... ," this law commands, making it both the simplest and the most demanding of all God's laws. This is a culture which warns us not to tell others what to think, but wants to tell us how to feel. And what we must feel above all else is self-esteem. Therapist Mary Pipher tells of some of her clients who came in for massage therapy: "I remember Bonnie, who had been in therapy with many other therapists. When we met she said proudly, 'I learned from my last therapist that I shouldn't help people. I don't anymore ...
... heart, soul, mind, and strength is no easy task. We know that from the poor way we often treat others. When we have low self-esteem, when we do not think highly of ourselves, when we have had a bad day, when we are down in the dumps, then it ... worries, the sweaty hands, the frightening dreams in the middle of the night, the cracks that seem more like fissures in your self-esteem, are always lurking around the next corner. Even though you can never shed them, God still loves you. God forgives you in spite of ...
... denying who you are. This is our third sermon in the series Christians under Construction and in Recovery. We're talking about growing in self esteem. It's one of the biggest issues in life for all of us. I doubt if any person here has not had to deal with ... we were nothing. III. Shift gears now... to the positive and that on which we must concentrate if we're going to build our self-esteem, or actualize the fact that we are more than we think we are. If you haven't before, deep inside you -- way down in the ...
... stood apart from those whom he knew were more righteous than he. He did not presume to look in the direction of God's dwelling place, but stood with downcast eyes. He beat upon his chest as a sign of remorse. He was one of those people whose self-esteem was out of hand in a far different direction than that of the Pharisee. This man's sense of self-worth had hit rock bottom. He had good reason to feel miserable about himself, for he was a tax collector with all the disreputable baggage that weighed down the ...
... do anything so good that would make God love you more. Because of Jesus Christ God is willing to accept you for who you are, and change you from a sinner to a saint, and take you from rags to riches. Now friend, if that will not help your self-esteem nothing else will. When you realize who you are, you're a saint; when you visualize what you have, every spiritual blessing in the Lord Jesus; when you emphasize whose you are, you've been accepted by Him and you are part of His family; you ought to be thrilled ...
... Knowles that the girl's parents are probably concerned about where she is. So he tells her to go on home, saying, "You tell your mommy that you were talking to Tully Knowles." She said, "You tell your mommy that you were talking to Sarah Albright." Now that's self-esteem. That is exactly the way it looks. It pays no attention to the world. It pays no attention to the structures that the world sets up to put us in our place. But after a while, the world sorts us out, tells us who we are, tells us what our ...
... and dependence by their permissiveness. In other words, boundaries and rules help our kids know they are loved. They may think of them as barbed wire prisons but in the long run they are a good thing. 3. The homes of the high self-esteem boys were characterized by democracy and openness. They had freedom within the set boundaries for individual growth and expression without the fear of ridicule. There was an atmosphere marked by acceptance and emotional safety. In other words, they didn't play the put one ...
... to realize that our negative self-image is often justified. Our lives are full of dark shadows. 1. Moses said "Excuse me!" from going to Pharaoh Looking at the full story before us in chapters three and four of Exodus, we see the great Moses suffering from low self-esteem. "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" he protests. "What name or authority can I call upon that can possibly impress him? What can I do to impress him? I am not eloquent ... I am slow of speech and tongue." Moses doesn't mention it here ...
... t this what Isaiah of Babylon meant when he wrote, "You will be called by a new name, a name given by the Lord himself"? (Isaiah 62:2, TEV). What a lift that must have been for Simon because "a good name is more to be desired than great riches; esteem is better than silver or gold!" Christ did the same thing over and over again for people whom he met. Recall, for example, the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and dragged before Christ by scribes and Pharisees who wanted to use this abused woman as ...
... to many psychologists, the key to getting people to love others is to first get them to love themselves. John Q. Baucom, in his book Baby Steps to Happiness, tells about a teacher training workshop he once conducted. He spoke to the teachers about the power of self-esteem. One of the teachers came up with an ingenious way of implementing it. At the beginning of the school year she would kneel and whisper in her first graders' ears, "You've got to be special to be in my class. I only get the really smart ...
... a healthy relationship with God built on trust in Him? Do you have a healthy relationship with others built on love and respect? III. THIRD AND FINALLY, DO YOU HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF? More and more we are learning how essential it is to have a wholesome self-esteem, a healthy love and respect for ourselves. If we feel good about ourselves, we are much more likely to become happy, productive persons who make this world a bright and better place. On the other hand, those with poor self ...
... my Lord?” Yes. It turns out that I was. For by that death, I was saved, healed, forgiven, and reconciled. It was 2,000 years ago, but it is part of my personal history. An Alternative Application Isaiah 52:13—53:12; John 18:1—19:42. “We Esteemed Him Not.” For so many of us, the King James Version was the translation of scripture we first heard and where we learned some of the most familiar passages. In the case of Isaiah’s suffering servant passage, I remain tied and drawn to the poetic language ...
... my Lord?” Yes. It turns out that I was. For by that death, I was saved, healed, forgiven, and reconciled. It was 2,000 years ago, but it is part of my personal history. An Alternative Application Isaiah 52:13—53:12; John 18:1—19:42. “We Esteemed Him Not.” For so many of us, the King James Version was the translation of scripture we first heard and where we learned some of the most familiar passages. In the case of Isaiah’s suffering servant passage, I remain tied and drawn to the poetic language ...
... , “I’m not everything I should be but, by the grace of God, I am a better person today than I was yesterday.” That battle to be a better person may manifest itself in many ways. Let me give you a concrete example of the difference between self-esteem and self-respect. A pastor tells about two young couples who attended his church for a while. The two men in the foursome had been long-time best friends; the two women enjoyed being together as well. One of the men, Mark, was quite a dynamic person. He ...
... stroke of the solid black pen gave me a sense of security and comfort, and seemed to bring a layer of order to the mayhem beneath." (5) Erik knew that his mother's love would not be diminished if he failed. But he also knew that part of self esteem is a sense of competence that comes only from hard work and discipline. A sense of self-worth is critical to living the abundant life. I am, of course, no psychologist. But this is so important. Many persons who try to follow Christ have never opened their lives ...
... to be Christian, that I believe we need a clear understanding of what true humility is--and what it is not. HUMILITY IS NOT LOW SELF-ESTEEM. If you have a poor self image, if you think you can’t lift your voice because you are not as good as other people, if ... other people walk all over--this is not what it means to be a humble Christian. This is a person with low self-esteem. This is a person perhaps with life-long feelings of worthlessness, unacceptability, failure. This is a sad human being. Do not call ...
... and responsibility. And as could have been predicted, the family ties remained the strongest not in the wishy-washy homes but in the homes where discipline and self-control had been a way of life. The homes of the high esteem group were also characterized by democracy and openness. Once the boundaries for behavior were established, there was freedom for individual personalities to go undeveloped. The boys could express themselves without fear of ridicule, and the overall atmosphere was marked by ...
... us. We have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to give us a sense of identity. We know who we are. In the second place, when God dwells within us, we know how we are to live. Our sense of identity our sense of self-esteem as it is sometimes called cannot be divorced from our behavior. In Sy Montgomery's book, Journey of the Pink Dolphins, the character Necca speaks these unforgettable words, "When people forget who they are, they forget how to act." Steve Farrar tells about a young man named Adam ...
... are much less likely to engage in self-destructive behavior. They don't feel the need to turn to chemical substances like drugs or alcohol for stimulation, and they don't have to take stupid risks to impress people. People with high self-esteem tend to get better paying jobs, and are more successful once they get a job. Why? Studies show it is because they expect to be successful. Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, surveyed representatives of a major life insurance ...
... her name on the top. I thought what an enormous need for a child to be loved -- to buy enough stars so that the need for self-esteem is quenched."4 The text for this morning is a refreshing breeze. It's a text from Mark's gospel, chapter one, verses ten and eleven. ... One's immediate response is to fight it. We can fight it or believe it and/or practice it. Coming out of our low self-esteem we naturally fight it. I have a friend who, if you give her a warm fuzzie, a gold star, a true compliment, will fight it ...
... -- but also his momentous, liberating discovery that, ''There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...For God has done what the law...could not do..." No condemnation. No need for the drivel of positive thinking, rather silly acts of self-esteem building and self image polishing. We're free. No condemnation, for God has done for us what we can't do for ourselves -- namely, to love ourselves as we are -- sin and all. Haven't you had the experience, in a good marriage, a deep ...
... as man’s greatest need is akin to an observer at a funeral parlor remarking, "How wonderfully lifelike" as he views the corpse. We need to face the issue squarely: Dead people need life, not makeup. Fallen people need redemption, not self-esteem. Jesus did not come to earth to make dead people feel better." Christ came into the world to give dead people life. He came to give people an entirely new nature. He came to show us the beautiful persons we can become. He came to offer us a magnificent gift-- ...
... in light of human suffering and moral decay. In the presence of Christ, every corner of our life is lighted and our sins are revealed. II. Jesus Separates Sin from Sinner. Consider a second fact. Jesus separates sin from sinner, and in his forgiveness, he confirms self esteem and self worth. Rehearse another gospel story. You’ll find it in Luke 7:35-50. Jesus had been invited into the house of Simon for a dinner party, not Simon Peter, but a rich man Simon, Simon the leper. What started out to be a very ...
... unbelief. We can unbind these persons who are bound in the grave clothes of feelings of unworthiness. I sat with a couple recently as they poured their hearts out in loving anguish over a fourteen-year-old daughter whose suffering for lack of self-esteem expresses itself in anger and rebellion against the entire family. The mother was very sensitive in thinking that she might have brought some of that upon the child by laying upon that child all the calls to perfection. I counseled and prayed with a father ...
... the Lord. The logic usually runs like this: "I don't like me. And God is my creator. Therefore, I will have nothing more to do with God. He messed me up the first time. I won't give him a chance to foul me up again!"\n Low self-esteem can also adversely affect your family life. A teenager who has difficulty with self-love might begin to overdress and run up some high clothing bills. Or she might begin to "underdress." Her dad begins to notice and complains, "You're not going to school dressed like that, are ...