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Friday, November 21. 2008
Friday November 21st 2008
What Have You Done For Me Lately
Rudyard Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill and gave it to Kipling, saying, “Here’s a one hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words.” Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks!"
Well, the word "thanks" is certainly a one hundred dollar word. In fact, I would say it is more like a million-dollar word. It’s a small word but it has a powerful meaning. It might only have six letters but it gets across a message that few other words are capable of achieving. When that little word is missing, we feel it deeply. You know what it’s like when someone doesn’t say "thanks" – you feel hurt, used, ignored, and taken for granted and you wonder why you bothered to do something for the person in the first place.
As a society we have developed an entitlement mentality. We don’t feel the need to say thanks because we feel that we deserve what we are getting. That attitude is wrong. As a matter of fact we need to thank God that we don’t get what we deserve.
Luke 17:11-19 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
By the way thanks for reading this.
Wednesday, November 19. 2008
Thursday November 20th 2008
Next Thursday is Thanksgiving. One day in which we like those early Pilgrims set aside time in our busy schedules to give thanks to God. Now, there is nothing wrong with that but the word of God tells us that this should be a continual, daily, attitude. Eph. 5:19,20 tells Christians to "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ALWAYS giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." And I Thes. 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." Paul’s main subject here is PRAISE, THANKSGIVING. Notice the other important words in these passages; ALWAYS, CONTINUALLY, and IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. It sounds as if Paul is talking about a church service here, especially in Eph. "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart..." But he isn’t. He is talking about a continual attitude for Christians - an attitude of the heart. How we are to be to each other. But how, you may wonder, can we have this attitude continually, especially "in all circumstances?" I believe the answer lies in our perspective of thanksgiving. We need the proper perspective. One young lady wrote home from college,
"Dear Mom: Sorry I haven’t written sooner. My arm really has been broken. I broke it, and my left leg, when I jumped from he second floor of my dormitory...when we had the fire. We were lucky. A young service station attendant saw the blaze and called the Fire Department. They were there in minutes. I was in the hospital for a few days. Paul, the service station attendant, came to see me every day. And because it was taking so long to get our dormitory live-able again, I moved in with him. He has been so nice. I must admit that I am pregnant. Paul and I plan to get married just as soon as he can get a divorce. I hope things are fine at home. I’m doing fine, and will write more when I get the chance. Love,
Your daughter, Susie
P.S. None of the above is true. But I did get a "C" in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its "Proper Perspective!"
Some times its our natural reaction to blow up.. But today don’t just react to what life hands you. Take a step back and put it into the proper perspective and thank God that your names not Job.
Wednesday, November 19. 2008
Wednesday November 19th 2008
Gratitude - A Necessary Attitude
A few years ago Dr. Nick Stinnett of the University of Nebraska conducted a group of studies called the "Family Strengths Research Project" Stinnett and his researchers identified six qualities that make for strong families. The first quality and one of the most important to be found in strong families was the quality of appreciation. Families that are strong are strong in part, Dr. Stinnett concludes, because family members express to each other their appreciation for what the other members DO and for who they ARE.
In a similar study another researcher looked into the effect of praise in the workplace. His study showed that the ratio of praise to criticism in the workplace needs to be four to one before employees feel that there is a balance - that there must be four times as much praise as there is criticism before they feel good about their work and about the environment they work in. That is pretty staggering information - information that tells us that if we want to do something good, that if we want to have a healthy family, a strong workplace, or any other effective group that we need to be sure that appreciation, praise, and thanksgiving are heard at least four times as often as is criticism.
Let’s set a high standard for ourselves today. No unnecessary criticism. Philippians 4:8 say’s, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Don’t stop at just thinking about them talk about them to those around you.
Repeat after me: “I will look for and complement those around me who do good today.”
Tuesday, November 18. 2008
Tuesday November 18th 2008
He Didn't Get There Alone
Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked, "Why is that there?" Alex Haley answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words and think that they are wonderful, and begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post and remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help." That is the basis of thankfulness - to remember that we got here with the help of God, and the friends, family and acquaintances that He has placed along our path in this journey that we are on. As the poet John Donne once said, “No man is an Island” each of us have people that have made significant contributions to our lives and we each have a responsibility to remember their contribution to helping us along the way. Think back to resent days and months or maybe even years. Who has lifted you up?
The Apostle Paul, who was responsible for writing a large part of the New Testament, made a practice of beginning many of his letters to people by thanking them. Here is one example from Philemon 1
4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Write down the names of 3 people that you are thankful for.
1. _____________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________
By the way this Sunday is Bring your Blessing to Church Sunday. Why not ask one of these folks to come with you as your blessing?
Any thoughts on the Blessings in your life? E-mail me at bweaver@huntingtonfirst.com
Sunday, November 16. 2008
Monday November 17th 2008
Did I Leave Anybody Out?
One Thanksgiving season a family was seated around their table, looking at the annual holiday bird. From the oldest to the youngest, they were to express their praise. When they came to the 5-year-old in the family, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks to the turkey, saying although he had not tasted it he knew it would be good. After that rather novel expression of thanksgiving, he began with a more predictable line of credits, thanking his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. But then he went beyond that. He joined together a whole hidden multitude of benefactors, linking them with cause and effect. He said, "I thank you for the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank you for the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank you for the farmer who made it fat. I thank you for the man who made the feed. I thank you for those who brought the turkey to the store." Using his Columbo-like little mind, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said "Did I leave anybody out?"
His 2-year-older brother, embarrassed by all those proceedings, said, "God." Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, "I was about to get to him."
Well, isn’t that the question about which we ought to think at Thanksgiving time? Are we really going to get to him this Thanksgiving?
Psalm 103:2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Write down 3 things that you thank God for below.
Thank you God for:
1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________
Sunday, November 16. 2008
Sunday Nites Secrets to Blessing Revealed November 16th 2008
I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Nine Ways to Inspire Others to Be Their Best
1. Be a good example. People watch what you do more than they listen to what you say. Be someone worth emulating.
2. Care about others. People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care. Ask questions. Take a genuine interest in people.
3. Encouragement. Everyone goes through tough times. When you support people and encourage them through these times, you’ll be inspiring them to see the best in themselves and in the situation.
4. Be inspired yourself. Look for people, ideas, environments and knowledge that you find inspiring and motivating.
5. Share from your own experience. You have more to share than you realize. Mine the rich experiences of your life and share your wisdom from your unique point of view. You may be the only one who can touch someone with your inspiring message.
6. Be vulnerable. Be willing to share your failures as well as your successes. Others will relate to you. They’ll understand that they’re not the only ones with challenges.
7. Tell stories. Facts tell and stories sell. They inspire, too. We learn best from parables and we all need to develop our own inspiring stories.
8. Challenge people. Many of us have had teachers who at times seemed more like tormentors than mentors but great teachers challenged us to do our best, and we were better for it.
9. Read. It may not follow that all readers are leaders, but certainly all leaders are readers. Stay informed. Share what you read with others.
The greatest expression of faith and the greatest words of encouragement were said by one of the thieves being crucified with Jesus when he said; Remember me…
Sunday, November 16. 2008
Sunday Mornings Who is your Blessing? November 16th 2008
"Write your troubles in dust, your blessings in marble."
Prayer
What a privilege for us as a church family to have participated in the dedication service this morning of little Allie Marie Hayton. Only 6 months old and she has already brought great blessing into the lives of her mommy and daddy Amy and Brian and big brother Eli, the rest of her family and just any of us that have looked at her and had her look back with that beautiful little happy smile of hers.
You can be having a pretty rough day and all you have to do is look into the face of a little child and it can make all the bad stuff melt away, even if its just for a little while, children, they are a blessing. AMEN?
But blessing not only come in little packages. Sometimes they are over six feet tall and they are not just limited to things new and skin that is smooth and pink. Sometimes they are old and wrinkled and come in a variety of colors. But they are blessings just the same….
The Apostle Paul had some people in his life that proved to be blessings.
Philippians1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The Dictionary says that to Bless is to bestow Good
I have been considering the concept of bestowing good this week and have read of several examples in the Bible.
Luke 15th chapter There is the story of one sheep that had wandered away from the flock and a shepherd who leaves the other 99 other sheep to find the one that was lost.
Luke 10th chapter There is the story of a man beaten by robbers and left for dead along the road when a stranger happens by finds him, bandages his wounds and takes him to safety.
Matthew 27th chapter We see Jesus who is being led away to his death cross paths with one Simon of Cyrene who carried his cross for him.
In Luke 17th chapter we read of a man who was one of ten lepers who came to Jesus and he was healed.
What makes these stories important? They all have a common thread that runs through them. Each individual was in need of something when their lives intersected with someone that helped them by giving them something good. Each gave some sort of blessing and in return they became a blessing to the one they imparted their blessing to.
The lost sheep was found and rescued by the shepherd.
The robbed and beaten man was rescued and restored to health by the Good Samaritan.
Jesus was able to make it to the cross and finish His mission because Simon of Cyrene carried His cross
The leper was healed and able to return home because of his encounter with Jesus.
Who has been a blessing in your life? Who have you intersected with at a crucial time in your life? Who was it that gave you what you needed to go on?
This morning on my drive into church I counted intersections between my home and my destination.
Each intersection provides an opportunity for something to be added to or taken away from my journey. It is the same with your life and mine. Our paths intersect with the path of others. It may be that we may not arrive at the same time; we may just see each other in passing, but if we arrive at the same time we there will either be a bang or a blessing. And we will either take away from, or add to the other.
But since all this month we are talking about blessing, let me ask you about the latter. Who has intersected with your life and added value of some kind?
A young 21 year old unwed preacher’s daughter, who despite the public embarrassment carried me to term, raised me and keeps me in her heart to this day.
A hard working young man fresh off the bus from West Virginia who fell in love with my then 23 year old mother and her two year old son and took both of us into his heart to care for.
Godly grandparents who prayed for me every day.
A preacher uncle who invited me to church.
A coarse and rough ex street fighter named Larry who would not give up on me.
A church family who loved this Biblically illiterate teenager to Christ.
A young 15 year old red head who saw something worthwhile in me and still loves me today.
Numerous educators and mentors composed of both layman and clergy.
Some intersects were just that, a brief period of time, just long enough to hand off some help.
Others walked along with me, some for a while, others some slowed their pace, some still match my gait even today, and others have moved on ahead out of sight but not forgotten. In each case they have left me better then when they found me. They are my blessings.
Who have been and still are the blessing in your life?
I asked one of mine to come and be my blessing next week when we are supposed to Bring our Blessing to Church day. But he was going to be gone so he is here today one week early and an example of what I am talking about. Mickey is a friend from the Y. And he has been a blessing in my life because he is friendly. He always has a smile and a good word for me. And he does not try to pretend. He has a lot of faults and he will be the first to admit them. But he is seeking. I think that Mickey must go to mass every morning. You see he is a seeker. He is seeking the truth about God and life. And I am reminded each time we talk of why I am here and what God has called me to do, “To help point people to Jesus… By my words, and by my deeds, and by my actions. So Mickey is a Blessing to me. Thank you my friend.
So what’s the good of this one-sided conversation that we are having this morning?
Think of 3 people who have been a blessing in your life.
1. While growing up
2. At church
3. Not at church
Write down their names.
Call them. Send them a note. Take them out to lunch. Give them a gift card. Thank them for being a blessing in your life.
Bring them with you next Sunday and introduce them as your blessing.
And in the mean time why not try to be a blessing to someone else.
The preacher John Calvin said; “All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors”
Sunday, November 09. 2008
Sunday Mornings We are so Blessed November 9, 2008
Blessed to Choose
About 127 million Americans exercised one of our greatest and fundamental rights this past week by voting for candidates to provide leadership to our local state and national government. But the right to choose is not only an American thing it is a privilege to all mankind granted by God, the creator of everything, from the beginning.
Genesis 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
The operative words in this verse are “You are Free, to eat of any tree in the garden”
You can choose, no one can make you do what you don’t want to do.
One writer recently looked at the origin of choice from and creation from a humorous view concerning creation. He said:
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated
the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and
red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and
healthy lives.
Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?"
And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add
some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.
And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure
that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the
wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14.
So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented
Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side.
And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following after dinner.
God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil
in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and
chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained
more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.
God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake,"
and said, "It is good."
Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."
God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose
those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.
Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming
with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the
starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.
God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and
still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent
double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man
replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And
Man went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.
Then Satan created the HMOs
Our lives are filled with choices. We make hundreds every day. Just this morning we decided to:
- Get up or stay in bed
- Eat or skip breakfast
- What to wear
- Where to go
- Most have decided where we are going after service
- On & on goes our life and with every part of it we make choices
- Some good some bad
- Some right some wrong
God sets choices before us regularly. And the decisions that we make will determine if we are blessed /anointed / or experience victory.
Deut. 30:19 19This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
In his book Enjoying Intimacy with God, J. Oswald Sanders makes a piercing observation: "We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be."
Let me share two thoughts with you this morning.
1. The choices that you have made in the past have brought you to where you are today.
John 8:1-12 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
2. The choices you make today will determine where you find yourself tomorrow.
7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Did you catch that? Jesus said; “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
You may have made some bad choices in your past but you can choose this morning where you will be tomorrow.
Joshua 24:14-15 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Deut. 30:19 19This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
Prayer
Sunday, November 02. 2008
Sunday Mornings What happened to the other 9? November 2nd 2008
We are so Blessed
A Nazarene pastors family is invited to a church families home to share Sunday dinner. The wife is the churches best cook and everyone always brags about her cooking, everyone that is except her husband. The pastor takes him to the side and asks him why he doesn’t ever say anything good about his wife’s cooking? To which he replies, “She knows that if there was ever anything that I didn’t like that I would let her know.”
That is the attitude that a lot of people have. They never have anything good to say. They are quiet until something they don’t like happens and then, Watch Out!
Luke 17:11-19 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Most of us are familiar with the traditional story of Thanksgiving where William Bradford, of Plymouth Rock, proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving to celebrate the survival of the Pilgrims in their second year in the New World, as well as an abundant harvest that they had reaped with the aid of the Indians. However, most people don’t know that the first American Thanksgiving didn’t occur in 1621 with this group of Pilgrims who shared a feast with a group of friendly Indians. The first recorded thanksgiving actually took place in Virginia more than 11 years earlier, and it wasn’t a feast.
The winter of 1610 at Jamestown had reduced a group of 409 settlers to 60. The survivors prayed for help, without knowing when or how it might come. When help arrived, in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God. You would think that after seeing so many of their loved ones die due to the hardships of the New World, they would not feel that thankful. However, the opposite was true. They realized they had much to be thankful for.
We ourselves often don’t realize how blessed we are, or how thankful we ought to be, until what we have is threatened to be taken away. It is good and fitting that as Christians, we ought to celebrate Thanksgiving for God has certainly been good to every single one of us.
Here in the passage of scripture that I read this morning, there were ten lepers who met Jesus and had a life changing encounter with the Lord. However, what is so significant about these lepers who were healed is that out of the 10, only one returned to say thanks.
There were nine who did not take the time to say thank you.
I want to share with you this morning several truths from this passage of scripture that I hope will cause us to truly give God thanks for what all He has done for us.
I. NOTICE THE LEPERS’ CONDITION.
1. Most of us have heard stories of the horrors of having leprosy in Biblical times. It was a horrible disease to have. Not only was there the pain of the disease itself, but there was also the stigma that went with having the disease.
2. The Mosaic Law pronounced a leper as being “unclean”. They were not fit to enter into the Temple to worship. They could no longer live with their families, but the law required them to live outside the city. The Law required that their faces be covered and that they cry out “unclean” when ever anyone came close to them.
3. To be a leper meant no intimacy with anyone, no friendship with anyone, you were isolated and a total outcast. If you were a leper, you essentially lost everything, your family, your job, and your money.
4. Note that verse 12 of Luke 17 describes these lepers as standing “afar off”. Rabbinic tradition said that they had to stand at least 100 paces from anyone else. They could not even come close to Jesus.
II. NOTICE THE LEPERS’ CRY.
1. In verse 13 Jesus was about to enter into the city, and these lepers, who had to stand afar off, began to cry, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us”.
2. That was all that they could do. No physician could heal them, no medicine could cure them. They were completely helpless before the onslaught of this deadly disease.
3. We like to think that we are sufficient, that we are capable of handling life, but the truth is, we are born helpless into this world, and we are helpless to stand before sin and Satan. We stand condemned by sin and we are totally helpless.
4. Remember that mercy is not getting what you deserve. Yet now they are crying out for mercy, for relief from their torments.
They are begging the Lord to have compassion on them, to help them in their time of need.
5. Their only hope was placed on this man Jesus. Everything had come down to this moment, to this encounter with Jesus.
III. NOTICE ONE LEPER’S CELEBRATION.
1. We are told that as they began their journey to the priests, they were cleansed or healed. What is significant is that out of the 10, there was one who reacted differently than the rest. The Bibles says that he saw that he was healed, he turned back and glorified God, and he came to Jesus and gave Him thanks.
Why did this one react differently? Here is the meat of my message this morning. This is a sermon within a sermon. There are three distinctions between him and the others.
2. The Bible says, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed”. The Bible says that he saw he was healed. Now the others no doubt knew that they were healed, but there was something different here.
He took the time to note that he had been blessed. He realized that something wonderful had happened to him. He was sensitive to the power of Christ working in his life. His perception had entirely changed.
3. There is an old Jewish story that illustrates this point. There is a man who goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy." The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat -- only the nine of us." The situation was the same as at first, but now his perception had changed. He realized that he was blessed to begin with.
4. Do we really perceive the ways that God has blessed us? Not a one of us is hungry, not a one of us is naked, but most importantly, if you are a Christian, you have been given everything through Christ Jesus our Lord. The devil will do his best to keep your mind off the blessings of God. He will constantly tell you how bad you have it, of how everything is wrong in your life. You see, it’s when you begin to realize how much you have in the Lord, that you will truly begin to be thankful, and when you are thankful, your heart will abound with love for the Lord that has so graciously given all to you.
5. An unthankful Christian is a defeated Christian for he/she has lost their joy.
How is your joy level this morning. We are some of the most blessed people in the world and yet our words don’t reflect it. Our testimony doesn’t proclaim it. Our faces don’t show it.
This month is going to be different. We are going to proclaim it every day.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:3131What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Did you know that God is for you?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Wednesday, October 29. 2008
Sunday Mornings He First Loved Us October 26, 2008
1 John 4:7-19 7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19We love because he first loved us.
This morning I want to point you towards God and His love, so that you can see and experience love.
Most of us grew up in homes where we talked about love. A few of us grew up in homes where we experienced true, deep, unconditional love. As we’ve grown up, what many of us are finding is that it’s really hard to love if we’ve never truly felt loved.
One of the great problems of our world is that many people are walking around these days trying to give and receive something they’ve never experienced for themselves.
This morning I want to draw a correlation between God’s modeling of real love for each of us and the second most important relationship that most of us will ever experience, the love between a husband and a wife…
John indicates four characteristics of God’s love in these verses,
the first of which is that God’s love is...
I. PERSONAL: verses 7-8: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
The overriding notion of these two verses is that the love of God is personal. A.W. Tozer said it best: "The love of God is one of the great realities of the universe, a pillar upon which the hope of the world rests. But it is a personal, intimate thing too. God does not love populations, He loves people. He loves not masses, but men."
Jesus said, Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Did you get that? Not a single bird falls from the sky without God’s notice; and how much more important are we than a few birds?
God’s love is universal, but it is also individual. As Augustine put it, "He loves each one of us, as if there were only one of us."
Part of the marriage ceremony ask prospective Groom and Bride:
Will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, so long as you both shall live?
Genesis 2:24 24For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
When you get married you change your allegiance from your family to your new family. You don’t stop loving mom and dad but your focus is on your spouse.
God’s love is that it is personal. But it’s second characteristic is…
II. LOVE IS PROVEN 9-10: "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
Love is not about just about how we feel, but what we do. Love requires actions; it is demonstrated through our behavior.
Romans 5:8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Illus. Cindy and the burnt toast breakfast.. She loved me.
It doesn’t do any good to talk about love and compassion without demonstrating it. God demonstrates His love. He’s proven His love for us.
1st God’s love is personal. 2nd God’s love is proven. 3rd God’s love...
III. COMPLETES US Verse 12: No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
"God’s love completes us." What a wonderful thought! Without the love of God, we would will never be complete. God’s love -- as with all true love -- is meant to foster the personal growth and development of the one He loves. This means that God’s love is unselfish; He is genuinely looking out for our best interests not His own.
Genesis 2:18-24 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23The man said, WO! “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
COMPLETES or COMPETES
IV. TAKES THE FIRST STEP
I John 4:19 19We love because he first loved us.
In his book Communication Key to your Marriage. Dr. Norman Wright has a cartoon of a husband and wife with their backs turned to each other saying “I will if you will.” My friend that is not how love works. Love is a decision not just a feeling or a response to someone’s kindness to us. Love says “I will take the first step toward you whether you take one toward me or not.
Pastor you don’t know how far gone this marriage is we don’t talk to each other, they don’t show me any love or respect. How can I show them love?
Show video: Fireproof session 2 He first loved us.
To show love you have to have experienced it for yourself.
Thursday, October 23. 2008
What to do when times get tough.
Every day it seems that there is a new voice claiming insight into the financial mess that the world is in right now. Each one telling what everyone else did wrong and what they believe we must do to set things right. If I am not mistaken wasn’t it financial “smarties” that generated much of the problem in the first place? I believe 2 things right here and now:
1. Don’t panic. The world and its financial markets have seen tough times before and it will again. As one writer a long time ago said; “The secret to success is managing to keep your head while everyone else is losing theirs”.
2. Invest your time and money in something that does not fluctuate or change based upon the current circumstances. Stock markets move up and down. Presidents and even whole governments change but there is one thing that has and will remain steady, James 1:17 says “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
God’s plan has always been for us to place our faith in Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 says
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6in all
your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Right now our world could use a straight path. The good news is that it is available for
Anyone who will put their faith and trust in the Lord.
I want to thank you for investing in a rock solid future by giving to God’s work here at
HFCN. For the past 4 Sundays we have seen our S.S. above 200 and our van ministry is
bringing in more then ever before on Wednesdays and Sundays. Our Jr. High S.S. class
is averaging over 20 every week. There are several new families involved in Sunday or
Wednesday night services. All this because we are trusting in God with our lives and
our finances. Let us not give up or change our focus. The God who never changes will
not let us down. He will continue to lift us up.
Thanks for your wise investment in souls.
May God bless you and those you love,
Pastor Bob
Sunday, October 12. 2008
Sunday Nites Love is Not Selfish October 12, 2008
I Corinthians 13:1-5 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
We live in a world that is enamored with self. Our culture teaches us to focus upon our appearance, feelings and personal desires as our top priority. We are encouraged to worship at the shrine of Me, Myself, and I with our highest goal to be personal happiness.
Well that may work if we are willing to live and die a lonely existence void of friends and family.
If there was a word that would basically describe the opposite of love, it would be selfish.
Unfortunately selfishness is something that is ingrained in us from birth. It goes all the way back to the original sin committed by our first parents Adam and Eve in the garden.
Romans 12:10 say’s Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves
I Corinthians 13:5
5It is not rude, (We care about others feelings)
it is not self-seeking, (We put others needs before our own)
it is not easily angered, (Most anger comes from not getting your way)
it keeps no record of wrongs. It forgives and forgets)
One ironic aspect of love is that even generous acts can be selfish if the motive is for bragging rights or to receive some type of a reward.
At the risk of offending someone you can hardly go anywhere in the state where you will not find the name of some senator.
What about some churches themselves..
From pews to tables to pulpits. I find nothing wrong with acknowledging a persons generosity for a gift but don’t turn it into a sacred cow that years from now will hang around the neck of the neck of another generation.
The picture in the Narthex
The plaque hanging in the hall.
What is your motive?
You can not act out of love and selfishness at the same time.
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:25-30 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, 30because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
I heard it powerfully illustrated through the gift of a little old lady. In an interview on PBS on May 30, 2002 Father Lindon Harris of St. Pauls Cathedral – that’s the church at what was the foot of the World Trade Center – George Washington worshipped there at one time – told a story of duty. It seems that an Elderly Black woman heard a about a man who had hurt his leg searching for survivors and clearing rubble at ground zero. She walked from her apartment to the area and talked her way through the security, which was no easy task at that time, and came to the church. There she gave her cane and hobbled off without it. They still have cane. It serves as a reminder of the selfless sacrifice that love and duty demands.
Sunday, October 12. 2008
Sunday Mornings He Said/She Said October 12, 2008
A husband and wife came for counseling after 20 years of marriage. When asked what the problem was, the wife went into a passionate, painful tirade listing every problem they had ever had in the 20 years they had been married.
She went on and on and on: neglect, lack of intimacy, emptiness, loneliness, feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of unmet needs she had endured over the course of their marriage.
Finally, after allowing this to go on for a sufficient length of time, the therapist got up, walked around the desk and, after asking the wife to stand, embraced her, looked longingly into her eyes, and kissed her passionately on the lips and face as her husband watched with a raised eyebrow. The woman shut up and quietly sat down as though in a daze.
The therapist turned to the husband and said, 'This is what your wife needs at least three times a week. Can you do this?'
The husband thought for a moment and replied, 'Well, I can drop her off here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but on Thursdays, I fish.'
Many marriages today are in trouble. The world either has some hair brained idea on fixing the situation or their advice is to throw in the towel. The truth is there is no easy fix. But I would purpose that we look into what the originator of marriage God, has to say about it in His word.
Ephesians 5:21-33 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—30for we are members of his body. 31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:21 gives the over-all governing thought for what is to follow. SUBMIT TO ANOTHER OUT OF REVERENCE FOR CHRIST.
The word in original Greek means, TO LINE YOURSELF UP UNDER, or, TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHTS.
So here’s what the Bible is saying: Men and women are to line themselves up under their spouse in order to make the marriage work. Each one is to give up their rights and look out for the best interests of their partner.
And that direction leads us to the first of two principles in the verses that we have just read that will help your marriage.
1. MARRIAGE WORKS BEST WHEN BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE GIVE UP THEIR RIGHTS FOR THE SAKE OF THE OTHER.
1 PETER 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Men consider her needs. Consider her personality. Study your wife the way you studied her in the early days of your relationship.
Study her and figure out what enables her to grow and what brings out the best in her and when you’ve figured that out, do it.
That’s principle number one. The principle of submission. Give up your rights.
Wives consider your husbands needs, they will not be the same as yours. Consider his individual personality. What will make him feel secure and grow? And what brings out the best in him, and when you have figured that out, do it. Give up your rights.
Men and women stop fighting for your own way and let the other person have theirs. A Question… Do you always have to be right? Do you constantly correct the other person? No dear, the car was red not blue. “Who cares?”
EPHESIANS 5:33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
I want to spend some time here friends, because this is so important.
Look at this verse for a minute… from what you find here, are husbands and wives given the same command? (No.)
What are husbands supposed to do? – Love their wives.
What are wives supposed to do? – Respect their husbands.
Here’s the second principle:
2. MARRIAGE WORKS BEST WHEN WE UNDERSTAND THAT MEN & WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT AND TREAT EACH OTHER ACCORDINGLY.
I am not just talking about the physiological differences that are easily seen, I am talking about the way we are wired. Let me demonstrate this
I decided to spend some quality time with Cindy doing something that she enjoyed doing. So I went with her to the mall. We were looking for a blue blouse.
Do you know what I learned that night? I wasn’t at the mall shopping for blouses with my wife. I was hunting for blouses. I wanted to conquer the blouse and then get back into the car and head home. My wife, however, looked at shopping from a very different angle. For her it… it was a way to spend time communicating and sharing together.
There are some very obvious differences between men and women. Men have thicker skulls, thicker skin, more red blood cells and more muscle tissue. Women tend to be more resistant to heat and cold and outlive men by several years.
From the first moment of birth, little girls have more lip and mouth movement than boys. In a Harvard study of hundreds of preschoolers, researchers found that 100% of the sounds coming from little girls’ mouths were words, whereas only 60% of sounds coming from preschool boys were words. The other 40% were yells and sound effects like, “Vrrooom!” “Aaaaagh!” and “Toot, toot!”
“This difference persists into adulthood. Communication experts say that the average woman speaks over 25,000 words a day, while the average man speaks only a little over 10,000. What does this mean in marital terms? Very often a man has already used up his 10,000 words at work… while his wife is just warming up!”
These differences are what make marriage challenging – but they’re also what make life wonderful!
Guys, God says that your wife needs love, and that your job isn’t just to give her spoonfuls of it.
HUSBANDS, LOVE YOUR WIVES, JUST AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER. – EPHESIANS 5:25
Men, you’ve never been and will never be a woman. So, you’ll never really understand what it’s like to be a woman.
Take this by faith: your wife needs to know that you love her. She needs to hear it from you, see it from you, feel it from you, receive it from you. And the way she receives it best will probably be a way that you have never studied or trained or prepared for.
Now, when you listen to her, she does not want you to fix her. The way she gets fixed is to be empathized with. Men tend to listen for the problem to be solved. Your woman doesn’t want you to solve her problem, she wants you to care about her.
Then say something like, “That must have felt terrible.” or, “That must have felt great.”
Listen to her, pay attention to her. Then, say it to her. “Honey, I love you. Of all the women in the world, I choose you, and I’m so glad I did.” “Honey, you are the woman of my dreams.”
Guys, write this down: If you want to fill her tank tomorrow, pick up the phone and call. Say, “I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you and I love you.” Then, don’t ask her for anything, to remind her of anything, don’t plan or solve anything. Just listen and when she’s through, go back to work.
EACH ONE OF YOU ALSO MUST LOVE HIS WIFE AS HE LOVES HIMSELF, AND THE WIFE MUST RESPECT HER HUSBAND. – EPHESIANS 5:33
Several men were ask the question, “Would you rather die lonely and respected or loved but not respected and they answered lonely but respected.”
Men are wired to face challenges. They have the need to sense accomplishment. Ladies the greatest damage that you can do to your man is to show him little or no respect.
One lady said, “Well pastor as soon as he deserves my respect I will give it to him.”
That attitude will only make things worse. Wives it is your job to find something that he does that is praise worthy and brag about him. He will lap it up like a hungry puppy at meal times. Do this every chance you can and watch him look for ways to continue your praise.
Phrases like these will really help:
I’M SO PROUD OF YOU
I BELIEVE IN YOU
YOU DO THAT SO WELL
Men, that would feel really good to hear every day, wouldn’t it?
A. WOMEN NEED LOVE
B. MEN NEED RESPECT.
So if you are married, or plan to be married, treat your marriage carefully, sacredly. Give up your rights. Build it with love and respect. Recognize that you will never fully understand all that is involved in a life-long commitment to a single spouse, and revel in the fact that you do not pretend to understand it.
Prayer
Sunday, September 28. 2008
Sunday Morning A Walk Across the Room #4 Sunday September 28, 2008
Luke 16:19-31 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
As we look at this story in the Bible, It is awful because one man had so much suffering in this life and the other man had so much suffering in the next life. It is awful because one man ended up in hell.
This rich man’s story can be summarized in two words: TOO LATE
1. He awoke to the fact of eternity too late vs.22-23 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
Despite all his wealth the rich man died.
Death is a sure appointment Hebrews 9:27 says that man is destined to die.
My friend Death is real.
Death is a peeping tom; he gazes into your window just waiting for
the opportunity to snatch your soul.
3 people die every second. That means that 180 people die every minute, 10,800 people die every hour, 259,200 people die every day, and 94,608,000 people die every year.
But Death did not end it all.
That thought should encourage those who are saved.
That thought should sound a warning to those who are without a relationship with Christ.
2. He lifted up his eyes too late vs. 23 23In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
A. He was too busy in life to stop and look up.
B. He was too involved with earth to look up to heaven
C. He was too absorbed with the here and Now to think about the Here-after.
In our fast paced society we are all very busy, many of us to the point of being overwhelmed. But are we really any happier because of our business?
Men and women, teenagers and children, breathe God’s free air, eat God’s food, drink God’s water, and never turns a face to God in appreciation.
3. He prayed too late. vs. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
The Bible encourages us to a life of prayer “Pray without ceasing.” God say’s talk to me, please…..
Prayer does change things. And the very first thing that it changes is me
Phil 2:9-11 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him
the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
SO IT IS NOT A MATTER OF IF YOU WILL BOW A KNEE IN
PRAYER; IT IS A MATTER OF WHEN.
4. He remembered too late vs. 25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
He remembered his many opportunities in life.
He remembered God’s goodness too late. Man is warned not to forget the
goodness of God.
I believe that the ability to remember will be one of the torments of hell.
5. He was concerned about the spiritual needs of others too late.
vs. 27-28 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
While he was living, he was never concerned about his family or friends
salvation.
Nothing moved him in life. Lazarus was full of sores lying at his front door; but he never helped him. The needy were all around him; but he only thought of his needs his own life.
He never thought about the spiritual welfare of others including his family.
When George Mueller got saved, He had five lost friends. He began to pray for these 5 friends. Five years went by, and one got saved. Fifteen years went by and 2 others got saved. Twenty-five years went by and the 4th got saved! Fifty-two years after he began praying for these friends, he died. Six months after George Muller’s funeral, the last 5th friend got saved! Prayer works!
The rich man in hell did everything that he was supposed to do; however he did them simply TOO LATE!
Many of us are just like this man:
1. We never witness to the lost
2. We never invite the lost to church
3. We never request prayer for the lost
4. We never agonize over a friend’s separation from God.
The rich man simply waited to late to:
1. awake to the fact of eternity
2. to lift up his eyes
3. to pray
4. to remember
5. to be concerned for the lost.
If you are here today and don’t know Christ as your personal Savior, DO NOT WAITNUTIL IT’S TOO LATE!
If you are here and do not have a burden for souls that you should, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL IT’S TOO LATE!
If you are here and are holding back your life from serving God, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL IT’S TOO LATE!
WHEN YOU WAIT TOO LATE, THERE IS NO SECOND CHANCES!!!
Jim and Zola
Invitation song: Lord Lay some soul upon my heart.
Prayer
Sunday, September 21. 2008
Sunday Mornings A Walk Across the Room September 21, 2008
A Question: What is 750,000 miles long or 30 times around the earth and growing at a rate of 20 miles longer ever day?
The Answer: The people who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
We have a tremendous responsibility to reach out to these people. We can not avoid this even though it may take us outside of our comfort zone.
Horse Trading with God. Hears the deal God. I will read my Bible, I will come to church I will sing in the choir. But don’t ask me to talk to people about you. Let me off the hook here.
Cindy was that way. I can’t do it she said. I mentioned to her about a new lady that had been coming to church.
She wrestled with God and me all morning until she went to the ladies house.
Its only one
Jesus walked out of His way for one
John 4th Chapter Woman at the well
4Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. )
10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
31Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41And because of his words many more became believers.
42They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
The power of One.
Chuck- Richard and– Fred and– Norm Taylor- Allan Pannel and Chuck Black -Pastor Brian- who invited his mom- her sisters over 20 people
Faith for millions Rignhard Barnkee In Nigeria Africa over 1 million 29.3 this decade
Can you trust Christ for one?
Video “When”
Lord Lay some Soul upon my heart.
Sunday, September 14. 2008
Sunday Nites Love is Patient and Kind September 14, 2008
I Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Loves description: verse 4 Love is Patient, Love is Kind.
These are the two pillars that love is built upon. All the other characteristics of love are merely extensions of these two attributes.
Love will inspire you to become patient. Back to my tomato illustration from this morning. There is nothing better on a hot summer day then bologna sandwich with a little mayonnaise and a slice of tomato. Or a burger from the grill cooked medium-well, placed on a bun, topped with lettuce, cheese and a slice of tomato. And what’s a salad without tomato? You can even drink it in juice form.
But have you ever tried to grow a tomato. I realize that some of you have only seen them in the produce section of Kroger’s but you are seeing the end result. This is not the way they start out. It takes time. Planting, hoeing, weeding, watering waiting and then you get this. It takes patients.
So what does it mean to be patient?
You demonstrate patients when you choose to respond in a positive way to a negative situation. Your flesh says to blow you top but the spirit says hold on now don’t get all huffy.
You choose to have a long fuse instead of a quick temper.
Patience’s will bring an internal calm during an external storm. No one likes to be around an impatient person. Impatience will cause you to over-react in angry and foolish ways that you will probably later regret.
An angry spirit almost never makes things better and will probably make things worse.
Patience is more then bighting your lip or putting your hand over your mouth it helps you to take a long deep breath.
It is a choice to control your emotions instead of letting them control you.
Patience can make us wise.
Proverbs 14:29 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.
A lack of patience will turn your life into a war zone but the practice of patience will bring about peace and quiet.
Proverbs 15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.
In the final analysis none of us are perfect. So we should all treat others the way that we would like to be treated ourselves.
Ephesians 4:2 says Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Marla to grandma, Yea but that’s a long time.
Sometimes things don’t happen over night. My advise:
Commit it and give God time.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
The second pillar of love is Kindness.
If patience is how love reacts to minimize a negative in a situation then kindness is how love acts to maximize the positive circumstances.
Patience avoids a problem kindness creates a blessing. One is preventative and the other is proactive.
Kindness makes you likeable.
Proverbs 3:3-4 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them
around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will
win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
When I think of someone who is kind, I think of:
Gentleness: When you are operating from kindness you are careful about how you treat others.
Helpfulness: You meet the other person’s need of the moment.
Willingness: Kindness will inspire you to be agreeable instead of having to have your own way.
Initiative: Kindness inspires you to think ahead and be willing to take the first step instead of saying I will if you will.
Jesus describes this Kindness of love in His story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 Gentleness: When you are operating from kindness you are careful about how you treat others.
Helpfulness: You meet the other person’s need of the moment.
Willingness: Kindness will inspire you to be agreeable instead of having to have your own way.
Initiative: Kindness inspires you to think ahead and be willing to take the first step instead of saying I will if you will.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Remember this, Love in the truest sense is not based upon emotions but is a decision to show thoughtful actions even when there is no promise of a reward.
Prayer
Sunday, September 14. 2008
Sunday Morning A Walk Across the Room 2 September 14th 2008
Last Sunday morning I shared with you two scriptures that Christ gave to His followers.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” and
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
I believe that these commands were not only for those listening to Him two thousand years ago, but for those of us who follow Him today.
Prayer
In your lifetime are going to give yourself to something. Everyone does. You can chose to give yourself to pleasure or possessions, to gaining popularity or to the acquisition of more power. But always to something. If the Bible is true and our existence doesn’t cease when we close our eyes and take our final breath here in this life, that this life is but a primer of our eternal life, then I have a question for you. What will you take into the next life with you? Not cars, or houses, none of the toys we accumulate here. When J.D. Rockefeller the then world’s richest man died someone ask his accountant how much he left? The answer was, “All of it”. When you and I leave this life, it will all be left behind for someone else to chase after. The only thing that you can take with you are people.
Take a chance; take a walk across the room.
Reasons People don’t take a walk across the room.
I don’t know what to say. The Bible say’s “Do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11 Don’t worry about it, just introduce yourself and ask their name. Talk about them not about you.
Remember, you are building a bridge to this person. Building a bridge is a step by step process. Don’t try to jump across to the end. You must earn the right to be heard.
People are like this tomato that Larry G. gave me Wednesday night.
I got it this way but it started out as a seed that Larry planted, he then left it alone to grow. Later on he pulled some weeds around it, and then he watered it and then when the time was right he harvested it.
Not everyone is at the same place in their spiritual journey. Some folks come to Huntington First and step out and receive Christ their first time here, others come for several months, some have been coming for years and still have not made the step.
The Engel’s Scale
Byron Hutchinson was a factory worker from Jackson Ohio. Byron had no interest in church but he allowed his wife and two sons to attend. One day as I was going past his house I felt impressed to stop by and invite him to a special event that next Sunday where we were having the Blackwood Brothers qt. He said he might come and to my surprise he did. He began to come periodically after that, but I lost track of his attendance when Cindy and I moved to pastor a church in Texas. A few years later I found out that Byron not only began coming to church on a regular basis but one Sunday morning he step out from his pew during an invitation to pray and became a committed follower of Christ. He eventually became the head usher in the church and today is their treasurer. I was not there when he accepted Christ but I had a part in his decision to do so.
Jr. Kennedy was a civil engineer who lived across the street from Paul and Donna Chapman. They had been talking to him about coming to church for a long time when I became their pastor. He would come to church with his wife and kids every now and then but that was the extent of his commitment. One day Paul said to me, “Pastor, I have been talking to Jr. for several years now about becoming a Christian and I think he’s ready but I’m afraid to ask him. Would you go by his house with me and talk to him about it?” I agreed and that next night we went by for a visit. I said, “Jr. Are you happy with the way that you are living your life?” ‘No I’m not.” he said. After a brief conversation concerning Christ love for him, I asked him “If there was any reason he could think of for him not to pray and ask Christ to forgive him of his sins and come into his life to give him guidance and direction?” his answer was no and we prayed together and he became a follower of Christ that night.
But that was not the end of the story he went on to become a bus driver for the church visiting families across our area and every Saturday and each Sunday morning he would pull in that old bus bringing dozens of children to church and many to Christ.
Jr. had such a burden for the lost that he called me one night and said, “Pastor, I have a cousin who is in the hospital that suffers from Spina Bifida, he is 21 years old and the only thing keeping him alive are the electric blankets on him that maintained his body temperature. The doctors have said that there is no hope for a recovery and they have suggested removing the blankets and letting nature take its course. Pastor, I don’t think that my cousin John is a Christian. Would you go with me to pray with him?”
I agreed and we went to see John. Jr. introduced me to his aunt and uncle who agreed to let me see their son and added that while they had no religious background of their own they had agreed to allow a hospital chaplain to baptize their son. Jr. led me down the hall and then he informed me that John could not talk and only communicated by blinking his eyes. We went behind a curtained area to find a young man whose body was swollen to twice its normal size. His eyes were glassy and seemingly fixed in a stare towards which ever way the nurses had turned his head and his body jerked violently several times every minute, the result of a case of the hiccups that he had had for several weeks. Jr. quickly went to the side where he was starring and announced that he had brought his pastor to talk with him about Jesus. With that he moved out of the way and motioned me to the spot where he had been standing….
Wow…I was not prepared for this. Here I am standing in front of a man that has only hours to live, he can’t talk to me, he can’t easily respond to me, and this friend of mine wants me to lead him to Christ. As I moved to where Jr. had been standing I shot off a 911 prayer to God that went something like this, “God you got me into this, you got to help me out here, I don’t know what to do. If you tell me that I am third in line to receive an answer from you that’s not good enough. I need some direction and I need it now.”
I looked into Johns eyes and they seemed to be looking right through me. I couldn’t tell if he was even aware that I was standing in front of him or not. I shared my testimony of how Christ came into my life at the age of fifteen and had given me direction and a sense of peace. Then I remembered that he sometimes communicated by blinking, so I ask him a question. “John, Is everything ok between you and God? Blink once for yes and twice for no” and then we waited…. no response. It seemed to me as though a couple of minutes had gone by with only the sound of his hic-ups and his stare in my direction, and then his eyes blinked once and then again two times that meant that things were not right between him and God or was it just a twitch. I asked if he would like to pray with me and ask Jesus to forgive his sins and come into his life. Again we waited and I wandered did he really understand me? After what seemed several minutes he blinked again but this time only once. That was our signal for yes.
He wanted to pray so we did. I closed my eyes and told him that even though he couldn’t talk he only needed to hear my prayer for him and agree with it and that would be enough for God. When I finish I opened my eyes to find his eyes closed and a tear running down the side of his face. I thought to myself that he had gone to sleep or slipped into a comma or worse yet he had died but shortly after I ceased praying his eyes opened again and I asked him, John did you pray that prayer with me? Again the long wait… And the he blinked once. I ask him one last question that day. John, do you now have a sense of peace between you and God? He finally blinked once and I sensed that at that moment he had a peace that he had never known. I left they took off the blankets expecting him to die but he lived for another eight months during which time Jr. prayed with John’s mother and father and they both became Christians.
I prayed with him several times the last time the day he died. I said, “Lord we have been praying a long time that you would heal my brother but it seems that is not to be so we release him to your care.” I left and later that day he died.
I later moved to Dayton Ohio and lost tract of my friend Jr. A church member later told me that he had been transferred to Colorado Springs and was teaching a class on soul winning.
I was not there when Byron when he accepted Christ. I planted the seed.
I was not the one who planted the seeds of faith in Jr. or his cousin’s life.
I was the one who brought in the crop.
I helped plant the seed in John’s parents life but Jr. brought in the crop
I was not there when Jr. taught the class that encouraged other to share their faith in Christ. But I had a part. I was willing to walk across the room.
Are you?
Song Lord Lay Some Soul upon my Heart
Sunday, September 07. 2008
Sunday Morning A Walk Across the Room September 7th 2008
Prayer
Ten thousand steps. People who study such things say that on average, that is the number of steps that you and I take every day. That adds up to about 115,000 miles in a lifetime – or more then four times around the earth. With that in mind I have a question for you.
“Are you using your steps wisely?”
What if Ten steps, just one one-thousandth of your average daily walk could actually have an impact on eternity? Just a walk across the room. Would you take those ten steps?
My question is prompted because of a book that I read this last week by Bill Hybels, Pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago Il. In the book he describes an incident that occurred during a large dinner gathering that he was a part of. It went something like this: Tell story
All because of one man’s walk across the room….
The condominium that Cindy and I stayed this last week was about 15 miles just south of Daytona and sits right on the beach of the Atlantic ocean. Every day I walked a stretch of beach that measured one mile.
As I walked this stretch of sand, my mind revisited the story of this man’s coming to Christ all because of another man’s crossing the room.
This guy was talking with people that he already knew and felt at ease with but he left them (His circle of comfort) and ventured those ten steps across the room into the zone of the unknown.
He didn’t know this guy. He looked different from his friends. He was alone, maybe he was not friendly, and maybe he was rude or gruff.
Maybe his effort to talk to this guy would be rejected. He didn’t know but he went anyway.
If you think about it the very first walk across the room, a very large room, began when Jesus Christ left the marvelous fellowship of Trinity and the worship and adoration of angels; He wrapped Himself in a robe of flesh, and walked across the cosmos in order to stretch out a hand to you and me.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Jesus said “I came to seek and to save what was lost." People Lost people,
That’s why Jesus came. People who are lonely. People who are wandering, depressed, and hopeless. People who have gotten themselves wrapped up in suffocating habits and destructive relationships.
I think of the story related in John 8. The woman accused of adultery brought to Jesus. (We have him now the rulers thought) But Jesus reaction was fascinating. “I assume that you are going to stone her, so if that’s true lets bring some order to the process. Form a line and those of you who have never sinned throw your rocks first.” They all walked away.
Jesus finds Himself alone with the woman who has just tasted mercy and forgiveness for the first time. Although He had every right to get in her face and criticize her for her poor life choices, The Bible say’s that He said to her, “I don’t condemn you-really. That’s not why I came. I came to redeem your failures, not to punish your mistakes. Now go and don’t sin anymore. Start living a brand new life, today.”
Without excusing the woman’s sinful indiscretions, Jesus said, “Everyone has taken some wrong terms. Everyone is in need of forgiveness and redemption and healing. Everyone needs to know the love that only my Father can provide. That is why I’ve come.
Let me ask you is there a better picture of God’s heart then this – the heart that invites someone to freedom instead of indictment? And that heart is the heart that he wants us to have. And every time we walk across the room we are continuing His mission. And I believe that God is pleased.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
When was the last time that you walked across the room to build a bridge to someone? The problem with the average Christian is that most of the people that we hang out with are Christians just like us.
We have been called by Christ to join Him in His mission to seek out the lost with the message of Christ love and forgiveness.
We can do that by always hanging out with the already saved. Our walk across the room must be intentional. If we are going to reach them we must begin to get serious about reaching them. A sign announcing the service times will not do it. Hoping someone else will ask them will not get it done. We must get serious.
And here's where it all begins. With Prayer.
Tempe’s Prayer
Cliff Templeton Tell story of Cliff’s close encounter with death.
Nose gunner on B24 during WWII around 1944 Shot up pretty bad, We may not be able to land so go ahead and jump, we’re all staying. “Tempe, the captain said, “will you pray for us?”
How do you think he prayed? If I have time, I’ll do it later, NOW & FERVENTLY
2 things about this prayer. 1. He prayed for himself 2. Others
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