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Continue reading →: Have I Learned Anything?
Eight days ago, my blog and email account stopped working suddenly. It seemed without warning, but of course it wasn’t. I purchased a domain name 14 years ago (!) and used it for a very occasional blog post plus domain-based email. I linked every account – financial, recreational, you name it – to…
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Continue reading →: Killing Wrong Desires
It is gracious of God to teach us to kill wrong desires rather than battle them continually. There are some things that we must resist – including the devil – but others we can and must kill, even if we must do it more than once. Idolatry must be killed…
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Continue reading →: On Offending People
More than one of my mentors has told me that one issue that I will have to deal with in ministry is that I want to please people. I have to admit that I like being liked. I know that can hinder the work of preaching and teaching because sometimes…
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Continue reading →: The Gospel Pictured in President’s Day
I really enjoyed having a day off for President’s Day, regardless of who is President. A lot of people, though, took it more seriously than I did. It is not hard to find someone saying that Donald Trump’s first month in office is the most unusual one they have ever…
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Continue reading →: On Being An Activist
I recently saw an article about a Chicago priest that identified him as an “activist”. I started thinking about what that means. I typically picture that as someone who campaigns for liberal causes, but it made me think: should I be an activist? On the face of it, an “activist”…
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Continue reading →: Sermon Time Management
I recently attended another church and one of the associate pastors was preaching. I winced when he stated that he would have to hurry up because he was running out of time. From my perspective, there are three things you should never do while preaching: Never Run out of time.…
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Continue reading →: Why I Love Preaching
As a bi-vocational, occasional preacher rather than a week-in, week-out preacher, I am familiar with both the added load of sermon preparation and the focused intensity of it. I confess (happily) that I love the “burden” of preparing a message and really enjoy the pressure of it – as strange…
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Continue reading →: I met with God this morning
It sounds quite presumptuous but it is true – the Lord Jesus has made a way for us to come directly into the throne room of God and meet with Him. I planned to spend time with the Lord but it actually was a deeper and richer time because I…
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Continue reading →: It is good to be weak
God is amazing! He works with weak, inperfect vessels to accomplish His will. He gets more glory by using weak and broken people. I have been preparing for a class I’m teaching at Harvest Bible Chapel in Elgin, IL. I love teaching the Bible, but sometimes I feel that I get…
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I’m Pastor Jay
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Jay N Smith's Blog 