This book concerns the loving care that churches should exercise toward their pastors, and elders. The financial support of the ministry is a recurring theme in every congregation, just as salaries, and wages are recurring themes in every household. Churches are to love, and care for their God-called men. According to the Bible, it is the pattern that the Lord "ordained" for His church. In this book, you are going to meet some very interesting people. You are going to meet the soldier, the vinedresser, the shepherd, the farmer, some priests-even a cow (an ox in that day). All of these biblical characters will be used by the Apostle in a most powerful way to describe God's men who serve His church so faithfully. You will even meet the hireling I have had church members ask me what kind of lifestyle a church should provide for their pastor. This book will hopefully answer that question as well as many others that deal with the relationship of churches, and pastors. This book will present a challenge to many. Those who desire to follow this God-ordained pattern will find this book very informative.

Devotional material has always been of immeasurable value to God's people. Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening" has encouraged many a pilgrim as they prepared for their day and sought comfort on their pillow at night. We do not aspire to this caliber of thought or experience, yet we feel a burden for the same work. One reason is because there is always a need for contemporary authors, people who live and breathe in this present world, who may be identified as a living "brother, and companion in tribulation." Another reason has given equal force to vent our hearts in written form. There was once a day when families gathered together to discuss religious topics. It was by those discussions, however brief and unstructured they may have been, that children became aware of their parents' faith and ultimately, their God. Today, we live in a busy world. With computers, television, VCR''s, CD''s and a world of entertainment at our fingertips, this opportunity of teaching has become all but extinct. Gadgets, noise and electronics stifle familial communication. Granted, children may know that their parents believe in God because they go to church, yet, the dynamics of personal interactions between parent and child is all but lost. Thus, we come to this final reason for this collection of articles. To give the parent some short meditations to enjoy personally and ultimately share with their family and children. Our homilies are, for the most part, a condensed version of messages delivered to our congregation. Surely, if they were given us by the Chief Shepherd for the feeding of the gathered flock, they will be beneficial to other sheep which are not of our immediate fold. For your benefit, we have included some helpful hints for parents at the conclusion of each devotion.