Revitalize Your Church

"Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrod, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."  (from Daily Prayer  by E. Milner White & G. W. Briggs).

An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps.   "Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely.  "The front row, please," she answered..  "You really don't want to do that," the usher said. "The pastor is really boring."  "Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired. "No," he said.  "I'm the pastor's mother," she replied indignantly.  "Do you know who I am?" he asked.  "No," she said. "Good," he answered. 

I teach a discipleship class called Deepen at Alive Wesleyan Church on a regular basis.  In this teaching on prayer, I share Six Steps to the Throne, which is adapted from   In The Day of Thy Power , by Arthur Wallis. In 2 Chronicles 9:18 we read that there were six steps to the throne of King Solomon.  And in our prayer life, there are six steps to the throne of God:  The King of Kings. Step 1:  Abiding in Christ John 15:5-7  I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. This means being connected to Christ -- living in Christ - being at home with him.  There is a huge difference between saying prayers and being a person of prayer. Two ways we become disconnected:  Disobedience (Ps, 66:18) and Neglect.  Is Jesus your spare tire or your steering wheel? Step 2: In the Will of God 1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approachin...

"I often think of the Holy Spirit as a mighty river, but a river dammed and held back by obstacles of one kind or another.  Fancy a man standing on the dam and pleading in prayer with the river to flow on.  How absurd! 'Why,' the river would answer, 'That is just what I want to do.  Don't waste your energy in such vain repetitions. It is my nature to flow.  I am more anxious to flow than you are to see me flow.'" -- Oswald Smith

A Holy Saturday poem by John Keble.  Be sure to read the first lines of the last stanza: AT length the worst is o’er, and Thou art laid Deep in thy darksome bed; All still and cold beneath you dreary stone Thy sacred form is gone; Around those lips where power and mercy hung, The dews of death have clung; The dull earth o’er Thee, and thy foes around, Thou sleep’st a silent corse, in funeral fetters wound. Sleep’st Thou indeed? or is thy spirit fled, At large among the dead? Whether in Eden bowers thy welcome voice Wake Abraham to rejoice, Or in some drearier scene thine eye controuls The thronging band of souls; That, as thy blood won earth, thine agony Might set the shadowy realm from sin and sorrow free. Where’er Thou roam’st, one happy soul, we know, Seen at thy side in woe, Waits on thy triumph—even as all the blest With him and thee shall rest. Each on his cross, by Thee we hang a while, Watching thy patient smile, Till we have...

“We can use all the right techniques and methods, we can have the best possible liturgy, but we have not worshiped the Lord until Spirit touches spirit” -- Richard Foster

1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco. 2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day. 3. There are two theories to arguing with a woman . . Neither works. 4. Never miss a good chance to shut up. 5. Always drink upstream from the herd. 6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. 7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back into your pocket. 8. There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves. 9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. 10. If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there. 11. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back. 12. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When y...