INTRO.- What party? It might have been that New Year’s eve party. It might have been a Christmas party. This is the time of the year for parties.
Did you have a party recently? If so, what did you do? Eat food? Play games? Watch TV? Watch some movies?
ILL.- Partying and eating go together. Here are some Holiday Eating Tips.
1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving something better.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. You can’t find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip?
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. And do it again.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other peoples’ food for free. Lots of it.
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Years. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa. Position yourself near them, and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. You can’t leave them behind. You’re not going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?
9. And one final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention. By the way, cookie-less January is just around the corner.
Brothers and sisters, some partying is fun and some can definitely be overdone!
The truth is that God does provide us with everything for our enjoyment. (I Timothy 6:17) And every good gift is from Him. (James 1:17)
We need to be thankful for all the good gifts and the times of enjoyment that God gives us. IT IS ALWAYS GREAT TO BE GRATEFUL! God always appreciates our appreciation!
ILL.- Let me tell you about a New Year’s eve Party that would be considered somewhat strange by most people’s standards. Each year, 32 year-old Brian Bierley of Bloomfield Township, Mich., toasts the New Year with sparkling grape juice and the same person - his grandmother Clara, now 92.
They play cards, watch a little football, eat good food and make confetti with paper punches. Then they watch Dick Clark’s annual New Year’s Eve show. Bierley says the tradition has probably "cost me a girlfriend or two."
"But I always told them that they can have 364 days a year of my time," he says. "This day is reserved for me and my grandma."
Very good, Brian Bierley! YOU DID VERY GOOD! Especially, in the light of what some people do on New Year’s Eve. Bierley was thinking about someone else instead of himself. THANK GOD! And how rare!
Now that most parties are over, Christmas parties, New Year’s eve parties and otherwise, what should we do?
There is always a time when the party is over and then comes the difficult stuff. It’s every day living. It’s going to work. It’s washing clothes. It’s cleaning house. It’s carrying out the garbage. It’s doing the every day stuff, be it good, bad or otherwise.
PROP.- Since the party’s over, let’s attend to business. Since the parties of 2004 are over here is a part of our business as Christians. Important business.
1- Get spiritual
2- Touch others
I. GET SPIRITUAL
The party’s over. We need to get spiritual.
ILL.- A lady named Jean McMahon from Dyer, IN, said, “Attending church in Kentucky, we watched an especially verbal and boisterous child being hurried out, slung under his irate father’s arm. No one in the congregation so much as raised an eyebrow -- until the child captured everyone’s attention by crying out in a charming Southern accent, ‘Ya’ll pray for me now!’”
Some situations in life call for urgent prayer. I believe that many situations in life drive us to our knees and to the Lord. This life should make us want to get more spiritual, because that’s our only hope of survival.
ILL.- We all know about the tremendous devastation as a result of that earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia. The latest death toll is over 125,000 in 11 or 12 different countries. That figure changes daily and could double because of impure water, starvation and disease. You know that all those people are both crying in anguish and crying out in prayer.
I know that people all around the world have questions about this horrible catastrophe. Why did this happen? Is there a God? If so, why did He allow this to happen? And sadly, some people even think God caused this to happen.
James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above…”
God is not the author of evil in this world! God gives us good gifts, not evil. We must remember that Satan is alive and well on planet earth. He causes much that is evil in our world. Also, this is not a perfect world! All kinds of bad things happen in this world: war, violence, disease, natural disasters, etc. This world is not heaven and our bodies are not eternal! Bad things will happen in this world until God decides to call a halt to it.
This horrible tragedy just shows how we need to be prepared to leave this world at any time. This is why we need to get spiritual. I know that none of us will want to vacation in Indonesia, but tragedies and catastrophes can happen anywhere, any time! WE NEED TO GET SPIRITUAL!
ILL.- Here is a story about one American couple that survived. Honeymooners Survive Tsunami on Thai Island, Dec 27, 8:11 AM PHUKET, Thailand (Reuters) -William Robins vowed Monday to change his life forever after the professional golfer from California and his new bride, Amanda, narrowly escaped death in the grip of a tsunami.
The newlyweds were honeymooning on Phi Phi island -- made famous by the film "The Beach" starring Leonardo DiCaprio -- when the giant tsunami wave slammed into it Sunday.
"I honestly thought this is the worst way to die. I thought I’m not meant to die like this," Robins, 26, told Reuters news as he lay in a hospital bed in Phuket, his collar bone broken and most of his right ear torn off.
Robins and Amanda, who lay next to him with a fractured pelvis, were among hundreds of tourists stranded on Phi Phi after the massive wave washed onto the island. The couple was strolling near the beach Sunday when they heard people screaming and saw tourists jumping off boats.
"We thought it was a terrorist bomb, so we jumped over a hotel fence and hid in a storage room," Robins said.
"We held hands and crouched in the corner. Then we heard a rumbling explosion that didn’t end." Moments later, their hiding place collapsed around them, Amanda said.
"We were pushed through two layers of concrete and forced to let go of each other’s hands," said the 27-year-old teacher.
They were pulled underwater and swept 150 yards out to sea.
"There were broken pieces of wood and bits of metal everywhere. It smelled of gasoline," Robins said.
Suddenly, they saw a hotel employee in a boat searching for lost family members. "We were screaming. We said if we don’t get on this boat, we’re dead," Robins said.
The man tossed them a line and pulled them into the boat. By nightfall, they were in hospital on Phuket.
"We both came within 0.1 seconds of not seeing each other. There are going to be changes in our life from now on," Robins said.
Brothers and sisters, not many of us will find ourselves in a life and death situation like William and Amanda Robins. But thank God they realize the need for some changes in their lives. And hopefully, the Lord will be included in those changes.
Life can be so difficult and can be cut off so quickly. We know this is true because of the sudden death of our own Chief of Police, Floyd Johnson (69 years old), who went to bed last Sunday night and had an apparent heart attack the next morning. This can happen to young people too.
I know of a 34 year-old young man who walked out his door to play golf one day and dropped dead. I know of another man only 37 years-old who went turkey hunting early one morning, came home mid-morning to take a nap and never woke up. I know of a bright 19 year-old young man who had a tremendous future ahead of him and he was killed in a car accident while riding with some friends. There was no drinking involved. On and on, the stories go.
We all need to get spiritual in this new year! We are somewhat spiritual but we need to get MORE spiritual! How is this going to happen? It should be obvious to us.
Heb. 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Go to church more often! Don’t miss! Make it a matter of commitment unless you are sick or have to work or are out of town. The more you put into something, the more you will get out of it. AND SO WITH THE CHURCH!
Ps. 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Do you want to prosper in your life? Do you want to be blessed by God? Then meditate on God’s Word. Read it. Think about it. Focus on it. Memorize it. Quote it to yourself and to God. God delights to hear you quote to Him what He has written.
ILL.- I love it when my son Shane says to me, “Dad, you always said…” And then quotes what I said, that is, if it’s something good. So how do you think God feels when we quote Him? It’s a way of praising Him even more. And when we bless Him, He will bless us. To grow spiritually you must get alone with God!
If you are retired, that’s easy to do. But if you are working every day and have kids at home, that’s not so easy. How do you do it? Again, it’s a matter of commitment. Either do it early in the morning or at night. Go into your bedroom, shut the door, read, study, think, and pray for 15 to 30 minutes. Let everyone in your home know that this is your time with the Lord and you are not to be interrupted unless it’s an emergency. Of course, with kids around everything seems to be an emergency! Or so they think. Children need to be taught about spiritual priorities as well.
We must do whatever it takes to get more spiritual in 2005! It’s for our own sake, the sake of our families, the church, and it’s for the Lord’s sake that we must do this!
II. TOUCH OTHERS
The party’s over. We need to reach out and touch others.
ILL.- The manager of a restaurant called his waitresses together and said to them, "Girls, I want you all to look your best today. Greet every customer with a smile. Put on a little extra makeup and make sure that your hair looks nice. "What’s up?" asked one of the girls. "Are there a bunch of big shots coming in today?" The manager replied, "NO, THE MEAT’S TOUGH TODAY."
I don’t care if the meats tough or tender or if your life is tough or tender, if you’re having a bad day or a good day, you should still reach out and touch people in some loving or kind way. GET THIS STRAIGHT IN YOUR MIND: God put you here to love people! God put you here, not just for yourself but for others. To love others, to demonstrate kindness in various ways. Jesus came not t be served, but to serve.
ILL.- On Nov. 24th of 2004 Billy Graham preached to 78,000 people in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. He was born during World War I and raised in the depression. He has spoken — live — to more people than any other person in the world — an estimated 200 million people in 185 nations. That was his 416th crusade. He’s still preaching at the age of 86. DO YOU KNOW WHY? Because he’s been serving others all his life. God blesses people who live for others, who touch others.
Gal. 5:13 "Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”
Gal. 6:2 "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Rom. 15:2 “Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”
Phil. 2:4 “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
The party’s over. It’s time to stop thinking about ourselves all the time. It’s time to be in the "reach out" mode. It’s time to think more of others. It’s time to love and serve and be kind.
Matthew 8:1-3 "When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ JESUS REACHED OUT HIS HAND AND TOUCHED THE MAN. ‘I am willing,’ he said, ‘be clean!’"
Isn’t that beautiful? Jesus reached out and touched the man. And he wasn’t just any man. He was a leprous man. Leprosy can be a dirty, rotten, stinking disease and probably was with this man. Still, Jesus touched the man. WOULD YOU HAVE TOUCHED THE MAN? Will you touch the hurting people in Southeast Asia?
In 2005 we need to reach out and touch people in various ways. Perhaps not always literally, but in different ways.
ILL.- Erma Bombeck told about a time when she was so tired of listening. She had listened to her son tell in minute detail about a movie he had just seen, punctuated by at least 1,000 "you knows” and "okays."
Then she had received several telephone calls filled with mindless chatter that never seemed to end. So it was with genuine relief that she was able to tell the last caller that she just had to rush off to the airport.
She got into a taxicab and as the taxicab driver took her to the airport, he told her all about his son who had won a scholarship to college and how he was making straight A’s. Erma had to sit there and listen to it all.
She said, "But once I got to the airport and realized that I was 30 minutes early, I breathed a sigh of relief and thought, `I have 30 whole minutes when I don’t have to listen to anybody. I can just sit here and read my book and not be bothered at all.’”
"But no sooner had I opened my book, when an elderly female voice said to me, `I bet it’s cold in Chicago.’ `I suppose,’ Erma Bombeck replied without looking up from her book.
"I haven’t been in Chicago for 3 years," the woman said. "My son lives there." "That’s nice," said Erma. Then the woman continued on, "My husband’s body is on this plane. We were married for 53 years. I don’t drive, you see, and the funeral director was so nice. He drove me to the airport today."
Erma recalls, "Her voice droned on. Here was a woman who didn’t want money or advice or counsel. All she wanted was someone to listen. And in desperation she had turned to a total stranger with her story."
Erma Bombeck said, "She continued to talk to me until they announced that we were boarding the plane. We walked onto the plane and I saw her sit down in another section. And as I hung up my coat I heard her say to the person next to her, `I bet it’s cold in Chicago.’"
That woman needed for someone to show her some kindness by listening to her. There are millions of people out in the world just like her. We need to reach out and touch people anyway we can.
Jesus touched people in many different ways: a literal touch, a listening ear, a compassionate look, a kind word, a prayer for them, a blessing on them, etc. WE SHOULD GO AND DO LIKEWISE!
CONCLUSION---------------------------------------
The party’s over. The new year has arrived. We need to get with God’s program. God is in the shaping and re-shaping business, that is, human lives.
ILL.- The apron-clad blacksmith puts his tongs into the fire, grasps the heated metal, and places it on the anvil. He sees what the tool is now and envisions what it can be: sharper, flatter, wider, longer. With this picture, he begins to pound.
On the anvil, the smoldering iron is remolded, reshaped. With time, a change occurs. What was dull becomes sharpened, what was crooked becomes straight, what was weak becomes strong, and what was useless become valuable.
God is in the reshaping business and we need to let Him start with us. The party’s over.
