Welcome to the starting line! Strange words perhaps with which to welcome you to church this morning. But the words are really quite appropriate for the occasion. You've seen races run: the runners line up, and someone fires a gun or says, "On your mark, get set, go!" In Hebrews 12:1-2, we read: "Let us lay aside all the weights, and the sins which beset us, and run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus..." Here this morning we start out on a new week of living. Here in worship ...
2. Giving Up Our Monkeys
Hebrews 12:1-13
Illustration
Several years ago the news media reported on a man who was, for a prolonged period of time, marooned alone on a small Pacific island. A passing ship was prepared to rescue him, but he refused to go. It seems that while there he had acquired a pet monkey which he was unwilling to leave behind, and the ship's regulations would not permit it on board. Here in church today we meet Christ, our rescuer, our deliverer. He says, "Come, go with me." He comes to set us free - and he will, if we are willing to give ...
3. Undivided Attention
Illustration
Robert W. Herron
Good listening is like tuning in a radio station. For good results, you can listen to only one station at a time. Trying to listen to your spouse while looking over an office report is like trying to receive two radio stations at the same time. We end up with distortion and frustration. Listening requires a choice of where we place our attention. To tune into my partner, we must first choose to put away all that will divide our attention. That might mean laying down the newspaper, moving away from the ...