... . And you are His beautiful beloved. [Optional: You may want to put psalm 45 (a love song) to music and have people sing along.] Psalm 45 My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses to the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. You are the most handsome of men; grace has anointed your lips, since God has blessed you forever. Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior; appear in your majesty and splendor. In your splendor ride forth in victory on behalf of truth and humility and ...
Jeremiah 23:1-8, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 80:1-19, Psalm 23:1-6, John 10:22-42, John 10:1-21
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... a deadly weapon. Shepherd’s practiced with it until it became in their hands a weapon of war. When young David boasts to Saul that he has killed lions and bears with his sling shot alone, he is describing the life of a skilled hillside shepherd. In biblical times, shepherds were athletes and warriors. These burly, strong, able men carried “deadly weapons” (stones and slings) and weren’t afraid to use them to protect their flock. But their biggest weaponry was in bearing the “Word” of God ...
... a new “resting place” in Noah and his family. In our world today, we look everywhere for answers except in our faith. We may not look to mediums as Saul did. But we look to our finances, and our culture, and to our own problem-solving skills, and to our resources. Yet we cannot find assurance. We continue to be plagued by worry, anxiety, feelings of unworthiness, and fear. When God does appear in our midst, instead of calming us, we are spooked. For faith is also grounded in expectation, the kind of ...
... If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” What an incredible calling! There is no way we could live the mission of Jesus with our own skills and charisma. Jesus gives us something so much more: the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. The Holy Spirit comforts us, strengthens us, teaches us the truths of God, and grows our character to be more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit in us assures us ...
... other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” It’s interesting what Jesus left out here. He didn’t command the disciples to be eloquent preachers or skilled leaders or courageous witnesses to an unbelieving society. He commanded them to love one another just as he had loved them. A commandment, coming from God in the flesh, is non-negotiable. It’s not what Jesus wished for us or recommended for us. It’s ...
... calls “the most ridiculed, judged, and hated person in the world.” Justin might be guilty of a little exaggeration concerning how much he is hated, but that is his perception. According to Bieber, he found himself at age “. . . 18 with no skills in the real world, with millions of dollars and access to whatever [he] wanted. “I started doing pretty heavy drugs at 19 and abused all my relationships,” Bieber wrote. “I became resentful, disrespectful to women, and angry. I became distant to everyone ...
... naught. The parents wondered what was happening to the plan for an idyllic childhood for their son. The story moves to the doctor’s office where they heard countless questions and strange sounding words from a gifted physician with poor “bedside manner” skills. An uttering of the same fear-producing words — a candidate for sudden infant death syndrome — and those words could not be taken back once uttered. They made the trip to the hospital. The mother, certain that the looks tossed her way were ...
... for the family of a Chinese emperor in the 18th century. Recently this simple vase was auctioned off for $18 million. (2) How can these amazing works of art go unnoticed for decades or centuries? It is because it takes someone with a special skill to see their worth. Everyone else looked at these paintings or ceramics and saw something pretty, something nice. A trained art appraiser looked at them and saw a masterpiece. Two different people looking at the exact same thing can see something vastly different ...
Let us not forget that human knowledge and skills alone cannot lead humanity to a happy and dignified life. Humanity has every reason to place the proclaimers of high moral standards and values above the discoverers of objective truth. What humanity owes to personalities like Buddha, Moses, and Jesus ranks for me higher than all the achievements of the ...
What can be more foolish than to think that all this rare fabric of heaven and earth could come by chance, when all the skill of art is not able to make an oyster!
I have known men who could see through the motivations of others with the skill of a clairvoyant; only to prove blind to their own mistakes. I have been one of those men.
Communication is a skill that you can learn. It's like riding a bicycle or typing. If you're willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of evry part of your life.
Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.
More enduringly than any other sport, wrestling teaches self-control and pride. Some have wrestled without great skill - none have wrestled without pride.