Some Sobering Thoughts to Ponder in Our Hearts:

Who said women can't preach?

Pastoring...that's another issue. But preach?

That was especially ripfull (translation: very true in a not very fun way)

SoCM

 

You are so right. What is wrong with us!? We have got to take a stand for what is right! How can we as Christians not take a stand on these things?
All of us, not just preachers, need to stand up for what is right where ever we are. At work at school, and at public places we need to live our testimonies, and speak about what is right when given the chance.

^^^Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiors of the cross, lift high His royal banners, it must not suffer loss^^^

~Abby

 

Wow!
This should be a wake-up call to the church! (us)
It seems overwhelming when we read all of this at once. How can we make a difference?
Perhaps we cannot do everything, but we can make a difference in this world, by doing what God has called us to do. We need to be a light in the darkness. We need to preach the gospel to this generation. We need to have a vision! Without a vision, people perish.
All of these things are the result of sin. We cannot make people stop sinning by working from the outside in, we need to get people to stop sinning from the inside out. They need to get a revelation about who Jesus is, and what He has saved us from.
We need to Pray, then we need to go, then we need to disciple, then we need to pray, then go, then disciple, etc. etc.
The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion!

When did this flip-flop to be:

The righteous flee when no man pursueth, but the wicked are as bold as a lion....

Why are we the ones running? Why are the wicked the bold ones?

Where did we miss it
Naomi

 

Are 300,000 pulpits really silent? I think that's worth pondering as well. To be silent means they'd be saying nothing. Every pulpit is saying something, especially when it is saying nothing.

I also believe that there are pulpits that are not silent (in a positive way).

[ August 08, 2002, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: TomVols ]

 

If I may add my 2 cents (although with taxes it will probably be worth 1 cent by time you read this
I have supported the Crisis Pregnancy Walks, I have held up the signs about how abortion kills, I have went out door to door witnessing, I have worked in the soup kitchens, etc. My husband and I traveled with a ministry who fed the hungry and clothed the naked, and preached the gospel.
We give to Compassion International to support a young girl, so she can attend school.
I say all of this, not to lift ourselves up in any way,( our treasures are safe, as most of you do not even know me ) LOL! The things we have done is nothing spectacular, we are Christians! This should not come as any shock to anyone. If we are Christians, we need to act like Christians. People have told us that we are not going to "change the world", this is so true, but...we are certainly going to make a difference in the world. If each one of us are walking acoording to whatever the call that God has for us, we should be impacting our neighborhoods, our workplace, our schools, our families, everywhere we go! If we are not....why are we here? Why are we saved? It is not just have a great "Bless me club". It is not just to attend the biggest, and best church in our city. It is to reach the world who are dying and going to hell. No man is an island! If your main goal in life is just to be "enlightened" and a good person, that is the anti-thesis of the message Jesus preached. Self serving and self seeking is not christianity!
We were bought with a price. The Blood of Jesus! Jesus did not, come to earth, and shed His Blood, and die on the cross, and rise again, so we can sit in our comfortable pews, and wear our best dresses or suits on Sundays, and let all the other christians know how much knowledge we possess, and how much more we are saved then they are saved! *whew* !! *smile*
IMHO* Becoming a christian is not what we do, we will naturally make a difference as we seek the Lord. Nothing of course can add to what Jesus did on the cross...nothing.
Programs do not always work. I think most people are programmed and entertained enough. We live in a day, where there are more books about how to have a good marriage,(yet, there are more divorces then ever) we have more programs and books about drug use and violence etc. (yet, watch the news) Husbands are killing wives, wives are killing husbands, parents are killing their children, and visa-versa. Yet, we are the generation with more self-help programs, and we are much more informed than any other generation before us. Knowledge is increasing more than we can even keep up.
So, what is the problem??
We are selfish, we are self serving, we are haughty and prideful, and worst of all..we are as Keith Green said, "Asleep in the Light". The church needs a wake up call. We need to grow up and stop acting like spoiled kids, we need to stop being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, and stop trying to entertain our church members so they keep coming back!
We just need to go back to basics and be the christians we were called to be in the first place. Read the word, then do it! Then our children will not have to ask: What does this (the church) have to do with this (the Bible)????

Just my 2 cents worth.... Thanks for letting me vent
Naomi

 

I just saw this. Fortunately I am being trained by an "old school" preacher who has hit on a number of topics similar to these. He liked my first sermon, on forgiveness, but, he has said we need to call our congregations to action for the Lord. I can see a sermon coming from these statistics, thanks.