Sermon Central
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On The Sunday Before Ash Wednesday This Year, The ... PRO
Contributed by Guy Caley on May 5, 2003 (message contributor)
On the Sunday before Ash Wednesday this year, the central dining facility in Camp Udairi (Kuwait) caught fire, flames quickly spread to engulf all five tents and completely destroyed them in less than 30 minutes.
After the smoke cleared, and all units checked the status of their soldiers, it was apparent that everyone had made it out alive. Amazing. It was Sunday morning and a worship service had just concluded, but most of the worshippers had left. A Catholic service was scheduled next, and one of the tents would have been packed. During breakfast, all the tents were packed, but not at the time of the fire. What could have been a major catastrophe merely resulted in the loss of some equipment and soldiers eating MREs for a few days. Chaplain Barbara Sherer of the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion called it a miracle. I mentioned that the fire occurred on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. This is the day many Christians observe the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a time of penitence-being sorry for sin, in preparation for Easter. As a symbol of this time of preparation they mark their foreheads with ash. Chaplain Sherer had planned to offer ashes for Protestant soldiers who wished to observe this ritual. Traditionally, you burn palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration to make ash for Ash Wednesday but she didn’t have any. So it seemed to her that the most significant ash to use for this occasion would be ash from the DFAC.
The site was under guard, so she asked an MP to fill a cup with ashes from the fire. He walked to the rubble, scooped up some ash, and returned it to her. She placed the cup in a Zip-loc bag and put it in her tent.
Two days later she decided to open the bag and see if she needed to crunch up the ashes into smaller pieces. She was digging around in the cup with a plastic knife when she noticed the edge of something metallic. She reached in, and pulled out a cross. A flat, metal cross--just like this one [show picture]. It had some dark smudges on it from the fire, but it was otherwise undamaged. She could still read the etching on it: "Jesus Christ is Lord."
Chaplain Sherer wrote "I can’t even...
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An American Missionary Was Traveling Across Korea ... PRO
Contributed by George Rennau on Aug 25, 2003
An American missionary was traveling across Korea by train. At a busy station an old man boarded and sat across from Him. The man was Korean and he addressed the American in his native tongue. The Missionary responded in the only Korean phrase that he knew which was "I DON’T UNDERSTAND". A ...read more
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A Speaker In Colorado Was About To Address A ...
Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jan 3, 2005
A speaker in Colorado was about to address a gathering of businessmen and women. Sitting a the head table, he turned to the real estate salesman on his left and said, "So, how are things going for you?" "Terrible," he answered. "Haven¡¯t you heard about the strikes? 80% of the people in this ...read more
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Story: The Habits And Customs Of The Eskimos Of ... PRO
Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Mar 2, 2004
Story: The habits and customs of the Eskimos of North Alaska have been remained very much the same for 500 years, until very recently. They had to depend on catching the polar bear for meat, for clothing – the bear’s fur, for fat for cooking, and for tools, the bear’s bones and ...read more
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The Bible Tells The Story Of Absalom. He Was ... PRO
Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 28, 2005
The Bible tells the story of Absalom. He was the son of King David — Israel’s greatest king. Through a series of circumstances, Absalom began to despise his father and made plans to become king in his father’s place. He surreptitiously sowed seeds of division and rebellion in his father’s ...read more
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Jim Cymbala Stated This About Unlocking God's ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 9, 2005
Jim Cymbala stated this about unlocking God’s blessing from his book Break Through Prayer: According to Scripture, God’s blessing can rest on both men and women, because with God there is no gender bias. His blessing can rest on a family, a child, or even unborn offspring. It can prosper a local ...read more
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