Monday, June 11, 2012
Preach the Word
Before we begin preaching/teaching the Bible, we must be honest and acknowledge whether our hearts are pure and filled with love and sincere faith for the Lord. Also, as 'preacher' we must conduct ourselves appropriately in the house of the Lord, as described in 1 Timothy 3:15, "if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth"” Indeed, a humble attitude is not an option for the preacher/teacher that desires to see the work of God through the message delivered.
The sermon, to be effective, must use an effective tool, "a sharp two-edged sword". When I think of the reference to a two-edged sword I consider how the text of Scripture is to "cut both ways". A text should cut us in terms of reminding us who we used to be without Christ and then cut the other way to encourage us to be what Christ has called us to be. A summary of the entire letter to the Ephesians fits this idea. Distilled into one sentence the Ephesians are encouraged that they cannot live as they once did [chapters 4-6] because they are no longer the people they once were [chapters 1-3]. The sermon is a tool to use the power of the Word to nudge hearers closer to God and closer to His kingdom.
How does a balance of Bible study and prayer fit into the idea of making a sermon/presentation that will, by the grace of God, accomplish the task God wants it to accomplish?
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Demonshare Resort
I have been a member of the above timeshare for about 9 years. In the big picture I am very satisfied with the benefits I have received from the timeshare. The condos are very nice and are in nice places. On the negative side in a minor way, the condos are not always available and they are not located near my favorite people.
On the negative side in a big way are the regular attempts by the resort to rope me into buying a larger portion of time. The amazing thing about these sales attempts is how persistent and clever the bullying sales people can be. Every year the resort calls and offers a "tour" or an "update". Not to be fooled, these tours and updates are actually strong armed sales events by a tag team of high pressure sales people who are highly trained to cleverly insult and ultimately persuade owners to spend large amounts of money. In the most devious ways, the sales people offer a seemingly irresistible offer that separates the owner from large amounts of money.
On my last visit I agreed to an "update" because I was to be given a significantly larger portion of time for the coming year to add to my already bought and paid for portion. I knew the promised 55 minute "update" would take at least 2 hours. It did. The update began with a sales pitch that began relatively gently but advanced toward the end to being high pressure. Among the things noted by the salesperson was that the resort would prefer I stay at my current level of time [I cannot imagine why they have been pestering me for 9 years if they had me right where they wanted me. This concept seemed to escape the salesperson]. For a mere 24,000 dollars payable over the course of over a year at a rate over 20% I would double the portion of time I "owned". I was barely able to resist the offer. In about an hour this original salesperson retired and sicked his boss on me. The boss said I would have to sign a document that confirmed that I had rejected this amazing offer and was indeed a sorry person. I snatched the pen out of her hand and signed away [she wouldn't let me keep the pen].
Within 20 minutes and after promising my "gift" of additional time she brought back the original salesperson. The original salesperson strongly insisted that I stay seated while another person brought me my "gifts". I heard the plural twice. I figured I would stay. A final heavy duty "closer" sort of salesperson came to the table [no gifts were evident upon his person]. For thirty minutes he grilled me on how I wasting my life by not spending 2200 dollars for a slightly smaller additional time. I politely refused. For his final effort he offered me a one time good deal to quadruple my time available for use in the next 18 months for a mere 1200 dollars. By this time the increments [let's call them points] had moved from the original 6 dollars a point to 16 cents a point. I asked if there was a discount for cash. He was stymied, but refused. I had to sign another document admitting my stupidity and begging for my single gift. Now the gift of "points" could have been electronically added to my account, however the final salesmen had me sign another document and accept an envelope with a point voucher in it that had to be mailed to a special address within a limited period of time. I will mail the voucher to the appointed location within 48 hours. At last I was dismissed, literally out the back door. Prior to actually leaving I was again asked to sign another document. I did so and escaped. I was worn, weary and beaten, but I had survived. I may even do it again. I think I love the pain.. or the points.
blessings,
Paul
On the negative side in a big way are the regular attempts by the resort to rope me into buying a larger portion of time. The amazing thing about these sales attempts is how persistent and clever the bullying sales people can be. Every year the resort calls and offers a "tour" or an "update". Not to be fooled, these tours and updates are actually strong armed sales events by a tag team of high pressure sales people who are highly trained to cleverly insult and ultimately persuade owners to spend large amounts of money. In the most devious ways, the sales people offer a seemingly irresistible offer that separates the owner from large amounts of money.
On my last visit I agreed to an "update" because I was to be given a significantly larger portion of time for the coming year to add to my already bought and paid for portion. I knew the promised 55 minute "update" would take at least 2 hours. It did. The update began with a sales pitch that began relatively gently but advanced toward the end to being high pressure. Among the things noted by the salesperson was that the resort would prefer I stay at my current level of time [I cannot imagine why they have been pestering me for 9 years if they had me right where they wanted me. This concept seemed to escape the salesperson]. For a mere 24,000 dollars payable over the course of over a year at a rate over 20% I would double the portion of time I "owned". I was barely able to resist the offer. In about an hour this original salesperson retired and sicked his boss on me. The boss said I would have to sign a document that confirmed that I had rejected this amazing offer and was indeed a sorry person. I snatched the pen out of her hand and signed away [she wouldn't let me keep the pen].
Within 20 minutes and after promising my "gift" of additional time she brought back the original salesperson. The original salesperson strongly insisted that I stay seated while another person brought me my "gifts". I heard the plural twice. I figured I would stay. A final heavy duty "closer" sort of salesperson came to the table [no gifts were evident upon his person]. For thirty minutes he grilled me on how I wasting my life by not spending 2200 dollars for a slightly smaller additional time. I politely refused. For his final effort he offered me a one time good deal to quadruple my time available for use in the next 18 months for a mere 1200 dollars. By this time the increments [let's call them points] had moved from the original 6 dollars a point to 16 cents a point. I asked if there was a discount for cash. He was stymied, but refused. I had to sign another document admitting my stupidity and begging for my single gift. Now the gift of "points" could have been electronically added to my account, however the final salesmen had me sign another document and accept an envelope with a point voucher in it that had to be mailed to a special address within a limited period of time. I will mail the voucher to the appointed location within 48 hours. At last I was dismissed, literally out the back door. Prior to actually leaving I was again asked to sign another document. I did so and escaped. I was worn, weary and beaten, but I had survived. I may even do it again. I think I love the pain.. or the points.
blessings,
Paul
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