Now that I’m sitting at home all day with my son I have a lot of free time to read, watch and listen to some sermons…Some sermons are amazing, some sermons you wonder why that person is even in the ministry and other sermons you wonder what they are even trying to talk about..All in all it’s been a very interesting week with some very interesting sermons. Here are just a few:
#1. Louie Giglio: Hope (8:31)
#2. Francis Chan – Balance Beam (3:53)
#3. Is a horrible sermon from some guy that looks like his church is in 1 half of a trailer pastor Steven L. Anderson preaches on “Cursed is the man that pissith against the wall” And we wonder why Christians are made fun of…Jokers like this dude! (4:37)
11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
God wants us to build times and places of stillness into our lives in order that we might know Him and the fullness of His peace, power and purposes for our lives:
Why are we afraid of “stillness”
Frankly stillness scares us just a littel; quietness tends to be unsettelling to us so we do our best to avoid it..Filling every area of our lives from the moment we wake up with alarm clocks…right into the shower were I turn the radio on..to getting dresses with the TV on…to the car where I listen to music..I’m surrounded by noise and that is what keeps us from being alone with our thoughts and the Lord.
We are afraid of stillness for a few reasons:
1. Afraid to lose ground…
Taking time to think and reflect, we think, takes time away from doing things, from moving ahead…We get into the mindset that Busyness equals Spirit-ual-ness ..We are afraid that if we stop and think, breath, listen and wait..Others will get ahead of us and we will never catch up.
2. Afraid to look back…
in our human minds, we offten associate stillness witha lack of initiative and resting with laziness..
Have you ever been sitting at your desk thinking, considering the best course of action, sorting out all the solutions that are wise rather than expedient, only to jump when someone comes in and then you try to pretend you are and were busy?
We don’t want to look bad when others are madly rushing around…so instead of settting aside time to work smarter, we join the, in working harder and longer without considering the overall impact on not only the job, but on our families and especiall on our relationshop with Christ or Lord…
3. Afraid to listen quietly…
Why are we so intimidated by silence? Is it that we cannot stand to be quiet so that we might listen for the still small voice of God?
God does not usually shout His instructions to us regarding His will, nor does He yell at us to inform us of His great love for us.
Those things come to us in times when we have withdrawn to the quiet place, to lie down in green pastures, to be still beside the refreshing waters which quench the deep thirsting of our souls for more that this world can give.
4. Afraid to look inside…
As long as we keep going, we don’t have to expose the vulnerable side of our hearts, but once we get still and begin to listen as the Lord speaks, we are afraid of what He might bring to light..
Have you ever had a friend that did not want to be alone with you because they did not want to have to talk with you anything of substance?
We are afraid to be too alone with Christ and so we keep moving figuring that our constant motion will protect us from His scrutiny.
So today I challenge you..
1. Be Still
2. Wait on the Lord
3. Listen for His still small voice
My great grandpa Groves told me one time and I’ve never forgot it.. Even though he passed away when I was 10 I remember him telling me this quote and I’ve held on to it for almost 20 years now…
“Live your life every moment to where when the Holy Spirit speaks you not only hear His voice but you know it”
My prayer for you today is that you will Be still
Maybe it is the first time in a looooong time
Maybe you’ve never just been still in His presence and listened for His voice.
Maybe it’s been so long since you’ve just sat and Listened.
Well I challenge you today to do just that…Watch these two videos and BE STILL!
Hit Play on “come and listen” @ 1:13 of be still…It flows better that way!
Often times, life becomes really heavy. The weight of the world can seem too much for us to bear. What we must remember is at the Cross, Jesus took all our sin and pain upon himself and three days later, he rose from the grave, defeating it once and for all. This season, take all that you carry to Jesus; He is waiting for you at the Cross.
Kym and I have found out that when my son starts screaming or will not go to sleep…We take him into the Nursery and put this song on and he calms down so fast..Love the message in this song! Thank you Lord for your love!
Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I’m not sure what web site or book I found these in, But I’m sure if you looked hard enough you could find them.. If you do find them please let me know so I can give them credit.I know some folks are in the habit of finding stuff for people, So I’m putting it in your hands…
About 5 years ago when I was the Youth pastor @ “The Bridge” I did a 6 week series called…” Let the facts speak for themselves” Talking about the Miracles Jesus did while He walked this earthto prove that He was truly God in the flesh…so
These facts were what I opened with each week..And just like the last post, I found these in a box that I haven’t opened in probably 2 to 3 years…So with out any further typing…
Enjoy SOME FACTS:
Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses. (No one in Greece has memorized all 158 verses.)
There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
The average secretary’s left hand does 56% of the typing.
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
There are more chickens than people in the world.
Two-thirds of the world’s eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
The longest one-syllable word in the English language is “screeched.”
On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament Building is an American flag.
All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.
“Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”.
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5.00 bill
Almonds are members of the peach family.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
There are only four words in the English language which end in “-dous”: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
Los Angeles’s full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula”. And can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size — “L.A.”
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
An ostrich’s eye is bigger than it’s brain.
Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.
Al Capone’s business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
The only real person to be a Pez head was Betsy Ross.
When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the state’s third largest city.
The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life”
A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
On an American one-dollar bill, there is an owl in the upper left-hand corner of the “1″ encased in the “shield” and a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner.
It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
The name for Oz in the “Wizard of Oz” was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.”
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.
John Lennon’s first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles.
The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
‘Stewardesses’ is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
