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Articles for the ‘Spirituality & Religion’ Category

Pastor Resources for Preachers and Bible Teachers

Time is a precious commodity for everyone. As a minister who has been preaching the Bible for over 25 years, study time is extremely important. It is no different for the business man or woman who teaches a bible class at their local church. It is easy to spend hours studying a bible passage, reading commentaries, and going deeper in Bible dictionaries and word study books.

The internet offers tremendous opportunities, insights, and time saving helps. These pastor resources are great! I have had my eyes opened wide to this in the past year after I decided to begin offering my bible studies and sermon outlines to people over the web. I build a site called Sermon Seedbed for pastors and Bible teachers to visit and enjoy. I have been amazed at the response and the encouragement I have recieved from users of the site from over 120 different nations. What a way to expand what you do!

Another benefit I have gained is added knowledge of other great sites on the web for students of the Bible. Sites like Bible Gateway, The Blue Letter Bible, and Sermon Central are amazing and very helpful. Sure there are sites that are too far left and too far right for a lot of us, but don’t allow a bone here or there to keep you from eating fish. There are tons of sites for people who desire to grown in their knowledge of the Bible and hopefully as a result, in their lives.

This article addresses people who have a formal preaching position or those who lead small group bible studies. Let me share with you three tips on making your study time more productive for you and those whom you teach.

1. Don’t bury your audience with endless details.

You purpose should be to open up the Word so it becomes relevant to their everyday life. When someone is struggling with their marriage, fighting an addiction, or coping with anxiety, knowing what those winged beings in Ezekiel’s vision may not be as helpful as knowing how David dealt with being deeply discouraged.

2. Keep it moving and engaging

Similar to the above tip, we preachers and teachers after spending hours studying a verse are tempted to share everything we have mined out of a verse. As a result, we can become bogged down and people begin feeling that it will take forever to cross the finish line. Overcome the temptation to stay at a place too long and keep a steady pace moving toward the end. By keeping it engaging, I suggest that you make a concerted effort in your presentation to connect with the people. Afterall, that is the purpose of it all, to transform lives through sharing God’s Word. Engage them with a story or illustration or question.

3. Be enthusiastic about what you are sharing.

Wow, if you don’t seem to care, then why should they? Notice I said, “If you don’t seem to care…” The actual words you share with people are important but there is so much non-verbal communication that takes place when preaching or teaching. Your listeners are looking at the whole package. Being excited about what you are doing will be contagious. I am not saying overhyped or ramped to explode. Just be yourself with a smile on your face, a spring in your step, and a song in your heart and it will shine through.

You can check out my pastor resources and sermons site at www.sermonseedbed.com.

Four Suggestions on How to Preach A Sermon

Imagine it! Knees wobbling! Heart racing! Sweat popping! Mind Swirling! What has happened? Are you in love? No, you have just been asked by your pastor to preach a sermon in an upcoming worship service. Yikes! What do you do? Quickly say “No!” and make up an excuse; or, pray for courage and seize the moment? Let me encourage you to go for it. Whether you have been called to be a preacher or not, it can be a very rewarding experience for you. Here are some preaching and sermon preparation pointers for you to consider:

1. Start Praying for Wisdom and Courage

This should go without saying, but I am saying it just the same. Ask God to help you, direct you, and use you for His glory. Pray for the people who will be there when you preach. Pray for yourself to be calm and courageous. Pray for the message to be meaningful and memorable.

2. Select a Relevant and Helpful Topic

Since you are going to preach, use the opportunity to give people a message that will help them in their daily lives. By all means, avoid the temptation of trying to impress people.

You will make a greater impression by giving them instructions that will help them live their lives more fully.

You can easily select a topic that will help people by simply considering the problems they face and the struggles they have to go through in life. Everyone needs encouragement. Everyone needs to know how to handle wrong emotions. Everyone has to learn how to forgive, and on and on the list could go. The Bible is a great resource manual for life and will give you the instruction you will need to pass on to others.

3. Use Stories that Clearly Illustrate Your Points

People remember and relate to stories,especially personal stories. Don’t shy away from speaking about your own struggles or triumphs. This makes for good sermon material.

Sharing how God helped you or blessed you will encourage others as well. This is the power of testimony at work. The introduction or beginning of the sermon is a good place for a personal story.
Even a humorous event that happened to you can be very impacting. Just make sure you are able to weave the aim of your sermon into the particular story you tell.

4. Keep it Moving and Keep it Short

It will be far easier than you think to have more to say than you have time to say it. Use a clear and simple outline and flow through it in a timely manner.

If you finish with people wanting more, you have done well. Even a great start can be lost in a long tedious sermon. Try to keep it around 25-35 minutes maximum.

There are many more suggestions that could be made, but take these four simple ones I have shared and keep them in mind when you preach a sermon for people who like you, need lifting up and blessed.

This article writtenby Eddie Lawrence who is a pastor, author and overseer of Sermon Seedbed, a site that offers free sermons and sermon outlines for pastors and Bible teachers.

For the ordinary layman hearing about communion cups, the first thing that comes to mind is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Popular culture has depicted some of the most significant religious artifacts in a very unorthodox manner, but the good thing is that it helps ordinary people to get acquainted with these religious items.

In the movie, Indiana Jones was looking for Jesus’ cup. For believers, this is called the Holy Grail, the ultimate communion cup which was used by Christ himself.

In literature and some Christian traditions, the Holy Grail did not just mean that cup of Christ, but also stood for the dish and plate used by Jesus at the Last Supper he had with his disciples.

Throughout centuries, this Holy Grail came to be represented as a communion cup that we are now familiar with.

Of course, the use of communion cups varies all over the world. Many cups are made of different kinds of materials depending on the country and the people celebrating it. For example, some of the Christian peasants in Mexico created a communion cup from baked clay while some Christian Palestinians created one from olive wood.

Today, we have come a long way from the glass communion cups that were used before during communion masses. Some small congregations still use glass cups, but it’s a very time consuming process to have to wash each cup after service. Hence, most churches, especially big ones, go for plastic communion cups instead.

No matter what communion cups are made for, they serve one major purpose, and that is to symbolize the faith that people have in Christ.

Communion cups have had a long history. From the Holy Grail to the silver chalices used by the Egyptians and Sumerians to the plastic communion cups we use today. They are all significant for the people that use them in their practice.

As mentioned, the Holy Grail or Chalice is celebrated as one of the most sacred vessels in the Church and it is often blessed prior to using it.  

Even if the Bible does not offer the cup during the Last Supper dinner or make any significance about it, believers still uphold it as a sacred item. Pilgrims in Jerusalem believed that another significant cup was still venerated in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

It supposedly contained the sponge that was used by Christ at Calvary. This was apart from the tradition and belief surrounding the cup from the last supper.

Out of this faith came the belief in the legends of the cup, from Indiana Jones to Merlin and Dan Brown, the story of the ultimate Communion Cup or the Holy Grail is still alive and celebrated.

Of course, legends and stories about the exact Holy Grail have sifted through and became muddled through the years. Whatever the truth may be, there is no denying the fact that the significance of communion cups in today’s Christian celebrations and among believers is still as strong as ever.

Over the years , there are many changes in the designs of communion cups , its not far any different when we talk about communion plates and even church candles.

The topic of free sermon outlines is one I love to talk about. Just over a year ago I launched a site to be able to give away sermon outlines to pastors and Bible teachers around the world. Wow, I never dreamed of the impact that SermonSeedbed.com would have globally. In the first year, visitors from over 180 nations came to the site registering over  three million hits and the site continues to grow.

This in itself demonstrates the hunger there is among pastors and Bible teachers to access materials that will help them in their preaching. Amazingly, my site is just one among hundreds and hundreds of others also providing materials and many of them free of charge.

Here are three pointers of how to quickly locate a free sermon outline on whatever topic you may be studying.

1. Use Your Search Engine Wisely
Learn to type in more than just the word sermon. Type in “free sermon outline on love” or whatever the topic may be. Type in “sermon on” plus the scripture reference you are studying. This will provide you with a ton of material in a nano second.

2. Visit Sermon Sites
Take some time to visit several of the free sermon outline sites and bookmark your favorites. I hope you will consider Sermon Seedbed as well. Most sites have some way to search for a specific site. My site is categorized plus has a master index to consult.

3. Visit Audio Sermon Sites
This one will require more time. But you can actually listen to sermons preached on the topic you are studying. Download the MP3 into your ipod or to a CD and listen to it while you drive and do visitation. You are bound to get some good input to inspire you and give you ideas for your own sermon.

Use these three ideas and you will be waist deep in good preaching material. Pray over what you find, feed your own soul, and out of the overflow, feed others.

Eddie Lawrence, who wrote this article, is an author, pastor, and oversees Sermon Seedbed, a resource site providing free sermons for pastors.

Just like people are different, so are sermons. Some sermons just connect more deeply and seem to produce more results. Yes, the condition of the soul of the person doing the preaching is a huge factor as is his or her natural ability to address a public audience. But with these important things aside, I desire to briefly address practically why some sermons seem to hit the mark better than others. All of we who have preached before understand that a particular sermon may just be more powerful in its results than another sermon although the same preacher delivered both. Why is this? Out of many things that could be said in answer to this, let me suggest only three.

1. A sermon that speaks is a practical sermon.
To be practiced a sermon needs to be practical. In tending to people spiritually we must not forget that they live out their spiritual lives in this world below. Sermons that impact people will address how they are to live out their spiritual beliefs in real life. Make sure the sermon answers the question, “How does this help me live a better life?” Give them the information necessary to know how to practice the truth you are presenting in their daily lives. If what you preached can’t be used in daily life, one could question the usefulness of what is being preached. Of course, biblical truth is good and necessary, so work hard to show people how to put it to use. Bible sermons that are relevant are so needed.

2. A sermon that speaks is an understandable sermon.
With a sea of commentaries and theological study surrounding our study time, we preachers can easily get lost at sea and deliver sermons that never reach shore where the villagers live. Theological concepts and terminology can be verbally impressive but leave people wondering how to gain such lofty heights with their feet planted in this Earth. Keep your language and concepts as simple and understandable as possible. If children in the audience are soaking it in, then you are doing well. If people scratch their heads and talk about how smart you are as you speak over their heads, you should repent forthright and ask God to forgive you for making the way of salvation so complicated people cannot figure out how to get in.

3. A sermon that speaks is a life-giving sermon.
This is vitally important. Jesus came to give people life and when we share his word we should be giving life. He said when he spoke, he spoke life, so should we. To many people have had the sad experience of walking deadfully to a church in hope of help, only to be battered with anger and condemnation. Leave the judgment and condemnation to someone else. Decide you are going to preach the truth but in love. Be a life giving preacher who freely gives hope to all who come. This is the heart of Jesus. This is the heart of a sermon that will be heard and hungered for.

Add to this list other aspects if you wish, but realize that if you want people to practice what you preach, it needs to be practical. If you want them to apply then they must first understand it. If you want them to desire it, then offer them life through it.

This article written by Eddie Lawrence, D.Min. who is a pastor and also oversees Sermon Seedbed a free resource site for pastors and Bible teachers with tons of sermons and sermon outlines.

One of the best ways to get great deals on communion supplies is to take your search online. If you are a church assistant and tasked to hunt down affordable communion supplies for your church, then you can go ahead and order cheap deals online.

The first thing that you would need to decide on would include the things you are going to get. There are many elements that are used in a communion service. There is the communion set itself as well as the communion bread and wine.

The bread and the wine are the two primary things that needs to be ordered every once in awhile to replenish church supplies since they are used quite often, depending on the communion services held by the church.

Most churches usually order twice a month; however, this would also depend on how many members a church has and how many communion masses they might hold in a week. The number of communion masses a single church holds also varies depending on the denomination and religion.

Apart from a list of the things that you need to get, also determine the number or quantity that you would need to order. This way, you can easily get quotes once you start looking for possible online dealers or shops.

If you have all these information on hand, then you can begin your search for affordable deals in getting all the communion supply your church would need.

Once you have found several potential dealers or wholesalers for communion supplies online, there are a couple of things that you need to look into first.

One, you need to make sure that the website or company you are dealing with is legitimate.There are a couple of ways that you can do this. You can either check through BBB or you can do your own research to find out customer feedback about the company.

It is important that you deal with a legitimate company only so that you won’t get duped into paying money for substandard or even no supplies at all.

Two, make sure to get a good price for your order. Inquire about possible discounts that you will be entitled to especially if you will be ordering materials in bulk. Most companies provide a considerable amount of discount when it comes to this.

However, the most important thing to do is to ask for the discount since companies would never bother to offer it themselves.

Third, once you obtain the estimate prices from the company. Don’t sign a contract right away. Make sure to compare the prices that you get from the company. After comparing, you can then decide and get the most affordable deal possible.

As you can see, it is possible to get the best deals when you do your search over the Internet. If you follow all these guidelines, you should be able to get the best deal possible when it comes to ordering your church’s communion supplies.

Once you find the right store that offers great deals of Communion Supplies , it wont be far any difficult to look for church supplies and Christian Frame Art.

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Many people are quite familiar with the communion chalice, but most have no idea why it is important in the Christian faith as well as it’s meaning.

The chalice is also more commonly known as the communion cup.  It is considered to be one of the most popular among the sacred vessels. Essentially, a chalice is used in most Christian ceremonies and masses as a cup that holds the wine.

Some of the churches that use this vessel include Catholics, Eastern Orthodox churches, Anglicans, Lutherans and other Christian sects.

Most of the time, a chalice is made from either gold or silver and decorated in various stones. Back in the day, the gold goblet was something that symbolized family.

Moreover, the chalices back then looked like a goblet with two handles at either side. Throughout the centuries, however, the look of the chalice has changed although its main significance remained the same.

The chalice as a vessel was treated with great reverence and often kept in a sacred place. Most of the time, when people hear of the word chalice or communion cup they automatically think ‘holy grail’ or the cup that Christ used in the Last Supper.

This came about when pilgrims back in the 6th and 7th century believed that there was a sect that still held the original cup that Christ used. However, this turned out to be unfounded.

Nevertheless, it showed just how important the cup was and how far those who believe in the Christian faith would go for it.

The communion chalice is one of the most important vessel used in many Christian ceremonies. You can find plenty of types of chalices and their uses depending on the church denomination or religion that’s using them.

The design is different for each church that used them as well. For instance, in western Christianity the cups had a small node where the stem met the cup. This allowed the cup to be easily picked up.

In Catholicism, before the Vatican II, the cups were created with a tulip shape and were generally quite slim since only the priests were the only ones that used them.

Today, however, all people who are to take communion can drink from the chalice or any form of cup to also partake of the blood of Christ.

On the other hand, in Eastern Christianity, which includes the Orthodox churches; the chalices were often decorated with icons and even the cross. All of the people that took the communion were also able to drink from the chalice itself.

As you can see, the chalice has had many facets and even today, variations of its looks are still present.

These cups are still seen as an important part of the sacrament and the faith. They are essentially used to symbolically hold the blood of Christ.

The sanctity is still being revered and in fact, in the Catholic Church, whenever the communion chalice is used, it is actually blessed first and anointed.

While some think that Christian Bookstore only sell christian fiction books and christian music, they also offer various communion supplies