for Bible Story Training for missions, and for preaching, than books J.O. has written. They include,

BASIC BIBLE STORYING,

GRIEF STORIES, good news for those with stories of misfortune and grief,

WATER STORIES FROM THE BIBLE: Stories leading to the living water and the invitation in the Bible for all to come and drink,

THE EBENEZER STORIES: discipleship stories for women,

HOPE STORIES FROM THE BIBLE,

STORYTELLING FOR CHURCH PLANTERS,

BIBLE STORYING, drawing the net, and others.

These are all available on Amazon.com.

Whether you use the stories as your entire sermon, or simply tell several good stories in every sermon, a good preacher will learn to be a great storyteller.

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YouTube

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I am writing a novel right now. And I have a certain perspective on the process. According to Jerry Jenkins, who wrote the Left Behind Series, and actually several other experienced authors, there are basically two kinds of fiction writers. Some are out-liners. There is an integrity to this kind of writing. And in fact, this includes writers, like Davis Bunn and others whose writings I love.

But I am not an out-liner. I am what is called a seat-of-the-pantser. I write by the seat of my pants. Stephen King wrote one of the best explanations I have ever heard of this. He said, “I put my characters in difficult situations and write to see what they will do.”

I am not sure who said this first. I remember laughing as I read it several years ago. But when I Googled the statement, I found at least three other novelists said it. But as I first read it a novelist got an angry letter from a fan saying, “You killed my favorite character!” She wrote back, “I didn't kill him. I found him dead.”

I actually suspect this is just as true of the out-liner as it is of us seat-of-the-pantsers. But I am often surprised by what happens in a story. I too am shocked. I am saddened. I have even written with tears of of grief or joy in my eyes.

There is a real sense in which I discover the story as I am writing. In The Mind of The Maker, Dorothy Sayers compares our creativity to the creative work of God Himself. One of the things I took away from that book, is that our highest creativity comes as we personally connect with God. And I am convinced that God who is omniscient knows what I am writing. And in fact, it is His story, not mine. I have the privilege of discovering the story that I am writing with God's help.

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Website

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It is important for us to know that Jesus chose to be crucified on Passover. He could have chosen any day of the year. He could have chosen any of the Jewish holy days. He could have chosen the feast of Tabernacles, celebrating the miracles of His grace. He could have chosen the solemn Day of Atonement. But He chose the most comprehensive of celebrations, Passover.

For some time He had actually been telling His Disciples this was going to happen. And Matthew 26 begins with Him telling them He would be handed over to be crucified at the Passover in two days. At that point the Chief Priests and elders were still saying they would do it after the feast, lest the people riot. But he was insisting that they were wrong about what they would do.

He sent some of His closest disciples to someone they didn't know, to tell him, “My time has come. I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.” And when He said, “Do this in reminder of me,” He was speaking of the Passover.
Look with me at some of the significance of the Passover from Exodus 6:6-8.

“Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’”

First, we celebrate Him as Lord. We trust our lives to Him. As He delivered the Children of Israel from the burden of slavery in Egypt, He frees us from the slavery of sin and worldliness. As He demonstrated His power to deliver Israel from Egypt, He works mightily in our lives.

Next, He brought them out of slavery in Egypt to the Land of Promise. And He promises an eternal home, and eternal rewards.

He cared for them even in judgment. And He has promised to direct our lives as He guided them through the wilderness. And while our journey, like theirs, will be long, He will go with us, and guide us through it.

He takes us to be His own people, to know and love us. We will be His People. And He will be our God. All of this is included in the Passover until all of it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.

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Website

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YouTube

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Quotes to Enrich Your Easter were posted by Craig Lounsbrough, M. Div., LPC at www.craiglpc.com/quotes-enrich-easter/. The quotes were shared with me by Phil Miglioratti. I would like to share the points The Lord Showed me from these quotes and, where relevant, to what He specifically Led me.

Quote: “God did for us what He did not need done for Himself.”
He Led me to: God is so powerful, that He could Save us by telling us to eat cotton candy. He could Do It just by His Own Will. His Desire to save His creations is that Strong. But He knew that humans would never have believed that would work.

Quote: “Sooner or later I will realize that the very things I most desperately need are the very things I am unable to give myself.”

Quote: “I am wholly deserving of all the consequences that I will in fact never receive simply because God unashamedly stepped in front of me on the cross…”

Quote: “Perfect majesty that deliberately chose to be born into abject poverty, walk a road of perpetual poverty, and be unjustly executed in the raw nakedness of poverty is utterly ludicrous unless I realize that this is the single and sole way that God can reach me… “
He Led me to: God not only knew me before I was born. He also understood what it was to be human before Jesus ever set foot on the earth.

Quote: “And is it possible that God had to do the impossible to finally get our attention?”
He Led me to: YES! Even then many do not pay attention.

Quote: “There are an incalculable number of things within me that I frantically wish to be emptied of, and despite my most earnest efforts to remove them, they remain.”
He Led me to: 2 Corinthians 12:7b-9a. “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

Then, in the silence, He Led me to: One of the things that needs #Reimagining among Christians is Easter Sunday Resurrection Celebration Day.

Gracious Resurrection Day,
Rick Skiba

If you want to #learn to #PRAY.

Get around #PeopleWhoPRAY.

Every week when I was a pastor, I did what I called walking my sermons. Although this depends on the Biblical foundations I wrote about last week, I believe it is the most valuable advice I can give preachers.

The sermon is an oral event. It is what Marshall McLuhan called a hot medium of communication. I would argue that you should not write out a sermon, and then try to memorize it, trying to translate from writing, a cool medium, to the heat.

After I had read my text aloud many times, some before a mirror, and worded my points, I was ready to compose my sermon. I would literally go outside and walk, rain, snow, or shine. As I walked I would preach over everything that came to mind about each point. Several times over the years I had deacons or leadership kid me about this practice. But they admitted they liked the results. As far as I know, others in the church didn't know about it. In fact, I think people thought my sermons just came to me out of the blue, and they were made uncomfortable, when I talked about the process.

Although I was doing this long before I had heard about Prayer-Walking, what I did was similar. One big difference came when I saw people. In Prayer-Walking I would walk toward people praying for them as I drew near. In walking my sermons I usually prayed briefly for people I saw. But I would walk the other direction. God has called some of you to large enough cities that avoiding people is impossible. But there, they will ignore you, if you are not too loud or acrobatic.

As I walked, I would preach everything that came into my mind on each point. I would sometimes preach up to an hour on a point, although it usually didn't take so long to preach a single point. You might think that would make my sermons too long. But it had the opposite effect. I would automatically know what fit the sermon, and what did not. I held the conviction that if I could say the same thing in less time, I had said it better. Brevity is force.

Preaching everything that came to mind also seemed to add a depth to what I preached. It settled a broader understanding in my mind.

After I had preached the entire sermon over, I would usually know how to frame my introduction in a way that would grip the attention of my people, and lead into the rest of the sermon. My introduction usually came from something I knew connected with the entire sermon. And at least for my Sunday morning sermon, I would preach the shortened version over at least one more time.

But what about notes? First, notes are a cooling factor in your sermon. Worse, if you stumble, it is often over your notes. I would mark scriptures in my Bible that I would rather read than quote. And on rare occasions I would take quotations into the pulpit. With this method you only need to go into the pulpit with your introduction and points in mind. Your illustrations and applications will simply come as ways of making each point.

Some of you, possibly very few of you these days, may know that I regularly published sermon material in PROCLAIM and other magazines over the years. But I did not write out sermons, or even illustrations, until I had preached them to my people. In this way I hoped to keep the fire of the sermon as I translated into print.

So, will this method work for you? I am convinced that it will. But you will not know if you can do this until you have tried. If you have difficulty, you can contact me, daveswatch@gmail.com. I will check this account at least once a week. If you wish to talk to me, I will give you contact information.

However you do it, Preach The Word!

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

Website

http://daveswatch.com/

YouTube

https://goo.gl/PyzU

What I am teaching in these blog posts is expository or direct Biblical preaching. I believe there is a place for topical preaching and apologetic, or subject teaching. But I believe you will find great power in sharing what God has to say to people in His word.

THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTION

AND

BIBLICAL BEDROCK

OF THE SERMON

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

John 14:10

In preaching God must strike the hearts of people with the lightning of His presence. The first important factor in connecting to that is your own relationship with God, ultimately, consistently and immediately.

Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:28

The sermon must be anchored on the bedrock of God’s word.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

2 Timothy 4:1,2

I actually think these 5 things are essential to sermon preparation.

Get yourself right.

Read yourself full.

Think yourself clear.

Pray yourself hot.

Preach yourself out.

This is not necessarily a sequence. God can give seeds of sermon ideas in any order.

What I have below is a good general order for laying a solid foundation for your sermon. I call it Serback for sermon background thinking.

SERBACK

TEXT:

Determine the specific Bible text you are going to preach. It can be long or short.

C.I.T.:

(Central idea of the text) A simple sentence that states the heart of the passage. This generally needs to be in the past tense. It states what the passage said to the people who first heard it.

   FOCUS:

 You can focus on a specifics in a passage. For instance a sermon on John 3:16 may focus on the love of God, the gift of God, the Son of God, believing in God, not parishing, or eternal life.

PEOPLE:

 You need a clear picture of the people you are addressing. The first distinction is Believers or Unbelievers. And you may know other things about the people who will hear you.

                Felt Need:

              I have noted 11 basic human needs. You need to think about this yourself. I suspect many of you will come up with more needs.            

                         PHYSICAL NEEDS             

1. Sustenance
2. Security

EMOTIONAL NEEDS

3. Comfort
4. Wonder
5. Truth
6. Righteousness
7. Forgiveness
8. Divine Connection
9. Significance
10. Purpose
11. Ultimate security

PURPOSE OF THIS SERMON:

There are at least 6 major biblical purposes for a sermon. These are followed by a specific purpose which is stated as a simple sentence beginning with, “I want my hearers to . . .” You need to determine the major and specific purpose of each sermon.

1. Doctrinal; “I want my hearers to know…” or “understand…”
2. Devotional; “Praise God for. . .”
3. Evangelistic; “I want my hearers to give their lives to Christ.”
4. Consecrative/Actional; “I want my hearers to commit to…” or “I want my hearers to (do)…”
5. Supportive; “I want my hearers to be comforted.”
6. Promotional; (This is a type of consecrative sermon promoting a specific cause or program.)

If you do not know how you want your hearers to respond they will not know when you are finished.

THRUST:

This will be a simple sentence corresponding to your specific purpose statement, such as “Accept Christ as Savior and Lord.” This is not unlike the thesis of an essay.

PICTURE:

You need to find a visualization of what you are saying. Jesus did this with the parables. “Behold, a sower went out to sow.”

     Emotion:

      Your picture will always draw certain emotions. It will help you to think about what emotion you wish to strike. Some legitimate emotions are joy, humility, sorrow, fear, anger, conviction, and submission. To some extent the emotion you strike in your visualization will apply to the entire sermon, although each element, possibly each sentence may strike a separate emotion. (One of my favorite preachers did not think this was helpful to him. He thought deciding ahead of time what emotion to strike would be contrived.)

                Reason:

  Any emotion can be misused. I think it is valuable to note the reason you want to elicit a certain emotion.

URGENCY:

  Determine why this sermon urgent for people to hear. You will find that settling this will be crucial to stirring the hearts of people. There are several reasons for urgency that sermons may touch.

1. Truth
2. Danger
3. Value
4. Necessity
5. Imminence

CONNECTION TO THE GOSPEL:

Every sermon needs to connect the the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will often need to think about a Scripture passage for some time, before you see how its truth links to the gospel.

CHARISMATA:

I think it is worth noting which spiritual gifts you are asking God to give you in the sermon. Of course, you want to be open to whatever He decides to give. Several of the listed gifts are obviously part of preaching.

1. Prophesy

The word prophecy does not primarily speak of prediction in Scripture, although it can. It is a word for speaking from and for God.

2. Evangelism
3. Teaching
4. Encouragement
5. Leadership
6. Spiritual Discernment
7. Mercy
8. Tongues

In Acts 2 each person heard in their own dialect. Everyone has their own heart language. Especially when I have preached through an interpreter, I prayed for that miracle. I believe it is more often needed than we think even when everyone speaks your language.

POINTS:

Charles Swindoll calls these principles emphasizing the importance of what you are saying.

It is good to think your points out so that they can all be drawn out of a single sentence.

Here are some examples.

YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A TRUST.             

Matthew 25:14-30

“A Trust Includes The Responsibility of Faithfulness.”

“A Trust Includes The Risk of Faithfulness.”

“A Trust Includes The Reward of Faithfulness.”

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS

John 11:17-27

“Do You Believe This Ultimately?”

“Do You Believe This Immediately?”

“Do You Believe This Intimately?”

Linking points in a single sentence can be more effective than using parallelism like rhymes or alliteration in giving people something to remember.

When you have finished these foundations, you can compose your sermon.

Next week I will suggest a most unusual means of preparing a sermon that I believe will unleash the power of God in your preaching.

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

Website

http://daveswatch.com/

YouTube

https://goo.gl/PyzU