Yesterday I Saw a great sermon...

Yesterday I saw a great sermon. 

I was attending the funeral of a dear saint, Karl Smith. He and his wife, Doris, had been members of our church, but quite some time ago joined a congregation in Warren. Still, both had continued to come to many services and functions at First Presbyterian, and remained close friends of the congregation.

Karl loved Jesus with all of his heart.

The last time I had seen him was at the funeral of another saint last Friday. Afterward, Karl and Doris thanked me for preaching a message of salvation that morning. The next day he died of a sudden and massive heart attack.

Doris was on the phone with me minutes after his death, asking if I would come to their church and give a salvation message at his funeral. It was humbling for me to realize that the last sermon he had ever heard had been the funeral message I had shared the day before.

My words were at Karl’s funeral were ok, but the most powerful message of the morning was lived by Doris. At the end of the service, as we sang "Because He Lives," she hobbled to the casket, supported by her cane. She placed on hand on the casket, lifted the other hand toward Heaven, with tears running down her cheeks and a radiant smile on her face, she sang with us...

"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives."

It was one of the greatest sermons I ever saw.

Jeff Wildrick

Because He Lives

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God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!

Words: Bill & Gloria Gaither

The Story Behind Tim Tebow

Got 30 seconds?

In 2010, this was one of the most controversial ads played during the Superbowl:

Believe it or not, this ad had pro-abortion groups up in arms. Before it was aired, a coalition of abortion rights groups petitioned CBS to reject the add, arguing that it was "divisive." The Women's Media Center equated the ad with "anti-abortion vitriol" that has led to the murder of doctors, and decried it as "anti choice."  Afterward, having failed to censor CBS, the National Organization for Women even went so far as to claim that the ad promotes domestic violence!

What were they really up in arms about? The story behind the story - that Tim's mother had rejected doctor's advice to abort him, despite the likelihood that he would be born with irreversible damage due to medications taken to save her own life during pregnancy. 

If you've read this far, I'd like to encourage you to devote another ten minutes of your life to hearing the full story, as told by Bob & Pam Tebow.

Tim Tebow isn't a superhero, and we need to guard against putting him on a pedestal. He's a human being with feet of clay, just like the rest of us. But he's also a great football player who is using that platform to share his story and tell the world about Jesus.

Please take some time today to pray for our brother in Christ.

Classic Humor

Nothing spiritual or profound today. Just a great laugh from a classic comic. This is Jack Benny at his best. Enjoy!

He has the whole world in his hands

How the world was changed by the birth of that one baby boy - Emmanuel, God-with-us, Jesus! And it continues to change as 20th and 21st century technology and commitment to missions has spread the good news in ways unprecedented until now. Perhaps we really are close to the day when Jesus will come again!

Check out this report from the Pew Forum on the size and distribution of the world's Christian population.


From the Executive Summary:
A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world, representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Christians are also geographically widespread – so far-flung, in fact, that no single continent or region can indisputably claim to be the center of global Christianity.
      A century ago, this was not the case. In 1910, about two-thirds of the world’s Christians lived in Europe, where the bulk of Christians had been for a millennium, according to historical estimates by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. Today, only about a quarter of all Christians live in Europe (26%). A plurality – more than a third – now are in the Americas (37%). About one in every four Christians lives in sub-Saharan Africa (24%), and about one-in eight is found in Asia and the Pacific (13%).
      Although Europe and the Americas still are home to a majority of the world’s Christians (63%), that share is much lower than it was in 1910 (93%). And the proportion of Europeans and Americans who are Christian has dropped
from 95% in 1910 to 76% in 2010 in Europe as a whole, and from 96% to 86% in the Americas as a whole.
      Almost half (48%) of all Christians live in the 10 countries with the largest number of Christians. Three of the top 10 countries are in the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Mexico). Two are in Europe (Russia and Germany), two are in the Asia-Pacific region (the Philippines and China), and three are in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia), reflecting Christianity’s global reach.
      Although Christians comprise just under a third of the world’s people, they form a majority of the population in 158 countries and territories, about two-thirds of all the countries and territories in the world.


You can read the full report HERE.


May you and those you love have a merry and blessed Christmas.

When an angel came to announce the birth of Jesus, he said “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” And Christmas continues to be a season with much rejoicing. Does this mean that everything is right in the world, or even in our lives? No. But, as Christ-followers we can still find joy in our…

1)Forgiven Past. The apostle Paul tells us that “Having been declared righteous, then, by faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Rom. 5:1) All of us some things in my past we’re ashamed of. Isn’t it amazing that, through faith in Jesus, we can know that our sin account is completely clean before God?

2)Future Prospects. Paul continues, “We confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” (Rom. 5:2) When Christ-followers look to the future, we see glory – the promise of eternal life in a new heaven and a new earth. It’s good to know that no matter how bad things are, better times are coming.

3)Present Pressures. Paul says, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Rom. 5:3-4) Meeting Jesus didn’t take away any of the problems in the shepherd’s lives. They still were poor, and were still governed by a brutal dictator. But they now had HOPE. When we live in hope, because we know we are justified, then our whole attitude to pressure changes. And as we abide under pressure, our perseverance yields strength and character.

This is what the Christian life is all about. The ability to rejoice in our present pressures, and in our future hope, because of the surety of our forgiven past. Rejoice!