Sermon Central
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You Gotta Have A Crazy Story
Contributed by Johnny Knight on Aug 11, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Paul Simon, wrote a song a number of years ago. The refrain in the song went, “still crazy after all these years, yes I’m still crazy after all these years.” Let it be said at my funeral, “There lies a nut who was still crazy after all these years.” And m
You Gotta Have A Crazy Story
Tracy, was a little girl who was listening very closely to the preacher during the morning worship service. But she left service puzzled. She said, Mommy, didn’t our pastor say today that God is bigger than we are?
Her mother was pleased to see her daughter was listening in service and said, “Yes, honey.” Tracy then proceeded on with her second question, “And didn’t our pastor say today that God lives inside of us.”
Her mother could sense a big question coming forth and she said, “ yes honey”. Tracy then put her points together and said, “well if God is bigger than us, and God is living inside of us, then shouldn’t God be popping out all over so that others could see God when they look at us?
The great challenge for each believer in Christ is to have Christ popping out all over.
You know the greatest story ever told is that God so loved the world that that He gave His only Son that anyone who believes in Jesus should not perish, but have everlasting life. This is God’s story. The second most important story is that Jesus loves me and He changed my life. People of God, what is it that keeps these stories from popping out all over our lives. What is it that keeps people from seeing God in our lives. We’ve got a story to tell!
Have you ever been to a basketball game and been on the side of the team that was behind by 15 points. Everybody’s head is just sort of going from side to side. But the moment the other team makes a few sloppy plays and your team scores on a few quick turnovers and hits 3 3 point shots, all of a sudden the entire side comes alive with a passion that you can feel.
Everybody is of one mind cheering the team on. People who were quietly sitting down, all of sudden are jumping up and down. They have passion, because they have a story to tell. There story is “look where we were, but now look where we are.” They are expecting to win.
The crowd that lacks passion is obviously behind in the game.
A lack of passion will make others think you’re boring, you’re losers, you’re simply wasting your time.
Few things have hurt the greatest story ever told than people trying to tell it with no passion about them or trying to live it with no passion. Do you know how people who never have entered the church, think about the church? Now part of their view is determined by how the church is portrayed by Television and in part to how we live for Christ.
People view the church as being
hypocritical,
boring,
and judgmental.
How often do we help confirm what they think about it?
We talk about God is love, but if they greet you do they think God is a grouch. We talk about being on fire for God, but do we sing praises in worship as though God has died and it’s the most boring thing to do is sing about God’s goodness. We talk about loving everyone but do we judge a person by how dirty they may look when they come into a church.
Jesus said he came to seek and to save those who were lost. The challenge before us today is, doing what Jesus commanded His church to do. In order to do it, we are going to need a passion for God. And not just any old kind of passion, but a crazy kind of a passion.
And to have crazy passion, you gotta have a story to tell.
One day a pastor’s little four year old daughter was walking around the house singing, “crazy the Lord, crazy the Lord.” He was offended that his daughter was singing such a song. He said, “Sandra, what song is that you’re singing.” She said, “Crazy the Lord.” He said, “well where did you learn that?” She said “in Sunday School.” Shocked to find out such songs were being taught in his church, he said, “well, what’s the rest of the words.” She said, “Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Crazy the Lord.”
He laughed, and he almost started to tell her, “it’s not crazy the Lord, but praise ye the Lord.” But then he thought about it and said to himself the Lord is kind of crazy when you think about it.
Isn’t it crazy to love somebody, who spent all their lives in rebellion against you?
Isn’t it crazy to forgive a person time and time again for doing the same stupid thing?
Isn’t it crazy to give a person another chance, have them blow it, and give them another chance anyways?
