Sermon Central
-
The Bottle That Didn’t Take The Heat!
Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jul 5, 2024 (message contributor)
Text: 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, KJV: 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
My wife and I save our empty plastic medicine bottles so that we can clean them and send them to a Christian organization. We haven’t had many problems over the last few years but recently we sure had a surprise!
The bottle in question was a deep navy blue in color and, to me anyway, felt just as sturdy as the other bottles which come our way. Knowing that “Ministry ‘X’” likes these bottles clean and residue free, I took to boiling some water in order to make clean” happen!
So, I poured the VERY hot water into a basin and one by one dunked our bottles into that basin. Most showed no damage whatsoever, but not so for that blue one. I don’t know if the plastic was softer, weaker, whatever, but it didn’t take long for the bottle to change shape (“warp”, maybe?) and became unusable for medicine.
The lid didn’t fit any longer. Oops.
Paul wrote that our works as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ would be tried by fire, and, that these works would either survive or be burned up. That which survived would be rewarded but that which didn’t would simply be burned up. That isn’t exactly the same thing as a bottle not surviving a bath in nearly boiling hot water, but the principle is the same: the good stuff will survive the test; but the other stuff won’t.
I hope and pray each one of us does our best for the Lord. The rewards will be worth it!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
Whether We Are A Minister, Worker Or Believer We ...
Contributed by Tony Abram on Dec 31, 2006
Whether we are a minister, worker or believer we need to love the Lord and the way we prove it is to serve Him. To serve Him is to do His Word and to do His Word we must do his work and all of us that are saved by ...read more
-
In A Far Country Lived A Band Of Minstrels Who ...
Contributed by Bob Soulliere on Feb 3, 2007
In a far country lived a band of minstrels who traveled from town to town presenting music to make a living. They had not been doing well. Times were hard; there was little money for common folk to come to hear the minstrels, even though their fee was small. Attendance had been falling off, so ...read more
-
A Class Of Little Girls Was Learning To Spell. ...
Contributed by Bob Soulliere on Feb 3, 2007
A class of little girls was learning to spell. They spelled a number of small words, such as “pig,” “cat,” “dog,” “cow,” and amused themselves by imitating the sounds that these animals make. Then little Mary was asked to spell “love.” She didn’t stop to give the letters, but ran and threw her arms ...read more
-
You've Heard Of Self-Defining Moments, I'm Sure. ...
Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jan 25, 2007
You’ve heard of self-defining moments, I’m sure. A self-defining moment occurs when something happens that determines your identity from that instant forward. Because of some event or incident, whatever it may be, you will never be the same again. I had such a moment each time my children were ...read more
-
God Is Also Like An Obsessed Lover. Let Me Tell ...
Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jan 25, 2007
God is also like an obsessed lover. Let me tell you what I mean by that. I have known people so captivated by romance that they have had the name of their beloved tattooed on their body. I knew one man who did that, and the woman he loved eventually broke it off with him. Her name was Marie, and -- ...read more
Related Sermons
-
"How God Tests Our Faith?” (Paano Pinatatatag Ang Ating Pananampalataya?) Part_1 Series
Contributed by Ritchie Guerrero on Oct 15, 2020
James 1:3-4 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
-
Choices Have Consequences Series
Contributed by David Owens on May 29, 2012
Paul encouraged the Thessalonians with praise, promises and prayer. The promises included the fact that the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked will be punished.
-
Rewards For Serving Christ Series
Contributed by Dennis Davidson on May 7, 2015
After many stern warnings and instructions to His missionaries, to His disciple makers, Jesus closes the discourse with a promise. Those who faithfully served the Lord & who faithfully support these workers will be rewarded.
-
Unraveling The Bema Seat Versus The Great White Throne Of Judgment
Contributed by Dr. Craig Nelson on Oct 19, 2020
Less than 200 years ago, teaching began that the Bema Judgment Seat and the Great White Throne Judgment are two separate events.
-
Can You Justify That? Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jul 10, 2016
Justification sounds like a $20 word that nobody would use outside of Church. But surprisingly the words justify and justification are interwoven into our culture and are used in ways that tell us a lot about what God did when He justified us.
