September 1989

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September 1989 Issue

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Editorial

Shallow optimism or reality?

Rex D. Edwards

Someone defined a pessimist as a fellow who has had to live with an optimist. Few things in life distress one more than having to face a disastrous situation with someone who cannot be serious. I suppose it is better to have a congenitally optimistic individual around than one who is constantly pessimistic—but not much better, for one needs a good dose of doubt and questioning if he is to keep his mental health. The dispensers of mindless cheer fail to instill… Continue reading...

Dedicated to a furnace

William H. Shea

An ancient inscription and a large pile of slag point to Israel's construction of the tabernacle following the Exodus.

An ancient inscription and a large pile of slag point to Israel's construction of the tabernacle following the Exodus.

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The fall of Babylon in type and antitype

Hans K. LaRondelle

By comparing Old Testament and New Testament references to the fall of Babylon we can learn how to be a part of the true Israel of God today.

By comparing Old Testament and New Testament references to the fall of Babylon we can learn how to be a part of the true Israel of God today.

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Discovering your people flow

Ben Maxson

Identifying your church's strengths and weaknesses can help you enlarge its entryways and close its exits.

Identifying your church's strengths and weaknesses can help you enlarge its entryways and close its exits.

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Getting comfortable with God

Kenneth R. Wade

How is it possible for an imperfect person to feel comfortable in the presence of a perfect God?

How is it possible for an imperfect person to feel comfortable in the presence of a perfect God?

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Tangible love

Anonymous

Expressing your love in tangible ways appropriate to your spouse's needs and personality will enrich your relationship.

Expressing your love in tangible ways appropriate to your spouse's needs and personality will enrich your relationship.

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Anointing: the lost rite

Anonymous

You can renew your people's faith in God by using the anointing service for its intended purpose instead of reserving it for those on their deathbed.

You can renew your people's faith in God by using the anointing service for its intended purpose instead of reserving it for those on their deathbed.

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Guidelines for persons desiring anointing

Anonymous

Should I call for the elders? Call whenever you have an illness that you want to take to the Lord for His healing. Many feel that they should ask for anointing only after they have exhausted every other possibility and are on their deathbed. There is nothing in…

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Pastor's Pastor: Sermonic miscarriage

W. Floyd Bresee

Organize as you research.

Organize as you research.

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Why Adventists live longer

Jan W. Kuzma

This article is submitted by the Health and Temperance Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

This article is submitted by the Health and Temperance Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

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Extravagant Love

Victor Cooper

Extravagant Love points the way to peaceful living in a world of violence, injustice, and hostility. Stories like those of Maggie in Minneapolis and Manuel in New York City indicate the struggle through which many people go to find release from anger. "Love does more…

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Letters to the Editor

Fathers chosen by lottery?Your article "The Single Christianand Artificial Insemination" (July1989) takes up a difficult problem. Atone point the writers say that thewoman who becomes pregnant by artificial insemination "has not engaged insexual contact." Actually,…

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More from this issue:

Resources

Is Nothing Sacred? When Sex Invades the Pastoral Relationship

Lyndon K. McDowell

The author of this incredible but true story is an ordained minister and executive director of the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence. In 1984 Marie M. Fortune accepted a call to serve as an advocate and pastor for six women bringing charges of sexual misconduct against their pastor, Dr. Peter Donovan. This book tells the story of that assignment. Donovan's behavior was extreme, but the dynamics that allowed it to happen are sadly typical.… Continue reading...

Resources

An Introduction to Contemporary Preaching

W. Floyd Bresee

Baumann is a Baptist minister and former seminary professor. He points out in his introduction, "The volume unfolds as a commentary on my own definition of preaching: Preaching is the communication of biblical truth by man to men with the explicit purpose of eliciting behavioral change." Using this definition, he divides the book into three sections: communication, biblical truth, and behavioral change. The book is broad in its coverage, including everything from… Continue reading...

Resources

Preach the Word

Patrick Boyle

This short volume concentrates on biblical preaching. If a preacher wants to do more than give a few talks and tell some stories, he will find practical help here. I find the author committed to Scripture as inspired revelation from God to man. He believes that the lack of power, the appalling and pervasive ignorance of God, and the impoverished spirituality of Christendom have arisen as the inevitable consequence of neglecting the Word. He desires the minister… Continue reading...

Resources

The Word of God and Pastoral Care

John L. Casteel

Every minister faces the problem of correlating his or her theological knowledge and affirmations with principles and methods found in modern psychology. Stone, a professor of pastoral counseling at Brite Divinity School, seeks to help pastors work through these correlations. In dealing with the problems parishioners bring to them, pastors face the temptation to turn from their beliefs to the techniques contemporary psychology offers. But in doing so, they let… Continue reading...