Tag Archives: right

Are Sermons Effective?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Steve Simms

Have you ever tested the effectiveness of sermons? I did. I was a brand new pastor in my first church — Mayfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mayfield, Kentucky. After finishing three years of seminary, I had been preaching for about … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christ, Christianity, church, Cumberland Presybterian Church, East Nashville, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, kingdom of God, lifestyles, movement, mystery, mysticism, Nashville, organic church, praise and worship, religion, sermons, simple church, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, values, What is church?, worship | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, AA, afternoon, alcoholics, Alcoholics Anonymous, American, American Christianity, an oral test, Berry Street Worship Center, better caught than taught, brand new, called, captured by, Christianity, church meeting, church setting, congregation, considered, continued, creating, culture, Cumberland Presbyterian, decided, doctrines, effectiveness of sermons, evening, everyone has a, experience, exploded, facts, fads, first church, following, follows trends, functions, grow, help people change, hot to hold, house church, however, hymn, ineffective, influencing, interpretation, job description, Kentucky, lecture, less than, lifestyles, like, little happens, little power, Mayfield, meetings, membership, message, mind, much more, Nashville, noble, nobody, none, one simple and easy question, open participation, openly, organic church, overwhelming, passively, pastor, Paul of Tarsus, Paul's instructions, poems, preach, preaching, prepared in a, professional, questions, requires more than, response, revelation, right, shocked, simple church, simple questions, sit and listen, society, society's, something more than, sometimes, started, Sunday morning, test, the basic point, the main topic, The Salvation Army, three years of seminary, TN, to build, to reach people, tongue, treating, try, type, virtuous, visit, weekly, When you come together, word of instruction | 20 Comments

Grace — God’s Righteous Attributes Continually Expressed

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Steve Simms

To “say grace” means to pray over a meal. “Grace” is sometimes a woman’s name. “Amazing Grace” may be the most popular hymn of all time. A popular acrostic says: “Grace — God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” But what does … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Amazing Grace, grace, John Newton, lifestyles, repent, salvation, saved, spiritual, Uncategorized | Tagged acrostic, all time, alternative, Amazing Grace, asking, attributes, based, both, changed, Christian, Christian lifestyle, circles, continually expressed, daily, definition, dominion of sin, earth, earthly life, either-or, final, former, future, genuine grace, given freely, go to Heaven, God, God's Riches At Christ's Expense, grace, guess, heaven, holy, how sweet the sound, involves, Jesus into your heart, John Newton, lifestyle, live a godly, lives, living, mean, means, moral, most common, most popular hymn, much more than that, must not excuse sin, no longer, not earned, obey God, opens the door, possible, power, pray over a meal, prayed, prayer, received, right, righteous, save, say grace, saying, seems, sin, sin doesn't matter, slave trader, song, supernatural, that saved a wretch like me, the question is, unmerited favor, when you die, woman's name, wretch, wretched, wroter | 2 Comments

If The Chosen Are Frozen, How Can God’s Fire Rage Through Our World?

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Steve Simms

We live in a world that is fastly fleeing from traditional social and moral constraints. People nowadays uninhibitedly express their feelings and views without regard for what is decent, right, or wholesome, even when they are sober. There is no longer a need to … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Christian history, Christianity, church history, discipling, drunk, Holy Spirit, house church, Jesus Movement, morality, morals, Nashville, organic church, prayer, religion, simple church, spiritual, What is church? | Tagged 120, 225, 37207, about, agenda, allow, amazing, as ever, attitude, Berry Street, Bible, break, burn, but denying the power thereof, cast aside, celebrating, check, chosen, Christian, church, church age, church attenders, church is in decline, church-service, command, contrary, crucifixion, decent, described, die to self, disciples, drunk, dry, encourage, entertaining, enthusiasm, events, every member, experience, express feelings, expression, fastly, filled, fire, flames, fleeing, flow, follow, formal, formalism, foundation, frozen, function, gathered, God's fire, God's light, group, having a form of godliness, hidden, hiding, history, Holy Spirit, house church, inhibited, Jesus, languages, living, loudly, love, mighty, moral constraints, morally, move of God, movement, Nashville, now, obey, one reason, openly, organic church, organized, original, passion, Paul's, Pentecost, perhaps, power, praising God, praying, presence, publicly, reclaim priesthood of the believer, Reformation, rejoicing, remove, restrained, restraints, right, run, scholars, see, share, show up, simple church, sit, sober, social, society, speak, speaking, spiritual inhbitions, spirituall, spontaneous, start, street, structured, suddenly, Sundays, tear down the wall, theatrical, theory, this out, time, traditional, turn away, turn the world upside down, under a bushel, uninhibited, uninhibitedly, views, wait, we live, wholesome, willing, without regard for, wonders, works, world, years | 1 Comment

What’s Wrong With Believing These Things?

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Steve Simms

What is wrong with believing that the Universe has a Creator–an intelligent designer–that it didn’t just happen as a result of time, chance, and “natural processes”? Why is the idea of a personal Creator considered “unscientific,” “religious,” “out dated,” or … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-war, creation, Creator, evolution, God, life, lifestyles, meaning, mind, morality, morals, multi-racial, nonviolence, Oh my God, peace, popular culture, prejudice, race, racism, religion, self-image, spiritual, theory of evolution, thinking, thoughts, war | Tagged absolutes, across, act, action, adolescent, ambition, Americans, animal, beliefs, believing, better, birth, blob of tissue, bond, boys, cabin, captialism, chance, chaos, character, color, commitment, compassion, consumption, Creator, crude, cruelty, crumble, damnation, debris, degrees, designer, destructive, difference, direct, disrespect, earth, egg, emancipation, emotions, eternal torment, Europeans, exclusively, exclusivity, experiences, exploring, eye, faithfulness, feces, forest, friendship, Gandhi, generation, glorious design, God, Great Smokey Mountains, grown up, hand, hand-out, happen, heart-felt, history, holy, human, idea, ignorant, immature, instint, intelligent, intimacy, invention, Jesus, Jr., just, killing, language, left-overs, life, limited, love, man, marriage, Mars, Martin Luther King, mean-spirited, method, millions, misery, moral, morality, National Park, natural processes, negative, neighbor, non-violent, offensive, olf-fashioned, out dated, outdated, painful, personal, planet, potential, profanity, prudish, public, reality, references, religious, remains, resources, rich, right, sacrificial, sanctity, self-destruction, selfish, sex, sexual intercourse, skin, slavery, societies, solcial justice, sperm, sprinkled, throw out, time, union, universe, unscientific, urination, violence, war, What is wrong, wilderness, woman, wondering, wrong, years | 3 Comments

Humanity’s Biggest Failure

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Steve Simms

What is humanity’s greatest failure? It is a failure of understanding, a failure of love, a failure of respect. It is a failing of compassion, a failing of negotiation, a failing of faith. It is trusting in human power rather … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient history, anti-war, human rights, Jesus Christ, nonviolence, peace, Quotations, Quotes, Uncategorized, war | Tagged a better way, afraid, agree, amazing, American generals, antiwar, backed, beliefs, big, blog, bloody, carnage, child, childhood, civilians, claim, collateral damage. hurting, college, compassion, considering, country, courage, cruelly, cruelty, cry, days, deep convictions, despised, destruction, drafted, even, evil, example rings, exercise, failing, failure, faith, famous, folks, follie, folly, fought, freedom of speech, from, go to war, God's might, government sponsored, grieves, group, harm done, hate, hatred, horror, human act, human beings, human history, human suffering, humanity's, humanity's greatest failure, innate, intelligence, intimidated into silence, it is time, Jesus, kill, killed, laying down His life, life, losses, love, love our enemies, making war, mankind, massive, modern, morally wrong, nationaity, national conflicts, negotiation, never made any sense, not enough, on, openly, other side, parents, passivist, people, physical weapons, poems, popular, power, precious, prides itself, property loss, publicly admit, quotations, quotes, races, reason, rejected, relying, resolve, respect, right, right to life, rise up, sacrificial love, say, seeking, sense, shouting, slaughter, small, smart enough, soldiers, sophisticated, spiritual, stories, talk, technologies, television, terrible, terribly, terror, think, tremendous, trusting, turn the other cheek, Twentieth Century, un-American, understanding, unpatriotic, Vietnam War, violence, war, war movies, wife, win, win or lose, you, you lose | 2 Comments

God’s Watergate — Rivers Of Living Water

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

God’s watergate has nothing to do with the scandal that brought down President Nixon. God’s watergate is in the human heart and when opened allows the living water of the Holy Spirit to flow from deep inside a person. Jesus said: … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Bible, Creator, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, mysticism, new birth, Oh my God, organic church, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, What is church? | Tagged a person, A.J. Gordon, Abraham Isaac, absolutely, abundance, allows, around you, be, believers, bless the world, brought down, burst, can, cannot, claim, contained, current, deep inside, desert, dissipate, drained, dry places, enable, energy, enlightenment, Esther Burroughs, evidence, faithfulness, feeding people, filled to overflowing, filled with the Spirit, forcefully, forth, fountain, fruitful, Give, God's, good, goodness, He who believes in me, His Spirit, holy, Holy Spirit, hope, human heart, humanity, in the beginning, influence, inner, innermost being, irrigate the land, Jesus said, Jim Feeny, John Watson, joy, keep, Kook, let, let it flow, life, life-giving, living water, Michelle McKinney Hammond, ocean, open, opened, Oswald Chambers, outflow, patience, person, pouring out, pours, power, presence, President Nixon, quotations, receive, refill, relations, relationship, released, revival, right, river of life, rivers of living water, Roy Hession, Sadhu Sundar Singh, Samuel Logan Brengle, Sarah Hornsby, satisfy, says, Scripture, shoot up, souls, spiritual, streams, strive, strong, submerged, take control, things, through you, to flow, today, touch of God, unleash, vessel, waiting, walks in the Spirit, watergate, wells up, will flow | Leave a comment

When The Toilet Paper Gets Turned Around

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Steve Simms

Once I attended a Career Track seminar in Nashville about change management. The presenter challenged us: “Reverse your toilet paper.” That wiped me out. Surely I hadn’t paid $99 for this silly bit of advice. The presenter said: “Change is difficult … Continue reading →

Posted in change, change management, criticism, freedom, lifestyles, Nashville, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, Uncategorized | Tagged $99, 21 days, a change, accept, accomplished, act, ambidextrous, around, as normal, attended, attitude, automatically, away, back, backwards, bathroom, bathrooms, begin, behavior, behind, bit of adivce, brainwashed, Career Track, challenged, change, comfortable, conversation, Cottonell, decide, difficult, discomfort, discomforting, do it yourself, endured, environment, experience, familiar, feel, for everybody, fulfilled, full benefit, funny, get used to, go ahead, gone, habit, hainging, hang, happier, head, in front, influenced, inside, insures, keep, life, life-enriching, make it happen, management, misery, motivated, Nashville, odd, Okay, period, pocket, point, positive, presenter, projects, psychologists, question, resistance to change, resisted, results, right, roll, self-improvement, seminar, sight, silly, squeeze the Charmin, strange, stuff, talk, think better, thinking, three weeks, tissue, toilet paper, TP, transition, turn around, uncomfortable, unfamiliar, very, watch, White Colud, wiped me out | 3 Comments

America’s Big War Wasn’t “Civil”

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Steve Simms

America had a big war–brother against brother. It was started 150 years ago. They called it “civil,” but it was not. Hundreds of thousands of Americans were slaughtered by battle and disease. The physical devastation was tremendous–billions of dollars spent … Continue reading →

Posted in abolitionists, black history, Creator, God, history, lifestyles, Quotations, Quotes, social justice | Tagged 000, 150 years ago, 180, 1860, 1865, 200 years, a Tennessean, Abraham Lincoln, America, American slavery, and the pursuit of happiness, awesome, back for generations, battle, before His judgment seat, big war, billions of dollars, black, black inferiority, blood, Blue or Gray, bondsman's two hundred and fifty years, born and bred, bridges, broken, by the lash, Charles Sumner, civil, color prejudice, country, crops, defense, denomination, destruction President, disease, drop of blod drawn, Ellen G. White, Emancipation Day, enemy, eternal law of God, every fetter, families, farm animials, fought, fought for the, founder of the Seventh Day Adventist, four years, God's, God's judgement, great retribution, great sin of the nation, greater, Harper's Weekly, high crime, horror, in twain, insurrection, Jehovah, judgments of the Lord, justify, liberty, life, life-long bondage, Lincoln said, living God, losses, made clear, made us free, masses, mighty arm, mistreated fellow, national calamity, once and for all, our day, our deliverance, paid, personal, principles, published, punishing, put away, reenact, removed, rent, result, Rev. E.K.Love, right, roads, roots, Samuel Allen McElwee, sang, save, Second Inaugural Address, segregation, shivered, sided with the Union, sifting out the hearts of men, sin, sin no more, sin of slavery, slaughtered, social inequailty, Southern men, Southerners, Southland, states rights, sword, the curse of Ham, The Freedman's Song, the Negro, the North, the oppressed set free, the South, to enslave, to perpetuate the slavery, ture and righteous altogether, uniforms, Union Army, Union soliders, United States Senator, unrequited toil, W.E.B. DuBois, wealth piled up, William Lloyd Garrison | 3 Comments

US Senator Charles Sumner — My 5th Greatest American

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Steve Simms

My fifth greatest American appears briefly in the new Steven Spielberg movie, Lincoln. At the time of the movie, Charles Sumner had already led the passage of the 13th Amendment in the US Senate, so he has only a passing … Continue reading →

Posted in black history, history, lifestyles, religion | Tagged against slavery, anti-slavery, blacks, character, Charles Sumner, chattel, Christianity, citizenship, Civil Rights amendments, Civil War, created in the image of God, duties, equal rights, floor, freed slaves, hated, historians, human, injuries, institution, Jim Crow laws, law, leading opponent, liberty, Lincoln movie, moral courage, morals, movement, odious, Preston Brooks, racial terrorism, radicals, right, segregation, Steven Spielberg, Supreme Court, Thaddeus Stevens, US Constitution, US House of Representatives, US Senate, voting rights, whites | 7 Comments

Tag Archives: right

Are Sermons Effective?

Grace — God’s Righteous Attributes Continually Expressed

What’s Wrong With Believing These Things?

God’s Watergate — Rivers Of Living Water

When The Toilet Paper Gets Turned Around

US Senator Charles Sumner — My 5th Greatest American

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