How to Become a Better Preacher

Become a better storyteller.

This isn’t just a challenge for preachers and teachers (although a strong case can be made for the importance of narrative preaching) but for everyone who talks to people!

When you talk and share stories or insights with others you want to leave people better than you found them. Make an impact in their lives.

That being said I’m aware the bulk of those interested in being better speakers are those who probably do it for a living including but not limited to Pastors.

Becoming a better storyteller will make you a better preacher. I love to read and I purposely throughout the year pump the brakes on reading theology or spiritual growth books in order to read a novel or biography. Reading other people’s stories makes me a better storyteller. And being a better storyteller makes me a better preacher. Sharpening the gifts that we’ve been given and multiplying them instead of burying them into the ground.

You have a gift of storytelling even if you don’t think so.

You have too much to offer to allow the attention of your audience to wander from what you are saying.

Trained professionals make what they do seem effortless.

Amateurs produce inferior products even though they work harder at it.

What makes the difference?

Those who master at some point in time made a major investment in tools and learned how to use them.

The same is true with storytelling.

When you tell stories don’t work harder and accomplish less.

Make an investment in useful tools. Here are 7 that will make you a better communicator:

Imagination

In order to properly tell a story, you have to see it in your mind.

Try picking up an imaginary object and don’t let it disappear until you let it down again.

Facial Expressions

Be quiet and let your face speak. The most important tools you have when telling a story are the ones the audience sees not hears.

Slow down your spoken words so your face can tell its part of the story.

Body Movements

Be aware of what your body is telling people. The audience is listening to what you say and comparing it to what they see. Remember don’t give nervousness the freedom to gesture.

The Voice

Slow down, control the quality, and choose your words wisely. Protect your voice never a good excuse for damaging it. Make sure you warm your voice up before publicly telling stories like a singer in a band would.

The Pause

 Skillful communication requires the presenter to stop talking regularly. It gives people the opportunity to process and picture when you’re describing. Also, it takes a certain amount of confidence to stop talking when standing in front of an audience. Reduce what you’re saying with your words to make room for silent communication.

The pause:

·      Encourages the painting of mental pictures

·      Allows time to emphasize facial expressions

·      Creates anticipation

·      Gives life to the characters in the story

·      Decreases the use of filler words (um… uh… so… you know…)

Nervousness

Nervousness is great. You should be happy to be nervous. When you feel your nervousness is when you’ll do a good job. When you don’t feel it is when you should begin to feel nervous. If people tell you they’re not nervous it’s because they’ve given it a different name. Perhaps they have gained control of it and are using it to their advantage.

Value nervousness because:

·      It is a gift

o   God made our bodies with what we need to function at our highest potential.

·      It prompts us to prepare

o   We don’t want to fail, this makes us nervous, which should make us well prepared.

·      It activates our senses

o   Nervousness pours adrenaline into your system making your mind sharp and full of ideas. Your smile is genuine and optimism takes over.

·      It gives an extra surge of energy

o   There are times when people suffer from headaches, sore muscles, pain, sickness, even stuttering but as soon as they starting talking all was forgotten until they walked off stage.

Confidence

The first order of business is to relax the audience they have to know they can trust you. They’re looking for confidence in your eyes, face, gestures, and mannerisms. They want to see you have made an emotional investment in your presentation. It starts to put them al ease if its clear you trust what you’re about to do.

·      Confessions are rarely appropriate

o   An apology before a presentation is an unrefined way of asking for reassurance.

o   An apology after a presentation is a crude way of asking for a compliment.

o   Neither is appropriate. Both are unprofessional.

·      Practice using the microphone.

o   Do a sound check

Ethel Barret author of Storytelling, It’s Easy says this:

A story, if it is to fulfill its purpose, ruthlessly demands the center of the stage, so its characters can come to life and have their being. You as a storyteller must make a choice. This, if you have followed all instructions, is not going to be easy to take… Now that you have practiced all the ways and means and know all the tricks- most of them you must forget. At least you must forget them as such. And in time, you will. They will become a part of you, and you will not be conscious of them as techniques- they are just you, but a newly developed and disciplined you, lifted to a higher plane of artistry. And the day will finally come when you realize that there is not room on the platform for both you and the story; one of you has to go. That will be the day when you forget yourself completely, lose your identity in the story. You are the story. It is the highest form of art.

For more information, tips, and knowledge read The Art of Storytelling by John Walsh.

It is a great resource for becoming a better storyteller.

A Lost Art

Why do many children who accept Christ before the age of twelve drop out during their teenage years?

Some people chalk it up to peer pressure, teenage rebellion, etc.

But what really happens at age twelve?

Finding out what takes place when a child graduates from Children’s ministry into Jr. High ministry reveals something interesting…

At age twelve we stop telling Bible stories.

We go into the “deeper things” of scripture.

We talk about doctrine, relationships, ethics, etc.

They say:

“It’s important that we don’t treat teenagers like children.”

But stories are not just for children…

75 percent of the Bible is written in story format.

15 percent of the Bible is a form of poetry.

Only 10 percent of the Bible is analytical reasoning.

Some people believe God had written most scriptures in story form to make it easier for people to learn and to share.

In churches, all across America many pastors come to find out just how little most of their people know about the Bible. I know that was true for me. It took years of me pretending that I was keeping up with what the pastor was saying; proof texting, cross referencing, using scripture to illustrate scripture…

I was lost.

So as a new believer or someone who isn’t well versed (pun) in the Bible it can be daunting to pretend you know what’s going on and not ask questions because you don’t want to seem stupid or unspiritual. When people come to the Lord many fear being outsiders and not knowing everything you know.

Even after years of church involvement and hundreds of sermons people typically have a good understanding of doctrine, theology, Christian ethics, proper relationships-what they don’t know are the stories of the Bible.

Preaching based on sound reasoning, helps people form good doctrine.

Knowing the stories of the Bible helps people make good decisions.

Doctrine is only as good as the God-breathed stories that support them.

Good doctrine is great but worthless if it is not transferred to making wise decisions in life.

May you not only have good doctrine, but know the stories of the Bible.

May you not be lost but understand how every story of the Bible connects to another.

May you see how every story connects to your story.

May you know the narratives of scripture well enough to tell others about them.

May you rediscover the art of storytelling.

Arnold Swarzenegger's "Stay Home-Stay Fit" Workout

This coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented. I have heard from so many of my fans that you are anxious and scared.

Almost everything happening around the world right now is out of our control. Almost everything. Instead of worrying about the things we can’t change, let’s focus on the things we do control.

First, and most importantly, we can control how responsible we are right now. We can slow down the spread of the virus by staying at home as much as possible. I know that isn’t easy, but right now it’s our responsibility. Most of us will be fine if we get the virus. This is a time not to think about yourself, but to think about the people you could be infecting. Be a part of the solution, and stay home every chance you can. That means no bars, no restaurants, no gatherings, and you’ll all be shocked to hear this from me, but no gyms.

Even without a gym, we can also control our physical fitness during this pandemic. Body weight, or freehand, training is the oldest method in the world. Gladiators and Vikings didn’t have gymnasiums. I started my own fitness journey with chin-ups on a tree branch by a lake in Austria. My father would encourage my brother and I to train by following the footsteps of a boxing hero of ours, László Papp, who chopped wood when he was preparing for a fight (this was a great trick to get us to do our chores). And once, when I found myself in New York to promote fitness, but ironically I couldn’t find a gym, I still found a way to train. I ran up the steps of the Park Lane Hotel where I was staying, all 46 stories, and by the end I was completely schvitzy and my legs got an incredible pump.

You don’t need a gym to be fit. I’ve written a program for all of you. You can do it every other day and it will cover all of your muscle groups.

The system is simple. If an exercise says 50 reps, you are doing 50 reps however you can. You can do 10 sets of 5 reps, 5 sets of 10 reps, 2 sets of 25 reps. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you finish 50 reps with perfect form. Once you complete the reps of one exercise, move on to the next exercise.

A note on form: if you cheat at an exercise, you are only cheating yourself. Don’t let your ego do the movements for you. You might want to show off to me or your friends and do 50 push-ups in one set, but if you can’t do them with perfect form, I’ll be more impressed by 5 sets of 10 perfect push-ups.

I have given repetition guidelines for beginners who don’t train very often and for more advanced trainers. But if you have actually never worked out, spend your first few workouts just getting used to the movements. I don’t want you to force yourself through 25 rows or knee-bends and then be unable to do the workout again in two days because you are too sore. And adjust the exercises for yourself - if a push-up is too much, instead of putting your hands on the floor, put them on a counter to make the movement a little easier. If a dip between chairs is too much, use your feet on the floor to take some of the weight off of your upper body. Don’t feel bad about working your way up to the full workout - we all start somewhere.

You aren’t adding weight like you would be in the gym, but you can still track your progress. If you could do 5 perfect push-ups today, do 6 in your next workout. Track the number of sets it takes you each time to hit your total reps, and watch as the number of sets goes down over time.

Here is your workout:

Pushups

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Dips between chairs

Beginner: 20 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Row between chairs

Beginner: 30 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Sit-ups

Beginner: 30 Reps

Advanced: 100 Reps

Bent-leg raises

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Bent-over twists

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Knee bends (squats)

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50-70 Reps

Calf raises

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Chin-ups

Beginner: 10 Reps

Advanced: 30 Reps

Here are demonstrations of each exercise: https://imgur.com/gallery/yYmEOnO?s=sms

We’ll get through this together, and hopefully, we’ll all emerge in a few weeks fitter than ever. Let’s do this.

This article was originally posted to:

https://www.reddit.com/user/GovSchwarzenegger/comments/flz3es/stay_at_home_stay_fit/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Imagination

On my way to work (when I worked in Alaska during college summers) I decided to skip the cab ride and walk. I cut through some neighborhood that was mostly quiet except for this one house whose front lawn was decorated with toys everywhere. Dancing through all the plastic inventions from Mattel were three little boys. Bare-footed, rat-tailed, mullet wearing boys. To many people this setting would have looked like an embarrassment to the neighborhood.

But not to these three boys.

I could hear them fighting over who was going to be Optimus Prime and who was going to be Bumble Bee. To these boys an abandoned, not well-manicured or maintained, salvage yard for toys turned into more than a yard. It was transformed into a place the Transformers movie could be lived out. A place where large plastic blocks serve as pieces of armor and a grassy enclosure becomes a desert away from civilization where the final battle between Autobots and Decepticons is initiated.

All in the minds of three small boys.

Creativity.

The Bible is split into two parts. The Old Testament and the New Testament. The birth of Jesus is what separates these two testaments. That’s why in history time is labeled B.C. meaning “Before Christ” and A.D. meaning “Anno Domini,” which is a Latin expression which literally means ‘in the year of the Lord’.

The New Testament also known as the Greek Scriptures was written in Koine Greek, the vernacular dialect in 1st century for the Eastern Mediterraneans. The New Testament was written with a greek mindset. The dawning of Western culture and Philosophy. Formulas. Organization. Structure. Facts. The complete euphoric experience for a person with O.C.D.

We do a very good job of duplicating this. Western culture. Sometimes too good of a job.

Almost opposite the Old Testament was written by Jews with a Jewish mindset. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and corresponds to the Hebrew Bible also known as the Tanakh. Written with stories. Imagination. Details that pull on heart strings.

The Old Testament is written with a vocabulary of about 5,800 words. The New Testament is written with a vocabulary of about 4,800 words. The Old Testament describes it’s stories using 1,000 more words than the New Testament. Colorful, creative, imaginative, innovative literature.

There are 66 total books in the Bible. 27 of them are in the new testament. 39 of them are in the Old Testament. This means that the Old Testament takes up 59% of God’s Word. Maybe the Jews had something right.

Creativity.

Why do we lack creativity?

Why do so many churches copy everything about a world that they know leads to nowhere?
Why do we follow the trends?
Where did our influence on society go?
Has the divine imagination given to us by an almighty God dwindled down to the idea of a Human Video?
Do people even know what that is?

Not that we’ve become too Greek or read too much of the New Testament. But perhaps we could read more of the Old Testament. Perhaps we could learn something from our Jewish friends.

During the renaissance period the Church lead in influencing society. The Church set the trends. The world followed the Church because it was imaginative. Christians influenced the world of fashion, entertainment, writing, and so on. With Christian Renaissance paintings and stained glassed windows another vehicle for God’s glory was discovered. Art.

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” – Henry David Thoreau

What we see was created by what we can’t see. God is the creator of all things. The one who brings all things into existence. The most creative being. The Bible says that we are made in his image. If God is the creator, and we’re created in his image then shouldn’t we be the most creative beings in the world?

The Bible says that all things are possible.

All Things.

Perhaps we should begin thinking like three small boys.

Mark 9.23

Remember to Breathe

We make all decisions based on the stories in our lives that we think are true. This forms our worldview. These true stories come from our lives (personal experience, family, national history, even fairy tales and gossip) even what we watch on TV, hear from friends, and read in books.

People justify all that they do by the sum collection of true stories they have in their story book.

Even gang members are completely convinced their actions are normal because they line up with their personal experience, their true stories.

The stories that you allow into your life, the stories that you consider and choose to receive as true shape who you are and what you become.

This makes what you receive as true extremely important.

What you breathe in determines what you breathe out.

If you breathe in fear you will breath out paranoia.

The same with foolishness… hatred

Wisdom is always essential and the greatest gift you can exercise.

Be certain that the stories you are receiving are actually true.

There are stories constantly all around us.

The ones you decide to tell yourself are true,

are the ones that will shape who you are and what you become.

Just for a moment:

Pause the scrolling

Turn off the news 

Walk outside and see all that the Lord has done.

Breathe in

Not panic, fear, or anxiety

but his beautiful creation.

And know that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

May your storybook be full of stories that are true and life giving.

After Christmas

How many of you got what you wanted this Christmas?

Are you already planning on taking back something you got for Christmas?

Do you have some unwanted items that you received? 

Socks…? Flannel Pajamas…? Itchy sweaters…?

We can take these things back if we have receipts and it is in the stores policy.

But there are situations in our lives that are unwanted, unplanned, or unexpected.

And there is something inside of us that wants to or tries to make since of them.

We begin to ask, ‘Is God is in all of this?’

We just celebrated Christmas.

Emmanuel.... God with Us. God I thought you where with us.

I thought you loved us. I thought you cared about us.

I thought you cared about me.

So we try to arrange our lives a certain way.

And we have the we meet, then we got engaged,

We got married, I got that job promotion, We had a baby.

And it seems that everything is working out.

And we are fine and good until…

We come to this unChristmas box.

When he files for divorce.

Your wife gets sick.

You lose your job.

She broke up with you.

You didn’t get accepted into the school you thought you were.

Your relationship with your child is broken and they don’t visit for Christmas.

Someone close to you passes away.

Everything might be okay. But there is this emptiness inside.

And when you put your head down at night, when it’s just you and your thoughts.

You are wondering, ‘Is this it?’

And we want to know where are you are God in all of the unwanted, unplanned, unexpected things in life...

But that’s when we remember…

Peace comes not by resolving the problems of the present,

but by trusting in the promise of God’s presence.

That does not mean we treat people who are hurt with indifference.

You don’t go up to someone who is going through pain or a tragedy or a time of questioning and say, “Well that’s just life.”

See, these unwanted, unplanned, unexpected things come up in our lives.

What do we do with those?

How do we deal with these curve balls that come to us?

Did you know that the number one reason that people come back to church is because

something bad happens in their life?

We believe God sees things in order,

that God brings order from chaos,

and God brings design into things that seem to have no design.

And this all collides with the Christmas story.

The Christmas story is one of the best examples of God dipping down into human history, all of the unwanted, unplanned, unexpected stuff of life and reminding the world there is a plan.

There is a God who is involved in human history.

There is a God who understands

There is a God who knows we are here,

There is a God who cares about us,

There is a God who loves us,

even when we face things that are unwanted, unplanned, or unexpected.

We can trust the promise of his presence.

Because peace comes not by resolving the problems of the present,

but by trusting in the promise of God’s presence.

Santa: Friend or Foe?

Santa Claus gets a bad wrap in Christian circles nowadays. Some say he represents all of the materialistic, egocentric issues involved with Christmas losing its true meaning.

Some have even gone as far as to assume Santa is from the Devil. They contrive the compelling argument that if you re-arrange the letters in “Santa” it can spell “Satan”. So apparently this truth is only applicable for those of us who speak the English language.

I grew up in a home that celebrated Santa Claus.

And I personally have no regrets.

As a child my whole world centered around believing in Santa in order to receive gifts.

Of course as a youngster in my single digits this looked a lot like coloring books and action figures. 

I can remember the adrenaline pumping through my little body on Christmas Eve as I try and sleep on the floor next to my older sister pretending to fall asleep.

Waiting.

Anticipating.

Trying to imagine what the next morning would look like, be like, feel like…

Nothing could ruin this for me.

It taught me how to have faith.  It taught me how to believe in something.

Not so I can be good for goodness sake

or to be on the nice list as apposed to the naughty.

It taught me to believe and desire and trust in something.

It taught me how to have hope.

Hope.

Which would be used as the vehicle for me to later receive the greatest gift of all.

To know the one who created me.

Jesus is the Hope of the World.

What does this mean to us?

2 Things:

First of all it means God is like us.  Immanuel means “God with us” he became one of us so that no one can say you don’t understand – you don’t know what it’s like to be homeless, abused, rejected, ect.  In a world filled with such pain I couldn’t imagine following a God who was immune to it.

Second thing is God is unlike us.  Tempted? Yes. Sin? No.  He can say “I can get you around this, I actually avoided this one myself.  He doesn’t sin, but died for your sin, forgave you of your sin, and picked you up out of the mess you were in, and cleansed you and changed you so you never have to go back.

God Changes people.

And sometimes he uses us to do it.

We do this not to be acceptable in God’s sight

but because of Jesus we already are.

Do you celebrate Jesus because you feel like it’s what you’re supposed to do?

Do you see Jesus as the hope of the world or just the right thing to do?

When was the last time you waited, anticipated, tried to imagine what heaven (being in God’s presence) would be like?

No more tears, pain, or sorrow…

When was the last time you saw Jesus as the hope of the world?

So when you pray before a meal or sing songs of praise to Jesus…

Know this isn’t just what you’re supposed to do or the right thing to do,

But this is the hope of the world.

Because God loves you more than anything.

This is what the Spirit of Christmas is all about.

Single Moms and Baptism

An issue arose a while back when a single mom who just recently became a Christian at our church came to me and said that she wanted her 10-month-old daughter to be baptized.  And she wanted me to do it.

At first, I was thrilled because she was getting it.  She was understanding the joy of knowing the God that loved her.  And she wanted her baby girl to know this same God.  And she thought enough of me to ask me to do the baptism. 

There was just one problem. 

I don’t believe in infant baptism. 

The Bible first talks about baptism right after Jesus is born. 

It begins in Luke 3 with a man named John.  John the Baptist.

John prepared the way for Jesus.  He was kind of like the opening band.

He was a strange man possibly with dread locks, who lived in the wilderness, and ate insects. 

 The people of God had been delivered from slavery centuries ago.  But now found themselves yet in slavery again.  They longed to hear a new word from God, they hadn’t heard him in 460 years since he spoke to Malachi. He had been silent for all these years. 

 Until Now.

When He spoke to John.  The word of God came to John and he walked through the streets repeating things other prophets had said years ago.

He started baptizing people who repented from their sins.

 Because he was preparing the way.

It was almost time for Jesus to make his debut.

 Everything was about to change. 

There was about to be a new normal.

 Like firemen warning and rescuing people from their homes during a flood John strolls the streets of the neighborhood telling people the time has come.

Some people think that if you’re Catholic you can’t be a Christian.  This is just simply not true.  There are two major sects in Christianity. Catholicism and Protestantism. 

 Within Protestants there are many what we call denominations or fellowships.  Which basically means a group of people who have the same interpretation of scripture or doctrine (i.e. Baptist, Methodists, Lutherans, Pentecostals etc.)

 Catholics baptize infants.  This doesn’t make them bad.  They just have a different doctrine than perhaps the tribe you belong to.  Different interpretations of scripture.

 So, I’m trying to explain this to this single mom could probably care less.  She just wants her little girl to grow up knowing God. 

And so, time came for me to tell her I couldn’t baptize her baby. 

I actually don’t believe in it. 

 She obviously was confused. 

 She wanted to commit her baby to the ways of Jesus. 

And so, I told her that’s exactly what we would do.

 I told her we don’t baptize babies because baptism is when someone is immersed in water as a public declaration of being adopted into the family of God.  But in order to be adopted into the family of God one must chose to do so.

A ten-month-old baby cannot make that kind of decision. 

It is impossible for a baby to understand this concept.

We don’t believe splashing water on a baby’s head will save it.

Just as much as dunking you under water won’t save you.

 There is no magic in the water.  It’s symbolic.  A public statement.

A public statement that follows the decision of being changed by Christ from the inside out. 

When we went to the home of this mother there where 40+ people gathered in a living room to witness this little girl be dedicated.

A dedication isn’t a shortcut or a substitute for knowing Jesus or even magical covering.  It’s a promise made by the child’s family to raise the child in the ways of God so that when the child is able to understand God loves them so much he let his own son die so that they could live- they can choose themselves to be baptized because of a personal decision they’ve made.

We dedicated this baby girl and the mother committed to raise her in the ways of God so that someday she can choose on her own to be baptized.  Because she’s hid in her heart all that her mom had taught her.

When I explained all this to the single mom she totally understood everything.  After she reiterated back to me what I had said to her.  She looked deep in thought and then said,

“Well then, I’m the one that needs to be baptized, will you baptize me?”

I smiled and said “Yes, yes, I will.”

That summer she was baptized in front of all her friends in a pool in someones backyard.

If You Want to be Happy

The book of Psalms holds some of the most-loved Bible passages known in the World. It is a collection of 150 poems that express a wide variety of emotions towards God (love, sorrow, desperation, thankfulness) People who were bringing their emotions to God; good and bad.

The original Hebrew name for this book was Tehillim meaning ‘Praises’.

It was later changed to its Greek name when the New Testament was being established: Psalmos meaning ‘Song’.

The Psalms capture our human experience. They express the emotions and attitudes of the average individual. People love the Psalms because they can identify with them.

In our experiences, no matter how deep the pain or how big the frustration or how great the joy, we can find a psalm that echoes our inmost being.

The first Psalm serves as the gateway into the whole book. This psalm takes topics found in wisdom literature such as Proverbs, and makes them the subject of song: the purpose is that those who sing the psalm will own its values.

The psalmist reminds the readers that in the end there are really only two ways to live.

The truly happy person guides his life by God’s instruction rather than by the advice of those who reject that instruction.

The first two verses of the first chapter read:

1 Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

Your happiness comes straight from studying the Word of God.

Your capacity for happiness is directly proportional to your knowledge and application of the Word of God.

So,

are you happy?

What are your habits concerning the word of God?

Charles Spurgeon once said,

“A Bible that is worn and falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”

How Well Do You Know Jesus?

A long time ago there was a man who was so influenced by the power of Jesus that God used him in extraordinary ways. People would gather from all over just to touch pieces of clothing to his skin… handkerchiefs, scarves, etc. these would be taken to the sick and they were healed of their various diseases and demons.

This man’s name was Paul.

Seven brothers were traveling into town and wanted to try and heal people too. These seven brothers came to the house a man who was demon possessed they came in and declared “I command you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims”

But then the evil spirit inside the man talked back: “I know Jesus and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?” The Bible says the demon possessed man jumped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them. All seven of the brothers fled out of the house as best they could naked, bloody, and wounded.

“I know Jesus, I’ve heard of Paul…

but who are you?”

There is no substitution for knowing Jesus.

That’s what people mean when they say they’re not religious they have a relationship with Jesus.

At one point people wondered if John the Baptist was the messiah.

John lets them know how they will know the messiah:

You will know He who is the messiah because he will ignite kingdom life, start a fire inside of your being, the Holy Spirit will dwell within you.

He will change you from the inside out.

He will clean house- make a clean sweep of your life placing everything in its proper place and order before God.

Everything false will be put out with trash to be burned.

He will refine you with fire.

In the same way judgment will come and separate the growing from the dying in this world…

Jesus comes to separate the growing from the dead in you.

Like a farmer He throws our lives into the air so what is good wheat can be separated from chaff.

His goal is not necessarily to come and burn the chaff, his goal is to save the wheat.

The goal is not to take away all that is bad as much as it is to save all that is good.

How well do you know Jesus?

The Bible says that some upon entering heaven will say “Lord I did all this good stuff in your name”. And he will say, “I never knew you.”

There is a big difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus.

How well do you know Jesus?