The Power of a Story

A popular lecturer once said, “We live in a story-telling world.” His point was that, in order to reach the audience, a preacher has to use stories. Join us beginning Sunday, September 12, 2010 on http://www.christiancrusaders.org/ as we talk about how the use of story-telling can have a lasting effect on a child’s spiritual life.


Scripture: Luke 15:1-7
Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”


Renewing Reflections
It is our prayer that Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon What Makes God Happy? delivered on Christian Crusaders September 16, 2001 by Rev. Larsen:

God’s Word tells us that those who live outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ are lost. When Jesus sees this mass of people who are lost, He describes them as “sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Without God, only our vacillating emotions and limited intellects serve us to find solutions for the problems of life, which are far beyond human comprehension.


From ChristianCrusaders.org
If you missed a sermon, visit Christian Crusaders’ Web site where you can read or listen to hundreds of archived sermons organized by date and topic. You can also find a daily devotion, links to Bible study tools, and a detailed description of Christian Crusaders’ many new online services and how you can use them.


On the Light Side
Some Ewephemisms
What do you call a sheep without legs?
A cloud.

What happened to the clock that fell into the sheep dip?
It lost all its ticks.

What did one sheep say to the other sheep?
After ewe.

What would you get if you crossed a goat and a sheep?
An animal that eats tin cans and gives back steel wool.

What is a sheep’s favorite newspaper?
The Wool Street Journal.

Why did the lamb call the police?
He had been fleeced.

What do you get if you cross a boa and a sheep?
A wrap-around sweater.