You are not Billy Graham.
You are not John Piper.
You are not Al Mohler.
You will struggle to find a church.
The church will have 75 people.
It will be away from your family.
Legacy families will control the church.
You can listen in on the committees.
Their traditions cannot be broken.
You will spend half your week on sermon prep.
People will forget everything by next week.
They will remember the joke you told.
Your children will be taught heresy.
They will be the only kids there.
They will be strictly judged.
You cannot complain about your finances.
Nobody cares about your degrees.
You cannot afford a place to live.
Your wife will envy your time with church members.
You will feel guilty about neglecting your family.
You will think you're neglecting your flock.
You will fall in love with some people.
Your closest friends will die.
The others will leave.
Count the cost before you answer the call to ministry.
If you think I'm overstating my case, I'm not.
If you think you're the exception, you're not.
All the above is just the bare minimum.
If you can, find something else to do.
If you can't, you're still not called.
But if you are, count the cost.
Then, enjoy. 🙂
@realstewpeters This is planned. A civil war means no election. The border is open to push angenda 2030 and is funded by the UN. We have to resign from the UN and take back our borders. We also must stay united! https://t.co/e08l2QfOQ8
Info for preachers this Sunday:
HAMAS was a word formed as an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement.). In Arabic حماس means “zeal, strength or bravery” so when people started using the English acronym Hamas connected to the Arabic meaning. When they refer to themselves in that way they hear “zeal.”
In Hebrew, there is a similar sounding word חָמָס H2555 translated violence, cruelty, unrighteous, and injustice. It’s the word used referring to the violence that filled the earth before the flood (Genesis 6:11,13, 49:5). When Hebrew speakers hear Hamas they hear violence and cruelty.
Just be careful jumping to the Hebrew meaning when it was an anglicized acronym first with a different Arabic meaning. It makes for a quick preaching point but it’s not entirely accurate.
Also, be cautious on bringing Abraham and Hagar into it. The Palestinians or Arabs in general are not the descendants of Ishmael neither are all the Arabic people.
Both Jew and Arab descended from Shem and there’s more evidence to connection to ancient Philistine and Canaanites than Ishmael (more connected to Bedouin in Saudi Arabia Otaibah and Mutayr.). Keep in mind Abraham had other children as well as that he was from Ur before.
The Koran and Mohammed actually connect the Arabic people exclusively to Ishmael. Don’t fall into that false comparison or adopt Islamic theology. I remember in high school feeling shamed of Arabic heritage as preachers wrongly tied 9/11 to an ethnic group (God did not eternally curse Ishmael’s descendants to be wild and genetically it’s not even true.) The issue is spiritual wickedness of Islam not Abraham’s action with Hagar creating a “wild race.” That’s racist and prejudice. Spiritual wickedness is the issue not descendants of Shem. We’re all one blood and we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
Keep in mind especially as there may be Arabic descendants or speakers in your congregation.
This is the sick agenda of Gavin Newsom and he wants to take it nationwide. Every Californian who professes a relationship with Christ should contact their state senator & demand schools stick with reading and writing. These laws are brainwashing children. https://t.co/rAuWadkU7W
On his deathbed at age 52, Matthew Henry, whose commentary on the whole Bible is still widely used almost 300 years later, said to a friend,
“You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men—this is mine: that a life spent in the service of God and communion with Him, is the most pleasant life that anyone can live in this world”.
You can have all this world but give me Jesus.