Lets Get Committed

Book excerpt: People seem dazzled by the world's glitter of false grandeur and pay little to no attention to the majesty of God. The sparkle of glitter the world offers does nothing but litter the ocean floor of the spirit. A saint's job is to pay close attention to the security of God's grandeur -- magnitude, creation, mercy, hope, happiness, joy, peace, and life. With God as our ship we can stay afloat for eternity. (from All Saints' Sunday sermon, "Called To Be Saints") Derl Keefer explores the timeless and life-changing truths of the Bible in ten powerful and effective messages based on First Lesson passages from the Revised Common Lectionary. While particularly useful to pastors gleaning ideas for their own preaching, these sermons offer an abundant dose of spiritual power to all who read and digest them. Sermon titles include: * Where Are We Without God? -- Exodus 33:12-23 * Leaving A Legacy -- Deuteronomy 34:1-12 * Reformation To Transformation -- Jeremiah 31:31-34 * God's New Shepherd -- Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 You will enjoy the reading journey of Let's Get Committed. These are sermons written by a practitioner, a pastor who has passion for people and for sermon preparation.... While Keefer's illustrations are clear and his quotes are pertinent, the priority is how they bring focus to the Word. They are biblical in an age when God's Word needs to be heard throughout the land.... There is meat here for the mind and inspiration for the heart. (from the Foreword) C. Neal Strait District Superintendent, Michigan District Church of the Nazarene Derl G. Keefer is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University (B.A.) and Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.). He has been the pastor of congregations in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, and is currently serving in Kansas City, Missouri, as the Developmental Ministries coordinator for the International Church of the Nazarene's Adult Ministry Division. His sermons and articles have appeared in numerous clergy publications, and he often leads workshops and seminars on preaching and Sunday School ministry. Keefer was named the Church of the Nazarene's Michigan District Pastor of the Year in 1995, and in 2000 Southern Nazarene University honored him as its Alumni Pastor of the Year. He is the co-author of Wedding Sermons & Marriage Ceremonies (CSS), and is also co-editor of The Wesleyan Preaching Annual (CSS).