7458<\/b> Sermon-Listening<\/b><\/p>\n
Too many churchgoers tend to regard sermon-listening as an end in itself, says lay evangelist Howard E. Butt, Jr., so much so that sermon-listening may actually be one of America\u2019s greatest sins. <\/p>\n
At historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., Butt rebuked sermon-listening as an \u201cescape.\u201d \u201cGod wants transformation from listening into living,\u201d he affirmed. <\/p>\n
7459<\/b> Maybe Even A Barkeeper<\/b><\/p>\n
Translating the Bible into new languages can mushroom and diversify. Wycliffe Bible Translators has now expanded to the point where it needs not only linguists but also doctors, nurses, teachers, pilots, mechanics, printers, artists, accountants, radio technicians, agronomists, and a wide assortment of secretarial and administrative help. <\/p>\n
\u201cVirtually anyone but the barkeeper can be used,\u201d says Wycliffe head Cameron Townsend. \u201cAnd if he gets converted, we\u2019d even like a second look at him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Christianity Today<\/i><\/p>\n
7460<\/b> Oklahoma Couple\u2019s Ministry<\/b><\/p>\n
The voices of many leading American preachers are being heard today in small towns and villages\u2014thanks to the efforts of an Oklahoma City couple. Five years ago Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hoefle took up tape recordings as a hobby. Now they head a non-profit enterprise known as Spiritual Recordings Unlimited, which has sent 250 miles of tape-recorded sermons to every state and several foreign countries. They travel around the country recording addresses at conventions and other meetings. The Hoefles recently were appointed official recorders of International Christian Leadership. <\/p>\n
7461<\/b> TV: \u201cBible For The Deaf\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
One of the most unusual telecasts is \u201cThe Bible For the Deaf\u201d in Columbia, South Carolina. It is a Bible lesson designed for those with hearing loss, and broadcasts for a half hour on Saturday. The program offers a complete church service with Bible readings, hymns, and a sermon. The cameras are not only on the minister and musicians; they also follow an expert who translates the service into sign language. The program has drawn much praise not only from the deaf but also from others who appreciate a ministry to a particular human need. <\/p>\n
7462<\/b> Preacher Rubbing It In<\/b><\/p>\n
The young preacher thrilled his congregation with his first sermon\u2014a challenge to \u201cgird their loins\u201d for Christian service and living. Then, to their dismay, he preached the same sermon the following Sunday. When he confronted them with the same ringing message on the third Sunday, his flock felt something must be done. <\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you have more than just one sermon?\u201d blurted a spokesman to the pastor. <\/p>\n
\u201cOh, yes,\u201d he said quietly, \u201cI have quite a number. But you haven\u2019t done anything about the first one yet!\u201d<\/p>\n
7463<\/b> Time To Mop<\/b><\/p>\n
Once the eminent philosopher John Dewey found his son in the bathroom. The floor was flooded. The professor began thinking, trying to understand the situation. After working a few minutes the son said, \u201cDad, this is not the time to philosophize. It is time to mop.\u201d<\/p>\n
7464<\/b> Lincoln To Borrow Army<\/b><\/p>\n
At one time during the American Civil War, Gen. George B. McClellan, then in command of the Union forces, was conducting a waiting campaign. He was so careful to avoid mistakes that little headway was evident. President Lincoln thereupon wrote him a letter: \u201cMy dear McClellan: If you don\u2019t want to use the army, I should like to borrow it for a while. Yours respectfully, A. Lincoln.\u201d<\/p>\n
7465<\/b> What Have You Done Since? <\/b><\/p>\n
In 1897 Dr. Grenfell was in Boston. Mr. Moody was holding meetings in Tremont Temple at the time. Dr. Grenfell sought him out at his hotel\u2014the first time they had ever met\u2014and told Mr. Moody he owed his conversion to him 14 years before. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat have you been doing since?\u201d was Mr. Moody\u2019s immediate question. <\/p>\n
\u2014Current Anecdotes<\/p>\n
7466<\/b> General Booth\u2019s Zeal<\/b><\/p>\n
A few years ago it was announced that General Booth, of the Salvation Army, was losing his sight, and that his days of usefulness were over. After many weeks\u2019 seclusion this Christian hero of fourscore years appeared having had one eye removed and possessing only imperfect vision with the other. To an audience of over 4,000 in London, he spoke for an hour and a half. \u201cI want to do more for humanity,\u201d he said, \u201cand I want to do a great deal more for Jesus. There are thousands of poor, wretched, suffering and sinning people crying out to us for help, and I want to do something for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014The Congregationalist<\/i><\/p>\n
7467<\/b> No Honor Before Action<\/b><\/p>\n
General Ira C. Eaker, wartime chief of the Army Air Force Bomber Command in Europe, was given a dinner to honor him and his staff soon after their arrival in England. Chief speaker of the occasion was the mayor of the village where Eaker\u2019s headquarters were located, who proceeded to speak at considerable length on the virtues of the Americans and the debt England owed them. Then he called on General Eaker for a few words. <\/p>\n
Eaker arose, cleared his throat a couple of times in embarrassment, and said humbly: \u201cUntil we\u2019ve done some fighting, I\u2019m not going to do any talking. When we\u2019re gone I hope you\u2019ll be glad we came.\u201d With that he sat down to thunderous applause that lasted for minutes on end! <\/p>\n
\u2014J. B. Dennis<\/p>\n
7468<\/b> \u201cMad\u201d Anthony Slams Door<\/b><\/p>\n
Theodore Roosevelt called Anthony Wayne, Brigadier General at 34, \u201cthe greatest field general America ever produced.\u201d Wayne was better known as \u201cMad Anthony.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the British encamped at Germantown, George Washington held one of his inevitable councils of war. Wayne was all for attacking without delay, but most of the other officers sat around the table offering innumerable excuses for holding back. When all the dissenting votes were in, Washington turned to Wayne, sitting quietly in a corner, reading a book. \u201cWhat would you say, General?\u201d<\/p>\n
Wayne slammed the book shut, then rose slowly to his feet, glaring defiance at the group of distinguished officers, \u201cI\u2019d say nothing, Sir. I\u2019d fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014American Mercury<\/p>\n
7469<\/b> Serving Two Husbands<\/b><\/p>\n
Someone has illustrated love as the fulfilling of the law in this way: A woman was married to a man whom she did not love. He made her get up every morning at five o\u2019clock, cook his breakfast, and serve it at six o\u2019clock sharp. He made her wait on him, and was exacting in his demands on her time. Her life was made miserable trying to satisfy the requests of her husband. Finally he died. <\/p>\n
After a few years she married again. This time she married a man whom she really loved. One day while clearing out some old papers, she came across the strict set of rules her former husband had written out for her to obey. Carefully she read them over. \u201cGet up at five. Serve breakfast at six sharp.\u201d On and on she read. <\/p>\n
Then she stopped and thought, and realized that she was fulfilling every single one of his demands, but she had not realized it because this time she was doing it for love\u2019s sake. So it is not difficult to serve the Lord Jesus when we really love Him. <\/p>\n
\u2014Sunday School Superintendent<\/i><\/p>\n
7470<\/b> Faithful In Little Things<\/b><\/p>\n
I remember hearing of a man\u2019s dream in which he imagined that when he died he was taken by the angels to a beautiful temple. After admiring it for a time he discovered that one little stone was left out. He said to the angel, \u201cWhat is this stone left out for?\u201d<\/p>\n
The angel replied, \u201cThat was left out for you; but you wanted to do great things, and so there was no room left for you.\u201d He was startled and awoke, and resolved that he would become a worker for God, and that man always worked faithfully after that. <\/p>\n
\u2014Moody<\/p>\n
7471<\/b> Deacon Was A Laborer<\/b><\/p>\n
When Dr. John Watson was a child, he loved to see the procession of deacons at the administration of the Lord\u2019s Supper, and one old man with very white hair and a meek, reverent face especially interested him. One day he was walking on the road and passed a man breaking stones. The white hair caught his attention, and he looked back and recognized the deacon who had carried the cup. <\/p>\n
Full of curiosity and surprise, he told his father the strange tale. His father explained to him that the reason why the old man held so high a place in the church was that although he was one of the poorest men in all the town, he was one of the holiest. \u201cJames,\u201d he said, \u201cbreaks stones for a living, but he knows more about God than any person I have ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014J. A. Clark<\/p>\n
7472<\/b> Hebrew Tenses<\/b><\/p>\n
In Hebrew, there are only two tenses\u2014completed (perfect) or incompleted (imperfect). There are no such tenses as past, present, and future. <\/p>\n
What is most important is if the thing is done\u2014whether it was done yesterday, today, etc. <\/p>\n
7473<\/b> Beginning That First Drop<\/b><\/p>\n
Abraham Lincoln used to remark that he could get any number of men who are \u201cwilling to shed their last drop of blood.\u201d but he found it difficult to get men to shed their first drop to make a beginning. Don\u2019t talk about what you will do for Jesus by and by. Just begin now to love Him, serve Him, and follow where He may lead. <\/p>\n
7474<\/b> Go On With Music<\/b><\/p>\n
When Richter was conducting a rehearsal in Vienna of Bruckner\u2019s Sixth Symphony, the composer happened to be sitting in the back of the hall, enraptured to hear his rarely played work. Suddenly the conductor came to a place in the manuscript score that was difficult to decipher but where the orchestra was working up to an impassioned climax. <\/p>\n
Richter paused, turned to the composer and called out, \u201cF or F sharp in that chord?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bruckner leaped to his feet, his face shining with excitement and pleasure, and cried, \u201cAnything you like, Herr Kapellmeister, anything you like! But go on! Go on!\u201d<\/p>\n
7475<\/b> Soldiers Degraded To Citizens<\/b><\/p>\n
Alexander, otherwise called Severus, degraded a legion of his army by depriving them of their arms and dismissing them from his service. One of the severest threats he could use towards them was, \u201cI shall no longer style you soldiers, but citizens.\u201d To be allowed to serve was looked upon as honour enough, to be dismissed from duty was counted as infamy. <\/p>\n
\u2014Walter Baxendale<\/p>\n
7476<\/b> Fight, Not Criticize<\/b><\/p>\n
During the war between Alexander the Great and Darius, King of Persia, a soldier in the army of the latter thought to ingratiate himself with Memnon, the Persian general, by uttering the fiercest invectives against Alexander. Memnon gently struck the fellow with the spear, and answered, \u201cFriend, I pay you to fight against Alexander, not to revile him.\u201d<\/p>\n
7477<\/b> What Is Work<\/b><\/p>\n
One can strain until one is exhausted at trying to lift a heavy trunk and still not receive credit for doing any work by scientific standards. On the other hand, if one lifts a feather one inch off the ground you have \u201cworked.\u201d Scientifically, \u201cwork\u201d includes two factors\u2014force and movement. It is measured in foot-pounds\u2014lifting one pound one foot is the basic unit. Unless the trunk is moved, there is no work accomplished, regardless of the exertion involved. <\/p>\n
7478<\/b> Needed: Third-Class Passengers <\/b><\/p>\n
In the days of the stagecoach, a man undertook a journey. He was informed that there were first, second, and third-class passengers. However, all the seats on the coach looked alike to him, so he purchased a third-class ticket. All went well for a time and the man was congratulating himself upon having saved some money. <\/p>\n
Presently they came to the foot of a very steep hill, when the driver stopped the horses and shouted. \u201cFirst-class passengers, keep your seats, second class get out and walk, third-class get out and push behind. \u201c<\/p>\n
What we need in the Kingdom work is third-class passengers. Those who will push! Not first-class, who are contented to sit and look on while the others are working, not second-class passengers who are willing to walk away when real work comes; but third-class passengers who are willing to bear \u201cthe burden and heat of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
7479<\/b> Edison Goes Through Storeroom<\/b><\/p>\n
Once Thomas A. Edison was seeking a solvent for hard rubber. Other scientists were also engaged in the same effort. Whereas they were seeking the solution to their problem through theory and formula, Edison proceeded along a more direct route. He went to his impressive and remarkably complete storeroom of chemicals where he immersed a small fragment of hard rubber in a vial of each one of these many chemicals. The number was enormous but he stuck to it and eventually found his solvent. <\/p>\n
7480<\/b> Epigram On Work for God<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Work as if you were to live 100 years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow. <\/p>\n
\u2014Benjamin Franklin<\/p>\n
\u2022 The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention! <\/p>\n
\u2014The Bible Friend<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
7458 Sermon-Listening Too many churchgoers tend to regard sermon-listening as an end in itself, says lay evangelist Howard E. Butt, Jr., so much so that sermon-listening may actually be one of America\u2019s greatest sins. At historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., Butt rebuked sermon-listening as an \u201cescape.\u201d \u201cGod wants transformation from listening … Continue reading “WORK FOR GOD”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5397\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}