I really like this. I found it on Beliefnet.com, but it apparently came from the book Grace On the Go: 101 Quick Ways to Pray.

Here is the list …

1. Alarm Clock Alleluia – When your alarm goes off, say a quick prayer praising God for the day. Or use the verse “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
2. Shower Prayer – Taking a bath physically might be a good opportunity to take a bath spiritually, so pray for forgiveness as you confess your sins.
3. Driveway Mediation – As you get ready to steer your way to work, ask God to steer you through the day with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Remember the Fruit of the Spirit which is your “To-be” list.
4. Climb the Stairs – the web site say, “If you work on an upper floor in a multi-story building, skip the elevator and climb the stairs. Make your climb work for your body and your soul. Climb thoughtfully, breathing slowly. Use the time alone to experience a connection with God. Pause at each landing. Catch your breath, and focus for a moment on the blessings in your life. Say thanks before continuing your climb.” I was not as excited about this one, not because I don’t like the exercise, but because I think that we should consider the Psalms of Ascent as an example here. The Psalms of Ascent were individual songs that were song on the way up to the temple. So following that pray your way to God by focusing on the attributes of God: his glory, power, grace, love, creativity, loyalty, etc.
5. Elevator Blessings – If you share an elevator with someone on the way to work (or you just walk the stairs with them or enter the door with them) say a prayer of blessing for the person. To add an evangelistic element, if you know them, ask them for a prayer request and then later follow up. It will open a door.
6. Prayerful Single-Tasking – the site says, “We all feel too busy. It has become a workplace axiom that multi-tasking is a good thing, but a growing body of research shows that it actually erodes productivity. Instead of dividing our concentration among many tasks, do one thing at a time-prayerfully. Offer your work as a prayerful gift to God. Ask for the grace to do it meaningfully, and without anxiety.”
7. Fast for One Minute – “In times of stress, we are often tempted to reach for foods that aren’t healthy for us. Before you reach for the fried foods, sugar or chips- try this. Wait one minute. Offer the minute to God and ask for the grace you need to control your appetite. Chances are you’ll no longer be tempted until the minute is up. If you do give in-just remember, God forgives you. Forgive yourself.”
8. Touch the Earth – “Native Americans have this saying: “Never let a day go by without touching the earth with your foot.” If only a couple of times each week, take a five or ten minute break to walk in a meditative way. Give up your usual energized stride to pay attention to the movement of lifting your leg, bending your knee, and placing your foot. Observe your breathing and your body. Look around. Notice the squirrels, the trees, and the sounds of nature. Nature tunes us into God’s presence.”
9. Cook Up a Memory – “Next time you cook, pay attention to the memories that are sparked by the dishes you make. Perhaps you have old recipes lying around that you have forgotten about. Bless all those who sweeten your recollections, thanking God for the spiritual nourishment these people have brought to your life.”
10. Peanut Butter Minute Prayer – “This is a good one for moms of school kids. When making your child’s lunch, whisper a prayer as though you are sending the prayer right into your child’s meal. You might even tuck in a blessing on a post-it note.” I like this one and would say expand it to any time you do something for your child.

Kind of a neat list. You can probably think of others.

A couple of posts ago I was pretty critical of some recent sermons I heard. Here is why. They did not really have a single Big Idea. What is that? Well instead of reinventing the wheel let me refer you to the man who coined the phrase as it relates to preaching, the man who also taught me what it was. Haddon Robinson describes what it is and why it is important in a recent interview with Preaching Today.

Here is the interview.

I am not sure if they would like the term franchise, but it would seem that is what they are building.

Step back and let me explain. A franchise is a system whereby a business multiplies itself by selling franchise rights to an “owner” who then opens a business and uses the franchise name, products, and promotional materials. For example, I worked at a Dominos Pizza franchise during and after college. The manager and owner paid the company a fee to be able to use the name Dominos Pizza. He then opened the store and bought the dough, sauce, and toppings from the corporate commissary nearby. He would sell his pizzas at the prices Dominos advertised on TV and in print ads. It is an excellent setup for a pizza business or a oil change business. You can even get franchises to help people lose weight. But a church franchise?

LifeChurch.tv is a web site that is actually setting up a network (their term – I would say franchises) of churches that will download a DVD of a weekly message that they will play during the sermon time. You lead in worship as you would normally, but use their DVD to help you preach the message. Every church in the network will be following the same worship theme for the week, just as every McDonalds sells the same Big Mac Value Meal with fries and a drink … super size it if you like.

Is this an appropriate way to do church? Of course traditionalists will not like it. I am not sure I like it. As a pastor I was trained to preach the word and I don’t know if I like a person in some other state choosing what I preach. But it is interesting and I actually had the same idea a short time ago. But I quickly dismissed it saying it would and maybe shouldn’t work.

Check it out a LifeChurch.tv.

My family and I have been visiting various churches over the last couple of weeks before I take a new position in a couple weeks.

My hope was that I would be able to enjoy some really good, creative preaching. I picked a few contemporary style churches each of the first two weeks I had free. I was terribly disappointed that neither of these churches had preachers that really preached “from the word.” In truth they were preaching what was best termed topical, in the worst way. There is good topical preaching, when a preacher chooses a topic and finds a text that relates and preaches from that text letting the text control the subject and content of the message. Unfortunately, there is also topical preaching where the preacher lets the passage serve as a springboard to allow them to rant about the subject, not really that focused on the passage or more regularly passages they use. Often the passage will be about their subject, but the content of the message is not really controlled by the passage. The worst example of this is when a pastor posted a sermon outline on a web site and then proceeded to say, “And there are a lot of verses that will go with this sermon.”

If the majority of contemporary style churches are stuck in this hodgepodge of spiritual pontificating, then the future of the church is in trouble. I pray that these pastors will rediscover God’s word and allow the text to govern their sermons.

BibleMap.org is a unique site, now in beta, that uses Google Maps to show where Biblical locations are. You open a Bible browser and then click on a place name that is highlighted. It takes you to the Google Map of that location. It is in beta, but worked well in my quick test.

I’ve just updated the Photo Gallery site using software from Gallery. You can access it by clicking the photo link below my picture above or here. Thew new software allows for easier uploading and so hopefully I’ll be putting more pictures up there.

My web site was beginning to get a little crowded, so I have deleted all of my old sermon files. If you would like access to one, please let me know and I will send it along to you.