Sermons

The Tremendous Ten: Time To Take A Break Opening Illustration: Running…But Not On The Sabbath The crack of the starter gun echoed through the stadium on the hot Friday evening in July of 1924. Eric Liddell sprinted forward in his unusual running style, his head thrown back, his arms waving at his side, his feet barely touching the track as he ran. No one, not even Eric himself, thought he had a chance of winning the 400-meter race. But Eric was determined to do his best. Eric Liddell was Scotland's fastest sprinter. He was their hero. He had won every 100-meter race he had run since early in his running career. His quick speed earned him a spot on the 100-meter British Olympic team. Eric Liddell was a great athlete but he was also a dedicated Christian.  His most famous quote says  “I believe that God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run I feel his pleasure.” A Day of Rest  However, Eric Liddell had announced to his cou...

The Tremendous 10: Watch Your Words Introduction:  Over the past three weeks we have been entrenched in a series dedicated to the ten commandments.  Today we look at the third commandment which has to do with cherishing God’s name.  So, what is God’s name? We learn God’s name in Exodus 3 when God introduces Himself to Moses.  Moses asks God what His name is.  He wants a name to take to Pharaoh so God obliges him.   YHWH is a Tetragrammaton or God’s given name in the Old Testament but Bible scholars cannot agree on exactly how this name of God was or is to be pronounced. When God revealed His name to Moses, He revealed Himself as YHWH or Yahweh which is best translated as “I AM WHO I AM” again, in all capital letters (EX 3:14-15).  The Hebrew for “I AM” is “ehyeh” which could also be read to mean “I will be” but when God refers to Himself it must mean “I AM.”   I AM means that God exists already and is the speaker when thi...

The Tremendous Ten: The Value of Life Opening Illustration: Stephen Hawking Stephen Hawking is an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and perhaps the most intelligent man on earth. He has advanced the general theory of relativity farther than any person since Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, Hawking is afflicted with ALS Syndrome (Lou Gehrig’s disease). It will eventually take his life. He has been confined to a wheelchair for years, where he can do little more than sit and think. Hawking has lost the ability even to speak, and now he communicates by means of a computer that is operated from the tiniest movement of his fingertips.  Hawking said that before he became ill, he had very little interest in life. He called it a ‘pointless existence’ resulting from sheer boredom. He drank too much and did very little work. Then he learned he had ALS Syndrome and was not expected to live more than two years. The ultimate effect of that diagnosis, beyond its initial shock, was ...