Illustration results for isaiah 43

Suggest a Scripture Reference

View linked Sermon

ILLUSTRATION… Discipleship Journal, 11-12/92
A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:
1. Materialism
2. Pride
3. Self-centeredness
4. Laziness
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness
5. (Tie) Sexual lust
6. Envy
7. Gluttony
8. Lying

Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when…
they had neglected their time with God (81 percent)
and when they were physically tired (57 percent).
Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising
situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).

Suggest a Scripture Reference

Sending Churches: The Fund for Theological Education has underwritten a study of congregations that consistently send people into ministry. In summary, the following are five characteristics of those congregations:
· Lay people are in ministry. Through collaboration with their pastors, lay people come to see that they can lead and do ministry and then want to push further.
· People can be who they are. Ministry is not stereotyped and authenticity is valued.
· There is room to explore. People are invited to think expansively and creatively.
· Education is taken seriously. Pastors challenge members with contemporary theological scholarship and demanding biblical study and awaken a passion for learning more.
· The call is boldly named.
· The full report can be found in the Winter 2001 issue of Horizons newsletter: www.thefund.org/publications/
· newsletters/v4n1/index.html (EXPLORER #45)

Suggest a Scripture Reference

View linked Sermon

Friday at quitting time, Jim said,
‘Boss, have you got any extra work I can do tonight?’
Sure do but I can’t pay you overtime.
That’s okay, I just don’t want to go home.
Why not?
Well, I’ve been in the doghouse since last night.
I see...Why? What did you do to deserve that?
I still don’t know, it must be one of those woman things.
I was minding my own business relaxing in front of the TV.
My wife enters the room & asks, "What’s on the TV?"
And honestly, I swear all I said was, "Dust!"
She’s been mad ever since!

The wife found fault with her husband’s grace/truthfulness & forefeited her companionship.

We also forfeit a great deal when the find fault with God’s grace.

View linked Sermon

We used to sing a song entitled, “Give Me That Old Time Religion.” And in the song it says, “It was good for the Hebrew children, and it is good enough for me.” But it wasn’t good enough for the Hebrew children. The faith of Abraham was not adequate for them; God had something more. God had to deliver them from the bondage of Egypt and show them something new. The Red Sea would part, Mount Sinai would explode with fire and the voice of God. Commandments would be given and there would be new lessons learned in the wilderness. The song says, “It was good for Paul and Silas.” The truth is that the old time religion was not good enough for Paul and Silas. For years Paul wanted it to be good enough, until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He wanted to keep the old wineskin of Jewish tradition, but Jesus was bursting the seams of that wineskin. New wine had come and new wineskins were called for.

You can’t have the old time religion. Your mother’s faith will not do, it has to be your faith. Your father’s faith is not adequate, you have to have your own experience with God. In fact, your faith, the faith used to get you by several years ago, will not do for today. If your faith has not grown since you first met Christ as a kid, the wineskin has dried and become ...

Continue reading with a Free PRO Subscription...

Suggest a Scripture Reference

FORGIVEN

My pastor for most of my life, Dr. Harold Sightler, used to tell of a woman bad to shout. (He would stop there and say, I mean "good" to shout.) When they mentioned Jesus in sermon or song, she would say, "Hallelujah, praise the Lord." The dead, dry church she attended didn’t like this. One day in the midst of one of her "praise fits" they ushered her to the vestibule and told her to stay there. Finding nothing else to occupy her time, she asked if she could see a child’s geography book someone had left behind. Soon, they began to hear her shouting out, "Praise Jesus!" Wondering what could make her shout in the geography book, the rushed to ask her. "Look here," she said, "It says here that the ocean is 7 miles deep at places. My Bible tells me that this is where the Lord has buried my sins. Hallelujah, praise the Lord, I’m forgiven!" Oh the joy to know that our sins are forgiven. I wonder if that church that put her out understood this. I wonder if you do. Really, I wonder if I do. Forgiven! Amen!