07/01/2024
The Irrepressible Forgiveness of Our God
We just finished an important sermon series on the power of forgiveness to heal our souls, restore our relationships, and bring us into a right relationship with God. If you missed any of the sermons in the series, though I am biased, you might want to go back and listen to them. But when I was a kid there was a song I was taught—though I long ago forgot the tune. It was called Love is like a Magic Penny. The lyrics include these words:
Love is something if you give it away,
give it away, give it away;
Love is something if you give it away -
you'll end up having more!
Love's just like a magic penny,
hold it tight and you won't have any!
Lend it, spend it and you'll have so many
they'll roll all over the floor.
The same can be said of forgiveness. If you withhold it from others, you will find less and less for yourself. But if you learn to ask for forgiveness and offer forgiveness—and appreciate the irrepressible forgiveness of our God—then you’ll only have more and more love to give and to keep. It’s a bit of a paradox, but that’s exactly how it works. If you want to find your life you have to be willing to turn your existing life over to God and let God offer you a richer, fuller life in return.
Archived Posts
Let’s Not Overlook Joseph of Nazareth
I asked my research assistant—a certain ChatGPT—what the most interesting facet of Joseph’s life might be. She shared a couple of things that didn’t make it into Sunday’s sermon but you might still find inspirational...
Key Takeaway from Sunday
If I had to identify a specific take away from
Sunday’s sermon it would probably be this:
The Rest of the Story
I mentioned Russell Conwell in Sunday’s message. He was a famous preacher, educator, and lecturer. His sermon/lecture “Acres of Diamonds” was turned into a book and sold rather well. I used Conwell’s illustrations to talk about sharing the good news of Jesus with those closest to us first—family, friends, coworkers, and church family. The wider world is our ultimate aim, but until you invest in the people God has already put in your life, you are unlikely to have much success.
No One Said It Would be Easy
To love Jesus first is to learn to love all the other people in our lives with greater intensity and less selfishness
What’s Saved Is Often Lost
Here’s the benediction we didn’t have time for yesterday (Sunday, November 3). It’s one of my favorite quotations (portions of a newspaper column). I hope you find it as inspiring as I have
Leftovers Continued…
It’s not just the fact that God is un-impressed by our leftovers, it actually goes deeper than that. In a sense, Jesus is passionately and purposely opposed to anything leftover. To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to work diligently to make sure that in the end nothing at all is left over.
Less Stuff and Fewer Wants
Here’s a point I left off Sunday’s sermon due to time and length. In dealing with an Entitled mindset it is very helpful if you can Reduce Materialism and Consumerism.