[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for May 6 - Part 2

[Joe Parrish]

In Communion with Christ
 
I heard about a little five-year-old boy who fell out of bed. His cry awakened the entire household. After his mother had safely tucked him back under the covers, she said, "Why did you fall out of bed?" Between tears and sobs, he said, "Well, I guess I went to sleep too close to where I got in." 
 
Far too many Christians make the same mistake. They fall out of the bed of life and go to heaven; yet they slept too close to where they got in. They never learned the difference between union and communion.
 
Jesus said in v.5, "I am the vine, you are the branches." When you trust Christ, you become a branch in His vine. That is union. But he goes on to say in v.5, "He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit." Now that is communion. Union is the basis of communion. To abide in Christ is a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week, fifty-two week a year intimate fellowship with Him, so that you become a fruit-bearing branch.
 
James Merritt, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
______________________________________________
 
Our Fuel
 
C.S. Lewis wrote, "God has designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy without bothering about religion. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

C.S. Lewis
___________________________________
 
The Best Connection
 
You and I live in the period of history where we have access to more information than ever before. We have so much information that it produces what has been called the "Paralysis of Analysis." It was the poet T. S. Eliot who wrote: 
 
Where is the wisdom--we have lost in knowledge. 
Where is the knowledge--we have lost in information. 
 
The beauty of our faith is that God gave us more than information--he gave us Himself. He gave us more than rules and outward appearances. He gave us a relationship with him. Colossians 2:10, "In Him you have been made complete." Only he can satisfy your deepest longing and bring order to your innermost being. In Jesus Christ, God's word became flesh. He is alive! 
 
Eric S. Ritz, Collected Sermons, Sermons.com
_______________________________________
 
What You See Is God's Love
 
Carlyle Marney told about an old man who was asked once, "Have you ever seen God?" He said, "No, but I have known a couple of Jesuses in my lifetime." That is what John is talking about. No one has ever seen God, but what you can see is God's love. 
 
Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
______________________________________________________
 
The Right Parts and the Right Instructions
 
Have you heard the story about the man who ordered a tree house over the internet? When the box arrived, it had printed on the top the words that have become every parent's nightmare: "Some assembly required."
 
The man began to assemble the tree house (but would you believe it?) as he laid out all the parts on the floor and began reading the instructions, he realized (to his dismay) that the instructions were indeed for a tree house? but the parts were for a sail boat!!
 
The next day, he sent an angry e-mail message to the company complaining about the mix-up. Back came the reply: 
 
"We are truly sorry for the error and the mix-up and the inconvenience. However, it might make you feel better to consider the fascinating possibility that somewhere today there is a man out on a lake trying to sail your tree house."
 
The point is clear: To put something together, you have to have the right parts and the right instructions. This is where faith comes in. The only way you can put your life together is through faith. Faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. That's what makes it work.
 
James W. Moore, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
 
____________________________________________________
 
"I Am"
 
There are seven "I Am" sayings in the gospel of John. I Am the true vine is the last of these sayings.
 
I am the bread of life - 6:35
I am the light of the world - 8:12 & 9:5
I am the gate for the sheep - 10:7,9
I am the good shepherd - 10:11,14
I am the resurrection and the life - 11:25
I am the way and the truth and the life - 14:6
I am the true vine - 15:1,5
 
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com
 
_________________________
 
>From the Vine
 
Recently we experienced severe thunderstorms with very high winds. My neighbor had a tree which the winds tore off several large limbs. Because the limbs were large it took him several days to get them cut up and removed. There was one very noticeable thing about the limbs that lie there on the ground tore from the trunk of the tree. They died. This may sound very trite and you may be saying, "well of course they did! A limb cannot live separated from the tree." I too know this fact, but seeing them lying there dying drilled home the reality, "apart from the tree the limb cannot survive." This fact of nature was used by Jesus as a metaphor for the Christian life. 
 
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. (John 15:5-6) 
 
We cannot live the Christian life and be fruitful Christians apart from Christ any more than those limbs could live after being tore off the tree trunk. Every branch draws its identity, its sustenance, it life from the vine. No two branches are alike and yet they are all the same. Paradoxical as it is, it is true. Every Christian is unique and yet every Christian is the same. Our identity is derived from the Vine. We are known by the Vine. We receive our sustenance and life from the Vine. 
 
Gerald Whetstone, Personal but Not Private
 
____________________________________
 
No Good If Detached
 
About eighteen months ago the refrigerator at the parsonage had to be replaced. So we went to Reliable Home Supply and got a new one. It was delivered and put into place by two strong fellas. Before they pushed it into the corner I notice a tag which said: "No good if detached." Can you think of any other place this tag should be placed?
 
Eric S. Ritz, www.Sermons.com
_________________________
 
Source of Our Power
 
The story is told of a native from a remote mountain village who had the opportunity to visit a large modern city for the first time. He could not bring much home with him, and he had little money. But he was amazed at the electric lights which he saw everywhere.
 
So he bought a sack full of electric lights bulbs and sockets with switches so he could turn them off and on.
 
Arriving home he hung the light bulbs in front of his home and on his and his neighbor's trees. Everyone watched him with curiosity and asked him what he was doing, but he just smiled and said, "Just wait until dark--you'll see...
 
The rest of this illustration and many additional illustrations and sermons can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stsams.org/pipermail/propertalk_stsams.org/attachments/20120502/4fb731c4/attachment.htm>