Sermon Central
-
Kent Hughes, Who Pastored In Chicago, Tells ...
Contributed by Glenn Durham on Aug 13, 2008 (message contributor)
Kent Hughes, who pastored in Chicago, tells something which happened to a dear friend. This lady was a missionary on furlough after a particularly difficult season of service. Now, for the first time since they had been missionaries, they had bought a place of their own to rest and recover. The lady loved the patio and made it the focus of her decoration efforts.
After a few months some new neighbors moved in. The best word to describe them would be coarse. Loud music sounded day and night, along with many obscenities. They even went to the bathroom in the front yard in broad daylight! One day the neighbor’s children sprayed orange paint all over her beautiful patio—the walls, the floors—everything! She was distraught and furious. She tried to pray but found herself crying out, “I cannot love them. I hate them!”
Knowing she had to deal with the sin in her heart, she began to converse with the Lord in her inner being, and a Scripture came to mind: “And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity” (Colossians 3.14). In her heart she questioned, “Lord, how do I put on love?” The only way she could picture it was like putting on a coat. So she did that—she wrapped herself in the love of God! As a result she began to experience a deeper life of Christ within her.
She made a list of what she would do if she really loved her exasperating neighbors, then did what she had listed. She baked cookies, she baby-sat for free, she invited the mother over for coffee—and the most beautiful thing happened! She began to know and understand them. She began to see that they were living under tremendous pressures. She began to love her “enemies.” She did good to them. She lent to them without expecting anything back. And when they moved, she wept!
She showed mercy, and she was changed. You think about that. Amen.
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
A Man Named Jacob Had Hit A Low Point In His ... PRO
Contributed by David Elvery on Nov 14, 2004
A man named Jacob had hit a low point in his life. He had thought about killing himself but he was too poor and too tired to secure the means to do it. He found a park bench and just lay down to die. He did not eat, because there was nothing to eat. All he thought about was his death. A ...read more
-
Singing Him
Contributed by Brad Bailey on Aug 6, 2004
SINGING HIM There was an elderly woman who was a true saint of God in her long life of devotion. She knew much of the Bible by heart and would repeat long passages from memory. But as the years went by, the strength went and with it the memory gradually went too. Finally, there came the time ...read more
-
Today We Seek To Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ...
Contributed by Bruce Landry on Jan 15, 2007
Today we seek to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and we will start with a portion of Dr. King’s "I have a dream speech". …And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this ...read more
-
One Course I Had In College Was In Adolescent ...
Contributed by David Henderson on Jan 3, 2007
One course I had in college was in adolescent psychology. Difficult class but the professor would let us bring a note card with as much information as we could get on it. That was a great help. Steve Winger writes about a final exam he took in a logic class at the university he attended. The ...read more
-
A Lot Of People Think That Being Saved Is A ... PRO
Contributed by Jeff Simms on May 23, 2004
A lot of people think that being saved is a matter of works. But, here it says that you are God’s workmanship. It says you were created (kitzo) for good works. The word created means that refers to the work of God in creating you for a purpose. Think of it this way, if you have a apple tree in ...read more
Related Sermons
-
Hope In A Covenant Of Faith Series
Contributed by Dean Courtier on Feb 18, 2018
A Covenant of Faith and a man named Abraham. Romans 4:3, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
-
Do Something: Be The Hands And Feet Of Jesus
Contributed by Chris Jordan on Jan 30, 2015
God has called us, His church, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to take His justice and mercy into the world, to minister to the lost, the poor and the broken.
-
The Lord Is Good
Contributed by Wayne Lawson on Jan 23, 2019
We have the tendency to fall apart during difficulties in our lives and not able to see beyond them as Nahum was able to see far beyond what his eyes and emotions were able to see. He had a deeper appreciation of God’s Grace.
-
Thanksgiving
Contributed by Rodney V Johnson on Oct 3, 2020
This message explores the reasons we have to give God thanks. Our choice to give God thanks should not rest on Him doing something for us - but for what He has already done through His Son and what He continues to do.
-
Be Encouraged (A Funeral Message) Series
Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Aug 7, 2014
A service of encouragement and thanksgiving for a life well lived. For a life cut short by illness.
