Sermon - A Lesson In Life "teach Us To Number Our Days"

Subject: "Teach Us To Number Our Days"

Text: Psalms 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Introduction: The Scriptures offer God’s perspectives on time. God has perfect timing for every event of life. Human life can be measured in changing cycles and seasons, and then the Bible tells us the importance of using our time wisely. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing ,a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” These seasons are given by God under the idea that God has made everything beautiful in its season. Ephesians 5:15-16, advises wise time management by saying "we should redeem the time" in a world where days are evil. One writer said, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us". Steve Jobs once said, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life" and William Penn said, "Time is what we want most but what we use worst".

Moses dealt with Israel for more than 60 years. 39 years had been spent on their wilderness journey. One can only imagine what Moses had witnessed during these years. Every year must have been marked by moment of remembrance. People celebrate anniversaries and birthdays to honor and appreciate an individual's life and existence, strengthen social bonds through shared experiences like gifts and parties, provide a positive reinforcement that boosts self-esteem, and offer a structured time for reflection on life's journey and accomplishments. Today is a moment of reflection in the life of Bishop George N. Mathews and the life of the Church. These years are not just e passing of time, they are reflections on life's journey and accomplishments.

Just think about all that has taken place in the last 50 years. During the last 50 years, the golden age of communication, radio, telephones, television, Color TV, the polio vaccine, Disneyland opened in California, and Elvis Presley made it to "The Ed Sullivan Show. The space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. You talk about exciting times, the 50s saw segregation ruled illegal in the U.S. and the beginning of the civil rights movement. To many, the 60s can be summed up as the Vietnam War, hippies, drugs, protests, and rock 'n roll. A common joke goes, "If you remember the '60s, you weren't there." Other revolutionary movements included the Stonewall Riots and the beginnings of gay rights, the Women's Lib movement, and the civil rights movement. Who could forget Motown, and its dominance in the music industry, the Jackson Five, The Beatles and the reinvention of Michael Jackson. During that time, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Alongside these revolutionary cultural changes, world politics was equally dramatic. The U.S. entered the Vietnam War, the Berlin Wall was built, the Soviets launched the first man into space, and President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy were all assassinated. Tragic events dominated the era, including the deadliest earthquake of the century, the Jonestown massacre, the Munich Olympics massacre, the taking of American hostages in Iran, and the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island.

Culturally, then came disco, the TV MASH hit series, and the "Star Wars" movie, Roe v. Wade case in which the Supreme Court made abortion legal, and the Watergate scandal reached its climax when President Richard Nixon resigned. Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev brought an end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. There were also disasters like the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the oil spill of the Exxon Valdez, the Ethiopian famine, a huge poison gas leak in Bhopal, and the scourge of AIDS. Culturally, the 1980s saw the Rubik's Cube, the Pac-Man, video games, and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. CNN, the first 24-hour cable news network debuted exposing viewers to worldwide news Instantly. We saw the Cold War ended, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, the internet changed life as everyone knew it—in many ways, the 1990s seemed a decade of both hope and relief. But the decade also saw its fair share of tragedy, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine High School massacre, and the genocide in Rwanda. Many of us lived through it all. I didn’t mention a worldwide virus, two floods, members dying, some leaving and others coming. You wonder if they ever really knew the reason for living?