Talbot Davis's Blog, page 30
July 10, 2019
How To Kill A Sermon
I know a preacher is in trouble whenever he or she says, “Webster’s defines ___________ as __________________.” Why is a dictionary reference a sure-fire sermon killer? Because in preaching you should never define a word with more words. You define a word by painting a picture. Or doing a demonstration. Or performing an experiment. You take
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July 9, 2019
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Reasons I Have A Roger Federer ManCrush
It’s Wimbledon week which means I am both easily distracted and lacking in any objectivity. I want Roger Federer to win his ninth. Whenever he plays, I want him to win. I’m not alone in this. Will Skidelsky wrote a laugh-out-loud memoir called Federer And Me: A Story Of Obsession. I could have written it.
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Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Reasons I Have A Federer ManCrush
It’s Wimbledon week which means I am both easily distracted and lacking in any objectivity. I want Roger Federer to win his ninth. Whenever he plays, I want him to win. I’m not alone in this. Will Skidelsky wrote a laugh-out-loud memoir called Federer And Me: A Story Of Obsession. I could have written it.
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July 8, 2019
Look Intently At WHAT?
Think of all the things that get our double takes: Beautiful people. Sunsets on the beach. Sunrise on the beach. Mist rising from the mountains. The colors in a kaleidoscope. A city skyline at night. Beautiful people. And James throws in this line early in his sermon: “But the man who looks intently into the
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July 3, 2019
Proving A Point Or Shaping A Life?
I have recently realized that much of my bible reading is in order to prove a point. If I am in a religious or political or cultural debate with someone, for example, then I’ll just pull out my Scriptures, point out the relevant verses, and voila! Point proven. Which in the grand scheme of things
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July 1, 2019
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Bible Passages To Use In The Hospital
It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say I cut my ministry teeth on hospital visitation. Whether it was Clinical Pastoral Education in seminary or a heavy dose of the “ministry of presence” during my time at Mt. Carmel UMC in Monroe and even now to a team of people who help, I have
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June 30, 2019
Escape From Average, Week 5 — The “Dying To Go To Church” ‘Sermon’ Rewind
Yesterday we closed the Escape From Average series with what we call internally a “movement” service. Rather than a straightforward music set followed by preaching, we had a flow around some different worship elements. We interspersed music and prayer within the message itself. Drawing on something Chris Macedo had taught me years ago, we focused
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June 28, 2019
Escape From Average, Week 5 — “Dying To Go To Church”
If a Sunday goes well, we do less talking ABOUT the Scripture and more experiencing OF it. In fact, that’s one of the more urgent points in the forthcoming book, Simplify The Message, Multiply The Impact. (See how I did that?) It releases on Feb. 4, 2020. Anyway, as we wind up Escape From Average
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June 27, 2019
Paul & Mark Say EXACTLY The Same Thing In COMPLETELY Different Ways
Mark 4:35 – 5:41. A perfectly designed and built section where faith and art meet. Remember: chapters and verses were not original to Mark or any other book. The first story of Jesus in the boat with the storm sets up the question of questions: “Who is this man?” in 4:41. (As an aside, this
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June 26, 2019
What Happens At Good Shepherd Summer Camp DOESN’T Stay At Good Shepherd Summer Camp
I came across this story recently from a Good Shepherd mom regarding her eight year old daughter named Addy who is a student in our Summer Camp. An amazing bedtime conversation with my 8 year old: A: Mom, do you know that today is my spiritual birthday? Well, it was at 11:40 and I figured
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