The psalmist, probably in similar trouble, feels like he’s in the depths of the pit, surrounded by darkness. The irony is that if you go to Bethlehem, as we did three years ago, you can celebrate Eucharist in St. Jerome’s cell, where he translated the Sacred Scriptures into Latin. To get there,
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Catholic
We’re going to study a book of the Bible that is often called the LETTER OF JOY. Paul uses the word JOY 20 times in the short little book of Philippians.
What makes that really impressive is that Paul wrote the letter from a prison cell. He was not only in prison; he was literally chained to a
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Jesus willingly put aside His divine glory and became the lowest of humans, a poor carpenter from a backwater town in Galilee. He suffered and because he obediently suffered the death of a slave, he was crowned with glory and honor. The idea was to bring many of God’s children to the same glory,
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Catholic
Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jan 22, 2009
A body is not crippled ’til its heart has ceased to praise. Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that surgery was required. In the hospital after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the doctor, "Are
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Wesleyan
Job sat on his dunghill and reflected that he was not alone in his pain. Everyone awakes to the same reality–hard work or hard study and every day’s the same thing, and nothing you do ever seems to make a difference. The line is Bill Murray’s from Groundhog Day, but, especially in a tough
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Catholic
Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 16, 2009
Some of you know Helen Schaaf. I shared with the church her current physical struggles a few weeks ago. She had debilitating back pain that was making walking excruciatingly painful; finally, her doctor diagnosed a treatment for her. She had an injection in her spine so that she could walk
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Baptist
St. John of the Cross was right: "it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that
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Catholic
Contributed by Scott Bradford on Nov 15, 2002
"Author Leo Buscaglia tells this story about his mother and their "misery dinner." It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner had absconded with their firm’s funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy
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United Methodist
Contributed by Andrew Chan on May 25, 2001
based on 99 ratings
| 1,750 views
Peter McMartin, Van. Sun columnist, writing in yesterday’s paper said: Where is our sun? Where is the true warmth of our existence? Here he is asking essentially where can joy be found. His answer is family: “I will eat Christmas dinner with my wife and children – who are the suns of my existence –
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Evangelical Free
Contributed by Scott Bradford on Nov 15, 2002
based on 14 ratings
| 2,522 views
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained his choice of a career by saying: "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers." So where is the
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United Methodist
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 19, 2002
based on 7 ratings
| 2,542 views
Helen Keller once said, “I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. It
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Contributed by Danny Pinksen on Jun 28, 2001
based on 137 ratings
| 3,349 views
A missionary had arrived in a small Chinese town. After she arrived, she soon noticed that a gang of bandits had just destroyed the little town and everything in it. Then a native Christian, showed the missionary the ruins of his home; a burnt roof and structure, and furniture, all turned to ashes.
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Holiness
Contributed by Mark Beaird on Nov 2, 2000
based on 111 ratings
| 3,940 views
Joni Eareckson Tada, who was paralyzed from the neck down while still a teenager, wrote, "You don’t have to be alone in your hurt! Comfort is yours. Joy is an option. And it’s all been made possible by your Savior. He went without comfort so you might have it. He postponed joy so you might share in
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Pentecostal
Contributed by Ernest Canell on Jan 2, 2001
based on 250 ratings
| 5,069 views
Dear Abby recorded a powerful story. A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was a custom in their affluent community for parents to give their graduating children a new car, and the boy and his dad had spent weeks visiting one dealership after another. The week
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*other
Contributed by William Jewett on Nov 2, 2000
based on 123 ratings
| 3,587 views
John Maxwell tells a story that illustrates the importance of a positive attitude. A newly married woman insisted on going to the California desert so she could be near her soldier husband. The only place the couple could find to live was a rundown shack near an Indian village. The daytime heat was
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*other
based on 98 ratings
| 3,027 views
Our national pride is not always what it seems to be:
On the sixth day God turned to the Archangel Gabriel and said, “Today I am going to create a land called Canada. It will be a land of outstanding natural beauty. It shall have tall majestic mountains full of mountain goats and eagles,
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Pentecostal
Sermon Central