Mothers - To Be Honored
Did you know that the idea for Mother's Day was born in a small Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia?
It was 1876 and the nation still mourned the Civil War dead. While teaching a Memorial Day lesson, Mrs. Anna Reeves Jarvis thought of mothers who had lost their sons. She prayed that one day there could be a "Memorial Day" for mothers. The prayer made a deep impression on one of Mrs. Jarvis's eleven children. Young Anna had seen her mother's efforts to hold the war-split community and church together. As she grew into adulthood, the younger woman kept Mrs. Jarvis's dream in her heart. On the day of her mother's death, Anna was determined to establish a Mother's Day in her honor.
On May 12, 1907, a local observance was held which later spread to Philadelphia. By 1990, Mother's Day was celebrated in forty-five states, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Elated, Miss Jarvis told a friend, "Where it will end must be left for the future to tell. That it will circle the globe now seems certain."
On May 8, 1914, President Wilson designated the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day "for displaying the American flag and for the pubic expression of love and reverence for the mothers of the country."
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Scent of the Rose
Scent of The Rose
"Blow upon my garden that the spices may flow out" (S. of Sol. 4:16).
Some of the spices mentioned in this chapter are quite suggestive. The aloe was a bitter spice, and it tells of the sweetness of bitter things, the bitter-sweet, which has its own fine application that only those can understand who have felt it. The myrrh was used to embalm the dead, and it tells of death to something. It is the sweetness which comes to the heart after it has died to its self-will and pride and sin.
Oh, the inexpressible charm that hovers about some Christians simply because they bear upon the chastened countenance and mellow spirit the impress of the cross, the holy evidence of having died to something that was once proud and strong, but is now forever at the feet of Jesus. It is the heavenly charm of a broken spirit and a contrite heart, the music that springs from the minor key, the sweetness that comes from the touch of the frost upon the ripened fruit.
And then the frankincense was a fragrance that came from the touch of the fire. It was the burning powder that rose in clouds of sweetness from the bosom of the flames. It tells of the heart whose sweetness has been called forth, perhaps by the flames of affliction, until the holy place of the soul is filled with clouds of praise and prayer. Beloved, are we giving out the spices, the perfumes, the sweet odors of the heart? --The Love-Life of Our Lord.
"A Persian fable says: One day
A wanderer found a lump of clay
So redolent of sweet perfume
Its odors scented all the room.
'What are thou? was his quick demand,
'Art thou some gem from Samarcand,
Or spikenard in this rude disguise,
Or other costly merchandise?'
'Nay: I am but a lump of clay.'
"'Then whence this wondrous perfume--say!'
'Friend, if the secret I disclose,
I have been dwelling with the rose.'
Sweet parable! and will not those
'Who love to dwell with Sharon's rose,
Distil sweet odors all around,
Though low and mean themselves are found?
Dear Lord, abide with us that we
May draw our perfume fresh from Thee."
"Blow upon my garden that the spices may flow out" (S. of Sol. 4:16).
Some of the spices mentioned in this chapter are quite suggestive. The aloe was a bitter spice, and it tells of the sweetness of bitter things, the bitter-sweet, which has its own fine application that only those can understand who have felt it. The myrrh was used to embalm the dead, and it tells of death to something. It is the sweetness which comes to the heart after it has died to its self-will and pride and sin.
Oh, the inexpressible charm that hovers about some Christians simply because they bear upon the chastened countenance and mellow spirit the impress of the cross, the holy evidence of having died to something that was once proud and strong, but is now forever at the feet of Jesus. It is the heavenly charm of a broken spirit and a contrite heart, the music that springs from the minor key, the sweetness that comes from the touch of the frost upon the ripened fruit.
And then the frankincense was a fragrance that came from the touch of the fire. It was the burning powder that rose in clouds of sweetness from the bosom of the flames. It tells of the heart whose sweetness has been called forth, perhaps by the flames of affliction, until the holy place of the soul is filled with clouds of praise and prayer. Beloved, are we giving out the spices, the perfumes, the sweet odors of the heart? --The Love-Life of Our Lord.
"A Persian fable says: One day
A wanderer found a lump of clay
So redolent of sweet perfume
Its odors scented all the room.
'What are thou? was his quick demand,
'Art thou some gem from Samarcand,
Or spikenard in this rude disguise,
Or other costly merchandise?'
'Nay: I am but a lump of clay.'
"'Then whence this wondrous perfume--say!'
'Friend, if the secret I disclose,
I have been dwelling with the rose.'
Sweet parable! and will not those
'Who love to dwell with Sharon's rose,
Distil sweet odors all around,
Though low and mean themselves are found?
Dear Lord, abide with us that we
May draw our perfume fresh from Thee."
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Illustrations aid in semon understanding
Illustrations aid in sermon understanding
ANGER - Destructiveness of
Frederick Buechner points out that "Of all the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you." (Wishful Thinking, Harper & Row, 1973, p. 2)
CHRISTIAN LIFE - Must be demonstrated
Opera singer Mary Ann Brant went to a New York post office to pick up a package. The clerk asked her for some identification, and she realized she hadn't brought any. "I can't give you the package without some identification," the clerk insisted.
"All right," she said. "I'll show you who I am." With that, she began to sing one of the arias for which she was well known. A crowd gathered around to listen, and in a few moments the clerk said, "OK, lady, you can have the package. Just be quiet."
That's what the world wants us to do -- be quiet about who we are. But Jesus has given us a song to sing. (Steve Brown is President of Key Life Ministries and Professor of Preaching at Reformed Seminary, Orlando/FL)
CHRISTMAS - Sensing the wonder
Franklin D. Roosevelt and one of his friends talked late into the night at the White House. At last, President Roosevelt suggested they go but into the Rose Garden and look at the stars before going to bed. They went out and looked up for several minutes, peering at nebulae with thousands of stars. Then the President said, "All right, I think we feel small enough now to go in and go to sleep."
John Killinger says, "We need that sense of wonder, don't we? It is part of what it means to be human. But it is so easily lost in our time.... One of the wonderful things about Christmas is that it is an annual reminder of the importance of seeing the miraculous in our midst." (Killinger is Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Samford University, Birmingham, AL)
CHRISTMAS - Quotations
"The message of Christmas is that the visible material world is bound to the invisible spiritual world." (Anonymous)
"The joy of brightening others lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing each others' loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas." (W. C. Jones)
"The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable." (Ralph Sockman)
DISAPPOINTMENT - Can result in blessing
Clarence Macartney related that "God disappoints us and baffles us sometimes in order to make us succeed. If Phillips Brooks had succeeded as a schoolmaster, he would never have stood in the pulpit to move men with his mighty ministry. If Frederick Robertson had got his commission in the British army, he never would have written the sermons which still throb with his great and yearning spirit. If Nathaniel Hawthorne had been retained at the custom house, he never would have written those wonderful studies in the deep places of human sorrow and love and sin."
EDUCATION - Value of
Landrum Leavell, president of New Orleans Baptist Seminary, told students that education is needed to serve God to the maximum. "You may say, 'Well, look at the twelve Apostles. They were ignorant and unlearned.' That's right. But when God wanted His Gospel proclaimed throughout the world, He took a trained mind, the mind of the Apostle Paul, who had the equivalent of a Ph.D. degree in his day, having sat at the feet of Gamaliel." (submitted by James F. Looby, Staff Chaplain, U.S. Naval Base, Philadelphia, PA)
EXCELLENCE - Christians called to
The former chaplain of the Boston Red Sox talked with a young player who was constantly quoting Scripture. He told the young man, "Son, don't quote Scripture until you hit home runs!"
HEART - Right with God
When Sir Walter Raleigh was being led to the block where he was to be beheaded, his executioner asked him if his head lay right. Raleigh answered, "It matters little, my friend, how the head lies, provided the heart is right."
REPUTATION
Charles Edison, son of Thomas Edison, didn't want to build his own career based simply on his father's reputation. He often said, "I'd prefer you think of me as the result of one of my father's earlier experiments."
REVENGE - Not our responsibility
Did you hear about the young boy who was pushed into the mud by the class bully? His mother told him that it wasn't necessary to get even because God takes care of such people. The boy said, "OK, I'll give God till Friday."
Robert R. Kopp reminds us that "the reality remains, it is not up to us to even the score. That's God's business. Our responsibility is to ask our Lord's blessings upon them.
"It's like the man who said, 'I really hate that guy. He's always slapping me on the back. But I'll fix him. I'll tie a stick of dynamite to my back, so the next time he slaps me, his hand will be blown off." (Kopp is Pastor of Logans Ferry Presbyterian Church, New Kensington, PA)
THANKSGIVING - Quotation
"Before theology comes doxology," (John Baillie)
WORLD - Unaware of Christ
Steve Brown explains that following the end of British rule in India in the 1940's, a group of social scientists decided to do a study to see the impact of the end of British rule on the life of the nation. They gave up the study after six months, because they discovered as they went through many of the villages that most people were not aware the British had ever been there. The British had been present since the 1600's, but the average Indian villager lived and died without any awareness that the British had been present.
We live in a world where the King has come but millions are totally unaware that He is present.
ANGER - Destructiveness of
Frederick Buechner points out that "Of all the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you." (Wishful Thinking, Harper & Row, 1973, p. 2)
CHRISTIAN LIFE - Must be demonstrated
Opera singer Mary Ann Brant went to a New York post office to pick up a package. The clerk asked her for some identification, and she realized she hadn't brought any. "I can't give you the package without some identification," the clerk insisted.
"All right," she said. "I'll show you who I am." With that, she began to sing one of the arias for which she was well known. A crowd gathered around to listen, and in a few moments the clerk said, "OK, lady, you can have the package. Just be quiet."
That's what the world wants us to do -- be quiet about who we are. But Jesus has given us a song to sing. (Steve Brown is President of Key Life Ministries and Professor of Preaching at Reformed Seminary, Orlando/FL)
CHRISTMAS - Sensing the wonder
Franklin D. Roosevelt and one of his friends talked late into the night at the White House. At last, President Roosevelt suggested they go but into the Rose Garden and look at the stars before going to bed. They went out and looked up for several minutes, peering at nebulae with thousands of stars. Then the President said, "All right, I think we feel small enough now to go in and go to sleep."
John Killinger says, "We need that sense of wonder, don't we? It is part of what it means to be human. But it is so easily lost in our time.... One of the wonderful things about Christmas is that it is an annual reminder of the importance of seeing the miraculous in our midst." (Killinger is Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Samford University, Birmingham, AL)
CHRISTMAS - Quotations
"The message of Christmas is that the visible material world is bound to the invisible spiritual world." (Anonymous)
"The joy of brightening others lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing each others' loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas." (W. C. Jones)
"The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable." (Ralph Sockman)
DISAPPOINTMENT - Can result in blessing
Clarence Macartney related that "God disappoints us and baffles us sometimes in order to make us succeed. If Phillips Brooks had succeeded as a schoolmaster, he would never have stood in the pulpit to move men with his mighty ministry. If Frederick Robertson had got his commission in the British army, he never would have written the sermons which still throb with his great and yearning spirit. If Nathaniel Hawthorne had been retained at the custom house, he never would have written those wonderful studies in the deep places of human sorrow and love and sin."
EDUCATION - Value of
Landrum Leavell, president of New Orleans Baptist Seminary, told students that education is needed to serve God to the maximum. "You may say, 'Well, look at the twelve Apostles. They were ignorant and unlearned.' That's right. But when God wanted His Gospel proclaimed throughout the world, He took a trained mind, the mind of the Apostle Paul, who had the equivalent of a Ph.D. degree in his day, having sat at the feet of Gamaliel." (submitted by James F. Looby, Staff Chaplain, U.S. Naval Base, Philadelphia, PA)
EXCELLENCE - Christians called to
The former chaplain of the Boston Red Sox talked with a young player who was constantly quoting Scripture. He told the young man, "Son, don't quote Scripture until you hit home runs!"
HEART - Right with God
When Sir Walter Raleigh was being led to the block where he was to be beheaded, his executioner asked him if his head lay right. Raleigh answered, "It matters little, my friend, how the head lies, provided the heart is right."
REPUTATION
Charles Edison, son of Thomas Edison, didn't want to build his own career based simply on his father's reputation. He often said, "I'd prefer you think of me as the result of one of my father's earlier experiments."
REVENGE - Not our responsibility
Did you hear about the young boy who was pushed into the mud by the class bully? His mother told him that it wasn't necessary to get even because God takes care of such people. The boy said, "OK, I'll give God till Friday."
Robert R. Kopp reminds us that "the reality remains, it is not up to us to even the score. That's God's business. Our responsibility is to ask our Lord's blessings upon them.
"It's like the man who said, 'I really hate that guy. He's always slapping me on the back. But I'll fix him. I'll tie a stick of dynamite to my back, so the next time he slaps me, his hand will be blown off." (Kopp is Pastor of Logans Ferry Presbyterian Church, New Kensington, PA)
THANKSGIVING - Quotation
"Before theology comes doxology," (John Baillie)
WORLD - Unaware of Christ
Steve Brown explains that following the end of British rule in India in the 1940's, a group of social scientists decided to do a study to see the impact of the end of British rule on the life of the nation. They gave up the study after six months, because they discovered as they went through many of the villages that most people were not aware the British had ever been there. The British had been present since the 1600's, but the average Indian villager lived and died without any awareness that the British had been present.
We live in a world where the King has come but millions are totally unaware that He is present.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wisdom
Wisdom
There is an old story about a lamb that got away from the rest of the flock as she munched her meal. She did not notice a wolf approaching. When the wolf pounced, the lamb begged the wolf saying, "Please don't eat me. I have been eating grass and that will make me bitter. I will taste better if you wait a while." The wolf thought that made sense. The lamb said, "If you let me dance the grass will be digested faster and then you can eat me." Once again the wolf agreed. The lamb said, "I could dance faster if I had some music to dance to. Why don't you ring my bell so I can dance faster." The wolf agreed. The wolf rang the bell and that alerted the shepherd and he rescued the lamb. Sometimes those who seem weakest are the wisest.
There is an old story about a lamb that got away from the rest of the flock as she munched her meal. She did not notice a wolf approaching. When the wolf pounced, the lamb begged the wolf saying, "Please don't eat me. I have been eating grass and that will make me bitter. I will taste better if you wait a while." The wolf thought that made sense. The lamb said, "If you let me dance the grass will be digested faster and then you can eat me." Once again the wolf agreed. The lamb said, "I could dance faster if I had some music to dance to. Why don't you ring my bell so I can dance faster." The wolf agreed. The wolf rang the bell and that alerted the shepherd and he rescued the lamb. Sometimes those who seem weakest are the wisest.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Humble Leadership
Humble Leadership
Don't take a position of leadership in church unless you are prepared to be honest, pure, and loving in your lifestyle. Leadership is a privilege, and with privilege comes responsibility. God holds teachers of His truth doubly responsible because we who lead are in a position where we can either draw people toward Christ or drive them away from Him.
This is illustrated in the life of the famous author Mark Twain. Church leaders were largely to blame for his becoming hostile to the Bible and the Christian faith. As he grew up, he knew elders and deacons who owned slaves and abused them. He heard men using foul language and saw them practice dishonesty during the week after speaking piously in church on Sunday. He listened to ministers use the Bible to justify slavery. Although he saw genuine love for the Lord Jesus in some people, including his mother and his wife, he was so disturbed by the bad teaching and poor example of church leaders that he became bitter toward the things of God.
Indeed, it is a privilege to be an elder, a deacon, a Sunday school teacher, or a Bible club leader. But it is also an awesome responsibility. Let's make sure we attract people to the Savior rather than turn them away.
Don't take a position of leadership in church unless you are prepared to be honest, pure, and loving in your lifestyle. Leadership is a privilege, and with privilege comes responsibility. God holds teachers of His truth doubly responsible because we who lead are in a position where we can either draw people toward Christ or drive them away from Him.
This is illustrated in the life of the famous author Mark Twain. Church leaders were largely to blame for his becoming hostile to the Bible and the Christian faith. As he grew up, he knew elders and deacons who owned slaves and abused them. He heard men using foul language and saw them practice dishonesty during the week after speaking piously in church on Sunday. He listened to ministers use the Bible to justify slavery. Although he saw genuine love for the Lord Jesus in some people, including his mother and his wife, he was so disturbed by the bad teaching and poor example of church leaders that he became bitter toward the things of God.
Indeed, it is a privilege to be an elder, a deacon, a Sunday school teacher, or a Bible club leader. But it is also an awesome responsibility. Let's make sure we attract people to the Savior rather than turn them away.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Island Dreams [clay balls ]
Island Dreams
[clay balls ]
A man was exploring caves by the seashore . In one of the caves he found a canvas
bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls . It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in sun to bake .
They didn’t look like much , but they intrigued the man , so he took the bag out of the cave with him .as he strolled along the beach , he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could .
He thought little about it , until he dropped one of the clay balls and it crack open on the rock . Inside was a beautiful precious stone . Excited ,the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls . Each contained a similar treasure . He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or 30 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him .
He had been on the beach a long time . He had throw maybe even 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves . Instead of thousand of dollars in treasure , he could have taken home tens of thousands but he had just throw it away !
It’s like that with people . We look at someone , maybe even ourselves. It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling , so we discount it . We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy . But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person .
There is a treasure in each and everyone of us. If we take the time to get to know that person , and if we ask God to show us that person the way he see them , then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth . May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay .
May we see the people in our world as God see them .
It am so blessed by the gems of friendship .I have with each of you .
Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel
[clay balls ]
A man was exploring caves by the seashore . In one of the caves he found a canvas
bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls . It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in sun to bake .
They didn’t look like much , but they intrigued the man , so he took the bag out of the cave with him .as he strolled along the beach , he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could .
He thought little about it , until he dropped one of the clay balls and it crack open on the rock . Inside was a beautiful precious stone . Excited ,the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls . Each contained a similar treasure . He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or 30 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him .
He had been on the beach a long time . He had throw maybe even 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves . Instead of thousand of dollars in treasure , he could have taken home tens of thousands but he had just throw it away !
It’s like that with people . We look at someone , maybe even ourselves. It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling , so we discount it . We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy . But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person .
There is a treasure in each and everyone of us. If we take the time to get to know that person , and if we ask God to show us that person the way he see them , then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth . May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay .
May we see the people in our world as God see them .
It am so blessed by the gems of friendship .I have with each of you .
Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel
Quarrels
Quarrels
After Dunkirk, in the Second World War, there was a tendency on all hands to look for someone to blame for the disaster which had befallen the British forces, and there were many who wished to enter into bitter recriminations with those who had guided things in the past. At that time Mr. Winston Churchill, as he then was, said a very wise thing: "If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future."
-
After Dunkirk, in the Second World War, there was a tendency on all hands to look for someone to blame for the disaster which had befallen the British forces, and there were many who wished to enter into bitter recriminations with those who had guided things in the past. At that time Mr. Winston Churchill, as he then was, said a very wise thing: "If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future."
-
Hanging on to Bitterness
Hanging On To Bitterness
A friend of mine went through a massive emotional breakdown. After his recovery, we went for a walk. "Jan," he told me, "don't ever allow anyone to make you bitter."
He told me about his breakdown which proved very embarrassing.
"My problems began when I got so worked up about the contractor who didn't build my basement and driveway right. I hated what he'd done to my home. And since he lived next door, I saw him almost daily. Each time I saw him, my anger and bitterness grew even more intense until I finally cracked."
No wonder God's Word is so emphatic: "Get rid of all bitterness" (Ephesians 4:31). Why? Because if a "bitter root grows up" within you, it will "cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15).
A friend of mine went through a massive emotional breakdown. After his recovery, we went for a walk. "Jan," he told me, "don't ever allow anyone to make you bitter."
He told me about his breakdown which proved very embarrassing.
"My problems began when I got so worked up about the contractor who didn't build my basement and driveway right. I hated what he'd done to my home. And since he lived next door, I saw him almost daily. Each time I saw him, my anger and bitterness grew even more intense until I finally cracked."
No wonder God's Word is so emphatic: "Get rid of all bitterness" (Ephesians 4:31). Why? Because if a "bitter root grows up" within you, it will "cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15).
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Human Forgiveness
Human Forgiveness
When Leonardo da Vinci was painting the "Last Supper," he had an intense, bitter argument with a fellow painter. Leonardo was so enraged that he decided to paint the face of his enemy into the face of Judas. That way the hated painter's face would be preserved for ages in the face of the betraying disciple. When Leonardo finished Judas, everyone easily recognized the face of the painter with whom Leonardo quarreled.
Leonardo continued to work on the painting. But as much as he tried, he could not paint the face of Christ. Something was holding him back.
Leonardo decided his hatred toward his fellow painter was the problem. So he worked through his hatred by repainting Judas' face, replacing the image of his fellow painter with another face. Only then was he able to paint Jesus' face and complete the masterpiece.
When Leonardo da Vinci was painting the "Last Supper," he had an intense, bitter argument with a fellow painter. Leonardo was so enraged that he decided to paint the face of his enemy into the face of Judas. That way the hated painter's face would be preserved for ages in the face of the betraying disciple. When Leonardo finished Judas, everyone easily recognized the face of the painter with whom Leonardo quarreled.
Leonardo continued to work on the painting. But as much as he tried, he could not paint the face of Christ. Something was holding him back.
Leonardo decided his hatred toward his fellow painter was the problem. So he worked through his hatred by repainting Judas' face, replacing the image of his fellow painter with another face. Only then was he able to paint Jesus' face and complete the masterpiece.
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