The Appeal Of An Old Man Series

INTRO.- ILL.- Observations on Growing Older

- Your kids are becoming you...and you don’t like them ...but your grandchildren are perfect!

- Going out is good. Coming home is better!

- When people say you look "Great"... they add "for your age!"

- You forget names ... but it’s OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!

- The 5 pounds you wanted to lose is now 15 and you have a better chance of losing your keys than the 15 pounds.

- You realize you’re never going to be really good at anything ... especially golf.

- Your husband sleeps better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than he does in bed. It’s called his "pre-sleep".

- Remember when your mother said "Wear clean underwear in case you GET in an accident"? Now you bring clean underwear in case you HAVE an accident!

- You used to say, "I hope my kids GET married ... Now, "I hope they STAY married!"

- You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch.

- When GOOGLE, ipod, email, modem ... were unheard of, and a mouse was something that made you climb on a table.

- Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it’s not safe to wear it anywhere.

- You read 100 pages into a book before you realize you’ve read it.

- Now that your husband has retired ... you’d give anything if he’d find a job!

- You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet .... 2 of which you will never wear.

Aging is inevitable, but it doesn’t make us useless. Even though our health declines somewhat, we need to keep on doing,working and serving as best we can. Working and serving keeps us physically healthy and spiritually fit.

ILL.- By 6 a.m., Morris Wilkinson, a 91-year-old letter carrier, irons his postal worker uniform -- a crisp, collared shirt and gray slacks -- a habit he formed while in the Marines during World War II. He enjoys a hearty breakfast of eggs or pancakes with his wife. He shines his black shoes. And he’s off to work.

Wilkinson, a tidy man with snow white hair and silver-framed glasses, arrives at a Birmingham, Alabama, post office promptly by 7 a.m. In his six decades working for the U.S. Postal Service, he’s accumulated enough sick days to take a vacation for more than a year. "I’d rather work than be idle," he says one morning before heading off on his route.

Use it or lose it. This applies physically and spiritually.

The appeal of an old man. What a sermon title! When you get to a certain age you hope that will people will listen to you or pay attention to you.

I hope that now I’m much older that my children would be quicker to listen to their old dad than when he was younger, that is, if they think he is wiser and more spiritual. Hopefully, I am. And the same thing applies to the church.

Why is it that churches are so quick to put preachers out to pasture when they get past 50 or 60? I work harder now that I ever have in my life. None of this “lame duck" business for me! I think I prepare better sermons than I ever have. And I’ve got more left in me! Let’s hear it for seniors! Let’s hear it for the appeal of an old man!

PROP.- What was Paul’s appeal as an old man to Philemon?

1- His appeal was love

2- His appeal was acceptance

3- His appeal was obedience

I. HIS APPEAL WAS LOVE

8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9yet I appeal to you on the basis of love.

ILL.- William Webb, a butcher of West Worthing, Canada, put up this notice in his window: “This business has been compelled to close owing to bad debts. A list of the names and amounts owing will shortly be shown.”

Money soon began to roll in; the shop opened again, and business was flourishing. AND THAT’S WHAT YOU CALL MOTIVATION! And there are different types of motivation.

ILL.- I am reminded of my first boss at the Foodtown grocery store in Webb City, MO, in 1960. His name was Paul Nichols. He was probably in his early 30‘s but was a super boss. Although I discovered one day that you didn’t want to make him angry. One day an elementary age boy was caught stealing something in our store. I was stocking groceries in some grocery aisle and suddenly, Paul came to me and said, “Follow me.” I had no idea what was going on but I soon found it.