fisher of men

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Before we answer the question, “What is an Advent calendar?” we should answer the question, “What is Advent?” What is Advent? Advent normally refers to a special time (a period of 24 days, or the four preceding Sundays) of anticipation as we wait for the commemoration of the birth of the Christ child. Many people throughout the western world know and celebrate Christmas, but Advent isn’t always observed the ways Christmas is. The word Advent was borrowed from the Medieval Latin word adventus, and it means “coming” or “arrival, appearance.” The four weeks leading up to Christmas is a very special time as we prepare for the celebration of the first coming of Christ. (...

Ann Spangler Ann Spangler is an award-winning writer and speaker. Early in their seminary training, many pastors-to-be learn a curious phrase. Their professors instruct them that they are called to be a “non-anxious presence,” that is, the one person in the room who maintains a peaceful presence when everyone around them is losing it. When a child has died, when a couple is on the verge of divorce, when someone is in despair, when the church is threatening to split, they are to be present in a way that reorients the emotional and spiritual atmosphere. Their leadership can make all the difference. But this, of course, is far easier said than done. Here’s how one woman dealt with her own anxiety while trying to help a family in crisis. Amy Butler had spent an anxiety-filled...

Dr. Ray Pritchard Author, Speaker, President of Keep Believing Ministries Three quick notes:1. Our brand-new Advent ebook is called Letters to Our Grandchildren. 2.The ebook costs $2.99, but it is FREE for five days starting this Friday, November 29! 3. You can help us greatly by posting a brief review on the Amazon page because Amazon uses those reviews to boost where a page shows up in their search engine. The more reviews, the higher the book ranks, and the more people see it. PS Click here sign up for the free email sermons.

A Prayer for Gratitude and Thanksgiving By Debbie McDaniel “O Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”  – Ps. 95:1-3 We have so much to be grateful for in this life. Each and every day. But reality is that sometimes constant life demands, struggles, and worries give more room to defeat than to a heart of thanks. Or we forget, in the midst of busyness and pressures, just to pause and give thanks, for all that God has done, and continues to do in our lives. Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise and thanks. We ...

In life’s struggles, we often wonder how circumstances can change. A simple phrase such as “This Too Shall Pass” can bring comfort and sometimes resolution. But why do we find peace and comfort in such a simple phrase? Most people believe that this phrase came directly from the Bible itself. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all. History and Origin  According to Rabbi Lisa Rubin, “King Solomon was trying to humble his wisest servant, so he asked him to perform a seemingly impossible task: to find something that did not exist. He requested a magic ring — one that, if a sad man wore it, he would become happy and if a happy man wore it, he would become sad.” The story suggests that the servant could not find anything of such nature. So, King Solomon decided upon himself to go to a j...

Money is a touchy subject. It’s been said that the last thing that gets converted in a Christian’s life is their wallet. But we also know that the Bible teaches generosity, and specifically, to the local church of which we are a part. Many do give. Many don’t. Why is that? Here are four reasons for each, beginning with why people do give: 1. They want to obey out of love. The commands to give are clear and unambiguous. Obedience in the Christ life is always about the heart. It’s wanting to find out what God wants, and then wanting to do it. It’s the wonderful dynamic of having Him as both Forgiver and Leader. It’s like being in love with your spouse and wanting to do things that you know would please them. Giving is always a reflection of where your heart is positioned. 2. They want to exp...

How to Have a Thankful Heart through Difficult Times by Veronica Neffinger “For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:15-16) Colorful, feather-shaped pieces of construction paper sit on the kitchen table, along with cut-outs of turkey-shaped bodies and body parts–beak, feet, etc. My mother brings over the magic markers and we are ready to begin making our yearly Thanksgiving turkeys. This was a tradition my mother started when I was very young, and we participated every year that I remember until I left for college. We would assemble our ...

Why Being Thankful Is a Powerful Way to Live Free By Debbie McDaniel The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” Psalms 28:7 We have so much to be grateful for in this life, every single day. But reality is that sometimes constant life demands, battles, and worries give more room to defeat than to a heart of thanks. Or we forget, in the midst of busyness and pressures, just to pause and give thanks for all that God has done and continues to do in our lives. Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise and thanks. We may not feel like it. We’re struggling. We’re weary. Or maybe, we feel like He let us down. We think God seems distant, like he’s far away, or doesn’t really care abou...

He Loves to Be with the Ones He Lovesby Max Lucado Holiday travel. It isn’t easy. Then why do we do it? Why cram the trunks and endure the airports? You know the answer. We love to be with the ones we love. The four-year-old running up the sidewalk into the arms of Grandpa. The cup of coffee with Mom before the rest of the house awakes. That moment when, for a moment, everyone is quiet as we hold hands around the table and thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie. We love to be with the ones we love. May I remind you? So does God. He loves to be with the ones he loves. How else do you explain what he did? Between him and us there was a distance—a great span. And he couldn’t bear it. He couldn’t stand it. So he did something about it. Before coming to the earth, “Christ himself was ...

A Prayer for When You Grieve a Loved One in Heaven By Lisa Appelo He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” – Revelation 21:4 I stooped to give my 7-year-old a goodnight hug and pray with him. He’d made a pallet on the carpet in my bedroom, something he often did after Dan, my husband, died. By day, he played like all the other little boys in neighborhood. You’d never know he was carrying a heavy blanket of grief. On this night, I listened as Matt prayed. He thanked God for the good day and prayed for kids all over the world that needed help. And then he closed with this: Tell my dad I said hello. A thousand knives went through my...

It was a disturbing headline: “Church of Canada May Disappear by 2040, Says New Report.” Yes, it is being forecast “that there will be no members, attenders or givers in the Anglican Church of Canada by approximately 2040.” This was said by Neil Elliot who authored the report commissioned by the church and delivered in an address to the Council of General Synod in Ontario. The report was based on five different methodologies of analysis, all giving the same dire prediction. The freefall that has already taken place is stunning. Membership in the Anglican Church fell from a high of 1.3 million in 1961 to just more than 357,000 in 2017. While there were many appropriate reactions to the report, including calls for the church to put forward a more robust and creative witness for Christ, one r...

The Holy Spirit gives each of us opportunities to follow his promptings. But he doesn’t force us to take hold of them. I remember driving north to visit my elderly uncle shortly after my aunt had died. He lived alone in a small cabin, an idyllic but lonely place. I was concerned about him, knowing that his health was failing and that he had few friends and family close by. I wondered about the state of his soul. As far as I knew, he had never shown the least bit of interest in any kind of religion, nor had his wife, my aunt. Shortly before she died, I’d had the chance to pray with her and talk to her about Christ‘s love. Now I wanted to talk to him, but I was having difficulty working up the nerve. We had never had a serious conversation about anything. Yet my conscience ...