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A Response to Emily Letts : Abortion Sermon Transcript
[NOTE: The following is the full manuscript of a sermon I preached at Lebanon Road yesterday. The sermon got several good and thoughtful comments, so I thought I’d share it on here.] Recently, an online video went viral. That’s not anything unusual these days. It seems that, every couple of days, something makes the rounds online and gains a few hundred thousand views. But quite often, these “viral videos” are nothing more than silliness. Maybe it’s a child singing a song from Frozen, or a cat jumping up and down, or someone failing on a TV game show. But none of those are what we are going to talk about…
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Page Turners Episode 004 : You Are a Writer
Welcome to Page Turners, where we interview the authors of some of our favorite books. On this fourth episode, we are thrilled to be joined by Jeff Goins, author of You are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One). The Interview Enjoy the interview with Jeff, and then we’ll let you know how you can get a copy of Jeff’s great ebook, as well as his newest work. Trouble seeing the video? Click here to watch on YouTube. Get Your Copy You Are a Writer is only available in ebook format, but you can get a copy for just $4.99. This little book is very motivational and you will want to…
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Page Turners Episode 003 : Game Plan
Welcome to Page Turners, where we interview the authors of some of our favorite books. On this third episode, we are pleased to be joined by Joe Wells, author of Game Plan: Develop a Spiritually Winning Strategy for Adults and Teens in Today’s Culture. The Interview Enjoy the interview with Joe, and then we’ll tell you how to get a copy of this excellent book in print or Kindle format. Trouble seeing the video? Click here to watch it on YouTube Get Your Copy Now that you know a little about this great book, here is how you can get a copy. Game Plan is available in both print and Kindle…
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Take Better Notes [Video]
My friend Chad Landman makes videos every few weeks designed for youth ministers, but I love watching them. He does a great job describing some tips and tools to help in ministry. His latest video is great for anyone who wants to know how to use a couple of the most popular organization programs, Dropbox and Evernote. I think you’ll find it useful. Personally, I rarely use Dropbox, but Chad provides a great way to use both of these tools. Enjoy! —————————————– To receive our blog posts via rss, click here. To subscribe via email, click here. To sign up for our free monthly enewsletter, click here. Click the banner to visit our…
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Page Turners Episode 001 : The Epic of God
Welcome to Page Turners, where we interview the authors of some of our favorite books. On this, our first episode, we hang out with Michael Whitworth, author of the great new book The Epic of God from Start2Finish Books. After the logo, enjoy the interview, and then see how you can get a copy of this great new volume! Enjoy the interview with Michael! (Trouble viewing the video? Click here to watch on YouTube.) Now that you know more about this great new book, here’s how you can pick up a copy. The book is available from Amazon for just $14.38 in paperback. Since this is a reference book, I would…
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Two Previews: A Sermon, and a Blog Series
I’ve got two things for you today, and I hope each of these gets your interest up! FIRST, I recruited some help for our Sunday sermon preview video. I hope you enjoy it! —————————————– SECOND, next week is going to be a very interesting week on the blog. I’m calling it “8 Days with the Preacher.” I got this idea from my friend Chris Gallagher. Each year, he takes one week and simply blogs about what he does during each day. For a couple of years, I have wanted to do this, and I’m finally diving in with both feet. I wanted to do it at this time of…
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It’s Not Trite
Trite. Cliche. Overused. Those descriptions are often given to certain phrases, because they are used so often by so many people that they have lost the true depth of their intended meaning. One example is how often we use the word “awesome” in our society. While, in reality, only the things of God are truly “awesome,” we use that word to describe all sorts of things, thus watering down the meaning of the word. It has become trite to call something “awesome.” However, though we have overused the word, God is not trite! He really is awesome! In fact, His awesomeness outshines anything else. So go ahead and sing the…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: “Ten Thousand Angels”
[NOTE: Each Thursday, we “reflect” on a hymn, usually suggested by our readers. If you have songs you would like us to add to our list, leave a comment with up to three suggestions, and we’ll add them.] ———————————– In the hymnal Songs of the Church, it’s number 507. I know that because I used that hymnal for years growing up, but also because, if my memory serves me correctly, “Ten Thousand Angels” is the first song I ever attempted to lead. I was a very little boy, but brother Dan Matthis led me stand up in front of the congregation in Vienna, Illinois, and try to lead this song.…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: “I Know Whom I Have Believed”
[NOTE: Each Thursday, we “reflect” on a hymn, usually suggested by our readers. If you have some favorites you would like us to write about, leave a comment with up to three (3) suggestions, and we’ll add them to our list for future posts.] ————————– There are so many things we do not understand, and many of our hymns come out of that confusion. We must take many steps by faith, even when we struggle to understand the reasoning for certain things. But we are not stepping out in some “blind faith,” as some might say. The song “I Know Whom I Have Believed” boldly states the reason for our…
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The Greatest Voices Project: #5-#1
[To read an introduction to The Greatest Voices Project, click here.] [To read previous portions tot he list, click on these links: #50-#46 … #45-#41 … #40-#36 … #35-#31 … #30-#26 … #25-#21 … #20-#16 … #15-#11 … #10-#6.] ——————————- #5: Aretha Franklin 18 Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone magazines’ “Greatest Singer of All Time.” The first female inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 20 number one songs. Those are just some of the accolades that Aretha Franklin, “The Queen of Soul,” has earned in a career that has now spanned some 44 years. Another singer who got her start singing in church and recording a few gospel…
