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| Church Press Newsletter July 2012 |
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Greetings!
My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing: Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrim's pride.
From every mountainside Let freedom ring!
Our father's God, to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing: Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light; Protect us by Thy might, Great God, our King! |
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"Free At Last!"
Independence Day sermon by Pastor Don Ginkel for July 1, 2012(It's in Microsoft Word )The Fourth of July is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776. It declared that we are a free country and free people. People from all over the world yearn to be free people. A teenage girl was talking to her mother in front of the kitchen sink about the freedom some women want today. She looked right at her mother and said, "Mom, I don't want to be free until I first know what it's like to be captured!" In his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 Martin Luther King quoted these words from the old spiritual, ". . . "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last." Yes, we have many freedoms: freedom of speech, and we do a lot of speaking. We have freedom of the press, and we buy a lot of newspapers. We have the right to worship as we please, and some of us are doing it. But the price has been high. I remember years ago standing in Arlington National Cemetery and looked down the long narrow rows of thousands upon thousands of white crosses. It's just another reason we should enjoy and highly prize the freedoms we have. [ complete article]
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"one without a particle of good in him"
by Pastor Bob Tasler (lcms)
Chang Shen was a terrible man, known as Wu So Pu Wei Te, meaning "one without a particle of good in him." Gambler, womanizer, addict and thief, he had driven away his family, and when he was stricken blind, people said it was judgment for his evil ways.
In 1886 Chang heard of a missionary hospital where blind people were healed, so he traveled hundreds of miles to the hospital only to be told every bed was full. But the hospital took pity and gave him a bed. When Chang's eyesight was partially restored, he heard about Jesus for the first time. "Never has there been a patient who received the gospel with such joy," reported the doctor. [complete article]
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Deep Preaching
Creating Sermons That Go Beyond the Superficial by Dr. J. Kent Edwards
Preaching that does not lead us to a greater awareness of our own depravity and total dependence upon the grace of God is not deep preaching. Every week, as we study God's holy Word, we should be driven into a greater awareness of our own sin. If this does not occur we, like the Pharisees, are developing a perilous overconfidence in our own righteousness . . . . even worse, we are taking our congregations with us on our terrible journey - just as the first-century Pharisees did. Jesus said to them, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are." Whether we like it or not, we will reproduce after our own kind. The people who sit under our ministry will carry our spiritual DNA. Ilion Jones writes that "sermons cannot be detached from the person who preaches them. They are conditioned by what he is, what he does, what he thinks, and what he feels." (pp. 152-153. To order your copy, #351 $19.99, just email us or go to our website: www.churchpress.com)
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 Stack of Stuff
Getting Closer to God is a twenty lesson course by Pastor Ginkel on the basic truths of Scripture for junior confirmands, Christian Day Schools, and adults. Fosters a clear, concise understanding of basic Christian doctrine in catechetical form with a strong emphasis on the forgiveness of sins through Jesus alone in every lesson. A sufficient amount of humor is used without showing disrespect for the Bible. Student Guide 128 pages #145 $9.50. We'll send you one sample copy for $4.50 plus Media Mail for July. Just emaiemail us or call 888-772-8878.
An Independence Day Bible Study from Pastor Don with some good thought-provoking questions. It's in Microsoft Word for easy editing. Run off a hard copy now. Just click Independence Day Bible Study. For pastor's eyes only: Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly is one of the most read books on the market today. Don is making his copy available to the first pastor who emails us and asks for it. It's hard cover and retails for $28.00. There is no charge. We'll send it to you by Media Mail. Be sure you get a copy for yourself. When finished, pass it on to someone who promises to pass it on to someone else after they've finished.
The cost of flying Air Force One is $200,000 an hour.
After you have visited with a person for awhile, ask: "Jim, may I ask you a question?" When given permission say, "Jim, what do you think of Jesus?" His answer will open up many doors to lovingly talk about the Lord. Remember, he has given you permission, so you are free to share.
Our country goes farther in debt $4,000,000,000 a day! Every day! That should bother us a lot. The national debt is rising to reach the new ceiling of $16.4 trillion dollars. One wonders how much longer this can continue.
Rev. Tim Carr (lcms), pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Toledo, OH, phoned a few days ago to place an order for I Have Good News For You. Then he said, "Don, I've been using this book for 25 years now and over 300 people have confessed Jesus as Lord in that time." Praise God! "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).
We have 12 beeswax candles that have insignificant blemishes. They sell for $4.95 each. We will give them to the first congregation that asks for them via email. You will only pay shipping.
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Does God Want You to Be Thin?
Rick Warren's congregation has collectively lost 260,000 pounds. The Daniel Plan is now being followed by tens of thousands of people in our country and is now going overseas. Here is THE DANIEL PLAN: SIMPLIFIED. It's a 52-week program to help you adapt a healthy lifestyle - not just another short-term diet.The Plan has been designed by three world-renowned doctors including brain expert Dr. Daniel Amen, functional medicine pioneer Dr. Mark Hyman, and heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz. There are 5 healthy habits and basic rules of the Daniel Plan. They are: - PERSONALIZE YOUR PLAN
- EAT RIGHT
- ADD PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ACTIVITY
- FILL NUTRITION GAPS WITH SUPPLEMENTS
- LEARN WAYS TO STAY MOTIVATED
We encourage you to take a closer look.
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Recharge Your Batteries
by Dr. Craig LovingSummer is a good time to recharge our batteries. Some people recharge on the beach. Some with a book, others with a hammer. I prefer my chain saw. The most important aspect of our lives needing continual recharging is our relationship with God. Throughout the year most of us try to take care of our spiritual lives. But summer is a good time to spend some extended time in that pursuit. We've all spoken with Christians whose spiritual batteries have been drained by stressful situations like illnesses, life-transitions, or trauma. Others have been drained by not taking time to recharge. Even pastors and Christian leaders can get caught up in the tyranny of the urgent. [complete article]
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Born A Lutheran
Lars, a Norweigian from Cook County in northern Minnesota, was an older, single gentleman who was born and raised a Lutheran. Each Friday night after work he would fire up his outdoor grill and cook venison steak.
Now, all of Lar's neighbors were Catholic, and since it was Lent they were prohibited from eating meat on Fridays. The delicious aroma from the grilled venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their priest.
The priest came to visit Lars, and suggested that Lars convert to Catholicism. After several classes and much study, Lars attended Mass and as the priest sprinkled holy water over Lars, he said, "You were born a Lutheran and raised a Lutheran, but now you are a Catholic."
Lar's neighbors were greatly relieved. But when Friday night arrived, and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison filled the neighborhood, the priest was immediately called in and, as he rushed into Lar's yard, clutching a rosary and prepared to scold Lars, he stopped in amazement and watched.
There stood Lars, clutching a small bottle of water which he carefully sprinkled over the grilling meat and chanted: "You were born a deer and raised a deer, but now you are a walleye."
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Save 50%
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A super special on sermon books by Dr. Arthur Graf (lcms). These books range in price from $9.95 to $10.95. 50% is a great buy. - Sermons for Special Occasion (20 sermons)
- The Apostles' Creed (14 sermons and 7 Lenten sermons
- Bought With A Price (10 occasional sermons & 7 Lenten)
- Walking and Talking with God (20 sermons)
- Joybells of Life (24 sermons Advent to Easter)
- No Other Name (Lent and the Ten Commandments)
| A July Special. Order just one or all six. Will ship Media Mail. Order by phone or email.
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