Archive for the ‘Video’ Category
The Role of the Elders
Looking back over more than 20 years of church ministry, I see how the role of the Elders has changed at Harvest. But one thing should never change. See what that is.
Real Humility vs. Actual Humility
Real humility vs. actual humility? What’s the difference? And why should you care? See for yourself.
Staff Transitions
My heart beats for pastors, so I am glad to share with you what God has allowed me to learn, often the hard way, about some practical areas of ministry. Here’s a word about staff transitions.
Staff Transitions from Harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.
On the Road Again
After a great weekend of preaching through Revelation 14, we left Tuesday morning on the second (final!) leg of our Bus Tour with Walk in the Word. This week, I have 40-some pastors from Harvest Bible Chapel traveling with me and the Worship Team. Praise God for the lives that He is changing for eternity in every city on the tour.
Go Make Disciples
“This is the Lord’s doing, it is marvelous in our eyes” Psalm 118:23. Take a minute to see what God is doing through Harvest Bible Fellowship.
On Seminaries
Seminary is great. I have spent a lot of time enrolled in and speaking at seminaries. So, I have been asked, “If you could custom design a seminary program for training pastors, what would it look like?” To me, it’s about learning how you use the tools.
If you live in the Chicago area, you’re invited to attend the graduation ceremony of our 2010 Harvest Training Center class on Tuesday night, April 20 at 8:00 P.M. at our Elgin Campus. Come see for yourself!
Can’t Leave Easter Yet
“Can’t leave Easter yet. Almost 17,000 worshipers, the Gospel going out with power, and a lot of great singing like this . . .
“Everybody Rise and Sing” from Harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.
He Is Risen!
Tomorrow we will take some time to remember the amazing sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross through some powerful, yet reflective services at our church. I trust that you will set some time aside do the same. Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
It will be Good Friday. But Sunday’s coming! Take a minute to watch this clip from the Easter 2009 service at Harvest Bible Chapel featuring our choir and Heather Headley.
Celebrate His resurrection at a church this weekend where the name of Jesus is lifted high in worship and God’s Word is proclaimed without apology! “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” Matthew 28:6
He is risen indeed!
James
What Does the Book of Revelation Say to the Church Today?
I’m almost half way through the book of Revelation. And in my 21 years at Harvest Bible Chapel, I have never taught through this book before. I have to tell you, I am deeply impacted by this study.
What does this book written by John almost 2,000 years ago have to say to the church today? Take a look.
Social Gospel vs Gospel Proclamation
What Gospel are you preaching? Are you preaching the true, biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ?
God Uses Camp in Students’ Lives
Do you send your students to camp? If you don’t, you should. God uses that time away from their regular routines, cell phones, and Facebook to speak to them in a powerful way. They hear His Word and respond to it. Here’s what God did through Camp Harvest in our students’ lives this winter.
God Makes It Happen
Salvation, biblically speaking, is four things. Take a look at this clip from a recent message to see what they are. It is God Who makes it happen.
Encouragement: Lives Changed by the Gospel
Hey:
Thanks for coming back to this blog again and again; our audience is really growing. One of the things I want to accomplish here is to encourage pastors to keep “preaching the Word.” Popular today is the notion that to really reach people you have to some how ‘get beyond the Bible.’ We have found the opposite to be true. Nothing will ever be as ‘culturally relevant’ as the Good News of the forgiveness of sin found in Jesus Christ. I don’t give a ‘public invitation’ every week, but we do periodically give folks a chance to profess the faith they have found in Christ in the biblical manner . . . baptism. Take six minutes and watch this . . . praising God every moment for power so at work in our world today . . .
Is It Soup Yet?
A lot of well-meaning people respond to what they think is the Gospel, but sometimes they don’t have the whole story. Are all of the essential ingredients in your Gospel presentation?
Hey, you know that my heart and mind are on the people of Haiti these days. Here’s a five minute update that I gave to our church family at Harvest Bible Chapel last weekend on what God is doing through the ministry of Churches Helping Churches.
Hey, I know that sometimes the size of your church can be a source of encouragement or discouragement to you. I want to encourage you with what I think about the size of a church. Here is a recent teaching about Jesus comments to the faithful church in Philadelphia from Revelation 3:8. Do you agree or no? Be faithful to God’s Word—no matter what size your church is. Agree? Share your comments. It’s hard for me to start a new year without thinking of the phone call that I received in the early hours of 2005 about one of the founding Elders of Harvest Bible Chapel. Let me tell you about a man who was gripped by Jesus Christ, my friend, Roy Gromke. As many of you know, I typically take a preaching break during the summer. People always ask me “how was your vacation?” It’s NOT vacation Embed this video: Thanks, everyone for your helpful comments. Hope this series on evangelism has been helpful for you. Here’s the final video… Embed this video: Embed this video: OK – that’s a whole week on the current phenomenon of multi-site churches. For those of you who really like to cut to the chase, here is a video summary of what I was trying to say in the last two posts. Feel free to leave a comment or even a difference of opinion. Let me know what you are thinking and let others be edified by your perspective. Embed this video: Some people think pastors never get rocked to the core, and that could not be more UNTRUE. Here is a story about when God took me to the mat and taught me to see his power at work in the most dire of circumstances. You can bet this story came to mind earlier this summer when I saw many high school students responding as Luke preached the gospel at Camp Harvest. God is good! To download a pdf of this story, click here. One of the key ministry values here at Harvest is recognizing the difference between equipping and serving. Serving is great, but serving is not the primary calling of a full-time pastor. The primary job of a pastor is not to do the work of the ministry, but to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). Check out the video below for more on this distinction. James Embed this video: People often ask me what a fruitful minister’s most important strength is. Without question, it is what I refer to as a ‘high need for closure.’ More than anything else, pastors with that, GET IT DONE! Here is a quick clip where I talk about this more. Do you have it? Does the pastoral staff at your church have it? The best ones do. After the main stuff, the biblical stuff, the stuff you have to have or God won’t bless your efforts . . . after that stuff, this is #1. Embed this video: Sometimes praying by faith can slip into demanding things from God and that is not good. Have you ever wanted something so bad that you prayed for it in a way that did damage to your own soul? If yes, leave your story in the comment section. Here’s mine: To download a pdf of this story, click here. How many of our lives would be different if not for God? That’s certainly true for my family. Here’s a story many of you may not know, from the time our second son was born and … For a pdf of this story, click here. I’m frequently asked about my preaching notes. In the video below, I explain the logic behind how I structure my notes. I know such things aren’t one size fits all, but hopefully there’s something helpful in there for you. Embed this video: To see a page from my preaching notes on Isaiah 6:1-4, click here. Hey you gotta check out this video clip. Be sure to watch the testimony in the middle of the song. 1) I cried because the testimony is so authentic. The rap is by a guy named Johnny Griffin who has attended our church for more than three years. He is not a hired gun, or someone brought in from the outside for effect; he is one of our guys. He has also served behind the scenes in our youth and inner city ministries. I don’t believe in rushing gifted people to the platform and we didn’t do that here. JGriff really loves the Lord. He and his wife are using what they have been given to impact others every day. Yeah = Authentic! 2) I cried because the act was so courageous. Sad but true, church folks can be so quick to judge as wrong anything outside their preference list. Standing up in front of a congregation that is young but majority anglo/contemporary vs. minority/hip hop in their background and musical preferences took a lot of courage on JGriff’s part. Yeah = Courage! 3) I cried because it was so ‘diverse.’ Remember that guy back in the 90’s who taught the ‘homogeneous church growth principle? He was really whacked. Fact is the greater glory is God’s not when people with commonality congregate put when people from ‘every tribe tongue and nation’ worship together. For more than 10 years we have been working hard musically, in our staffing and in other cultural sensitivities to welcome all minorities to worship with us at Harvest. Today the diversity in our church greatly exceeds the diversity in our community and I am truly thankful for the way that honors God. Yeah = diversity! 4) I cried because the testimony was so powerful. I am just not over the power of the gospel to change a person’s life. I love hearing JGriff say in such a creative way how God never gave up on him and pursued him til he yielded. He did the same for my son Luke who is leading in the video and who brought this worship service with JGriff to our church. I am thankful for that faithful pursuit in my life and trusting God to do the same in the life of everyone I am close to. Yeah = Gospel! 5) I cried because it’s true. Jesus Christ is the ‘ONE WAY,’ the only way, the right way, the narrow way, the perfect way, the joy producing way, and my heart wells up with joy every time I get to celebrate that. Yeah = Jesus Christ! Watch it again, I have . . . many times. james A year and a half ago I met a new friend named J-Griff. He has become part of our church and has an amazing gift. He speaks a different musical language than most of our congregation and I have wanted to use him as part of our worship experiences for a long time, but could never quite muster up the courage. Then I read this post and decided that just because something might fail I have no an excuse not to go for it. So for your viewing pleasure J-Griff, myself, Tara, Rochelle, Carolyn, Kevin, Dave and Steve’s rendition of One Way (inspired by Soul Survivor 2008). Embed this video: Note: To see a list of James’ regular commercials, click here. (These pages are pulled from here).Haiti Update
Large Churches vs. Small Churches
Remembering Roy
Why Take a Preaching Break During the Summer?
. Anyway, here’s a video that explains the logic of taking a preaching break. It’s something that has worked well here at Harvest, and I commend it to you.
Red Apple Evangelism: Part 4
Red Apple Evangelism: Part 3
Multi-Campus Is not For Everyone
Seeing the Power of God
Equipping vs. Serving: Are You Ready for Full-Time Ministry?
A Key Ingredient in an Effective Pastor
When God’s Answer Is BETTER than My Prayer . . .
My Son Almost Died…But…
On Preaching Notes
Honestly? I Just Cried When I First Saw This
Sometimes Risks Work Out
Hey Young Preachers: Use more Commercials in Preaching
