Sermon Central
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How Bright Are You? Series
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Mar 3, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: You are a STAR! You shine into the Darkness and nmake a difference! The question is not whaether you will shine, but how can you become brighter.
How Bright are You?
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing,
15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
16 as you hold out the word of life-- in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
(NIV)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go on a camping trip, set up their tent, and fall asleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes his faithful friend.
"Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Watson replies, "I see millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?" asks Holmes
Watson ponders for a minute.
"Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn
is in Leo.
Judging by the position of the stars and the moon, it appears to be approximately a
quarter past three.
Theologically, it’s evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. “
Then after a pause, Watson says: “Well, Holmes, What does it tell you?"
Holmes is silent for a moment and then he speaks.
"Watson, can’t you see that someone has stolen our tent."
Do you see stars? They are all around you.
You are a star!
While you may never appear on the Hollywood walk of fame, you are still a luminary! The Scripture says that you shine! Like stars! Inextinguishable!
As the moon and stars “appear”
in the night,
so Christians come out
to give light in the darkness.
In the dark night of sin you are to be a lighthouse.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
(NIV)
As a Christian, I am to be a light. That means that I will let my light shine. But light sometimes gets diffused. Light from distant stars can be hidden from our view because of clouds and atmospheric conditions.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
(NIV)
The question to be answered is
not
whether you will shine.
The questions to be answered:
How bright are you?
and
How do we get brighter?
Step One for a Brighter Shine:
Quit your bellyachin’!
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing,
(NIV)
One day, two monks were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own. The first monk kindly offered, "We will carry you across if you would like." "Thank you," she said gratefully, accepting their help. So the two men joined hands, lifted her between them and carried her across the river. When they got to the other side, they set her down, and she went on her way.
After they had walked another mile or so, the second monk began to complain. "Look at my clothes," he said. "They are filthy from carrying that woman across the river. And my back still hurts from lifting her. I can feel it getting stiff." The first monk just smiled and nodded his head.
A few more miles up the road, the second monk griped again, "My back is hurting me so badly, and it is all because we had to carry that silly woman across the river! I cannot go any farther because of the pain." The first monk looked down at his partner, now lying on the ground, moaning. "Have you wondered why I am not complaining?" he asked. "Your back hurts because you are still carrying the woman. But I set her down five miles ago."
14 In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing,
15 so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.
16 Hold tightly to the word of life, so that when Christ returns, I will be proud that I did not lose the race and that my work was not useless.
