... eye, hand, or foot, we cast aside "the offending member" — with regret ...
2. Exclusive: The Ugliest Word
Mark 9:38-41, Acts 10:23b-48
Illustration
Bishop Kenneth Carder
A journalist once asked Carl Sandburg, "What is the ugliest word in the English language?" After a few minutes Sandburg replied, "Exclusive." The ugliness of exclusive depends upon whether we are among the included or the excluded. We pride ourselves on being members of exclusive clubs, living in exclusive neighborhoods, dining at exclusive restaurants, vacationing at exclusive resorts, belonging to exclusive churches. Being an insider carries with it a sense of pride and security. Most of us, however, ...
3. The Wisdom That Comes in Crisis
Illustration
Charles Swindoll
There's a true story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would have to leave without her. She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to ...
4. JEWELER
Exodus 28:11
Illustration
Stephen Stewart
Exodus 28:11 - "As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; you shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree." In Palestine, the use of jewelry seems to have been common as long as 10,000 years ago. These ancient peoples wore ornaments of shell, bone, and fish vertebrae. In all times, both men and women wore jewelry, although in later times, aside from the very wealthy and the royalty, the men became more subdued in their ornamentation. Men ...