“Is that all?” newly elected Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou asked his budget committee in 2009 during a meeting to find out exactly how much the government was spending. A series of financial scandals led to the ousting of the incumbent party and ushered in a new Greek government—one which would count the money it spent instead of assuming they spent what they had budgeted.

An important aspect of life is influence. Each one of us has influence over someone in this world. It is obvious that the more you lead, the more opportunities for influence you will have.

I was recently with a young preacher here on the West Coast who asked me a thought-provoking question: “What do you see that concerns or encourages you in younger pastors?”

Our first President, George Washington, had a motto for his life that he endeavored to live by: “Deeds, not words.” Reading this, I thought about how simplistic and yet how important it is that our lives as Christians be characterized by that motto.

Sermon outline: This is an abbreviated outline with the complete sermon downloadable at the bottom of the post. God’s Word was written for our instruction. As one must dive deep for pearls and dig deep for precious stones, so must we delve deep into God’s Word if we are going to uncover its powerful principles.

The modern model of the office of a pastor seems to be that of a spiritual executive. The vision is of a man sitting in his office, reading reports, conducting meetings, and issuing instructions. It is true that if we are to “look well to the state of our flock,” inspection and direction are necessary. But the Bible model is one of service.

If you were to ask the average Christian which book means the most to him out of every book he has ever read or owned, I believe most would say the Bible. But I wonder how many Christians are actually benefiting from it in a real and practical way on a regular basis. We don’t get the benefits of God’s Word by setting a Bible on the coffee table or carrying a Bible to church.

The people of Israel were told by the prophet Isaiah, “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes” (Isaiah 54:2). He encouraged them to prepare for, expect, and make room for the fruitfulness that God would bring.

We live in a culture that openly rejects and rebels against proper authority. The latest manifestation of this trend was the “occupy” demonstrations. Some of the protesters did not like the fact that they are expected to pay back money loaned to them for their college education, so they rebelled against taxpayers who funded the program that loaned them the money.

We know that Christ ultimately came to save us from our sins. Truth be told, the reason we face so many hurtful situations and circumstances in our lives is because we live in a sin-cursed world, and we are sinners. Because people are sinful, they do hurtful, hateful, and sinful things which always affect others.