Jars Of Clay

Jars of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:6-4:18

Introduction-

Good morning …Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers. If Staff has not told you yet, we have a gift for all the men here and you can get it on your way out of the sanctuary.

Today, usually the conversation centers around Fathers, the difficulty of raising kids, and the role that we play in our children. Men, you are not totally getting a get out of jail free card, but we will look at the value that God puts on us.

Illustration

Here is a thought I found to be interesting as we talk this morning.

“The greatest gift a Father can give his children is to love their mother” Author unknown.

In a story of the worse Mothers day gifts ever given, the Houston Chronicle wrote an article about Jerry Maltz (imagine, they mention him by name) giving his wife an iron.

The article ends with…He got the message when she gave him an ironing board for Father’s Day.

I think back and I made some really dumb decisions when I was young. I hope and pray I do not make quite as many today as I did then. We won’t ask Becky that question. When people are not on the same page, it gets complicated and messy.

Each generation seems to have do’s and don’ts.

Each generation takes what they feel the previous generation did wrong and adapts to what they feel is a better solution to the problem.

I think that is a great idea and it is needed if we are to ever move ahead to bettering ourselves and our families.

The problem with the problem is that everyone has an interpretation of what is wrong and what is right.

We are having conversations today that we would have never had 10-15 years ago.

Here is where I am going this morning-

We can have our opinions on any subject.

We can move on either side of the fence on any issue.

The final line is God determines what is right and what is wrong and no matter what we believe can take away His final authority on any issue. Amen.

We may not agree on some of the issues but we can agree that we as a people are broken. Amen.

We need God to help us and intervene in our mess.

Text- 2 Corinthians 4:6-4:18 Read from Bible

So here is what we can see in God’s Word

God loves crackpots

God turns our weaknesses into strength

God uses Cracked pots

God loves Crack Pots

In 1984 when I moved to Pa. and began trying to establish life from Texas to Pa., I noticed a few things.

I noticed people did not talk like me- not many knew what … I’m fixing to do something meant.

I used the word “bubbler” and they didn’t know I wanted a water fountain. Everyone in Milwaukee knows what a bubbler is.

I noticed something else that I have never noticed before anywhere that I had lived. In Pa. they have rooms in their house that nobody goes in except to clean. It is the showroom dining room or showroom living room.

You walk by and comment how nice the room is with pretty furniture and vases and pictures on the wall but you never use the room.

If you have one of those rooms, please, whatever you want is okay. I just don’t have one in my home.

The only way that you never get cracked pots is to never use them, to set them on the shelf and just look at them. (Repeat)

God loves cracked pots because;

We don’t live in a room that never damages us

We do not live in a world that never put their hands on us

We live in a world that is more like a scratch and dent sale than a showcase room of collectibles.

Here is a liberating thought for you –

God didn’t create you to be decoration.

Because you are cracked, does not mean you have no value.

(6-7) that we read

God tells us that He gets glory when His light shines out of darkness.

Out of His abundant light, He allows His light to shine in His people. So that they not only see God’s light when looking at God but through God’s people.

God’s power working through us in earthen vessels brings Him Joy.

God does not have to work through us. He does not need us, we need Him. But He chooses to work His power through us. You want to put a smile of God’s face, allow Him to work through you. It will bring Him Joy.

Clay pot means ‘earthen vessel”- the ordinary clay that makes ordinary pots allows God to do some amazing things.