-
Marshall Hayden Wrote An Article A Few Years Ago ...
Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Oct 13, 2004 (message contributor)
Marshall Hayden wrote an article a few years ago entitled, "Would Every Non-Hurter Please Stand Up?" He pointed out that people come to church wearing their best clothes & their best smiles. Everybody looks happy, so we assume everything is okay. But he suggests that we need to look beyond the facade & realize that the pews are full of hurting people. He wrote, "Over here is a family with an income of $550 a week and an outgo of $1,000. Over there is a family with two children who, according to their dad, are "failures." "You’re stupid. You never do anything right," he is constantly telling them. The lady over there just found a tumor that tested positive. The Jones’s little girl has a hole in her heart. "Sam & Louise just had a nasty fight. Each is thinking of divorce. Last Monday Jim learned that he was being laid off. Sandy has tried her best to cover the bruises her drunken husband inflicted when he came home Friday night. That teen over there feels like he is on the rack, pulled in both directions. Parents & church pull one way, peers & glands pull the other. "Then there are those of us with lesser hurts, but they don’t seem so small to us: an unresponsive spouse, a boring job, a poor grade, a friend or parent who is unresponsive ...on & on the stories go. The lonely, the dying, the discouraged, the exhausted, they’re all here."
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
A. Dr. Karl Menninger, A World-Famous ... PRO
Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 15, 2002
A. Dr. Karl Menninger, a world-famous psychiatrist, was answering questions after giving a lecture on mental health when one person asked, “What would you advice someone to do if he felt a nervous breakdown coming on?” Most people expected the doctor to say, “Consult a psychiatrist.” Instead he ...read more
-
Psa 91 – Engineer Unit (1943-45)their Chaplain ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Dugal on Jul 20, 2003
Psa 91 – engineer unit (1943-45)Their chaplain encouraged them to carry a copy of this Psalm with them as they went into battle. During two years and over 20 intense battles, the unit expereinced no deaths. During Operation ...read more
-
In The West During The Torrential Spring Rains, ...
Contributed by Tim Zingale on Oct 10, 2005
"In the west during the torrential spring rains, the rivers frequently rise and flood the lowlands. There was a little girl who lived In the valley of one of these mighty rivers and one weekend "he was going with her parents to visit friends. As she was packing, she placed her dearest possession in ...read more
-
"Theology In The Pew" PRO
Contributed by Ronald Keller on Oct 15, 2002
“THEOLOGY IN THE PEW” “A large share of people who attend Protestant or Catholic churches have adopted beliefs that conflict with the teachings of the Bible and their church, according to the latest release from the Barna Research Group (www.barna.org). There are some fundamental Christian ...read more
-
2. Cal And Rose Samra Share This Story From Holy ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 8, 2005
2. Cal and Rose Samra share this story from Holy Hilarity: From Rev. John L. Wallace. Christmas: It wasn’t long ago that a psychologists started telling us that the ‘holidays’ are not a source of joy for everyone. Like the drunk I encountered on the subway on Christmas Eve, they’ve been told the ...read more
Related Sermons
-
Forgive Or Not To Forgive
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Feb 28, 2012
Forgiveness is the way the Lord releases us from guilt and sets us free to continue loving God and others.
-
Core Values - Compassion
Contributed by Paul Cull on Apr 18, 2007
Compassion is a core value in our church - why?
-
What To Do, After Easter
Contributed by Harold Laubach Jr on Apr 13, 2013
Sermon on Following up with our life, after Easter is over. Acts 2 gives us the road map on what to do and when to expect those signs and miracles from God.
-
A Real Man
Contributed by Rodney V Johnson on Jun 16, 2012
This messages focuses on why society's notion of a real man hinders fathers from developing strong relationships with their children.
-
Paradise Lost
Contributed by Kerry Haynes on Mar 5, 2017
Like our first parents, each of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. The story of the Fall tells us much about God's giving heart, Satan's destructive lies, and humanity's need for a Savior, of which God provided from the beginning.