Sermon Central
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Paradoxes Of Paul
Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 19, 2021 (message contributor)
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1. Paradoxical Partners
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
You cannot be a good Christian, and a truly loving Christian, if you do not feel hate for that which is the enemy of love.
A truck had run off the road and crashed into a tree forcing the engine back into the cab. The driver was trapped in the twisted wreckage. The doors were crushed and bent out of shape, and he had his feet caught between the clutch and the brake pedal. To make matters worse, a fire started in ...read more
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2. When Opposites Are The Same
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
It is hard for Christians to believe this paradoxical truth that opposites can be the same. That is why so few Christians have a Biblical attitude toward other Christians who hold opposite views.
A cartoon pictures the door of an office in the central government building of Moscow. The sign reads, Commissar for the Electrification of all the Russias. Underneath is a bit of paper on which is written, "Please knock-bell out of order." We can see the humor in the great ...read more
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3. The Foolishness Of The Cross
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
Paul's whole battle with the Corinthians was to get them to stop being wise before the world and fools before God, and to reverse that to being fools before the world, and wise before God.
The mayor and other dignitaries were looking into the vast pit dug for the new hospital to be built. The town half-wit came up and gazed into the pit, and asked the mayor what he was going to do with this big hole. The mayor decided to humor him and said, "We are going to round up all the ...read more
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4. The Power Of Weakness
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
The paradox that Paul proclaims here is that a handicap can be a help. A painful problem can be a powerful promoter of what is good. A weakness can be an asset and a strength
One of the most incredible biographies ever written is that of Robert Babcock. As a young boy he made a bomb out of some powder he found in his father's barn. He had a hard time getting it to go off, but when it finally did, it blew up in his face and he was instantly blinded, and remained so ...read more
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5. The Paradox Of Burdens
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
Paul's apparently conspicuous contradictions, and puzzling paradoxes are the result of his God-given ability to see the whole of life, and not just some of its parts in isolation.
In South Dakota a man by the name of August had a clothing store he was going to close up. His was not one of those perpetual year around closing sales. He was actually intending to go out of business by July. So he hung a sign in his window which read, The First Of July Is The Last Of August. ...read more
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6. The Paradox Of Blessing
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
To be eligible for forgiveness we must first sin by disobeying God and, therefore, this is a blessing we are to avoid. It is a blessing to offer this forgiveness to the fallen believer, but it is not a blessing to have fallen and needing such forgiveness.
Doing your best could be the worst thing you could do. That sounds like a contradiction, but it can be explained so that it makes sense as a paradox. A paradox is a statement, which at first sight seems absurd, and contrary to common sense, but which can be explained so as to be well grounded ...read more
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7. The Paradox Of Pride
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
Man is in a strange predicament, caught between his own dignity and depravity; his own worth, and his wickedness. The result is another great paradox of life. Man's self-love is both an evil and a good.
Some people, probably most people, and maybe all people have to learn how to be humble the hard way, and that is the humpty dumpty way of having a great fall. This was the case with Max Eastman. A film was being made on the life of Christ, and he happened to meet the well known woman photographer ...read more
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8. Good Out Of Evil
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
The key to being an optimist is having the patience to wait and see what God will do with your negative experience. We so often jump to the conclusion that bad stuff is just that, and that alone.
Luther Burbank, the world famous scientist, worked for years to try and develop a black-petaled lily. He had several thousand experimental lily plants in his laboratory. A sudden cloudburst let loose a flood of rain that they were all washed away. William Stidger tells of sympathizing with ...read more
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9. Fruitful Frustration
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
I am sure Paul did not like the experience of being thrown in prison, but he did not, in frustration, bang his head on the bars, or go into a vegetative mood of depression. He got out his pen and wrote letters that changed the course of history.
Joe Bayly had a chance to stay in the luxurious Hilton Hotel in Chicago. It was going to be a treat of a retreat, but then he was hit again by the x-factor. That is what he calls Murphy's Law-the law that says, if anything can go wrong it will. The hot water in his room would not work. He ...read more
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10. The Paradox Of Money
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
Paul says the love of money is the root of all evil, and Mark Twain said, the lack of money is the root of all evil. The one does not eliminate the other, for Twain's remark compliments Paul's.
Someone said, life is an everlasting struggle to keep money coming in, and teeth, hair, and vital organs from coming out. Few have known this better than General Ulysses S. Grant. He led the armies of the North to victory in the Civil War, and was twice elected president of the United States. He ...read more
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11. Paul's Paradoxical Personality
Contributed on Mar 19, 2021
Paul took seriously the obviously impossible goal of being all things to all men. The result is, he had the potential for pleasing everybody, but also for aggravating everybody ,and Paul was quite good at both.
A lion, a fox, an a hyena were moving through the jungle collecting their dinner. When they were done they had gotten a large pile of animals. The lion said to the hyena, "Why don't you go over and divide the pile into three equal parts." The hungry hyena said, "Sure." He ...read more