Room To Grow In

“The trouble with you preachers,” said the doctor, “is that you really don’t practice what you preach. You tell other people to obey the laws of God and you don’t obey them yourself.” “My suggestion is that you stop burning the candle at both ends and start taking time off for rest and relaxation. You’ll […]

Seven Deadly Sins of a Church Staff

The following is not so much an article but my notes for a recent presentation with our church staff. It’s part of a leadership seminar I’m working on. If you are a pastor, you might find something you identify with. If you are a staff member, read carefully. You may not agree with all of […]

"The thing that makes a missionary is the sight of what Jesus did on the cross and to have heard Him say 'Go.' "- Oswald Chambers

"Evangelism is witness. It is one beggar telling another beggar where to get food." - Daniel T. Niles

"Let us come to the churches having as our theme the highwayman's motto, 'Your money or your life,' saying the needs are so great, the command so urgent, we have given our lives-will you not give your money?" - Robert Wiler, a missionary volunteer connected with the Student Volunteer Movement, from a speech he gave at a conference in 1891.

"I had known about Jesus dying for me, but I had never understood that, if He had died for me, then I didn't belong to myself. Redemption means buying back, so that if I belong to Him, either I had to be a thief, and keep what wasn't mine, or else I had to give up everything to God. When I came to see that Jesus had died for me, it didn't seem hard to give up all for Him. If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." - C. T. Studd wrote from Cambridge in 1883.

"My Jesus, my King, my Life, My All. I again dedicate my whole self to Thee." - David Livingstone wrote in his diary on his 59th birthday, March 19th, 1872. A year later he was found dead on his knees by his bedside, a candle burning, his Bible open, himself in the presence of his King.

"By the grace of God and for His glory, I commit my entire life to obeying His commission of Matt. 28:18-20, wherever and however He leads me, giving priority to the peoples currently beyond the reach of the Gospel (Rom. 15:20-21). I will also endeavor to impart this vision to others." - Student commitment made at a Frontiers Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1980.

"It is the Holy Spirit who puts jet engines on the word bombs of the Bible so they fly into the needy places in people's hearts and explode at the right time." - Words spoken by Rev. Festo Kivengere in a communications convention.

"There is enough jewelry, gold, and silver plate buried in Christian homes to build a fleet of 50,000 vessels, ballast them with Bibles, crowd them with missionaries, and supply every living soul with the gospel in a score of years. Only let God take possession and the gospel will wing its way like the beams of the morning." - A. T. Pierson

"In a world in which nine out of every ten people is lost, three or four have never heard the way out, and one of every two cannot hear, the church sleeps on. How come? Could it be we think there must be some other way? Or perhaps we don't really care that much?" - Robertson McQuilken in his book The Great Omission.

George Murray, director of the Bible Christian Union, tells us that for years he was "willing to go, but planning to stay." Not until he became "willing to stay, but planning to go" did God move him to Italy.

"Press on our heart the woe, and put in our feet the go." - Dr. A.B. Simpson

"When considering the needs of missions, don't fail to do something just because YOU can't do everything." - Dr. Bob Pierce

"Others have done so much with so little, while we have done so little with so much." - Dr. Bob Pierce

"We've outgrown that sort of thing," the soldier said. The native smiled back. "It's a good thing we haven't. If it wasn't for the Book, you'd have been a meal by now." - A South Sea Islander proudly displayed his Bible to a World War II G.I.

"I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up asking Him to do His work through me." - Hudson Taylor

"For the gospel to 'go where it isn't,' someone has to go from where it is among his own people and go where he/she will no longer be 'native.' Natives become foreigners when they become true missionaries. It is one thing to be concerned that the church grow where it is. It is something else to make sure the church goes where it isn't." - Dr. Ralph Winter

"The question is not, 'Can I afford to take on the needs of the world when I'm so troubled by other things? The question is, 'Can I afford not to?'" - Mr. Bernie May (U.S. Division Director of Wycliffe)

"Herein lies the Christian motive: it is simple. We cannot live without Christ and we cannot bear to think of men living without Him. We believe in a Christ-like world. We know nothing better; we can be content with nothing less." - International Missionary Council, Jerusalem, 1928.

"Your Majesty, some men's passion is for gold. Some men's passion is for art. Some men's passion is for fame. My passion is for souls." - spoken by William Booth to King Edward VII of England after His Majesty had highly commended the Salvationist for his unflagging zeal and wonderful work among the poor.

"We face a humanity that is too precious to neglect. We know a remedy for the ills of the world too wonderful to withhold. We have a Christ too glorious to hide. We have an adventure that is too thrilling to miss." - Theodore Williams of India.

"We shall need three times more me, four times more money, and seven times more prayer." - Andrew Murray said at World Missionary Conference in 1910.

"Thou, O Christ, art all I want, and Thou, O Christ, art all they want. What Christ can do for any man, He can do for every man." - Dr. Samuel Zwemer, in a convention of the Student Volunteer Movement, hung a great map of Islam before the delegates, and with a sweep of his hand across all those darkened areas said.

"I feel that my heart is wholly for heaven, and the world mainly behind my back. I do not know that anything would be a heaven to me, but the service of Christ and the enjoyment of His presence. Oh how sweet is life when spent in His service." - Henry Martyn, at 23 years of age, on his way to India.

"Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt; send me where Thou wilt; work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever." - Betty Stam's covenant made as a high school student.

"If God would grant us the vision, the word 'sacrifice' would disappear from our lips and thoughts; we would hate the things that seem now so dear to us; our lives would suddenly be too short; we would despise time-robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies in the name of Christ. May God help us to judge ourselves by the eternities that separate the Aucas from a comprehension of Christmas, and Him, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor so that we might, through His poverty, be made rich. Lord God, speak to my own heart and give me to know Thy holy will and the joy of walking in it. Amen." - Nate Saint - in a Christmas meditation letter written just a short while before he and four other young men gave their lives in seeking to reach the Auca Indians in Ecuador, South America, December, 1955.

World Evangelism (Missions)

Our Long Home

By Ron Dunn The following sermon outlines by Ron Dunn were taken from www.rondunn.com. © Ron Dunn, LifeStyle Ministries, 2001. Used by permission of LifeStyle Ministries. All rights to this material are reserved. Materials are not to be distributed to other web locations for retrieval, published in other media, or mirrored at other sites without […]

Nelson Price

http://nelsonprice.com Nelson Price is the Pastor Emeritus of the Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga. Since retiring, he has developed a website where you can purchase his books and read his comments on various social and religious issues, Nelson has written an editorial for the Marietta Daily Journal since the 1960s. 2ProphetU2ProphetU is an […]

First Baptist Church of Woodstock

www.fbcw.org The Shepherd and His Sheep Pastor Johnny Hunt of the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga. has an excellent One Day Leadership Conference available on tape. The Conference is entitled, “The Shepherd and His Sheep.” He also does an annual Men’s Conference and tapes are available. You can get information on Dr. Hunt’s ministry […]

Imago Christi

The Example of Jesus Christ – James Stalker. Hodder & Stoughton. In 1889, the author wrote, “I have written this guide to the imitation of Christ, and I send it forth with the earnest hope that they may be able to find in it, in some degree, the authentic features of the image of the […]

Light From Many Lamps

– Lillian Eichler Watson. Simon and Schuster. This is a classic book with selections on topics ranging from Happiness, Faith, Courage, Confidence, Self-Discipline, Relationship to Others, Peace of Heart & Mind, Love & Family Life, Contentment in Later Years and Hope for the Future. These selections are gleaned from the world’s most inspiring thoughts and […]

Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind

– P.T. Forsyth. Eerdmans. Forsyth discusses the most influential of ‘modern’ philosophies and scientific theories, showing how they supplement the truth of the Gospel, that the reality so eagerly sought can be found only in the Cross of Christ, and ministers of the Word of God must orient their preaching to the ethical demands of […]

The Burden of the Lord

– Ian McPherson. Abingdon Press. Written in an intense style, the author spends four chapters revealing what he believes to be the basic divisions of the art of preaching. He explores the problems involved in preparation. His four chapters are titled: The Burden, The Man, The Craft and The Encounter. He discusses how to choose […]

Variety in Your Preaching

– F. D.. Whitsell, L. M. Perry. Revell. The chapters are organized and written to train men to preach more articulately and more convincingly. The philosophy of this book is that Biblical preaching should be characterized by a wholesome variety which utilizes all the current rhetorical and homiletical possibilities to the maximum. 2ProphetU2ProphetU is an […]

When Jeremiah Was A Baby

Written by: Warren Wiersbe At our traditional birthday breakfast for our teenage daughter, she announced that her “very favorite” gift was her new Babysitter’s Study bible, bound in pink and blue with her name printed in gold crayon on the cover. “Did you know that Miriam is the first babysitter mentioned in the Bible?” she […]