Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

If you can remember all the way back to May, you’ll remember we were preaching through the book of James, and we’re actually in the very last chapter. James chapter 5. So go ahead and turn there with me, and we’ll finish the book these next three weeks. While you turn there, I want you to reflect on the point of some of the hard things you’ve had to face in your life. Try to remember back. It’s usually not fun to remember the hard times, and it’s important to count our blessings,…continue reading →

We’re talking today about being thankful at all times, whether in good times or bad. Even in bad times, we can be thankful for who God is and what He’s done. Today, we’re going to read about how even sometimes bad, like an earthquake, can be an occasion to be thankful to God. So, from now on every time I say the word “earthquake,” I want you to rumble your hands and feet like this. Let’s practice that once, okay? Earthquake. Good! Now, just remember, everytime I say “earthquake,” you make it sound…continue reading →

ZIP LINE RESCUE: This soda can contains necessary medical supplies for people on the other side of the world (the other side of the sanctuary). You need to deliver the supplies without letting them drop. The only supplies you can use to deliver these supplies are tape and fishing line. Go! (If they do it too quickly, you can also tell them to do it again using yarn, which may be a bit harder) In the same way, it’s our job to share Jesus with people all over the world. We do that…continue reading →

We’re going to focus this morning on how God wants us to be thankful for our church, and to be a good church, serving one another. BE A SERVANT: I need 12 volunteers to play a game. Three of you will run around, and 9 of you will just have to sit and read something I give you. You 3 will be the waiters. You’re going to try to fulfill as many orders as you can from the 9 people at your restaurant. They’ll tell you what they want, and you have to…continue reading →

We’re going to focus this morning on how God is awesome and worthy to be praised! PRAISE BATTLE GAME: I need a few volunteers to play a game. Your goal is to take turns complimenting each other. You can’t repeat a compliment. If you get stuck, and can’t think of one, you’re going to pull out a piece of paper and complete the compliment before your opponent can complete it. (Things like “Your nose is…”) Use a chess clock or something like that to give each person a time limit. We might run…continue reading →

[Pastor Chris looks around grinning, being a little silly for a minute] I know what you’re thinking. Whatcha waitin’ on, Pastor? Let’s get this sermon started! Does anyone here like waiting? I hate waiting in lines. When we eat dinner here on Wednesday nights, I rarely stand in line to get food. I'd much rather wait until everyone else has their food, and then go to get mine, because I loathe lines that much. But sometimes that approach isn’t very ideal. My favorite breakfast food is biscuits and gravy, so I always get…continue reading →

I read a true story about a man named John G. Wendel II and his six sisters. They were known as “the Weird Wendels.” Although they had received a huge inheritance from their parents, they spent very little of it and did all they could to keep their wealth for themselves. They never bought new clothes, or made repairs to properties they owned, and John was even able to convince five of his six sisters to never marry so that they didn’t have to share their inheritance with anyone else. John died in…continue reading →

[Picture of The Almost Impossible Thing] There’s a children’s book called “The Almost Impossible Thing” that encourages children to strive to achieve their unrealistic goals. [Picture from The Almost Impossible Thing] It’s about a bunny rabbit that sees a bird and decides that it wants to fly. [Picture from The Almost Impossible Thing] So the rabbit attempts to fly by setting up ski jumps, trampoline bounces, and experiments with kites. And in the end, the bunny rabbit builds a rocket and flies away. [Picture from The Almost Impossible Thing] It’s a fun little…continue reading →

Are you a friend of the world, or a friend of God?continue reading →

Thirty years ago, a group of historians did a research project together, and found that in the last 5,600 years, there have been over 14,000 wars fought in mankind’s history, in which more than 3.6 billion people have been killed. That’s about 2 ½ wars per year, with an average of 650,000 people killed every year as a result of war. They also found that in those 5,600 years that they researched, there have only been 292 years of peace in which they were unaware of a war happening somewhere in the world.…continue reading →