A Joke A Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Pastor's Plight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pastor of a church is in a precarious position; he can't please
everyone! It has been said:
If he is young, he lacks experience; if his hair is grey, he's too old
for the young people.
If he has several children, he has too many; if he has no children,
he's setting a bad example.
If he preaches from his notes, he has canned sermons and is too dry;
if he doesn't use notes, he has not studied and is not deep.
If he is attentive to the poor people in the church, they claim he is
playing to the grandstand; if he pays attention to the wealthy, he is
trying to be an aristocrat.
If he suggests changes for improvement of the church, he is a
dictator; if he makes no suggestions, he is a figurehead.
If he uses too many illustrations, he neglects the Bible; if he
doesn't use enough illustrations, he isn't clear.
If he condemns wrong, he is cranky; if he doesn't preach against sin,
he's a compromiser.
If he preaches the truth, he's offensive; if he doesn't preach the
truth, he's a hypocrite.
If he fails to please somebody, he's hurting the church and ought to
leave; if he tries to please everyone, he is a fool.
If he preaches about money, he's a money grabber; if he doesn't preach
spiritual giving, he is failing to develop the people.
If he drives an old car, he shames his congregation; if he drives a
new car, he is setting his affection on earthly things.
If he preaches all the time, the people get tired of hearing one man;
if he invites guest speakers, he is shirking his responsibility.
If he receives a large salary, he's mercenary; if he receives only a
small salary, well-it proves he isn't worth much anyway.
-Author Unknown
Posted From [Teresa's Jokers]
************
Hey get everything you need and help us in the process!! Visit our special
website and do a little shopping :o)
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Cottage/2365/
************
On A Serious Note...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Closer to Jesus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It seems that whereever I go, no matter who I talk to, I fing that
believers everywhere desire to be closer to Christ each day. This is a
very noble desire. In fact, that is what God is desiring for us according to
Romans 8:29. "For those He foreknew He also predestined to be comformed to
the likeness of His Son,...." Therfore to desure to be closser ot God is a
good thing. This happens, many of us will agree, through being obedient to
God and His commands. Yet, one area where I find Christians everywhere being
disobedient, out of ignorance of the implications of disobedience, is in
fulfiling the command in Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:19.
When it comes to the area of evangelism, often we as believers feel
afraid and intimidated and do not make it a habit of sharing the Good
News with those around us. We excuse it by saying that "I don't know what to
say." "I am not a preacher/missionary." Or "I don't have time." All of
these may be legitimate excuses yet they still are excusing disobedience.
Christians everywhere MUST get involved in proclaiming the Gospel so that
those around them may hear and believe.
This may be as simple as inviting a friend or neighbor to an church
service, or over to your house for dinner and then talking to them about
Jesus. Another idea is leaving a gospel tract with your tip in a
restaraunt or hotel room. These are simple and yet effective ways that we
can be invovled in the great commission to those that God brings across our
path. Pray each day that God will allow you an opportunity to show someone
His grace. By getting involved in actively sharing our faith out of
obedience to Jesus' command we can truly say that we are becoming closer to
Him each day.
Kevin Kirkpatrick, Evangelist
The Pocket Testament League
Sent in by A Joke A Day Member: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Because of Christ,
Ted Cashion
Director
A Joke A Day Ministries / On The Spot Improv
Forward today's Encouragement to all your friends and family!!
For the BibleNet On-Line Bible NIV http://www.gospelcom.net/bible
Looking for past jokes and thoughts? Thanks to Lisa at Esosoft, you can go
to our new A Joke A Day Ministries Archive Website at
http://www.virtual-solutions.net/ajokeaday7/archives/
We, at A Joke A Day Ministries, are here to get you over that hump of a
ho-hum day and bring a little Son-shine into your life to keep you going. We
also like to remind you of the hope you have in Jesus and the endless love He
has for you. And bring you a little humor to help kick- start your day.
Everyone needs that! So be sure to share us with everyone you know and
they'll be thankful for that little extra push to keep them going!
A Joke A Day Ministries http://members.aol.com/AJokeADay7/home.html This
website is updated daily!
If you have a prayer request, send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
If you wish to SUBSCRIBE for our mailing list please send requests to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] and put: SUBSCRIBE AJOKEADAY7 in the body of the
email and nothing else.
Or if you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE for our mailing list please send requests to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] and put: UNSUBSCRIBE AJOKEADAY7 in the body of the
email and nothing else.
COMPLAINTS should be sent to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
