Sermon Central
-
Dad, Tom And Jerry, And Touched By An Angel
Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 17, 2011 (message contributor)
DAD, TOM AND JERRY, AND TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL
When I was growing up, in order to instill a work ethic in me, my dad had several short maxims he repeated many times in my life. He'd tell me, "Son, there's no free lunch." -- In this life, that is so true. He'd also remind me, "Chuck, never forget: there's nothing free in life." -- In society, that also is true. And he said often, "Son, if you want something, you've got to work for it."
Because we must earn what we get in everyday life, it's easy to assume that must also be true in the spiritual realm. But as far as what the Bible teaches--nothing could be further from the truth!
Our popular culture has conditioned us to accept the lie that we can get to heaven by our works or the good life that we live or by doing good deeds.
How many of you have ever watched Tom and Jerry cartoons? Remember whenever Tom was tempted to whack Jerry on the head? A little angel with a halo would fly up to his ear and whisper, "If you do that you won't go to heaven." Another reinforcement by popular culture that heaven is earned by works. It never worked, though--Tom still always whacked Jerry anyway.
I remember the TV show "Touched by an Angel" about an angel going about doing good in people's lives, showing them they should change their lives. It was a good clean show, but you went away from every episode with the impression that the path to heaven was by cleaning up your life, by turning to goodness, by being a better person.
Those are all good things, and they make for a better society and better families. But again, the idea being good to get to heaven or be forgiven is found nowhere in the Bible; Just the opposite, in fact.
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
A Man Wanted To See Buckingham Palace. His Guide ... PRO
Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Aug 25, 2005
A man wanted to see Buckingham Palace. His guide took him to the gate. “Oh, I don’t mean here. I want inside.” “I’m sorry sir,” replied the guide, “I don’t have ...read more
-
A Woman Decided To Have Her Portrait Painted. She ... PRO
Contributed by Thomas Black on Jan 28, 2005
A woman decided to have her portrait painted. She told the artist, "Paint me with diamond rings, a diamond necklace, emerald bracelets, a ruby broach, and gold Rolex." "But you are not wearing any of those things," he replied. "I know," she said. "It’s in case I should die before my husband. ...read more
-
Road Rage
Contributed by Tom Burkholder on Sep 2, 2005
Illustration: “Road Rage” By Dan Betzer It happened just a couple of blocks from my study yesterday afternoon; it was about 4 o’clock with rush hour traffic. Iti our burgeoning county, it sometimes seems like every car on earth is in my lane. A young fellow kept weaving in and out of traffic, ...read more
-
Terry Bowland In His Book Make Disciples – ...
Contributed by Mark Engler on Oct 12, 2005
Terry Bowland in his book Make Disciples – Reaching The Postmodern World for Christ writes this: “Many today balk at the teaching of the church. ‘Do you mean to say,” they ask, ‘that all those outside the church have no hope whatsoever? What about all the sincere folks who never come to Christ? ...read more
-
A.fools Are Defined By Holman's Bible Dictionary ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 8, 2005
a.Fools are defined by Holman’s Bible Dictionary as: FOOL, FOOLISHNESS, AND FOLLY Translations of several uncomplimentary words which appear approximately 360 times throughout the Old and New Testaments to describe unwise and ungodly people. The words are especially predominant in the Wisdom ...read more
Related Sermons
-
Power Of Obedience
Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 25, 2017
Obedience is inherit in the relationship of man (as a created being) with God, the Creator. The New Covenant does not do away with the need for obedience to God. In fact, it supply the strength to live that way. Heaven will be a place of obedience to God.
-
The Power Of Forgiveness
Contributed by Bishop Prof. Julius Soyinka on Oct 30, 2021
God forgives us our sins, and He commands us to always forgive those that offend us in any way of the other. When we do, we have a lot of blessings to enjoy.
-
Hope In A Covenant Of Faith Series
Contributed by Dean Courtier on Feb 18, 2018
A Covenant of Faith and a man named Abraham. Romans 4:3, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
-
A Better Tomorrow
Contributed by Tesh Njokanma on May 24, 2015
When you sit, eat, fellowship and walk closely with the King of Glory, increase is guaranteed; the kind of testimony you can’t even ask or imagine will be given you and your tomorrow will certainly be better than your today..
-
The Grace Of God
Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Aug 14, 2017
God's grace as the avenue of salvation is sometimes seen as being in conflict with obedience of the believer as a requirement, without which salvation cannot be obtained. Which is it, or is it a combination? Can this dichotomy be satisfactorily resolved?
