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1. Anyone Can Have a Fruitful Ministry
John 15:1-8 
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Our Daily Bread
John Warr, an 18th-century apprentice shoemaker, was determined to be a faithful witness for Christ. Another apprentice by the name of William was hired, and John repeatedly talked to him about spiritual things, but the new worker didn't want to be bothered. Then one day he was caught exchanging a counterfeit shilling for a good one. In his guilt and humiliation he asked John for help and prayer. ...
2. Building According to Code
Matthew 7:24-29
Illustration
Our Daily Bread
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed thousands of homes in South Florida. Yet in an area where the wreckage looked like a war zone, one house remained standing, still firmly anchored to its foundation. When a reporter asked the homeowner why his house had not been blown away, he replied, "I built this house myself. I also built it according to the Florida state building code. When the code called ...
3. But I Wasn't Running
Mark 9:30-37
Illustration
Our Daily Bread
When Mike Peters won the Pulitzer Prize for political cartoons (1981), he wasn't expecting the honor. He described his response by saying, "It is like you are asleep and it is 2 in the morning and you are hugging your pillow and you are in your funny pajamas and somebody bursts through the door and they come over and start shaking you and they say, 'Wake up, wake up!' And you say, 'What is it?' An...
4. Get on with It!
Matthew 28:16-20
Illustration
Our Daily Bread
A college choir was all set to present its package of music in a large church. The program of sacred song was to being carried live by a local radio station. When everything appeared to be ready, the announcer made his final introduction and waited for the choir director to begin.  One of the tenors was not ready, however, so the venerable conductor refused to raise his baton. All this time, nothi...
5. Land Not Seen
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Our Daily Bread
From the booklet "Bits and Pieces" comes an interesting story about Florence Chadwick, the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. On the Fourth of July in 1951, she attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast. The challenge was not so much the distance, but the bone-chilling waters of the Pacific. To complicate matters, a dense fog lay over the entire area, ...
6. Mastering the Virtue of Humility
Mark 9:33-37
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Our Daily Bread
"What do you think of the candidates?" That's what a reporter for a news magazine asked a young woman at Dartmouth University after a debate among presidential hopefuls. She didn't say a word about their positions on the issues or their skill at debate. She simply remarked, "None of them seems to have any humility." Benjamin Franklin, the early American statesman, made a list of character qualiti...
7. Silent Prayer
Mark 1:35-39
Illustration
Our Daily Bread
A father took his small son with him to town one day to run some errands. When lunchtime arrived, the two of them went to a familiar diner for a sandwich. The father sat down on one of the stools at the counter and lifted the boy up to the seat beside him. They ordered lunch, and when the waiter brought the food, the father said, "Son, we'll just have a silent prayer." Dad got through praying fir...
8. We Will Go Fishing
Mark 6:30-34,53-56
Illustration
Our Daily Bread
Philip Melancthon, the great Reformation theologian, once said to his friend Martin Luther, "This day you and I will discuss the governance of the universe." What Luther said in response was unexpected: "This day you and I will go fishing and leave the governance of the universe to God."
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