Across the Preacher's Desk: Two Gates

February 13, 2020 - According to the teachings of Jesus, every person is going through one of two gates. Either they are choosing to enter the narrow gate and the narrow way or they are choosing the broad way which leads through the broad gate.

Of course, these two ideas represent two ways of life. One represents the way of good while the other represents the way of evil. The thought taught by Jesus in Matthew 7 is that more people will follow the easy, popular way of life than the one prescribed in the scriptures.

Across the Preacher's Desk: Try Prayer!

February 6, 2020 - I read a quote not long ago that said, “If a congregation wants a better preacher, it can get one by praying for the one it has.” I thought to myself, how true that is not just for preachers, but for everyone. Often we complain about our families, friends, coworkers and neighbors, but of course nothing comes of that but more discontent. We try to change others and invariably fail. We must stop trying to change others by our power and allow the power of prayer to make the difference.

Across the Preacher’s Desk: Stubbornness

Across the Preacher's Desk: Consumerism and Christianity

January 23, 2020 - In our day and time, we have become obsessed with the consumer mentality. To be sure, it has permeated every aspect of our lives. We look for a restaurant with the best price, menu, atmosphere and location. We shop for clothes at a store that carries our size, has our taste in clothes and the best sales.

Sadly, many take this same attitude with them when it comes to church. To be sure, we call it “church shopping”.

Across the Preacher's Desk: Leaving The Lord

January 16, 2020 - Take a leafy branch from a tree. Lay it carefully aside and watch. Slowly the color fades, the leaves go limp, they curl up and it is dead.

Take a fish out of the lake. Lay it carefully on the sand and watch. Frantically it twists, and struggles and gradually weakens, moving its gills slower, then quivers and it is dead.

Living For Jesus in 2020

January 9, 2020 - I once read where someone said the most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap over a chasm in two jumps. That ranks right up there with the story of the young boy who cut his puppy’s tail off an inch at the time so it wouldn’t hurt so badly by cutting the entire tail off all at once. Both of those little stories illustrate the tragic mistake many people make about Jesus.

Across the Preacher’s Desk: No Room In The Inn

December 18, 2019 - There is a sad and tragic statement in the Gospel According to Luke in regard to the coming of our Savior into this world. Dr. Luke tells us that when Jesus came into the world he was “wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn”.

We read that passage through the prism of 2,000 years of history and are quick to speak harsh words about the innkeeper who forced Jesus to be born in a stable with the animals. We wonder why he could not have found a room for a woman who was great with child.

Across the Preacher’s Desk: Hurt Feelings

“Tis a sad, sad story they relate, These weak and foolish beings, Who never get through the day, But someone hurt their feelings.”

Across the Preacher’s Desk: Are We One of The Nine?

November 27, 2019 - Dr. Luke records a story for us in Luke 17 that occurred one day when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and was passing through Samaria and Galilee. Jesus was approached by ten lepers, miserable creatures afflicted with a horrific disease.

Across the Preacher’s Desk… Belonging To The Church

November 21, 2019 - A preacher one time was asked if a certain man and his wife belonged to the church where he preached. His reply was, “No, they do not belong to the church here. They are members, but they do not belong to the church.”

It’s like this,” the preacher explained. “neither their time, their affection, their energy, their money, nor their influence belong to the church.”

Shelby County Today

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Submitted by Tim Perkins