Between Monday and Sunday

I read this article by Ken Hemphill this morning and found the following to be very interesting. It's an excerpt from a longer article ( see full Baptist Press article here ) "I believe that any ability that enables one to serve the King in and through the church should be used accordingly when it meets the following criteria: 1. It must be recognized and acknowledged as a gracious gift of the sovereign God. When you receive Christ as Savior, you receive the Spirit of God, enabling you to understand spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). Rather than receiving new abilities not previously possessed, new believers will often see all of life as what has been freely given to us by God (1 Corinthians 2:12). You were created for the purposes of God and His Kingdom. Now that you have the Spirit, you can understand that everything possessed, including talents and abilities, is a gift from God. I do not mean to imply that God cannot and does not give new abilities. God does what He ...

I love that I get to share wonderful materials that other pastors have used in their churches. In early December 2007 I posted a complimentary download, " Praying Like Jesus: 10 Brief Studies in Prayer " by Rick Ezell. These were very popular so Rick sent another series called, " Prayer that Changed History: 7 Brief Studies of Prayer in the Early Church ." These simple, one-page studies on prayer are ideal for a Wednesday evening, Sunday evening, or other time when you lead a less formal Bible study time. Here are the titles: The Indispensable and Distinguishing Feature (Acts 2:42) Prayer Brings God to Us (Acts 4:24) Prayer Changes Us (Acts 4:13) Prayer Unleashes the Power of God (Acts 4:31) Prayer Prepares Us to Share Our Faith Boldly (Acts 4:31) What Happens When A Church Prays? (Acts 12:5) The Prayer Force (Acts 6:1-4) Access " Prayer that Changed History: 7 Brief Studies of Prayer in the Early Church " now...

I just posted a new article in the Pastor's area of LifeWay.com on Tuesday. It was written by our new director of Pastoral Ministries and Church Consulting at LifeWay, Dan Garland. I wanted to make sure you saw it. Dan Garland believes that Vacation Bible School (VBS) is one of the most effective ways* to fulfill Jesus’ call to, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14). Dan says that the most important part of VBS is not cookies and crafts, but rather the built-in evangelistic opportunities to do the following: Build relationships with children who need Christ. Present the gospel in terms and ways children will understand. Provide a fun time where children will feel good about God and the church. As many as one fourth of all baptisms in Southern Baptist churches can be tied directly to VBS conversion experiences. In a 2003 study by the Barna Group, data from churches showed the probabilit...

An earlier Harris Poll revealed the type of books Americans read but this new study released on April 8, 2008 shows that across all demographics that the Bible is America's favorite book of all time . The summary of the study closes with this great statement, "they may not agree on candidates, but one thing that brings together partisans is their favorite book. For Republicans, Democrats and Independents, the top two books are the same – The Bible followed by Gone with the Wind." View the results of the study at harrisinteractive.com

I posted this on LifeWay.com a while ago but when I included it as a link in Pastors Today it got a great response. This church covenant written by my dad, Henry Webb, and is based on his study of the expectations that Jesus revealed for His followers. His hope is that pastors and church leaders can use this as a starting point with their leadership team to develop or update their own church covenant. You may access it here... Also, if your church is in the process of developing a Constitution and By-laws be sure to check out the The Church Constitution Guide available from Church Planting Village.

I posted a new seven-sermon series in Proclaim online yesterday by Jerry Gifford. You'll want to take a look at it, along with the PowerPoint template that I created. View the Sermon Series, Building Loving Relationships, 1 Corinthians 13 Here are the titles and verses for the seven sermons. 1. Building Loving Relationships, Series Introduction 2. Wounded: The Patient Needs Patience (vs. 4) 3. Content with Your House and Your Spouse (vs. 4) 4. Puffing and Parading in the Home (vs. 4) 5. Love Assassins (vs. 5) 6. Facing Moral Failures with Tough Love (vs. 6) 7. Love that lasts a Lifetime (vs. 7-8)