Messages Full of Life and Encouragement

 

Page Contents:
Messages | On this Site | Testimonies | Missions Reports | Guest Pulpit
Confessions of Faith | Online Bible Course | Newsletters

 

Sermons

A Bridge of Sand
The recent collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis serves to remind us just how fleeting and insecure our life is upon this earth.

Almost Only Counts in Horseshoes
Almost only counts in horseshoes. In the Christian life, "almost" amounts to two-thirds of nothing. Jesus said, "He that is not with me is against me. . ." With Christ, it's all or nothing. Either you're converted or unconverted, saved or unsaved, born again or not born again.

AMERICA! AMERICA!
On on the week of 9/11, the following article was scheduled to run in our local newspaper. Because of the great tragedy which our nation had endured, it did not seem like good medicine at the time, so another article was substituted. It would have been like preaching a funeral service, and talking about all the faults and weaknesses of the deceased. It would not be in good taste, and would be harmful to the family.

Are Carrots Really Green
Are carrots really green? Sounds like a ridiculous question, doesn't it? But if you had been taught all your life, from the time you were an infant until now that carrots are green, your answer to this question would be, "Of course they are."

Are You a Grasshopper?
But many people have an attitude about themselves that says, "I'm no good. I can't do anything. I'm just a bug." In the Bible, there were a group of men that made such a statement and ended up missing out in life.

Enemies of Prosperity
When you can't take care of your children, provide for your household, pay your bills, there is a destruction working that needs to be overcome. But prosperity is more than money. There are many, many people who have truckloads of money who are extremely poor; and there are many people who don't have a lot of money who are really very rich.

First Things First
When God has His way, good things happen. Marriages are healed. Churches get on fire for God. The bars are empty. The churches are full. Young people serve the Lord. God's people prosper spirit, soul and body. Troubled minds are healed. Peace comes to troubled hearts. This is the joy of Kingdom living.

Forgive and Get Free!
Forgiveness is one the greatest and most freeing of all Christian graces. Perhaps the preeminent example of forgiveness can be seen by Jesus at Calvary as He prayed for those who had nailed Him to the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34, NKJV)

Freedom in Christ Jesus
People today are bound with fears, phobias, bondages of the will, chemical addictions, sexual bondages, and are victims of enslaving relationships. Jesus came to set such people free.

Getting in Synch with God
Many of our problems in life, whether they be physical, mental or social, are caused by being out of synch with God.

Glorious Gospel
The word "glorious" here refers to the splendor, the brightness, the majesty or the excellence of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. The Apostle Paul is saying that this Gospel (or "Good News") that he was preaching is so spectacular, so marvelous in its splendor and brightness that you would have to be blind not to see it.

God Still Does Miracles
The tradition of man has said: the age of miracles is over. The world has said: there are no such things. But no matter, the truth still remains: God still does miracles.

God Wants You in Heaven
Some folks have the idea that God is so mean, He's just sitting up in heaven waiting for the least excuse to club you over the head and send you to the lake of fire. No, that's not our God. God is love.

God wants you in heaven! (Salvation Tract)
Some folks have the idea that God is so mean, He's just sitting up in heaven waiting for the least excuse to club you over the head and send you to the lake of fire. No, that's not our God. God is love! Print it and give it away!) Print this message on one sheet of paper (front and back) and it becomes a tri-fold flyer containing the Good News of God's salvation through Jesus Christ. Print it out and give it to a someone. They may become your friend forever.

Good News for the Distressed
He came to heal the brokenhearted. Many hearts have been broken through calamity, abuse, neglect. The scripture says, "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?" (Proverbs 18:14, KJV).

He is Savior, but is He Lord?
Recently ministering in Manitoba, Canada on a Sunday evening, I was preaching on the subject, "The Remedy for Sin and Sickness," expounding the wonderful truths of God's salvation and healing through His Son, Jesus Christ.

His Pain Was Our Gain
Crucifixion was the most terrible of all deaths, an affliction so terrible that men would commit suicide rather than experience the awful pain and humiliation.

If Peter Walked on the Water, So Can You
If Peter walked on the water, so can you! It's time to get out of the boat! It's time for you and me to follow our dreams. It's time to step into a new area of ministry. It's time to scrap the fear of rejection and reach out to someone with God's love. It's time to do something great and impossible for God. Jesus' disciples could talk the talk, but only Peter was willing to walk the walk. Many Christians have great potential in God. They know all the right jargon too, but they are just not willing to get out of the boat.

Is Jesus Really Lord?
Is Jesus really the Lord of your life? Are you allowing Him to govern your thoughts, your attitudes, your speech and your actions? Is your predominant inner drive and motivation governed by the direction of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit or do the norms and values of the culture and society around you control what you think and do?

Nothing but the Blood
Here's the facts: Buddha can't save you. The Virgin Mary can't save you. Better attitudes can't save you. Making money and being "successful" can't save you. Nothing but the blood of Jesus can save you!

Pray for Our Young People
How many teenagers must die, how many valuable lives destroyed before we wake up to the needs of the young people in our communities?

Receiving Power in Your Life
Jesus told the church, "Ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me..." (Acts 1:8) You can receive that power in your life today.

Righteousness: You Can't Live Without it.
Noone can get to heaven without it. If you have it, God will answer your prayers. What is it and how do you get it? It is "righteousness" and it must be received by faith as a gift from God.

Ten Reasons Why You Should Attend Church
If you are not involved in a local church, you are disobeying God and out of His will and out of His channel of blessings. The scripture is clear that it is God's will for you to associate with the church. Jesus, our leader and example, went to church

The Evil of Sectarianism
There has always been that tendency in the church to reject those outside of our own little circle. They may be doing a good work for the Lord, and have fruit in their ministry, but because they "follow not us" we want to forbid them to do the works of Jesus or to minister in our midst. This is the operation of an evil spirit of sectarianism designed by Satan to separate and weaken the Body of Christ.

The Gospel of Healing
Just as there is a Gospel of our salvation, there is also a Gospel of Healing. Read this message to learn about the Good News that the Lord has provided healing for His people.

The Mighty Name of Jesus
The name of Jesus is not a religious by-word or phraseology, it is a powerful tool when spoken in faith by a believer.

The Resurrection Provides a Shocking Change!
"Quickened" means to make alive, but to me it carries with it the idea of a sudden jolt, a shocking change.

The Supply of the Spirit
Did you know that as a believer there is a supply within you to meet the spiritual needs of others in the Body of Christ?

The World's Greatest Cause
The greatest need in all the world is for people (men and women, boys and girls) to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. And the greatest cause is all the world is to take the Gospel to all the world that people might receive eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is the mission of the body of Christ.

Till Death Do Us Part
More than 50 percent of all marriage covenants made since 1970 will end in divorce, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor. The fallout from the United States Atomic Divorce Bomb is tremendous. Children are the innocent victims. Many suffer from physical, sexual and psychological abuse as a result of this breakdown of the family.

The Power of Partnership

God, you, and one other person is a power-partnership, capable of world-changing results. By learning and cooperating with this principle, we can obtain miraculous results for God. By rejecting this principle, we consign ourselves to small insignificant progress in the the quest for success in the Christian life.

The World's Greatest Cause
The greatest need in all the world is for people (men and women, boys and girls) to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. And the greatest cause is all the world is to take the Gospel to all the world that people might receive eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is the mission of the body of Christ.

When a Leader Falls
When some prominent leaders in the church fell in the 90s, church attendance dropped, financial giving to ministries fell, and many Christians stopped serving the Lord.

Unity. . .
Not only good and pleasant, but crucial to world evangelism
This anointing and blessing are sorely missing in the church world today. All too often, instead of unity and love, we have strife and division, and as a result we are missing much of what the Lord has for us.

Your Dreams Can Come True
All of us have dreams. For some, the light of our dreams may have been snuffed out or greatly dimmed through the adversities of life. Perhaps your dream concerned your family or your church or your finances or your ministry. But whatever that dream is composed of, the faith of God can give it substance and make it come to pass in your life.

 

On this Site

About Tom and Susan Shanklin
Because of the strong work of grace in his own life, he is greatly used to help people overcome their own personal difficulties in life.

What does TSM do?
This interdenominational world outreach ministry has been in existence since 1983. . .

Miracle Testimonies
God is still in the healing business. Check out the testimonies of what He has done by His Word and by His Spirit.

Letters from Our Friends
Thanks for sending us the cyber updates. That article you wrote for the newspaper is GREAT.

Online Store
Check out these life-changing materials for spiritual growth, healing and miracles in your life.

Healing Scriptures
The promise of divine healing all throughout the scriptures in various versions of the Word of God. Meditate these truths and be healed.

Testimonies

Filling the Void. . .Tom Shanklin's Testimony
His life was a succession of attempts at filling the emptiness inside, until Jesus filled him up like nothing else can.... Read the account of God's mighty deliverance in the life of Tom Shanklin.

Grandpa New knew that he knew
There he laid dying in his bed not recovering from a broken hip. He was just days away from his 90th birthday. In the background you could hear Grandma praying, "Lord don't take him home until he knows you."

Miracle Testimonies
I came back in a couple days for the results and he said, " I see no sign of diabetes in you," I give all the Glory, Honor and Praise to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

North Dakota Man Receives a Mighty Healing
His name is Richard. He had placed an ad in the paper to sell a small parcel of land on the west edge of town. As we stood on the land on a beautiful North Dakota evening, Richard began to share some of his health problems. As he spoke, a compassion rose up within me for this man.

Missions Reports

India 2007: Hunger for the Word
Everywhere I went, souls responded eagerly to the Word of the Gospel. In churches, among Bible school students, at a pastor's conference and in open air evangelistic meetings, God's Word immediately took root and bore much fruit.

India 2005: A Fishing Trip to Remember
I can remember, as a young boy growing up in southern Illinois, my father would often take me fishing. We would go out to a small lake or pond after he returned home from work and fish until the sun went down and it was too dark to see. Also, check out the India 2005 Photo Gallery.

Ukraine Mission 2005: FREE INDEED!
Check out TSM's latest missions trip to the Ukraine. God moved mightily in this vital nation.

Kenya Mission 2004
Our trip was both an awesome experience in the Lord and a very fruitful time of ministry. For our team (Kim Ellison of Fridley, Minnesota; Steve Basney of Cokato, Minnesota; Julie Nelson of Bismarck, North Dakota and me) it was time of fulfilling destiny and seeing the longing of our hearts to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ fulfilled.

China's Crying Heart
The story is one of endless bus trips, unsavory conditions, strange food, sleeping with rats, and mysterious remote villages in the awesome mountains of southwest Yunnan. But more than that, it is a story of people-a forgotten and yearning people, a people with hearts ready to receive the greatest message ever told.

Miracles in Kenya
We saw God move with signs, wonders and miracles in the name of Jesus. Many came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and many were encouraged in their walk with God.

Guest Pulpit

The Heart of God for the Muslims in the Last Days, Andrew Gackle
Because of my own unique experience in ministering to Muslims over the past year and a half, I now believe that there is a prophetic significance for the Muslim people of the world in these last days. Biblically, and in the natural world today, the Muslims are a people that cannot be ignored and the Lord allowed it to be that way.

Come Out of the Muddy Waters By Kim Ellison
I was one of eight that were about to begin a tubing trip down a wide muddy river. It's huge choppy waves crashed and churned as they went downstream. We were making our way into the raging waters with rubber inner tubes to transport us. The tubes would be our only protection against the rocks, the waves, and whatever else lay hidden below the surface.

Who was Jesus?
By Kim Ellison
Was he just a man, a great religious leader, or was he truly the Son of God? Did he rise from the dead or was it just a hoax? Christians are frequently confronted with these questions today. Leading world religions and the general populace vary greatly in their opinions in regards to Jesus.

Confessions of Faith and Scripture Lists

The Holy Spirit is Working in Me
Confess and meditate these scriptures and yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to have full access to your life.

Healing Scriptures
The promise of divine healing all throughout the scriptures in various versions of the Word of God. Meditate these truths and be healed.

Overcoming Oppression
These are scriptures that I have found to be effective against mental oppression, anxiety and depression. Confess them three times a day and you will notice the oppression lifting. Quote the scripture and then confess that it belongs to you. Confession brings possession, in Jesus name. You can possess anything that is promised you in the Word of God, as you believe it, confess it, embrace and possess it. Confess it now: "I'm free in Jesus name."

Online Bible Course: Christianity 101
These teaching are not based on man's ideas and doctrines. They are based on the most powerful book in the world, the Holy Bible-the Word of God. As you open your heart to the truths on these pages, you will be laying a strong foundation for the building of your Christian life.

 

Chapter One: Understaning Salvation

According to Schofield's Reference Bible, salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes. It implies the ideas of safety, deliverance, preservation, healing and soundness. The Greek word translated healed and saved in the Bible are the same. God's salvation is for the spirit, soul and body.

 

Chapter Two: Understanding Water Baptism

Not only are we to believe and repent, but we also need to be baptized. Baptism is the normal and scriptural thing to do once a person has decided to follow Jesus. It is the Lord's command, and in the early church it was always done immediately upon conversion to Christ.

 

Chapter Three: Understanding the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is just as much a part of the Bible as the New Birth. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received power and then to begin to preach the Gospel. If you haven't received the Holy Ghost, ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to you and baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire. The open your mouth and begin to speak in unknown languages by the inspiration of the Spirit.

 

Chapter Four: Going on with God

This fourth chapter contains some of the most important truths you will ever hear. To ignore or neglect these truths can be fatal to your success in the Christian life. Carefully absorb the scriptural truths on the final pages of this book. Ponder them and make decisions about your future. . . make a quality decision to follow Jesus, no matter what comes up in your life. Continue steadfastly in the things of God.

 

Newsletters
Go Preach Newsletter: July 2008: A fresh wind is blowing. . . (pdf)

Back in the 70s, the Holy Spirit began to move like a wind among young people in our nation. Many of us were searching for reality. Frustrated with the hypocrisy we saw in society, we were looking for love, joy, and peace.

Go Preach Newsletter: June 2008: He that has not sinned. . . (pdf)

The scribes and Pharisees were continually trying to trip Jesus up, to trap Him, and find a way to accuse Him of some misdeed or hypocrisy. Here was their perfect opportunity. . . a woman caught in adultery, according to the Law of Moses, worthy of death.

 

Go Preach Newsletter: May 2008: Deep calleth unto deep (pdf)

Deep, deep down in our heart there is a yearning that is even more important that these things. It goes to the very heart of the matter. It's something that gives us understanding of who
we are. It's something which brings security and peace into our inward being. It brings us to a place of rest, out of
which everything else in life flows.

 

Go Preach Newsletter, April 2008: Nothing is Impossible with God (pdf)
Tom's encourages us that the resurreciton means "Nothing is Impossible with God." There's a ministry update with "Boxing Coach takes the Plunge" and some letters from our friends and Susan's message "I think it's Spring." Check it out!

 

GoPreach Newsletter March 2008: Thank you for being a part of the journey! (pdf)

Our ministry began 25 years ago this month. In March, 1983, we published the first issue of a Christian newspaper called the Heartland News. I wrote three articles in that premier issue: one on the origin of sin, one on repentance and one on being born again. I've given a lot of sermons since that time, but I guess in reality I'm still preaching the same message 25 years later, "You must be born again!"

 

GoPreach Newsletter February 2008: A Journey to India (pdf)

Hundreds find Christ through the simple Gospel, the love of God, and signs and wonders in the name of Jesus.

 

GoPreach Newsletter January 2008: Let's Pull in the Nets Together
Today, a great "catch" awaits us, as we obey the Lord's command to"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel."

Also, "Boxing for Jesus," "India Update," and a message from Susan, "Cleaning Out the Ashes."

 

GoPreach Newsletter December 2007 Christmas is about miracles!
Something inside of us lets us know that at the core, Christmas is about a miracle from heaven

 

TSM August Newsletter: Don't Give Up!
Don't give up! Get control of your ship and sail on. You are filled with divine potential to accomplish your deepest dreams. God will give you the desire of your heart. Today is a day of new beginnings, fresh anointing and hope for the future.

 

TSM June Newsletter: "Do you have a victim mentality?"
There is an answer for a victim mentality in Christ Jesus. The Gospel has the power to
transform you from a victim to a victor. The choice is yours. . . Check out this month's newsletter with Susan's Crop Report, Photos from the reservations, a dinner invitation, and a special gift.

 

The Power of the Gospel, May 2007 Newsletter
Wherever I go, I am seeing the power of God's glorious Good News. The Lord is confirming His Word with signs following. It's the Gospel that is the "power of God." It is when we present the redemptive facts-that man sinned and lost his place with God, that God in His mercy sent His son, who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, who died for our sins at Calvary, was buried and rose again the third day-it is when we present this message, then God works. . . confirming the Word with healing, deliverance and changed lives. "Getting religion" never helped anyone. But new life through Jesus Christ is the answer to all of mankind's problems.

 

TSM Newsletter, January 2007: Preaching the Gospel to the Poor
As we once again begin a new year, my heart is filled with expectancy. The Lord spoke to me at the beginning of 2006, ". . .ye have not passed this way heretofore. . .Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." (Joshua 3:4-5, KJV). Truly, 2006 proved to be a year of new territories and conquest. It was my first year of full-time ministry on the evangelistic field. God gave me more favor and opened more new doors in new places than in all my previous 22 years of ministry. I can look back and truly say, "Look what the Lord has done."

 

December, 2006 Newsletter: The Ingredients for a Miracle
As I think about Christmas, the story of the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary captures my imagination. I am amazed by this young girl's response to the Word of the Lord as delivered by the angel. He came to her with an unfathomable promise: And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (Luke 1:31, KJV).

November 2006 Newsletter
In January, 2007, I will once again be traveling to Andhra Pradesh, southern India to conduct open-air Gospel meetings and Bible training.

TSM Newsletter, August, 2006 (pdf)

You can change the world! Ministry travels to northern Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Letters from our friends.

 

TSM Newsletter, May 2006: Spring Crop Report (pdf)

Check out Tom's message on teamwork and cooperation and Susan's analogies from life on the homestead.

 

TSM Newsletter, January 2006: India 2005: A Fishing Trip to Remember

I can remember, as a young boy growing up in southern Illinois, my father would often take me fishing. We would go out to a small lake or pond after he returned home from work and fish until the sun went down and it was too dark to see. Also, check out the

India 2005 Photo Gallery.

 

TSM Newsletter, Oct., 2005: A Brand New Day for this Ministry

"Go! Go! Go! Take My Gospel to the world!" That is what I hear the Lord saying. Now is the time to fulfill that vision that has been in my heart for many years.