IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND
THIS BLOG TO A FRIEND COPY THE FOLLOWING URL
AND THEN PASTE IN AN EMAIL.
There are over 900
stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to
daily.
To Visit neil's other blog
Wyrick's Writings click on the following (Here you will find selected sermons that he has preached during
the last 58 years.) Just click on the URL below
++++++++++++++++++
He was a man who loved old
books.
He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that
had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations.
"I couldn't read it," the friend explained.
"Somebody named Guten-something had printed it."
"Not Gutenberg!" the book lover exclaimed in
horror.
"That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million
dollars!" His friend was unimpressed.
"Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar. Some fellow named
Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German."
We do get our values all
out of wack now don't we.
The little boy in the grocery store was standing near an open
box of peanut butter cookies.
“Now then, young
man,” said the grocer as he approached the young man. “What are you up to?” “Nothing,” replied the boy:
“Nothing.” “Well it
looks to me like you were trying to take a cookie.” “You’re wrong, mister, I’m
trying not to!”
It happens all the time...doesn't
it...our values on trial...
And if our values are a weak and weary
thing...and temptation comes to call...after we have gotten into trouble...was
it worth the trouble we are in.
It's a giant roaring river called
temptation and we swim across it to the other side and find safety from it or
we stop swimming and sink...sink or swim...isn' t that the way that old cliché'
goes?
Ever been tempted...ever feel the weight
of the words "Just once won't hurt you" echoing in your mind and
soul...
The
pastor had called a special meeting to call attention to the run down condition
of their church
facilities.
He began by asking for pledges and he
turned first to one of the more affluent members of the congregation. Brother
“So-and-So,” would you like to start the pledging?
He responded, “I’ll pledge five dollars.”
About that time a piece of plaster fell from
the
dilapidated
ceiling and hit this brother square on the head sending him to the floor.
After he picked himself up and dusted
himself off he said, “What I meant to say was that I pledge 50 dollars.” At
that moment the pastor looked upward and prayed, “Hit him again, Lord.”
What does it take to put your values at
the top of your list for daily living...and are they worthy to be at the top of
your list..and if so... are your values of such value to you that they are
indeed the motivators for your daily decisions?
Tony Campolo
in his book, “Who Switched the Price Tags.” tells of his childhood neighborhood
in Philadelphia the night before Halloween was designated Mischief Night.
On that night, the
adults braced themselves against all sorts of petty “crimes” at the hands
of the younger generation. Windows were soaped, air was let out
of tires—all the annoying mischief an adolescent mind could conjure up.
One year Campolo and
his best friend devised what they thought was a brilliant and creative plan.
They imagined breaking in to the local five-and-dime store. They didn’t plan to
rob the place; instead they planned to change the price tags on as many items
as they could.
They imagined what it
would be like the next morning when people came into the store and discovered
that radios were selling for a quarter and bobby pins were priced at five
dollars each.
They wondered what it
would be like when nobody could figure out what the prices of things really
are.
In his book Campolo
applies this story to the evil one whom he says “has broken into our lives and
changed the prices tags on things.” He says that too often we treat what
deserves to be treated with loving care as though it were of little worth or we
find ourselves tempted to make great sacrifices for that which, in the long run
of life, has no lasting value.
And what a waste of time and effort and we
all have been guilty of such foolishness and more than once.
What to do? Write down what you value most and give the
most time and effort to... which spells out what you truly value most.
It's called
"focus" and if your value systems are viewed through spiritual
cataracts it is not likely they will have much influence on you.
Therefore...what to
do...well...sometimes...when you know it is right...even if you can' get
enthusiastic about doing it...whatever it is...just do it anyway...
Wisdom is
knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it. ~David Star Jordan, The
Philosophy of Despair
If you have integrity, nothing
else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. ~Alan Simpson
Character is much easier kept than
recovered. ~Thomas Paine
There is
no pillow so soft as a clear conscience. ~French Proverb
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We welcome you to put some
of these thoughts in your personal newsletter or on your churches newsletter or
your blog...and we thank those of you who have put it on your Facebook page
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Wyrick's
Writings" are selected sermons from those Neil has preached during the
last 55 years
Click
on the URL below to take you to them
Below is a quote from Neil's other blog
Wyrick's Writings...posted Sunday May 27th
Entitled BELIEVE
YOUR BELIEFS, GIVE THEM SPIRTUAL MUSCLES
How can
we keep our faith from being a weak and fruitless thing? How can we not be foolish little men and
women groveling in the dark shadows of overeager egos.
Well, first we must do more than just
pray. We must believe in our own
prayers.
Below is a quote from Neil's other blog
Wyrick's Writings...posted Thursday May 10
SERMON TITLE...HOW TO
LESSEN ANXIETY
Anxiety out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to
put his best foot forward.
Below is a quote from Neil's other blog
Wyrick's Writings...posted Thursday May 3
SERMON TITLE...HOW TO
LESSEN ANXIETY
It's an old joke, I went to the doctor and I
said, “Doc, when I do this, it hurts.” And the doctor said, “Then don't do
that.”
How many things have you been anxious
about that were things which you knew before you got into them were probably
going to create some problems for you?
And if you asked your doctor, or your minister, or common sense and your
God, all of them would have said, “Don’t to that.”
Below
is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted TUESDAY MAY 1
To buy into the community of accountability we have to realize that
like bikers we are divided into two categories. Those who have fallen and those who will
fall for None of us are perfect.
Think on it this way, some philosopher of
old wrote it and it endures because there is so much truth in it… every right implies a responsibility; every
opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty
Below
is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted Sunday April
29th....
One writer put it this way: “If we could see
ourselves as God sees us, we would rise up and never be the same again.”
TO GO
TO "WYRICK'S WRITINGS" TO
READ SELECTED SERMONS FROM OVER 50 YEARS OF HIS MINISTRY
CLICK ON THE URL
BELOW
Some
of the sermon titles posted recently
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Before you decide
to purchase or not purchase his book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN.... view his Award Winning One Man
Dramatization of Lincoln (since he wrote the script
for this drama it will give you an insight into what you will find in the book
itself)
Available on
Amazon.com in printed form and on Amazon Kindle Books. and at
many other sites
TO VIEW THE LINCOLN
One Man DRAMA and 3 other dramas; Ben Franklin, Martin Luther & Charles
Wesley
click on the
following URL
http://www.speakerneil.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++
BELOW
ARE MORE QUOTES FROM NEIL'S RECENTLY POSTED SERMONS
++++++++++++++++++
A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY
OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ON SUNDAY APRIL 15. ENTITILED
Two stores faced each other across a very
busy street. Their owners were in constant competition
with each other. One day, the owner of
one store put out a sign that read – If
you want it, we have it!
Almost immediately the other owner put out a
sign –If we don’t have it, you don’t
need it!
A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY
OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ON THURSDAY APRIL 13TH. ENTITILED
WHO ARE
YOU?
NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?
Who are you? Whose are
you?
You influence and are influenced
according to the answer you give.
Are you are the flavor of the month because
you are determined to be like everyone else no matter what? If so, consider being more independent in our
thinking and actions...because God wants you to grow up.
It may be easier being someone's shadow but
wouldn't you really rather be a sun.
QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS THURSDAY APRIL 5 FROM THOUGHT ENTITLED "Who
Are You? Whose Are You?"
This is an old quote, and a romantic one
as well but, nevertheless, can anyone say of you, “I love you not because of who you are,
but because of who I am when I am with you.”
QUOTE FROM THOUGHT PIECE POSTED
ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS TUESDAY APRIL 3 FROM THOUGHT ENTITLED
" WHEN A NATION STRAYS TOO FAR FROM BEING MORAL IT IS WELL ON IT'S WAY
TO BECOMING A MESS
James 4:17
To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it,
to him it is sin.
Someone once said: “A belief
is what you hold, a conviction is what holds you!”
So what holds you,
constructs you, leads you with a push when needed?
Quotes
POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITING THURSDAY MARCH 29th THOUGHTS ENTITLED WHO
ARE YOU?
NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?
In a Peanuts
cartoon strip Peppermint Patty is shown talking to Charlie Brown.
“Guess what, Chuck? It’s the first day
of school and I got sent to the principal’s office.
And it’s your fault!”
Charlie Brown responds, “My fault? How
could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”
To which she declares, “You’re my
friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me.”
In the comics, it’s funny… but in real life it’s much more
complicated.
Would you like to read the entire thought
piece? Then... TO TAKE YOU TO THE WYRICK'S WRITING'S
SITE
click on
the following
Yes, God loves you the way you
are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Click on the URL below to WATCH NEIL IN
HIS WORLD FAMOUS ONE MAN DRAMATIZATIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, BEN FRANKLIN,
CHARLES WESLEY AND MARTIN LUTHER
To
Order and Read
Neil's 9th book THE
SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN
GO TO amazon.com
QUOTES ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSPIRING INFORMATIVE book
STILL RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS 8 YEARS AFTER IT'S PUBLICATION.
"Positive,
powerful utterances...skillfully enhancing our understanding and appreciation
of Lincoln while revealing the Divine source of his strength."
Lt.
Colonel C.A. Olsen (Ret.) Asbury College (Professor Ret.)
"The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln is
an extremely well written book that investigates what might be
termed the spiritual side of President Lincoln. It's both scholarly and very
readable. I came away impressed at Mr. Wyrick's portrayal of the President and
with an altered and enlarged vision of the man:'
William Hoffman, Award winning fiction writer; author of Blood and Guile, and
Wild Thorn
"Wyrick has authored a wonderful
examination of the spirituality of one of American history's most devoutly
religious leaders...a pleasant and readable book that has a rich depth of
information."
Maynard Pittendreigh Presbyterian
minister
"When it comes to invoking religion in
support of any of their decisions, politicians need to sit at the feet of
Abraham Lincoln. Reinhold Niebuhr once called him 'America's greatest
theologian.' Why so great? Because he invariably distinguished between human
works and the works of the Almighty. As Wyrick says, 'He wore
the mantle of humility easily: because he was more impressed with what God was
doing in the world than with what he, president of the United States in the
midst of an awful crisis, was doing. That is why in his last major speech he
distinguished between both human causes in the Civil War and the Almighty's
'own purposes.' Lincoln would have agreed that it is better to leave God-talk
out of politics than to decorate human proposals with divinity. This is a book
for our American time. Through his careful study of Lincoln's career, Wyrick
compels us to remember that piety belongs in politics only when piety
transcends politics."
Dr.
Donald W. Shriver
Emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics
"V. Neil Wyrick's fine work allows the reader to appreciate Abraham
Lincoln's Christian commitment and his prophetic role in American history.
Should have a wide readership."
James
H. Smylie Professor
of Church History (Ret.) Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
"Neil
Wyrick's The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln should be read by anyone attempting to understand the man who was probably
the most complex person to ever hold the office of president of the United
States. Dr. Wyrick is intent on demonstrating that the spirituality so often
expressed in Lincoln's writings and speeches was not merely lip service to a
Deity, but rather expressions of a profound faith in a real God. It was this
faith that provided the wisdom, compassion, insight and sometimes steel that
Lincoln would need in full measure as he led the United States through
the Civil War. Dr. Wyrick's clear and unpretentious style of presentation is
very much in keeping with the character ofhis subject, and in so doing, Wyrick
makes his point very well that Lincoln, his beliefs, and the faith that formed them,
are as relevant to a troubled America in 2004 as they were in 1863."
Daniel Allen Butler, author
of "Unsinkable"; The Full Story of the RMS Titanic, The
Lusitania and The Age o f Cunard
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment