Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in the U. S. and Bro. Wolvin & Bro. Stone continue their theme of thanking God for the people He has placed in our lives.

"I think that is a better thing than thanksgiving: thanks-living. How is this to be done? By a general cheerfulness of manner, by an obedience to the command of Him by whose mercy we live, by a perpetual, constant delighting of ourselves in the Lord, and by a submission of our desires to His will."  Charles Haddon Spurgeon

This is the week of Thanksgiving in the United States, so the two pastors highlight some "unsung heroes" within the body who make the church the ministry it needs to be.

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse."  Henry Van Dyke

During this week of a national day of Thanksgiving in the United States, Dr. Al and Pastor Dan reflect on ministries which have touched their lives.

"When the flower of gratitude dies within a man's heart, that man is well nigh hopeless."  Dr. Bob Jones

Many of the situations preachers are dealing with are financial problems that their members are experiencing.  Your two hosts give a sample of financial counseling.

* If you are spending more than you make, you are in serious trouble.

* Be disciplined and stay on a schedule.

* Control your spending.

* Encourage your people to attend financial seminars - or provide some for them.

* Learn that you don't need to get everything your parents have in five years.

Counseling children is on the rise and parents have multiple questions today concerning how to rear their children and help them deal with their relationships.

* Be circumspect when disciplining your children in public today.

* Friendships, making friends, avoiding bad friends, learning to socialize with others when being homeschooled.

* Many teens struggle with their identity today - often feeling the pressure from external sources.

* Learn and memorize many of the foundational passages concerning rearing children.

* In areas where the Bible is silent, pastors may be unwise to make and issue over those areas.

* Social media is a large part of children's lives today.

* Due to the issues with which we are addressing, our preaching takes on the urgency of warning to parents & families.

* When a teen or older child comes to you for advice or with a question, the first thing you should ask them is, "What do your parents say?"

Your hosts give advice and lend their experience as they examine the topic of conducting biblical marriage counseling with church members.

* Every pastor needs to be reminded that your congregation basically views you as an expert in the Bible, so you can take the Bible and apply it to living.

* Have some requirements in counseling to show earnestness and dedication.

* Seek confirmation that both spouses are dedicated to seeing their marriage improve.

* There are a host of resources available to use as supplemental help.

* Be wary of "siding" with one against the other.

* Be sure that you have a pattern to follow as you seek to progress in counseling.

* "It's not about me." Marriage is ministry.

Your hosts, Al Stone & Dan Wolvin, address the topic of helping our messages come to life - using illustrations in a sermon.

* Object lessons always keep people's attention - just be sure to practice it enough to ensure success.

* Acting out stories can liven a message.

* Sometimes the use of music in a message can have a powerful effect upon the listener.

* Be careful about using videos in a message.

* If you use someone else's personal illustration, be honest and don't say that it actually happened to you.

* Be careful about using negative illustrations about people whom you know.

Your hosts review sermon preparation and its aim or purpose.

* Are your sermons normally considered a 'shotgun-type' message or a 'rifle' message?

* Can the person in the pew condense your message into one or two sentences?

* Normally, the last point of the message begins the conclusion and begins to wrap up the message.

* Many preachers begin their sermon with a question - and then the sermon answers that question throughout the message.

* One of the benefits of going through a book of the Bible in a series is that you do not

* Questions which should be answered in study:

* What does the text say?

* What does the text mean?

* What does the text mean to me?

* How can I make the text mean something to others?

* Generally illustrations are the last 'piece to the puzle.'

* People often like learning something new as they listen to the illustrations in the sermon.

* Be very careful about demeaning others in an illustration, your point will be lost and you will turn off most of the congregation.

Dr. Al & Pastor Dan discuss how they arrive on a particular text to use in their sermons.

* Most commonly the text comes from personal Bible reading.

* Occasionally you may  hear another sermon and wish to study on it yourself.

* Church members may have questions or there may be a problem in the church which needs to be addressed.

* A world event may be the driving force to address a particular topic.

* There is a 'debate' among many Baptist preachers between being a topical preacher or an exegetical preacher.

* Sermon series are good to to promote a topic, go through a book study or address a particular need in the congregation.

* You will rarely get as much time to prepare a sermon as you wish.

* Usually the less experience of a speaker you have, the more of your sermon you write out.

* Writing more of the body of your message out will help keep you on track and keep you from 'chasing rabbits.'

Pastors Dan Wolvin & Al Stone lightheartedly address the issue of dealing with things which personally bother and affect them. Some of these may be rather universal, others may be particular just to them.

Whether it may be a humorous or serious incident, we are constantly reminded that two of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit is temperance (self-control) and longsuffering.