"Jesus must become greater…" John 3:30
Read One afternoon a man came home from work to find total mayhem in his house. His three children were outside, still in their pajamas playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers thrown all around the front yard. The door of his wife’s car was open, as was the front door to … Read more
Read: Legend has it that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack—a windowless, roofless, weather-beaten old shack. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet away, an old rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle, … Read more
Read: Beatrice, Nebraska. March 1, 1950 Everyone had a good excuse that Wednesday evening for being late to 7:30 choir practice at the Baptist Church. Ladona Vandegrift, a high school sophomore, always came early. But on this night a thorny geometry problem detained her. Torena Estes and her sister Sadie were ready to leave home … Read more
Read The Greek word proskuneo (translated “worship”) means “towards to kiss” or to “adore”… “Literally, to kiss toward someone, to throw a kiss in token of respect or homage. The ancient Oriental (especially Persian) mode of salutaion between persons of equal rank was to kiss each other on the lips; when the difference of rank … Read more
Read: Charles T. Studd was a famous sportsman in England, captain of the Cambridge XI cricket team. A century ago he gave away his vast wealth to needy causes and led the “Cambridge Seven” to China. His slogan was, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great … Read more
Read: The story is told that when Berlin was being divided into East Berlin, controlled by the Communists, and West Berlin, part of the free world, a group of East Berliners dumped a whole truckload of garbage on the west side. The people from West Berlin thought they’d pick up all the garbage, put it … Read more
Read: Nothing destroys like isolation. POW’s during the Vietnam War communicated and sustained one another by tapping through walls. The Hanoi Hilton, says ex-Air Force pilot Ron Bliss, sounded like a den of run-away woodpeckers. The North Vietnamese never mastered the code, which laid out the alphabet on a simple 5 x 5 grid. The … Read more
Read: Today I woke up and combed my hair with a fork, blew my nose on sandpaper, put the bread in my shoes to make toast, poured milk in my car to make it run, and put the butter in the oven to keep it cold. “Am I crazy?” you say. Of course not. I … Read more
Why does a children’s ministry exist? (a) To babysit so parents can be ministered to? (Absolutely not!) (b) To help children get their annual supply of cookies and kool-aid? (No, not never!) (c) To help new volunteers understand why some animals eat their young? (Of course not.) (d) To reach and teach children and families … Read more
Read: I saw him in the church building for the first time on Wednesday. He was in his mid-70’s with thinning silver hair and a neat brown suit. Many times in the past I had invited him to come. Several other Christian friends had talked to him about the Lord and had tried to share … Read more
YOU WILL NEED: ✓ A Bible marked at Colossians 3:17 GAME—THINGS YOU DO SAY—We’re going to play a game and here are the rules: In a moment I’m going to say something that I did today, then we’re going to go around the circle and everyone else is going to say something they did today. … Read more
YOU WILL NEED: ✓Something you can throw ✓A Bible marked at Psalm 55:22 and 1 Peter 5:7 GET STARTED TELL your child that you are going to throw an item to him and you want him to catch it and throw it back. Do this several times. ASK—What does it mean to “cast” something? (“Casting” … Read more
YOU WILL NEED: ✓1 flashlight ✓Your Bible marked at Psalm 56:3 and Psalm 18:1-2 GET STARTED Have your family members “ransack” the house to get pillows, blankets, chairs, and whatever else they can find to build a fort. Take your time making it and let your kids be creative with it. (For example, they might … Read more
YOU WILL NEED: ✓Hidden clues to the treasure ✓Something to be the treasure such as a candy bar or a coupon for an ice cream cone, etc. Be creative. ✓A Bible marked at Psalm 119:11 GET STARTED Copy the following clues on individual slips or pieces of paper. Then hide all but the first one … Read more