December 2006

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Issue #290:
How to be used by God this Christmas

All of us in ministry want to be used by God. We want our lives to count. Mary gives us a great example of someone whom God used in incredible ways. What can we learn from her this Christmas season that can help us become more usable in 2007?
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Published Wed, Dec 20 2006 12:00 AM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Issue Archives
A Christmas wrapped in praise

Jesus got his rightly deserved praise, alright. But notice, it didn’t come from people who were necessarily famous or outstanding in society. No, the praise Jesus received came from ordinary folk – but then again, these individuals were actually quite...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:49 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Perspectives, A Christmas wrapped in praise
How to be used by God this Christmas

God is not arbitrary about who he chooses to use. The Bible says, "God is looking for people to use." And if you'll get useable, God will wear you out. You haven’t really lived until you experience being used by God to bless somebody else...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:49 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Purpose-Driven Pastor, How to be used by God this Christmas
Bible Bytes -- 12/18/2006

"And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:30 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Bible Bytes
The joy of giving

God is much more interested in our motive for giving than in the gift itself. If that motive is tainted with greed, the gift simply does not count. Mary Southerland One of my favorite authors, Richard Foster, writes, “Giving with glad and generous hearts...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:16 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library, The joy of giving
Rocky Balboa: The building blocks of a sermon

People realize that he [Rocky] doesn't fight for money; he doesn't fight for glory. It's fighting for a purpose and fighting for a divine reason to show that through him – through the ability, the God-given ability that he has – he can show...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:15 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library, <i>Rocky Balboa</i>: The building blocks of a serm
Living wills or the will to live

I do not believe I have the right or the ‘individual freedom’ to sign anything that would accelerate my death. David C. Gibbs III, author of Fighting for Dear Life What about death? Or disability? Should such tragic circumstances change the focus from...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:14 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library, Living wills or the will to live
Speak the truth in love about abortion

Many women believe that abortion is wrong, but they think it’s better than raising a child or surrendering a child for adoption. We must show them that, while the alternatives are challenging, abortion is the only one that kills an innocent person. Randy...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:14 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library, Speak the truth in love about abortion
Finding healing through post-abortion support groups

It takes a tremendous amount of courage to come to this group. MaryAnn Webb, co-leader of Saddleback’s post-abortion support group LAKE FOREST, Calif. (PD) — It’s a sunny Saturday morning at Saddleback Church , and several women are gathered in a secluded...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:13 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library, Finding healing through post-abortion support grou
Confessions of a Pastor, Craig Groeschel (Multnomah, 2006)

Like many of you know already, being a pastor can be quite the tightrope. Parishioners have expectations of a pastor and his family that no one can keep – like a perfect faith, a faultless marriage, and your act always together. Keeping up that charade...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 1:04 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Book Look
Notes & Quotes -- David Gregg

"In the past, Christ was in the genealogies, stepping Bethlehemward. Every time a new descendant in the covenant-line was born, the voice of prophecy shouted: 'Christ is coming!' As ancestor was added to ancestor, the voice waxed louder and...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 10:53 AM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Notes & Quotes
Notes & Quotes -- John V. Taylor, The Go-Between God (quoted in 444 Surprising Quotes About Jesus)

"We call Mary's child 'Emmanuel' because we see in him the God who has always been with us, always in the midst. There is no need for him to intervene as a stranger from the outside world. He is already here." John V. Taylor, The...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 10:46 AM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Notes & Quotes
Notes & Quotes -- Source: Reuters

Shopping mall Santas may not have an easy job after all. According to a survey, 90 percent of all seasonal Santas say that at least one kid pulls their beard every single day – just to see if it is real. The same survey showed that these Santas get sneezed...

Published Mon, Dec 18 2006 10:27 AM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Notes & Quotes
The Way of a Worshiper small group study, Buddy Owens, Purpose Driven Publishing (2006)

This small group study is not about music. It's not even about going to church. It's about living your life as an offering of worship to God. If you're looking for curriculum that can help your congregation understand what worship truly is...

Published Wed, Dec 13 2006 9:07 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Book Look
Notes & Quotes -- Dr. Seuss, How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Random House, 1957)

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler...

Published Wed, Dec 13 2006 2:18 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Notes & Quotes