Sermon Central
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I Didn't Get An Allowance When I Was In High ...
Contributed by Johnny Wilson on May 21, 2009 (message contributor)
I didn’t get an allowance when I was in high school and any kind of paying work was few and far between. My parents expected me to come to them when I needed money for lunch money, class rings, yearbooks, books, gas money, dates, or anything. Instead of being thankful that they wanted to give me good gifts like this, I resented having to ask. Instead of being thankful that I had parents who were employed and loved me, I insulted them by not making my desires known to them. In too many ways, I shut them out of my life by thinking they were too poor or too “narrow” to meet my needs. And I cheated both my folks and myself—even though they rather heroically pulled my fat out of the fire on several occasions.
Now, a lot of people have the same problem with prayer. They think it demeans them and makes them less noble or less truly human to ask God for something. They think that God intends for them to handle it themselves and end up shutting God out of their lives—cheating both God and themselves instead of building a relationship. And, they rationalize their unwillingness to pray to God with the most feeble excuses: God has more important things to do; God wants us to handle the little things; or That’s too small for God to deal with. I have known people who thought I was being idolatrous to ask for God’s guidance in buying a house or a car. They thought that was too small, too insignificant for God to care about. Gee, here I thought my God created and sustains even sub-atomic particles. If God is involved with the Periodic Table of the Elements, I think God can be involved in my daily life. God may not be a Cubs fan (indeed, history would show us that He most assuredly is not), but that doesn’t stop me from thanking God when I get to see a great play or get to experience the joy of a game at the friendly confines. When I thank God, the experience is that much better.
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A Teenager's Low Popularity Convinced Her That ... PRO
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A teenager’s low popularity convinced her that she was not attractive. She became a top fashion model, hailed by many as the most beautiful woman in the world. All those who had ignored her are now boasting that they had gone to school with Claudia Schiffer! He was rejected as too awkward and ...read more
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There Is A Great Scene In The 1975 Movie ‘jaws'. ... PRO
Contributed by Clark Tanner on Sep 12, 2003
"There is a great scene in the 1975 movie ‘Jaws’. The Constable, played by Roy Scheider is at the dining room table lost in thought over this problem with the killer shark that’s terrorizing the water ways. Suddenly he looks out the corner of his eye and realizes his small boy is copying his ...read more
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Just Next To Me
Contributed by David Parks on Jun 2, 2004
Just Next To Me Our preacher sure did pour it on, But he just let me be. He took the starch all out of them That sat just next to me. You should have heard the things he said; It was true as it could be; He burned the seat from under them That sat just next to me. He hit the ...read more
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In A Former Church I Served, A Mother Started ... PRO
Contributed by David Haun on May 27, 2004
In a former church I served, a mother started reading the Bible to her young son. A few weeks later they were reading from the Gospel of John. When she read John 3:16, her son commented, "Oh, I know this. This is an old one..." Being familiar with a Scripture can do that to us. We can "know" ...read more
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We Know That 80% Of The Town Of Meulaboh In Aceh, ... PRO
Contributed by John Shearhart on Feb 24, 2005
We know that 80% of the town of Meulaboh in Aceh, Indonesia was destroyed by the Tsunami waves and 80% of the people also died. This is one of the towns that was hit the hardest. But there is a fantastic testimony from Meulaboh. In that town are about 400 Christians. They wanted to celebrate ...read more
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