Pastor Herbert Cooper can be very creative in his sermons. Here is a very funny video he used to introduce one of his messages in a series He calls Hookin-Up! A sermon Sermon Series on how to find God’s best in relationship. I’m sure it will make you laugh. Enjoy! Hookin Up Week 2 from People's Church on Vimeo.
I read a story the other day about a little boy who had a so-call sneezing frenzy at a family gathering. The first time he sneezed his mother shouted – “bless you!” Well, the boy took the liberty to sneeze five other times with his mom shouting “bless you!” each time he sneezed. At about the fifth time, the mother said to him,”Son you are pushing it!” He turned to her and said, mom, “I’m just trying to be really blessed!” Most of us know that the custom of saying God bless you after a sneeze comes from an old superstition that says you expel demons in sneezing. But no matter what your understanding is about the subject, (by the way this is not about whether we should say God bless you or not when somebody sneezes), we have somehow lost the true meaning of the phrase – God bless you or blessings for short. For most people it’s just something polite to say when a person sneezes. But what does it truly look like when …
Life is truly short, so get out there and live your dream! Source: My Friend’s Facebook. I have no clue where she got.
TOP 10 U.S. CHURCHES to learn from about CHURCH SIZE These are the top churches to learn from about running a large church. Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) :: Joel Osteen Made 6/6 size lists with an average attendance of 44,333 Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels Made 6/6 size lists with an average attendance of 23,213 Second Baptist Church (Houston, TX) :: Ed Young, Sr. Made 6/6 size lists with an average attendance of 22,325 North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley Made 6/6 size lists with an average attendance of 22,015 LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel **Made 4/4 size lists with an average attendance of 20,894 **(did not report numbers in 2010 & 2011 despite mid-30K+ attendance) Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren Made 6/6 size lists with an average attendance of 20,489 Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY) :: Dave Stone Made 6/6 size lists with an average attendance of 18,348 Phoenix First Assembly (Phoenix, AZ) :: Tommy Barnett **Made 4/4 size lists with an average attendance of 17,023 **(did not report numbers in …
TOP 10 U.S. CHURCHES to learn from about CHURCH PLANTING These are the top churches to learn from about planting multiple churches. Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York, NY) :: Tim Keller Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of #1 Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) :: Mark Driscoll Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of #2 Northwood Church (Keller, TX) :: Bob Roberts Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of #3 Perimeter Church (Duluth, GA) :: Randy Pope Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of #4 Spanish River Church (Boca Raton, FL) :: David Nicholas Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of #5 East 91st Street Christian Center (Indianapolis, IN) :: Derek Duncan Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of #6 Community Christian Church (Naperville, IL) :: Dave Ferguson Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of #7 Fellowship Bible Church (Little Rock, AR) :: Bill Wellons Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of #8 Kensington Community Church (Troy, MI) :: Steve Andrews Made 1/1 church planting lists with a rank of …
TOP 10 U.S. CHURCHES to learn from about CHURCH INNOVATION These are the top churches to learn from about innovative methods. LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel Made 2/2 innovation lists with an average rank of #1 Granger Community Church (Granger, IN) :: Mark Beeson Made 2/2 innovation lists with an average rank of #2.5 Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) :: Mark Driscoll [tie for 3rd] Made 2/2 innovation lists with an average rank of #5.5 Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC) :: Greg Surratt [tie for 3rd] Made 2/2 innovation lists with an average rank of #5.5 Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young, Jr. [tie for 5th] Made 2/2 innovation lists with an average rank of #6 Mosaic Church (Los Angeles, CA) :: Erwin McManus [tie for 5th] Made 2/2 innovation lists with an average rank of #6 North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley [tie for 5th] Made 2/2 innovation lists with an average rank of #6 National Community Church (Washington, DC) :: Mark Batterson Made 2/2 innovation lists with an average rank of #9.5 Community Christian Church (Naperville, IL) :: Dave Ferguson Made 2/2 innovation lists …
Originally posted on Walter Bright:
In the book, The Leadership secrets of Billy Graham, W. Clement Stone writes a story about Billy Graham trying to find his way to the post office in a small town. Upon asking a boy how to get to the post office in this small town and upon getting directions he needed, Billy invited the boy to come to his meeting that evening, saying, “you will hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.” The boy’s response was hilarious – he said, “I don’t think I will be there, you don’t even know your way to the post office.” Myra, Harold and Shelley, Marshall. The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham. (Zondervan, 2005), page 49.
TOP 10 U.S. CHURCHES to learn from about CHURCH GROWTH These are the top churches to learn from about how to consistently experience high level growth. Church of the Highlands (Birmingham, AL) :: Chris Hodges Made 7/8 growth lists with an average rank of #29.86 Crossroads Community Church (Cincinnati, OH) :: Brian Tome Made 7/8 growth lists with an average rank of #37.14 Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC) :: Greg Surratt Made 7/8 growth lists with an average rank of #59.14 Lancaster County Bible Church (Manheim, PA) :: David Ashcraft Made 7/8 growth lists with an average rank of #68.0 Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) :: Mark Driscoll Made 6/8 growth lists with an average rank of 34.17 Central Christian Church (Las Vegas, NV) :: Jud Wilhite Made 6/8 lists with an average rank of 36.0 Woodlands Church (Woodlands, TX) :: Kerry Shook Made 6/8 growth lists with an average rank of #37.0 Christ’s Church of the Valley (Peoria, AZ) :: Don Wilson Made 6/8 growth lists with an average rank of 37.67 Community Bible Church (San Antonio, TX) :: Robert Emmitt Made 6/8 growth lists with …
Originally posted on Walter Bright:
God is rich in mercy Ephesians . 2:4 Because of God’s mercy, salvation in Christ is available to the world (Titus 3:5) The earth is full of God’s mercy (Ps. 119:64). God’s mercy reaches to the heavens (Ps. 36:5; 57:10). God’s mercy is the ground for a person’s appeal to God in times of trouble (Ps. 59:16). God hears us when we pray because of his mercy (Ps. 66:20). Above everything else, God demands mercy of us. In God’s sight, mercy is superior to religious activities (Hos. 6:6). The prophet Micah said that God requires us to “do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God (Mic. 6:8). Mercy is love with hands and feet. It is not a vague, general benevolence but a love that shows compassion in deed as well as word. Hope comes alive in people because of God’s mercy (1 Peter 1:3). To be merciful toward our fellow humans means to have compassion on those who are at our mercy. Jesus said to the…
At the end of January, every church in my denomination receives an annual church questionnaire. This questionnaire helps my denomination to study conversion or new birth experiences, baptism, weekly attendance, growth rates, scope of influence, church planting efforts etc… to see if we are successful in building God’s kingdom. If you study or research churches, you know that everybody relies heavily on the above metrics to determine successful or failing churches. And everybody knows that this is not necessarily a perfect way to measure churches. That’s because, “sometimes exceptional churches have humble results in terms of size, growth, and influence while sometimes unhealthy churches know all the right formulas to give the appearance of spiritual success.” However, “these matrices are our most reliable, efficient, and accurate way to gauge churches in research studies.” – please look for the lists in the next posts… but let say this in closing – 1. It is important for every church leader to learn from other churches 2. It is important to use one’s time wisely when studying other churches …
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