Sermon Central
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Successful Christian Living
Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 5, 2021 (message contributor)
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1. Saved For Success
Contributed on Apr 5, 2021
Christians often need to be saved from their subjective fears that put their emotional system into a turmoil.There was a spirit of pessimism reigning over the lives of the Apostles in this setting. They were safe, but they felt like they were sunk.
Most of us probably have some money in a saving account where it is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation, or FDIC for short. This brilliant idea which saved the banks after the depression, and saves all savers a lot of anxiety is a gift God gave to the American people through a ...read more
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2. The Successful Failure
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
Peter was the greatest failure in his abusive power. And yet we see that he not only survives, but he does so quite successfully. He is able to stay on top as the leader of the 12. He does everything wrong, and still comes out a winner.
Apollo 13 was one of the biggest flops in the history of our space program, and yet it was also one of the most celebrated. Can a catastrophic failure also be a colossal success? Just ask the three astronauts of that ill fated flight. It was 1970, and they were on their way to the moon when an ...read more
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3. How To Be A Successful Nobody
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
Jesus did not expect the lad to feed the five thousand. All He needed was for the boy to give what he had. It is up to us to do our best, and up to Christ to do the rest.
Years ago a very famous organist was giving a recital on a new organ. The wind was pumped by a small boy behind a screen. The boy pumped his heart out at this recital, and he was glad for the intermission half way through the program. Out in the vestry of the church the boy looked up at the great ...read more
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4. Growth Is Success
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
Paul is not scolding the Corinthian Christians because they are immature babes in Christ. That would be as foolish as scolding a baby for not being a man. It is not only legitimate, it is absolutely essential that churches have immature babes.
Conrad Hilton, president of the world's leading hotel organization, has all his life prayed for God's guidance to help him grow. Mr. Hilton is a professing Christian who, like many other successful Christians in the world of business, feels that we should never be content with what is ...read more
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5. The Battle For Success
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
Paul is convinced that failures can become successes. He knew this for he was one of the most successful failures in history. One of the great themes of literature and the Bible is this theme of success out of failure.
In the 35 years following the Civil War 3 success writers towered high above all others, and they became successful by writing about success. All 3 were ordained men. One of them was Russell Conwell who was the pastor of the Baptist Temple of Philadelphia. He delivered his famous lecture over ...read more
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6. The Motivation To Succeed
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
Paul is so negative here that we know their must be another paradox involved, for he is a positive thinker. We can only conclude that somehow a negative approach is sometimes the most positive method of influence.
Successful people almost always attribute their success, in large measure, to the influence and inspiration of some other person. Henry Ford tells of how he was in a period of uncertainty about building his gas engine. He was discouraged about it, and was letting the idea go dead in him. It was ...read more
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7. Fruit Is Success
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
Fruit is what we give back to God for the gift of salvation. Salvation is what we accept from God, but fruit is what we achieve for God. Salvation is a gift from God, but fruit is a goal we reach for God.
Two young brothers, Nathaniel and John Chapman, entered the Black Bear Tavern, the largest building in Pittsburgh back in 1788. They were looking for a place to sleep in this little village on the Western Frontier. All of the rooms were filled, so they had to sleep on the floor in the corner of ...read more
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8. Prerequisites For Purposeful Living
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
The Christian, of course, is committed to a life of growing quality. Jesus came that we might have life abundant, and both Old and New Testaments make it clear that the believer is to advance in wisdom and in favor with God and man.
A woman in a contemporary play is complaining about her hollow living, and she says to another, "Don't you get the feeling that this is a broken world, something like a watch? The parts are all there, and it looks all right, but the main spring is broken and it no longer has meaning. ...read more
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9. Taking Laughter Seriously
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
Drain your life of humor, and it is like draining your car of oil. You will not get far before you lose power and lock up the engine. Laughter keeps the engine of life running smooth. It allows us to keep making progress down the road to God's goals.
Tom Mullen begins his book, Laughing Out Loud and Other Religious Experiences with this story. An engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian were hunting in the wilds of Northern Canada. They came across a isolated cabin, and decided to check it out. When no one answered their knocks, they tried ...read more
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10. Fun Is Fundamental
Contributed on Apr 6, 2021
If Christianity is not fun it is not pleasing to God nor man. We too often think fun and play is a secular side of life. It is good for a break until we get back to the important and serious stuff of life. This concept is too bad for it leads Christians to not take fun seriously.
Geography students after traveling around the world by books were asked to list what they considered the seven wonders of the world. It was a hard decision but such things as Egypts Great Pyramids, The Taj Mahal, The Grand Canyon, and The Great Wall of China, were getting a lot of votes. The ...read more