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Articles for the ‘Spirituality & Religion’ Category

Every future has its roots. This is why people say that what is happening right now has already been seen from past foresights and predictions. As the ancient wisdom has taught us about superstitions and beliefs, predictions and foresights are also from them. However, we all should understand that whatever prediction some people have to say may or may not come true. Therefore, it is not right to rely on these beliefs. Let us live each day the normal way without too much worries and anxieties because of what the prediction said.

There have been predictions as to the end of day and life. It was predicted to happen in the year 2012. So what made them choose this year? As with the Mayans, an ancient civilization, basing on the complete eclipse of the sun, lots of dates and different data, it boils down to the date December 21, 2012. It may require lots of understanding of their culture to understand why this date was chosen. Other ancient civilizations say that the date of end is actually November 13, 2012.

A lot of prediction has come up from different groups, religions and citizens. Some depended on what the Holy Bible says that there will be pain, suffering, war and famine to happen in the near future. They say that all signs are slowly showing up. Another prediction is that global wars will arise and will soon bring suffering to many people. Well, these are all alarming and frightening, but the best hope there is, is to pray to the one who created us all.

The moment Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert died in 1861, she set a new trend. Her lengthy mourning paved the way for oppressive rituals that funeral directors were to carry on until she died forty years later. The whole court was required to dress in mourning clothes and the Queen herself remained in full mourning attire consistently until three years later. Grieving was no longer enough. Inner feelings were to be on full display through the full-on grieving that had now become fashionable.

Following their Queen’s example, those who could afford to do so indulged in expensive funerals, built complex monuments at the grave and adhered to the new etiquette of grieving. Along with specific clothing came an entire set of rules restricting the way people could act. Popular household manuals gave comprehensive instructions about the correct etiquette to adopt for each period of mourning. Queen Victoria’s poorer subjects had to make do with mixing their clothing in a large vat of black dye.

Compared to the adults, children were exempt from the traditions and were usually not required to wear mourning clothes, although sometimes girls wore white dresses. Many of their mothers, on the other hand, were nearly always in black, thanks to the many deaths that Victorian families suffered. The mourning time for males was shorter. Unrestricted by the curtailed social requirements, it was allowable for them to return to work and continue their daily lives. They simply wore black suits, or even just dark suits accompanied by black gloves, cravats and hatbands.

For females, however, mourning was a serious business. Although they could still attend church services, during full mourning they were not to be viewed in places linked with entertainment or amusement. The lengthiest period of mourning, which usually lasted at least two years, was after the death of a spouse. The required periods then dropped down a level, considering what the relationship with the deceased was. For first cousins, for instance, the period of grieving was only for a month.

Full mourning lasted for at least one year and a day. During this period women were required to dress in all black or in dull dresses with no sheen, trimmed with crepe. Bombazine was an often used material, being cheaper compared to non-reflective silk. Petticoats were made with black ribbon attached to their hems, to protect them if glimpsed. Then there were lace handkerchiefs with black borders, specially designed caps, bonnets and veils, even large “weeper” cuffs on dresses designed for mourners to wipe their nose during times of particular grief.

Second mourning went for nine months. Although women’s clothes would still need to be drab – generally grey – the crepe could be removed and the mourning veil was allowed to be lifted. A little jewellery was allowed, but the limit of this was hard black jet. It was popular for locks of the deceased’s hair to be built into brooches, lockets or watch fobs.

At the time of the half mourning stage, which went from three to six months, there was a gradual introduction of colour, with clothes moving on to brighter greys, mauve and a small amount of white. Jewellery wasn’t any longer restricted to jet and any kind was allowed to be worn.

Whichever level of mourning they were in, individuals had in order to buy the particular necessary clothes, or the materials to create them with, together with all other trimmings, the jewellery and headwear etc. Not surprisingly, a whole industry was created to cater for this fashionable new trend. Jay’s of Regent Street started up in 1841 as a type of one-stop shop, providing everything the mourning family could possibly need. Death was a big seller, as keeping mourning attire and crepe in the house after the mourning had stopped was considered to be bad luck.

When Queen Victoria passed away in 1901, the grieving fashion she had introduced began to disappear and the funeral director’s rituals surrounding grief changed drastically once more.

Getting the Most Out of Your Sermon Outlines

I once had a professor in one of my seminary classes state that every sermon ought to have at least one point, or else it is pointless. The goal of preaching is to communicate the truths of Scripture in a way that connects with people with accuracy and relevancy.  Being accurate relates to properly communicating the original message of the Scripture for the audience at the time it was written; relevancy relates to applying the Scripture in a way that it somehow helps the people that are hearing it.  A sermon should be outlined in such a way that people who listen to it can do the following:

1. They should be able to endure it.

Preacher jokes abound about long boring sermons.  The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure. Honestly, evaluate how long you stay in front of the people. They are use to sound bytes and frequent commercials in their everyday life. In addition, technology continues to make the learning process more and more interactive.

Here are some suggestions:

-When your outline becomes term paper sized, you are in trouble. Trim it down. Go over it several times making it more and more simple. You will be surprised how much more people will get out of it. If you have been preaching an hour, try aiming at 45 minutes this week. If you have been preaching 40 minutes, aim at 30 and so forth. When you land under 20 minutes consistently, you may be cutting your people a little short.  This is not the issue with any preachers I know. One Sunday I preached a 19.5 minute message. Honestly, it took a lot more prep time than it would have, had I gone 40 minutes. A good pair of scissors might help most of us preachers.

– Don’t bury your sermon in endless sub points. People will struggle keeping up with you. Using PowerPoint can help this, but honestly when you go to the second page of section three under sub point two on page six……. You get the drift. Your audience are not at a required class in order to graduate. They volunteered to come hear you preach, don’t make them regret it.

-On average keep your main points to five or less. 

-Vary the way you present your main points so that you do not become overly predictable. Always alliterating your messages can cause the people to become more interesting in the way you have built your sermon than it what it says.  Sometimes state your points in the form of principles, or in terms of analogy, or a hundred other ways.

-Work on your introduction and conclusion meticulously. A sermon with a good start and finish helps make a lasting impression upon people.

2. They should be able to enjoy it.

Please do not misunderstand me here. I am not saying the preacher’s goal is to entertain. Just as there are pastor resources for you to use, you are a resource that your people will use. So preach in a way they will remember and enjoy. I am saying that  a even a very serious topic can be presented in a way that people are engaged, challenged, and leave knowing they have been given something that can change their lives or at the least something they can chew on. It both cases, they are interacting. Their minds and hearts are participating. This is an enjoyable part of life. It is filled with adventure and agony all at the same time. It lifts us up and onward. There is nothing unspiritual in preparing a message in a way that people can receive it more easily. If the core truth presented is offensive, fine. But if it is how it was presented, that’s a shame. The truth was hindered by the truth bearer in such a case.  Think about the following ideas:

-Use stories, quotes, and anecdotes to communicate bible truths in a way the common man can understand and relate to. Ever noticed that Jesus teaching style often involved parables and short sayings that the people could really bite into?

-Under each main point, make sure you have three elements present. Explain what your main point means. Illustrate the point to people. Thirdly, make sure you apply it to their lives. Answer the question, so what difference does this make to me?

-It’s alright to laugh in church. Jesus definitely used humor in some of his teachings. You are a preacher not a comedian, but a preacher is a person and laughter is a healthy natural human emotion that God gave us.  Sometimes well placed humor can give the audience a little breather as well as giving them the opportunity to vocally interact with the message, both of which are good things.

A good outline will highlight many of these areas and give a fullness and a steady pace and direction to your sermons.  Visit my Sermon Seedbed site to check out all kinds of sermon outlines which are yours free of charge. Remembering the above ideas may help you to avoid some of those longhorn sermons. You know the kind that has two points and a bunch of bull in between!

Eddie Lawrence is a pastor and author and holds an earned Doctorate in Expository Preaching. He oversees Sermon Seedbed which offers free pastor resources for pastors and Bible teachers.

THE FOUR KINDS OF DEATH

The following is a sermon on death that gives a biblical perspective on death.

1. THERE IS PHYSICAL DEATH
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

John 11:12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well. 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.

In the epistle of James, if you look carefully, you will find there the biblical definition of death:

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2. THERE IS SPIRITUAL DEATH
This is the condition of the living person who does not have eternal life.

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

3. THERE IS THE SECOND DEATH
Revelation 2:11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.’

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 21:7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

4. There is a fourth death that is mentioned in Scripture as well. Visit Sermon Seedbed to learn about this fourth kind of death and see in this sermon death in its completeness.

This article written by Eddie Lawrence, D.Min. who is a pastor, author and overseer of Sermon Seedbed a free resource site for Pastors and Bible teachers. There you will find lots of sermon ideas and sermon outlines.

Most of us have heard of the research that says public speaking is the number one fear among Americans. Now imagine standing before a group of people in a public setting and speaking to them for the first time. Also imagine that they were waiting to hear you teach them about God, the Bible, and to tell them how to live their lives. Now you have a glimpse into the world of preaching.

I remember when I was first started sensing a call to preach in my life. I knew that it would involve preaching from the Bible to people, but I did not have a clue about how to preach. I scurried to the nearest Christian bookstore to see if they had a manual on how to preach. Fortunately there were a few books written by pastors to teach what they had learned to others who felt called to preach the Gospel. Not long thereafter, I discovered there was a whole field of study about the different aspects of preaching. It is called homiletics. I would read any books I could find about homiletics. I was a preacher studying how to preach.

Later I became a seminary student. My wife, children, and I packed our bags, sold our house, and moved to the big city so that I could pursue my Masters of Divinity degree. By that time, I had five years of preaching under my belt, but still so much to learn. Fortunately, the professors of the seminary knew that every wet behind the ears preacher boy needed training in the mechanics of preaching. One of our required classes was an entire year long study of homiletics. It was fun studying different preachers and learning how they put sermons together and how they delivered them to public audiences.

During that year of classes, we students were also required to preach a sermon in front of our peers to be critiqued by them. I know the great day of judgment will be a fearful day, but let me tell you; it was a fearful thing to stand in front of a room full of preachers and to preach to them with their critique sheets on their desks and pencils in their hands. We all survived and really learned a lot.

I know in a short article such as this, I cannot presume to teach anyone how to preach. But here are some thoughts to think about that may help get you started and help you gather some great information on the subject.

1. Since you are online reading this article, use your computer to also search for good preaching advice. Most pastors have a few personal tips that are meaningful and helpful to them. Glean this wisdom from pastors’ blogs and good preaching sites.

2. Surf through some sermon sites and look for eye catching titles. Just a sermon title can sometimes ignite your creativity and a whole message will follow. And often, that message may go in an entirely different direction than the one posted on the website where you found the title.

3. Study the sermon outlines of other preachers. This too will teach you how to look at a passage and see how it was broken apart for preaching purposes. This is a good way to learn.

4. Most sites have a newsletter that they send out. If you get just one idea per month from a newsletter, it is well worth the time it takes to scan over it. Learning from others is the way we all learn in all the different areas of our lives.

5. Nothing is to replace prayer, reliance on the Holy Spirit and a focus on Jesus. Keep these first things first, but also have an humble heart that allows you to recieve and learn from others.

God bless you and as you grow in your knowledge of “how to preach” then preach the Word!

This article is by Eddie Lawrence who is a pastor and overseer of Sermon Seedbed a website full of free sermons.

What are the characteristics of sermons that audiences hear and heed. Whatever they are, they will be good to add to your pastor resources. Let’s look at some of them.I suggest that there are four things to consider that sets a sermon that works apart from others.

1. First it is memorable. Let’s face it, if after the final “Amen!” is spoken, if everyone forgets what was said, then what was said was not that impressive. An audience has a hard time applying a message from one Sunday to the next, if they cannot remember what it was. So such a sermon has elements that make it memorable. Appropriate stories, powerful illustrations that actually are illustrative, and words employed that strike the memory of the audience are all important. Correct application of the sermon also marks the memory. That “this really hits home feeling will plant it into the memory field of the hearer.

2. Secondly, it connects on three levels. The sermon should be reasonable and make sense. It should connect intellectually. A sermon on faith can stretch a man’s natural mind, yet make sense that God would work in such a way since God is a spiritual being whose ways and thoughts are beyond ours. In other words, it makes sense that we cannot always understand God. But to bathe a sermon in ignorance of context, history, good exegesis, and bad exposition can be a hindrance to the hearer. It is amazing how Jesus taught in a way that common people could easily understand his illustrations, yet were tremendously stretched by his application.

The sermon should connect emotionally. Aim at the heart and those “gut” feelings will begin to be stirred within your hearers. Aiming only at the mind without regard to the heart is equally foolish. The heart level is where life change occurs. Preaching should be done within the crucible where real life occurs. Pain is real. Lust is real. Temptation is real. Desperation is real. A message may work in a mental lab and fall flat on its face on the street corner of the real world. This is where a sermon becomes relevant.

The last aspect of connecting has to do with the will. God made us with a will and we use it constantly. Your audience is continually deciding to tune in further or change the channel on you. Aim at the will. Target why what you are sharing is important. An old adage says, “A man persuaded against his will is of the same opinion still.” You may get the mind, and the heart, but the will is the decision maker. A good message answers the question, “Why does this matter?” This is the jugular of the will. Jesus did this, “Repent or you will perish!”

3. The third mark of a sermon that works is that it is true. For the preacher to build any sermon on a foundation that will not rest upon the eternal truth of Scripture is to plan to fail. Not only will the sermon fail but the people who apply it will as well. Truth is established. It has been set in place by God Himself through His Word. Build primarily on what He has said, not what someone else has said. Known and applied truth still sets men free.

4. The last mark of such a sermon is that it is incarnational. Now, that’s a big theological word that simply means, in is delivered through a human being. The man or woman somewhat becomes the message. It is not delivered apart from the personality through which it is being presented. The truth of the Gospel is that God became a man to rescue us from the ravages of sin. Through the art of preaching, truth is brought to men as the Spirit of God bears witness. Passion and concern mark the man who has been marked by the message.

In summary, make a mental check-list as you work on your weekly sermon and impose the following four questions:

 -In what ways, am I making this sermon easy to remember?

-In what ways, am I aiming at the heart of the audience?
-In what ways, am I supporting what I am saying with Scripture?

-In what ways, am I actively applying the sermon to my own life?

Certainly there are other elements to consider, but these four are important and I believe a part of sermons that work. I wish you much success in writing and delivering sermons that ultimately are lived out in the lives of your audience.

Written by: Eddie Lawrence, D.Min. of Sermon Seedbed which offers free pastor resources for pastors and Bible teachers.

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.

Think of any memorial service and you see flowers. It really is barely astonishing that both funeral directors and florists declare that funeral wreaths and sprays come 3 rd in their leading 5 selling goods. Flowers have already been utilized at funerals for years and years. In ancient times, not simply were they decorative, they were practical, given that their perfume assisted to cover up unpleasant odours.

These days, flowers are seen as a classic expression of grieving and, as with the rest of the funeral, they feature a great amount of social grace. Floral sprays – and also what are frequently known as as sympathy plants – usually are sent direct to the memorial service residence when the death is announced. On the day of the funeral, these are put in the hearse, arranged on and across the coffin, accompanying the loved one on their ultimate journey.

Typically, the most popular funeral flowers consist of lilies, carnations, chrysanthemums, gladioli and also roses. Muted colors tones will always be common, in particular for a feminine touch, whilst red-colored suggests unequaled love and white signifies tranquility. The particular season may also impact on accessibility to certain flowers.

Nevertheless, florists are the experts and will often provide advice. They can create unique tributes, which range from easy ‘cottage garden’ baskets and arrangements to sophisticated, contemporary arrangements. Wreaths are a common option, since they are made by means of a circle, that is the symbol of eternal existence. Flower sprays tend to be equally well-liked. These lie flat, exhibiting the blossoms much more openly for viewing from just one single side.

The important thing to selecting proper flowers should be to pick an offering you think family members is likely to appreciate. Some families request that donations be made to a particular good cause instead of flowers. This is a more pragmatic approach, as floral tributes are usually discarded by funeral directors following two or three days and in the case of cremations they are usually disposed instantly following the service.

However, few funerals are totally without flowers. Unlike the commonly sombre tone and dress of the mourners, they bring in a warm component of beauty and colour. Flower tributes display regard to the deceased, whilst offering great comfort to the family members, as they visibly convey emotions that many find hard to put into words.

Even though traditional, floral tributes don’t need to always be limited by the time of funeral or cremation. A lot of funeral directors will tell you that bereaved families value receiving blossoms within the weeks and even a few months following the memorial service. They provide a comforting reminder that people have not forgotten their loved one, especially if combined with a little individual note.

One integral part of that helps in reaching different people in different places and winning them for God are portable communion sets.

The Holy Communion is part of an important Christian tradition.

Normally, when you hear of Communion, it is different from Baptism wherein the latter is done once while the former is a practice done all throughout a Christian’s life.

Catholics mainly follow the Communion simply because the Lord said so. During communion, Christians are expected to remember Christ and his sacrifice and suffering for humankind.

In this holy practice, there are several essential elements. However, the top two would include the bread and wine.

There are three essential views that Christians hold regarding the bread and the wine.

One view is that there is transubstantiation that occurs and the bread and wine actually becomes the real body and blood of Christ.

Another view that is held is that the bread and the wine remain unchanged, but the Lord’s presence is made spiritually real through their faith.

The last view that most Christians hold is that the bread and wine are used as merely symbols. It represents the body and blood of the Lord and remembers the sacrifice that he has done for the people.

Anybody can go ahead and participate in a Communion. Normally, you will find this done in regular churches, but there are also priests that are assigned in remote places where there is no proper church.

People who live in these places and want to participate in a communion can now do so since there are portable communion sets available.  Hence, a priest can go ahead and conduct it to them.

Portable communion sets are necessary tools for a priest or any member of the clergy in any denomination to have especially if he is visiting a remote place or region.

There are many places that a clergy might make use of these portable sets.

For instance, it can be used in a hospital, a nursing home or even during the battlefield. This makes it easier for people to join and participate in this sacred worship without having to attend the church.

There are four main elements that make up communion sets. There is the cruet, paten, chalice, and pyx. There are small as well as large communion sets that you can use.

There will also be a carrying case for the set. Some pieces in the sets are ornate while others are simple and made of silver.

Each piece also has a specific function during the service. The cruet is a small container or bottle that is used to hold the wine during the service. The Paten is a small disk or plate that is used to hold the communion bread during the service.

Then you have the pyx, this is a small, often round, container that holds the host inside. Finally, you have the chalice. This is also known as the communion cup, where the wine is poured onto and drank from.

All of these help to make up the elements that are part of portable communion sets.

When shopping for communion sets, you may also consider customizing your own set by choosing what design of Communion plates you wanted or the style of communion cups you prefer, thus making it even more personal.