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 Glenn Slaven
Development on a Shoestring
Jeff
Jeff’s small group thoughts
 Radically Happy
A Transformational Bible Blog
 Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Cheap Grace

"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

Source: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship.

Standing Before Holiness

"True repentance is when by the convicting power of God's Holy Spirit, the sinner finally has a sense of revulsion and Godly sorrow for the condition of sin in his or her heart, and comes, empty-handed and un-defensive, without pretension or ceremony, in the most personal and submissive posture he’s ever taken, and from a sincere heart says 'I'm sorry', to the only One who can truly claim offense at sin; Holiness Himself, the God of the ages...who alone can forgive and redeem and regenerate and reconcile."

Contributed By: C. E. Tanner

And three more after the jump 
 
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 3:26:03 PM (AUS Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10:00)
 Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Is it Worth the Price?

"Cost and self-sacrifice do not make something hard. Nobody feels sorry for the athlete who wins an Olympic medal, even though the person paid an incredible price through grueling effort behind the scenes, denying himself or herself certain things, probably for several years, all for one hopeful brief moment of glory. The medal, once attained, minimizes every cost and self-sacrifice…

"Following God is similar in many respects. There are costs and self-sacrifice to be made, but that does not mean it is hard to follow God. Hard is when you compete but never win, invest but lose everything, work but receive nothing for your efforts, and show love but receive hate in return...When I compare my costs and self-sacrifices with what I have already received and will receive in return, my costs and self-sacrifices are insignificant!"

Source: Paul J. Meyer, Unlocking Your Legacy.

And 4 more illustrations after the jump

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 8:28:25 AM (AUS Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10:00)
 Wednesday, July 23, 2008

In my last post I mentioned that I was a very busy boy last weekend. We had a Christmas in July where a lot of people from the soup kitchen we run came along.

We were blessed to have many of them visit with us the next Sunday morning, this happend to be a day that I was preaching.

It was a great privellege to have these people who have never darkend the door of a church before to come come and hear me speak about God and the wonderful gift of life he has for us all, and as promised I have published the text of the sermon on the website for you to read and critique.

The message is The Holy Spirit, God within us.

My prayer for it was that it would be words of hope and words of life for those who need it.

Appreciate your feedback.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 3:32:22 PM (AUS Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10:00)
 Wednesday, July 09, 2008


(Source)

Thought I'd start to share some of the sermon illustrations that come through my inbox. Hope it helps your preaching.

I'm Standing for my Marriage

A former pastor in Seattle, WA wrote a power statement about marriage: "I am standing for the healing of my marriage! I won’t give up, give in, give out, or give over till that healing takes place. I made a vow; I said the words; I gave the pledge; I gave a ring; I took a ring; I gave myself; I trusted God; and said the words and meant the words…in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad; so I’m standing now, and won’t sit down, let down, slow down, calm down, fall down, look down, or be down till the breakdown is torn down! I refuse to put my eyes on outward circumstances; or listen to prophets of doom, or buy into what’s trendy, worldly, popular, convenient, easy, quick, thrifty, or advantageous. Nor will I settle for a cheap imitation of God’s real thing. Nor will I seek to lower God’s standard, twist God’s will, rewrite God’s Word, violate God’s covenant, or accept what god hates, namely divorce. In a world of filth, I will stay pure. Surrounded by lies, I will speak the truth. Where hopelessness abounds, I will hope in God. Where revenge is easier, I will bless instead of curse, and when the odds are stacked against me, I’ll trust in God’s faithfulness. I’m a stander, and I won’t acquiesce, compromise, quarrel, or quit. I have made the choice, set my face, entered the race, believed the Word, and trusted God for the outcome. I will allow neither the reaction of my spouse, nor the urging of my friends, nor the advice of my loved ones, nor the economic hardship, nor the prompting of the devil to make me let up, slow up, blow up, or give up till my marriage is healed up. AMEN!”

Contributed By: A. Todd Coget

Keep reading for 4 more illustrations

Wednesday, July 09, 2008 8:29:46 AM (AUS Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10:00)