BJ Not BK

Think of all the people you know, you love, you interact with at work, the people in your family, your neighbors. I'm not talking about casual acquaintances, I am asking you to bring to mind mental images of those you hold dearest to you. Now, which ones are without Jesus? Do you know? Which ones are you desperate to see saved, to know Jesus as Lord, to have the experiences you have had, to read their Bibles and to get excited like you have, to see their lives change for the better like Jesus has changed yours. Who are they? Who is beyond hope on your list? Which ones have you given up on? Why? Mark 5:1-20 "1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough...

Mark Twain once said that the difference between the wrong word and the right word is the difference between lightning and lighting bug. Clear, concise communication is extremely important when giving directions to one's house, when putting together furniture, or when assembling a bike. If the directions don't make sense you get lost never reaching your destination, your bookshelf leans to the side and crumbles upon placing the first book, and your bike won't be able to take you very far. The same is true with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As followers of Jesus we must be able to clearly communicate the good news, that is that all of us have sinned and the penalty for sin is death. That Jesus lived a perfect live without sin and willing took on our sin and took the place for us and received punishment and paid the penalty for sin and died in our place. That Jesus rose from the dead three days later and that all who freely believe and accept this gift from God are saved from their...

What is the one thing you lost that drove you crazy and where was the weirdest place you looked for it? Comedian (the term comedian is debatable) George Carlin once did a skit on losing stuff that loosely went something like this: "I don't like to loose anything. It's not so much that I mind losing something it is the not knowing where it's at that kills me. I just had it, it was just here, where did it go? There are some people who lose stuff and their first reaction is....."WHO STOLE IT!" They are unwilling to admit that they are so stupid as to lose something. Did you ever notice that the longer you look for something the stranger the places become where you look? You look in the strangest places...why? You have to! You already looked in the easy places, why? Because those are the obvious places. People ask you..."Have you found it?" NO..... "Well, have you looked everywhere?" OBVIOUSLY NOT! It's still missing. "Let's keep...

Chuck Norris is a man's man. Tough, bad to the bone, unmatched in supreme dojo skills. Guns don't kill people. Chuck Norris kills People. There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits. The chief export of Chuck Norris is Pain. There is no chin under Chuck Norris' Beard. There is only another fist. Chuck Norris has two speeds. Walk, and Kill. The leading causes of death in the United States are: 1. Heart Disease 2. Chuck Norris 3. Cancer Chuck Norris drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls. Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer....too bad Chuck Norris has never cried. Sound familiar? Christians do not extend grace, they expect it. The chief export of most Christians is their wants and their needs. Most Christians have two speeds whine and cry. The leading cause of death in the United States and the world is still death. The love and prayers of Christians avail much....too bad most Christians...

Famous last words are interesting. We know the material world all too well with it's joys, it's pains, the highs, the lows, the times where we feel invicible and the many times where we know all too well our own mortality. Some find interest in the last words of loved ones, famous ones, hoping that in this last moment of living some sort of wisdom will be handed out, passed down, before passing on. Here are some famous last words, some funny, some odd, some very sad I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis. ~~ Humphrey Bogart, actor, d. January 14, 1957 Josephine... ~~ Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor, May 5, 1821 I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is correct. ~~ Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian, d. 1702 Don't you dare ask God to help me. To her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud. ~~ Joan Crawford, actress, d. May 10, 1977 While the words were different the outcome for each person was quite the same....physical death and the...

Consider the following quotes by some well known men against Christians and Christianity. If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian. Mark Twain The only good argument against Christianity is Christians. G K Chesterton The greatest evil in the world today is the Christian religion. H .G. Wells Christians are losers. Ted Turner I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. Gandhi If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today. Gandhi As children of God we are each called to be a witness of Jesus Christ, to "testify" before an unbelieving world of who Jesus is in our lives, what He has done for us in the past, what He is doing for us today, how He has changed us, how He has saved us. Yet for some reason the world fails to see Jesus in our lives. Why is that? Consider the following research on the shift in American values...

What are the areas of the Christian life that are the hardest? Is it finding a parking place at your mega church? Is it controlling your anger? Giving worries, troubles, and situations to Jesus? Or is it sharing the gospel with people you know as well as complete strangers? I would dare say one of the most difficult things for Christians to do is to share their faith. Consider the following statistics* There are approximately 400,000 Presbyterian churches in the U.S. 95% of all churches are comprised of 350 people or less. Churches such as Sevier Heights are in the .11% of all churches in the U.S. It is estimated that between 3 and 4000 churches die each year, shut their doors to never re-open. Why? The truth is that the church is becoming ineffectual with little to no impact on the culture and little to no change in the lives of those who attend. We claim victory with our lips yet often deny the very victory we have through our unwillingness to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ,...