Best 351 quotes in «ministry quotes» category

So time continued on slowly and painfully. Perhaps the old analogy of being a record stuck on repeat had become too dated; I felt like I’d just gotten an IPod and only could afford one song so that one song played over and over again until I felt as if it was just part of the constant monotony.

Success in ministry is important, but when I assume it is all-important, I have made it an idol . . .It is possible to make such an idol of success that you prize it more than God.

Surely, if there could be regrets in heaven, the saints might mourn that they did not live longer here to do more good.

That amount of time is to be converted into some products, benefits, goods, services, welfare, ministry, but most of us actually truncate this amount of wealth on daily basis.

That’s the bittersweet joy of ministry. We see people healed, and then we watch them move on in victory. Sometimes, it means saying goodbye. We must learn to celebrate as our fledgling birds spread their wings and fly into freedom, even if that flight pattern takes them far away from us.

That physician is no better than a murderer, that negligently delayeth till his patient be dead or past cure (389).

Teach the people the Word before converting and baptizing them

The author reveals a cultural change that took place when clergy were paid based on a tax on the land's value rather than what it produced. This meant that, while parishioners could suffer through a terrible year, clergy would always have a comfortable one.

The author writes that key FDR aide Harry Hopkins was in such poor health near the end of his boss's second term that one observer said he didn't know how Hopkins could possibly report to the president. But, at the onset of war and genuine national emergency, Hopkins was animated with a new sense of purpose.

The believer's job is to shine out Christ in their living and in their speaking.

The deeper irony is that the evidence of sin that are always found in and around the body of Christ may become indirect intimations of its holiness. It could not be a holy church if it had clean hands, as if severed from its task of saving sinners and healing human hurt.

The deeper you go in ministry, the more the enemy wants to be an irritant in your marriage.

The desire of the people should be the major instrument used to draw them closer to God

The early Mormons were even less concerned about ministerial training. On several occasions, a man heard a discourse, submitted to baptism and confirmation, received a call to priesthood, and was sent on a mission - all on the same day. Canadian Samuel Hall, for instance, found a Latter-Day Saint tract on a Montreal street and traveled to Nauvoo to hear the teachings of Joseph Smith himself. On the day of his arrival, he heard a sermon by Smith, requested baptism, received ordination, and started on a mission - without even pausing to change his wet clothes.

The effectiveness of your ministry to people will be in direct proportion to the time you spend away from people and with God in a quiet time of preparation.

The essence of a mature human being in religious terms is the ability to see, to be aware of others' suffering and to be touched by it.

The Church does not need brilliant personalities but faithful servants of Jesus and the brethren. Not in the former but in the latter is the lack.

The church doesn’t belong to the pastor; it belongs to Jesus Christ.

The confessor can nullify the exquisitely seasonable moment of confession by talking instead of listening. When he sees pedagogy and advice as more important than simple listening, he diverts the stream of confession.

The fundamental human experience is that of compassion.

The frenzy with which much of the church busies herself with things peripheral to the kingdom in a frantic attempt by her own ingenuity and effort to make God’s name holy or make his kingdom come is a sign that something is radically wrong. The church has lost connection with Christ, her living head; she has listened to the siren calls of this world; she has succumbed to the prevailing culture instead of what Christ Jesus created her to be.

The family of God is about enjoying the bounty of God's table and fellowship with one another and with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's instruments have no consciousness of His purpose; if they imagine they have, it is a pretty sure token that they are NOT His instruments. Nathaniel Hawthorne

The horizons of man are incomparably narrower than that of the land on which he toils. Editor of the Nebraska journal

The ministry found in the corners of one's life should match the ministry that is put on display.

The moment you, as a spiritual person, stop growing, you simply die. Your ministry will grow as a consequence of your dedication, faithfulness and persistent desire to move on

The more God-centered our worship practices, the more mercy-centered our life.

The most important task that every pastor has is to get all his church members involved in some kind of ministry. That should be one of his main priorities. 3

The needs of the people around you should your utmost priority

The obedience which God's children yield to Him must be loving obedience. Do not go about the service of God as slaves to their taskmaster's toil, but run in the way of His commands because it is your Father's way.

The purpose of salt is to change the nature of what it invades without calling attention to itself. Attracting attention to yourself in the Kingdom of God is like seducing the bride because you are the best man of the groom.

The question, therefore, which each of us has to answer to his own conscience is, "Has it been the end of my ministry, has it been the desire of my heart to save the lost and guide the saved? Is this my aim in every sermon I preach, in every visit I pay? Is it under the influence of this feeling that I continually live and walk and speak? Is it for this I pray and toil and fast and weep? Is it for this I spend and am spent, counting it, next to the salvation of my own soul, my chiefest joy to be the instrument of saving others? Is it for this that I exist? To accomplish this would I gladly die? Have I seen the pleasure of the Lord prospering in my hand? Have I seen souls converted under my ministry? Have God's people found refreshment from my lips and gone upon their way rejoicing, or have I seen no fruit of my labours, and yet am content to remain unblest? Am I satisfied to preach, and yet not know of one saving impression made, one sinner awakened?

The priesthood of Christ is “not according to the law of a fleshy commandment, but according to the power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16). Aaron was constituted high priest according to the powerless letter of the law, but Christ according to the powerful element of an indestructible life. Our High Priest is constituted of a life which nothing can conquer, but which rather conquers everything! It is a life which cannot be destroyed. A life which saves to the uttermost. The endless, eternal, divine, uncreated life. The resurrection life which has passed the test of death and Hades.

The promise of a social gospel was for Luther an irrelevant and ultimately irrelevant and ultimately cruel delusion.

There are millions of thirsty souls. There is sufficient water in the 'well of salvation' to adequately quench every one of those thirsty souls. God is looking for vessels through which He might transmit this living water to them. It matters not regarding the apparent outward value of the vessel or the seeming lack of worth. The only kind of vessel that He can use to carry this living water to these dying souls is a vessel that is 'meet for the Master's use,' that is one that is first cleansed of sin and then emptied of self. Perhaps this truth can be more readily made clear by a simple illustration. Let us imagine a clear, crystal stream of living water flowing beside a broad way. There comes a tired, worn-out, thirsty traveller. He sees the water, but it flows under such circumstances as to make it impossible for him to reach this stream from his mouth. He spies three vessels: a golden goblet, a silver pitcher, and a tin cup. Upon investigation he finds that the golden goblet us filled with something else. The silver pitcher is empty, apparently ready for service but is soiled within; the tin cup alone is clean and emptied. We leave it to you to decide which one he chooses. To rightly get at the heart of this great truth, meditate on: Acts 24:16; 2 Tim. 2:20-21; and 1 Cor. 1:26-30. Which kind are you?

There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared. It is the great venture. It can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to mistrust, and this mistrusts in turn brings forth war.

The real power and test of our ministry (calling) is not in the pulpit or public arena, but in our private lives, our home.

The Russian people were just like us. They were victims of their own government. Ronald Reagan

The ultimate will of RESPECT is a requirement for all, not according to the MANTLE that one hold. Acknowledging God in those that are treading as we cross paths

This is the need of the church today. The church is not in great need of miracles, gifts, teachings, or knowledge. Today the church needs the ministry of Christ.

The voice welling up out of this little man is terrific, Harry had noticed it at the house, but here, in the nearly empty church, echoing off the walnut knobs and memorial plaques and high arched rafters, beneath the tall central window of Jesus taking off into the sky with a pack of pastel apostles for a launching pad, the timbre is doubled, richer, with a rounded sorrowful something Rabbit hadn't noticed hitherto, gathering and pressing the straggle of guests into a congregation, subduing any fear that this ceremony might be a farce. Laugh at ministers all you want, they have the words we need to hear, the ones the dead have spoken.

To fully carry out your purpose as believers, you have to discover where the people you want to minister to are

To instill the values for the culture was and is the responsibility of the leadership, and staff alignment was critical to its success. It started with both board and staff. They realized that they needed to share the same value system that says, “I am the equipper, not the doer.” If not, there were going to be immense roadblocks to effectively mobilizing people for ministry.

There is no magic in small plans. When I consider my ministry, I think of the world. Anything less than that would not be worthy of Christ nor of His will for my life.

To fully communicate with people, you need to find tactics that would interest them

Unless you are led and directed by the Holy Spirit, you will never be truely successful in your ministry.

We are all priests before God, there is no such distinction as 'secular or sacred.' In fact, the opposite of sacred is not secular; the opposite of sacred is profane. In short, no follower of Christ does secular work. We all have a sacred calling.

To get leaders to become stakeholders in ministry and to understand the DNA of your church, you must invest in them, equip them, and raise the bar of accountability.

We are called to serve God and not to rely on our achievement in ministry

We are not here to build our empire only but also to help people discover the kingdom of God