Sermon Central
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So Often, It Seems Like People And Even Churches ...
Contributed by Mark Eberly on Apr 21, 2009 (message contributor)
So often, it seems like people and even churches want grace without responsibility. With forgiveness comes a responsibility to be forgiving. Our response comes through the ability to confess our love to Jesus and confess our shortcomings, our flaws, and our sins. It is the response to grace that seeks to be accountable to others as we attempt to live out this love that God puts in our hearts. The cancellation of debts (of our debts) is pure grace that shows itself by loving others and being a lover of truth. It means responding to God’s grace by learning to love all the ways of God that brings fullness of God’s truth and God’s life into our lives.
This response loves even to the point of admitting when were wrong and seeking to set things right again through restitution and making amends. I have been convinced of this: the closer that I draw to my Lord, the more I see my own inadequacies, flaws, and sins. Sometimes I see things that I never saw before or I see them in such a way that I didn’t realize was very evident but now have become in God’s light such a glaring defect. Honestly, fifteen years ago, I wouldn’t have identified too much with Simon but now as I have grown so much closer to my Lord than I was back then, I suddenly see Simon in myself much more than I really am comfortable seeing. But you know the result? I love Jesus all that much more and I am determined that I will honor the challenge that Jesus gives me through this parable to love others and seek to see people through the eyes of Jesus. I realize how much more God has forgiven me than I have ever realized before and that fills my heart with so much gratitude that words can’t even express.
How about it? Have you been forgiven much? Are you loving much?
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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
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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
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An Umpire Named Babe Pinelli ... PRO
Contributed by David Hill on Jul 8, 2004
Illustration: An umpire named Babe Pinelli once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. When the crowd booed with sharp disapproval at the call, the legendary Ruth turned to the umpire with disdain and said, "There’s 40,000 people here who know that the last pitch was ball, tomato head." Suspecting ...read more
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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
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Every Time You Make A Choice PRO
Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Feb 10, 2005
C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity: Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are ...read more
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