Random Thoughts – Page 5

Joshua Six and Six Different Sermons

2010-11-09T10:12:46+00:00By Sam Ford|Random Thoughts, Re:Sermon|

Last week I preached on Joshua 6, The Battle of Jericho. The more I study and preach God's Word, the more I learn how deep you can drill it for truth. With every sermon I preach, I am forced to emphasize one part of the text, one verse, or one them at the expense of another. Deciding what to emphasize is difficult as it means certain death (-cide) to whatever you choose not to emphasize. Joshua 6 is no exception. I could have preached six unique sermons out of this one chapter, all emphasizing a different and equally powerful truth. As I personally have heard a hundred sermons over my life asking, "What is your Jericho?", focusing on God's victory over impossible odds, I choose instead to focus on God's Holiness. Of course, if you are really going to hit God's Holiness than you are required to really hit man's [...]

Four years old & Pregnant

2010-11-07T18:02:51+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Random Thoughts|

I love Damascus Road. I look forward to being with them, enjoy laughing with them, serving them, caring for them, and being loved by them. Damascus Road Church turned four years old this week, on November 4th. We've seen this newborn baby church grow into a potty trained toddler. And now, this four-year old is about to do it all over again and launch a new plant in Mt. Vernon. Amazing. Humbling. Crazy. As such, I have spent a lot of time with Jesus this week, listening to him remind me about how wonderful and horrible this journey has been. In the last four years, I have learned more about God than the previous 32 years combined. I have also come face to face with my own depravity. The only way I can even recognize the many GRACES of God is to, at the same time, recognize my own weaknesses, [...]

Joshua Week 1: 5 Excuses People Use to NOT go on Mission

2010-09-26T16:21:26+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Note to Self...and Others, Random Thoughts, Re:Sermon|

The book of Joshua begins right after the death of Moses. Moses' death signals the last of a generation God had patiently endured while he waited for them to die. Numbers 13 and 14 record the story of when Moses sent 12 spies into the land and they returned with conflicting reports. All of the spies agreed the land was amazing, but 10 of them believed its inhabitants were too strong to defeat. Though Caleb and Joshua plead with Israel NOT to follow their "bad" report, the 10 other spies made strong arguments that filled all of Israel with fear. In fact, the 10 spies are so convincing, that Israel begins to cry, hide behind their families, and threaten to overthrow the current leadership. Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. [...]

10 questions you need to ask your bride

2021-07-04T18:10:52+00:00By Sam Ford|Note to Self...and Others, Random Thoughts|

Below are ten questions (five twice-over) I dare any man to ask his bride. Unfortunately, I know most men won't because you already know the answer--and it will be difficult to hear. You'll notice, they are not YES or NO questions, meaning, you will actually have to discuss the answer. And know that, as Jesus is THE HUSBAND, when we fail to love and lead like Jesus does, we preach false sermons about Jesus. In other words, our failure to be true husbands isn't just unfortunate or regrettable, it sinful. We don't need better skills as much as we need confession and the power of Jesus to overcome the sin in us: 1. Do you feel pursued by me or ignored by me? (When/how do you feel most pursued?) 2. Do you feel led by me or as if you have to lead me? (Where am I not leading?) 3. [...]

3 Ways to Neglect Your Gifts

2010-07-08T22:14:58+00:00By Sam Ford|Note to Self...and Others, Random Thoughts, Re:Sermon|

I recently preached 1Timothy 4.14 , where Paul charges a young pastor named Timothy to ".. not neglect the gift you have, which was given you vby prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you" I began to wonder how many people neglect their gifts. Neglect is an interesting term, one that denotes a range of meaning from indifference to full on intentional abandonment. According to Scripture, gifts are given by God, given to glorify God, and given to edify the church. In other words, our gifts are not ours to used, abused, or ignored as we wish. Consider what it means to neglect a gift from God. I believe this verse fleshes out three different ways we WILL neglect God's gifts unintentionally if we don't employ God's gifts intentionally: #1 Neglect by not using: Some people do not employ their gifts at all. That doesn't mean they do nothing, [...]

10 ways to know your pastor has “arrived.”

2010-06-14T09:10:55+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Note to Self...and Others, Random Thoughts|

Know that your pastor or church has "broken through" , "arrived", or otherwise made it to the "big time" when: 1.They take (or are given) a new title like "apostle", "movement leader", or "grand puba". 2. They drive a motorcycle, or some a European vehicle "gifted" by a generous congregant. 3. They invent new names for old doctrines to make them more palpable. 4. They change the name of their church blog to myrealname.com 5. They launch a "[enter Greek word] School of Ministry" , charging big $$ to their one student. 6. They start a fan page on facebook dedicated to themselves. 7. They change their church web address to their myrealname(and my wife).com 8. They add words to the name of their church like "global", "international", or "life center". 9. They have their pod-casted sermons being used evaluate the quality of their "real" pastors. 10. What they say [...]

Church Planting Lesson #18: It’s tempting to become a Pharisee

2010-05-26T12:18:08+00:00By Sam Ford|Random Thoughts|

LESSON#18: It's tempting to become a Pharisee As I am preparing to teach on qualified leadership (1st Timothy 3), I was reminded of a paper I wrote several years ago titled, "No More than Jesus, No Less than Jesus." It was written for a board that I was a part of from another church about whether or not the elders should be allowed to drink alcohol. I don' t post this paper to bash anyone or open up old wounds, rather, to show what can happen when well-intentioned leaders forget how to lead. At the heart of the paper is a call for pastors/elders/overseers to remember what how they are called to lead AND how tempting it is to become a Pharisee. Why? Because having rules that tell you what to do every moment is easier than asking God, "What is most Glorifying here" every moment. The Bible describes Eldership [...]

Why Jesus Hates LOST

2010-05-25T09:58:01+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Random Thoughts|

With a title like that, I knew you'd read. I really don't know if Jesus would give LOST a single thought, but maybe he would since the show's creators felt it necessary to bring him into it. For the last six years, I have been a die-hard, committed, and faithful fan of the television series, LOST. I watched the pilot and every episode that followed. I watched like an addict looking forward to his next fix. Until that amazing Wednesday each week (Tuesdays for the FINAL season), I would religiously review old episodes, watch the pop-up shows, download You Tube clips from freaks who looked like they'd never have girlfriends, I searched the web for clues, followed all of the fake web pages created for Oceanic, studied Dharma pictures, debated theories with friends, every week for 6 long years. Though it angered me to have ONE answer given for every [...]

Half-filled Pews

2010-05-18T13:13:28+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Random Thoughts, Re:Sermon|

I attended a church many years ago where they would publish the name of the pastor who was going to preach a week in advance. Sadly, because the church was polarized around this one guy, on his "off weeks", half of the church sat at home worshiping with "Pastor Sheets." Before I became a pastor, I was the worst (or best) critic of pastors and their sermons. I would size up the preacher within minutes, judging his voice, his tone, his verbal fillers, his charisma (or lack thereof), his clothes, his manliness, his hair, his text or topic, his illustrations, the length of his sermon, his points, his theology, the number of verses he quotes, and whether or not he includes an altar call. If the pastor or his sermon were weighed and found wanting on Sam's Scales of Successful Sermons, I too would be staying home or visiting another [...]

Go on a technology fast…

2010-05-14T10:46:12+00:00By Sam Ford|Random Thoughts|

"atechagoraphobia - the fear of being w/o technology" Read this great post on Drew Goodman's blog about our interaction with (and possible idoltary of) Technology. It will make you consider going on a technology fast. If doing so sounds painful or impossible...consider whether your enslaved. http://www.goodmanson.com/culture/atechagoraphobia-the-fear-of-being-without-technology/ (And yes, there is an irony to reading this on an internet blog)