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October 2012
Church Press Newsletter |
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Stack of Stuff
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101 Questions to Ask Before You Get Remarried is a new and practical book. Do someone a big favor if they are considering remarriage. Click the above picture to go to our website for more details. What does it mean, when, at the end of the sermon, a worshiper thinks to himself: "So what?"Helen Keller: "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." For pastor's eyes only: Encountering The New Testament. An exhaustive Biblical study course including a multimedia interactive CD-ROM. 448 pages. New, hard cover, retails for $44.99. This single copy is available to the first pastor who emails us and asks for it. There is no charge. We'll send it to you by Media Mail. For church secretary's eyes only: Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman. What do you do when things seem to be falling apart? 279 pages. Ne w, hard cover, retails for $21.99. This single copy is available to the first secretary who emails us and asks for it. We'll send it to you by Media Mail. For a sermon or bulletin: A few people today are saying that Jesus had a wife. Eric Metaxas writes: "According to a document in my possession (it's in book form and has been thoroughly authenticated by thousands of scholars), Jesus actually DID have a wife and still has one. It refers to her as His Bride. She's far from perfect, but He's utterly committed to her and has vowed never to leave her nor to forsake her. His love for her brings tears to my eyes." A record 46.7 million Americans - one in five - now collect food stamps according to the USDA. One wonders: What does this REALLY mean? IDEA: Enlist volunteers to provide minor car maintenance for single moms and seniors. ANOTHER IDEA: For pastor: at the end of worship as you are greeting worshipers give a few church business cards to each person and ask them to hand them out during the week. Getting out the vote. Millions of believers did not vote in the last election. Another important election comes up soon. Here is a truth: There are many millions of voters out there who strongly oppose your views and your way of life. The issues are vital and they are many. Who would ever have imagined a few years ago that today we would be debating the definition of marriage? The list is long. Be sure you vote and encourage others to vote too. At your next board of elders meeting, open with a 15 minute devotion and then have each elder visit someone (a member who has been missing worship or someone who is sick) and then return to share what happened; then be in prayer for these folks. This is often more beneficial than just having a meeting. |
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Greetings!
"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).
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Having a Bad Day? Know Someone Who Is?
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by Pastor Don Ginkel  Here is a letter a man wrote to the company he worked for requesting their understanding and help because he had a bad day on the job. "When I got to the building I found that the hurricane had knocked off some bricks around the top, so I rigged a beam with a pulley at the top of the building and hoisted a couple of barrels full of bricks. When I had fixed the damaged area, there were a lot of bricks left over. Then I went to the bottom and began releasing the line. Unfortunately the barrel of bricks was much heavier than I was and before I knew what was happening, the barrel started coming down jerking me up. [ complete article]
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Pastors: Shepherds or Sheep-dogs?
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By Rev. Timothy P. Davis (LCMS)
Calvary Lutheran Church, Wray, CO
 What I remember from the lecture/seminar regarding the "sheep-dog" went something like this: Either Harold Senkbeil or John Kleinig (sp), I can't remember which one, said that the better illustration regarding the pastor and the congregation is not so much like the shepherd and his sheep but rather the sheep-dog and the sheep. The responsibility of the sheep-dog is to take directions from the Shepherd and deliver them to the sheep. [ complete article]
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Another Excellent Article on "Shepherds"
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"5 Reasons to Think Twice Before Leaving" by Ben Simpson. If the thought has been entering your mind, be sure to click this Link. It's a sobering and encouraging article. |
The Facts on Jehovah's Witnesses
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 The Watchtower Society claims to be God's only channel on earth for revealing His will to people. There are five sections.
- Who they are and what attracts people to them
- The Worldview of the Jehovah's Witnesses - Practices and Teachings
- The Theology of the Jehovah's Witnesses
- Analysis and Critique - "Does God Speak Only Through the Watchtower Society?" Four Tests Examining This Claim
- Conclusion and Recommended Resources
. . . plus much more. 200,000 copies sold. 4 1/4 x 7, 80 pages, #368 $5.99. We can ship Media Mail to save on shipping. To order on our website click here or for email or call 888-772-8878.
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What to Say When Someone Rejects the Gospel
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 Let's compare your life right now with a person who has just found out that he has terminal cancer. This person knows he is going to die. Right now you also know that you are going to die. It may not be as soon as the cancer patient; it may be sooner. Nobody knows. But you do know that someday you're going to die. Now let's say that the patient's doctor comes in and says he has found a new miracle cure for the disease and all the patient has to do is agree to the treatment. He doesn't have to die.You also have a cure. [complete article]
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Protect Yourself With Gold!
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By Pastor Bob Tasler (LCMS)
 These are their exact words: "Protect yourself from the problems of this world with... GOLD!" Then they tell you how easy it is to invest, clinking those pretty new coins together and saying: "The right gold, at the right price, right away."
Now don't get me wrong. Precious metals investment is okay if you want that (and if you have the money). But saying gold protects you "from the problems of this world?" Politicians don't even promise that. Indeed, the quest for gold has probably caused more problems in history than it has solved. But today I saw something more precious than gold, something that really CAN give us protection in the midst of the world's problems. [complete article]
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Two Wishes
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By John Beukema, Special Issue Outreach 2012, page 92
 It took years for me to get rid of the idea that outreach was something aimed at strangers I visited or to crowds gathered at an event. I wish someone had told me that time spent helping my neighbor with his yard, or playing tennis, or going fishing would eventually prove more influential in their openness to the Gospel. I also wish someone had told me how easy it is to mistake knowledge for spiritual vitality.
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Christ in The Hunger Games
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By Mark Moring, Christianity Today, senior associate editor, September 2012, p. 86
 The stories are a scathing - but engaging - social commentary, decrying not only violence but human trafficking, totalitarianism, and the unchecked power of evil. But there's also sacrificial love, mercy, hope, and redemption. For Christians, there are biblical parallels, especially in Peeta Mellark, a key character who consistently displays unconditional love; he's even willing to die for a friend. A baker's son, a young Peeta risks his well-being to give a starving girl the gift of bread. Later, as a teen, he risks his life to save the one he loves. In one scene, he takes a wound that was meant for another, then "buries" himself in the ground to hide. Three days later - imagery alert! - Peter emerges from a cave with renewed vigor and hope. The film is rich with discussion fodder for discerning families with older children.
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Two More for You
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Do it for your pastor: Pray for your him regularly and tell him that you are praying for him. Make sure that he is paid well and that he gets good vacation time.
She has great potential: This little girl was diligently pounding away on her father's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."
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Save 50%
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A Time To Laugh . . . or Cry Part 1
A Bible study by Pastor Ginkel
10 lessons from creation in Genesis to God giving the Law in Exodus. Each lesson begins with a contemporary introduction, hymn, prayer, explanation of the text, probing and practical questions for discussion, plan of action, and daily Bible reading which correlates with the text being studied. 80 pages. #154 $5.95. Sale price for October: $2.98. Order as many copies as you wish. Just email us.
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