Avoiding Future Regret; Take II
Psalm 32:1-5
John 13:1-11
I John 1:1-2:2
Two weeks ago, we noted that the definition of regret is “being sad, repentant, remorseful or disappointed about past decisions or missed opportunities.” We acknowledged therefore that ‘regret’ interferes with our being happier than we might otherwise be because we can’t be happy and at the same time sad, repentant, remorseful or disappointed.
We noted that […]
Avoiding Future Regret
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Galatians 5:22-23
Speaking about regret. . .
A woman awoke during the night to find that her husband was not in bed. She put on her robe and found him sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He appeared to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall. She saw him wipe a tear from his eye and take a sip of […]
Let it Go
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Philippians 3:1-14
Have you ever found yourself wishing you had done things differently in the past? Ever been tempted to think if only I had done this or that my life would have turned out better?
My guess is all of us can sing right along with Frank Sinatra the first line of the second verse of his classic I Did It My Way: ‘Regrets, […]
Waiting on the Lord
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Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11, 26-31
I hope and pray that all of us have a wonderful, glorious, healthy, and prosperous and happy new year. But the truth is none of us knows what lies ahead.
For sure this year will bring the kind of bittersweet mixture Solomon wrote about in his oft-quoted passage in Ecclesiastes 3: (selected)
There is a time for everything and a season for every […]
CrossPointe 2018
Acts 6:1-7
I read Acts 6:1-7 on this first Sunday of the New Year because it emphasizes an important truth for our church to consider as we begin another year of ministry.
It didn’t take long for the mother church in Jerusalem to develop a problem. And the problem was that there were more things going on in the life of the church than the twelve could handle by themselves. Credit the twelve with […]
The Forgotten Remembered
Luke 2:8-20
Galatians 4:4-7
It was Christmas Eve, and, as usual, George Mason was the last to leave the bank. He walked over to the massive safe, spun the dials, swung the heavy door open, stepped inside, turned around and looked up at the words written on a 3×5 note card taped above the door and George began to remember.
Exactly one year ago on the previous Christmas Eve, he had entered this same vault and then, behind his back, slowly, noiselessly the heavy door swung shut.
A Song of Wonder
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Luke 1:26-37; 2:25-35
Let’s play a Christmas song game? I will give you a clue, you figure out the Christmas song:
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Righteous Darkness
O Holy Night -
Far Off in a Feeder
Away in a Manger -
Bantam Male Percussionist
Little Drummer Boy -
Nocturnal Noiselessness
Silent Night -
Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen -
Delight for this Planet
Joy […]
Where Will You Look?
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Isaiah 9:1-6
John 1:1-14
One of my favorite pastors relates the following story about buying a Nativity set.
My mother-in-law, Ruby, lives in the southern Indiana town of Paoli. We spend family Christmas with her. But Christmas isn’t official in Paoli until Wilson Roberts decorates his variety store, which he does on the day after Thanksgiving. Each year it is the same adornments: a cardboard cutout […]
Fear Not
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Isaiah 6:1-5
Luke 1:5-13
Most of us have heard of Claustrophobia, but when was the last time you heard someone refer to ‘Xenophobia’? Xenophobia is the ‘fear of strangers or foreigners’ or ‘of anything strange or foreign.’
Like an awe-inspiring angel of the Lord suddenly and without warning appearing where and when least expected? Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds; they all experienced an ‘appearing’ and those appearings […]
Come Lord Jesus!
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Matthew 24:1-44
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Destiny came down to an island, centuries ago, summoned three of the inhabitants and asked, “What would you do if I told you that tomorrow your island will be completely inundated by an immense tidal wave?”
The first man, who was a cynic, said, “Why, I would eat, drink, be merry all night long!”
The second man, a […]
Thanks Be to God
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II Corinthians 9:6-15
Every night about 9:30 pm, unemployed, homeless and hungry men gather under the elevated train in Queens, NY; where relief comes in the form of Jorge Munoz’s white pickup truck, filled with hot food, coffee, and hot chocolate. The men eagerly accept containers of chicken and rice from Munoz. For many, this is their only hot meal of the day. One of […]
Cheerful Giving
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Luke 21:1-4
II Corinthians 8:1-5, 9, 9:6-7
So, “God loves a cheerful giver” does He? Really, a cheerful giver? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Like awfully good, diet ice cream, fine mess, jumbo shrimp, Microsoft works, pretty ugly, small crowd; cheerful giver? At first glance, we’re only cheerful about giving when we fork over our hard-earned dough on ourselves.
On Sunday morning a father gave his son […]