Sermon and Worship Resources

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1. Letters to Bess

Illustration

Staff

... Library in Independence, MO made public 1,300 recently discovered letters that the late President wrote to his wife, Bess, over the course of a half-century. Mr. Truman had a lifelong rule of writing to his wife every day they were apart. He followed this rule whenever he was away on official business or whenever Bess left Washington to visit her beloved Independence. Scholars are examining the letters for any new light they may throw on political and diplomatic history. For our part, we were most impressed ...

2. What It Means To Be A Family

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... OF ALL, THAT LOVE REQUIRES WORK? A myth in our culture is that love comes naturally. It's easy. That's absurd! We have to continually work at relationships. A few years ago, the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, MO made public 1,300 recently discovered letters that the late President wrote to his wife, Bess, over the course of a halfcentury. Mr. Truman had a lifelong rule of writing to his wife every day they were apart. He followed this rule whenever he was away on official business or whenever ...

3. More Manure

Illustration

Staff

There is a story that when Harry Truman was speaking at a Grange convention in Kansas City, Mrs. Truman and a friend were in the audience. Truman in his speech said, "I grew up on a farm and one thing I know farming means manure, manure, manure, and more manure." At this, Mrs. Truman's friend whispered to her, "Bess, why on earth don't you get Harry to say fertilizer?" "Good Lord, Helen," replied Mrs. Truman, "You have no idea how many years it has taken me to get him to say manure!"

4. Fifty Percent Wrong

Humor Illustration

Staff

"Mr. President," a reporter asked Truman, "are you afraid of making mistakes?" "No," Truman said. "If I were, I could never make a decision. I have to make a decision every day, and I know that fifty percent of them will be wrong. But then that leaves me fifty percent right, and that's batting five hundred." "How do you handle the fifty percent wrong?" the reporter asked. Truman replied, "I laugh at them, and at myself, and so does Bess."

5. You Are Free to Fail

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... . I have to make a decision every day, and I know that fifty percent of them will be wrong. But then, that leaves me fifty percent right, and that's batting 500." "How do you handle the fifty percent wrong?" asked the reporter. Truman replied, "I laugh at them, and at myself, and so does Bess." I once saw a banner hanging in a church sanctuary that gave me much comfort. It said, "You Are Free Today To Fail." We have to accept the possibility that we may fail, and learn to accept the grace that makes it ...

6. Entertaining Tips for Christians

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... circle," people we know. And, one invitation to dinner often is reciprocated with another invitation to dinner. That reminds me of Oscar Levant, the pianist and author who, with his wife June, received an invitation to the White House to dine with the Trumans. As they left Harry and Bess at the White House door, Levant turned to his wife and said, with resignation, "Now I suppose we have to have them over for dinner." Jesus isn't saying that it's wrong to want to entertain our family and friends. That's ...

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