Category Archives: sermon podcasts

What it takes to be “a good man”

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As we celebrated Fathers’ Day, most of us took a moment to recall our fathers. My father was like many – he had lots of good character qualities. And he had some areas of his life where he could have improved. Patience was not one of his strengths. That’s probably why I never became a fisherman. But one of the strengths my father had was that he was a good man.

Some time ago that phrase, “he’s a good man” entered my daughter’s vocabulary. She would talk about professors at college and say, “Dad – you’d really like him. He’s a good man.” One day she was talking about Jim Bell and she said, “He’s a good man.” Then it happened….

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Coping with the Brutal Realities of Life…

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Have you ever heard old comics do the routine where one says something like this:

When I was young, we were so poor that five of us had to sleep in one bed.

You had a bed? When I was young, we were so poor that we couldn’t afford a bed. Each of us had to sleep on the floor and cover up with newspapers.

You had newspapers? When I was young, we were so poor that no one could afford a newspaper. We had to eavesdrop on our neighbors to get the news!

You had neighbors? When I was young, we were so poor that we couldn’t afford neighbors!

If anyone could win at that little contest, it would be John the Baptist. He knew what it was to suffer.

How did he handle it? What help does the Bible give us with our own?

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Overcoming Roadblocks to Seeing Miracles…

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Have you ever wondered why you don’t see God’s power the way others see it? You may wonder that if you’ve heard some of the stories I have heard. I remember when a missionary named Marge came to my church and told the story of an Indian in Columbia that didn’t believe in Jesus. He was actually highly resistant to the work of the missionaries. He died and at his funeral, he sat up and said, “God sent me back to tell you Jesus is REAL!”

Do we see that? Why not?

What about the concept of the demons fleeing. A missionary once told me a story of a pastor in Africa who had been chased by dogs. Eventually it was revealed that the local shaman – or witch doctor – had done this through black magic. The church prayed about it and the shaman disappeared.

Do we see that kind of thing in our lives? Why not?

I have heard some say that “The Bible is complete, so there is no more need for signs like this to occur.” Have you heard that? Miracles don’t occur now because we have the Bible instead. I don’t think that’s the case. I think that’s an attempt to rationalize.

Others say that “We ought not ask God to do extravagant things – just be glad for what you have.” That just seems cold.

Still others say, “We don’t have enough faith.” That’s probably closer to the truth, but doesn’t it seem a little simplistic?

The closing verses of Matthew 13 speak about Jesus not doing miracles in a certain time and place. I believe he didn’t do the miracles there because the people were in a self-imposed bondage.

This audio file addresses three reasons for this bondage and helps us rid ourselves so we can experience all God has for us.

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