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There are over 900
stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to
daily.
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A common ordinary barnyard egg before it becomes a delectable omelet or scrambled delight must have its shell cracked.
If having done so you throw out the egg with the shell you would be considered a fool and rightly so.
A watermelon consist of two fundamental
parts, a green and uneatable rind, and red juicy and tasty inner fruit. If you throw out the fruit with the rind you
would be considered a fool and rightly so.
Suppose you had a dirty baby and clean
water and after a washing you had a clean baby and dirty water...what if then
you threw out the baby with the bathwater...would you be considered a fool and
rightly so.
People do this all the time with religion. Because they find parts they do not like they
throw everything connected with it out the window.
Some
picks at one of their scriptural and biblical beliefs and they throw up their
hands and say, "It's all too confusing. I quit.
I give up."
Or
they come in contact with a particularly obnoxious Christian and say, "If that's a Christian then I give up on
Christianity."
Or
someone says that to be a Christian you must read 5 chapters of your Bible each
and every day, or pray one hour and 32 minutes or ...and some in exasperation
respond, "If that's Christianity, I'll spend my
time and effort and inclination with something else."
I am not about to tell you that if you do not pray you
are not a Christian but I will tell you that if you do not learn to talk with
your God you cannot very well know your God.
I
would not consider naming the number of Bible verses or chapters you should
read each day...but I would suggest your soul will miss the wisdom and
inspiration that otherwise you would find.
I would comment that no one should relegate
God to second place because some of his followers in the church act in a second
class manner.
What
to do about this problem. Pray not to be
broad-minded or narrow-minded but as the Bible says "like-minded with the
Lord."
Rousseau, one of the great opponents of
Christianity declared, "If the life and death of Socrates are those of a
philosopher, then the life and death of Jesus Christ are those of a God."
And
there is what Christianity is all about...not letting pitiful minutiae get in
the way of a faith on its way to a first class flourishing.
"This is my Son in whom I am well pleased"
boomed out a voice from heaven at the Baptism of Christ. Let that roar from heaven push away any
foolishness that might otherwise try to hold you in its grasp.
Jesus, more meek than Moses, more patient than Job,
more compassionate than Daniel, more wise than Solomon, possessd of more zeal
than Paul, and brimming with more zeal than John.
What will you find if you do not let foolishness drive
you from the presence of other Christians and the joy of prayer and worship
toward the throne of grace?
You
will find meekness but not weakness, joy without frivolity, sorrow without
phlegmatism, sympathy without sentimentality, friendliness without patrony,
generosity without condescension. generosity without condescension.
An old Chinese hearing the story of the cross
for the first time responded, "I always thought there ought to be a God
like that."
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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
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.)(check below for
sample quotes from these sermons over the last number of weeks) Just click on the URL below
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When you come to communion,
there are what might be called four imperatives to give it meaning. You have been given the choice; to accept all
four, or three, or two, or one, or none and just go through the motions.
There is repentance
- which allows you to use a mistake as a stepping stone instead of a stumbling
block. It is renouncing a bad yesterday
for a better tomorrow. How you define it
is your choice. Whether you repent or not
is God’s imperative.
The second of the four imperatives I hope you bring to the
communion table is overwhelming love
for God and your fellowman. Sometimes,
for some people, it is easier to say, “I am sorry I was bad” than it is to love
the neighbor you have been bad to. To
love the unlovely is a challenge, but that is exactly what partaking of
Communion is…a challenge.
Third...
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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.
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Anxiety
out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to put his best foot
forward.
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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.”
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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 do that.”
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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 anything. None of us are perfect.
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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
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Some
of the sermon titles posted recently
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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/
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BELOW
ARE MORE QUOTES FROM NEIL'S RECENTLY POSTED SERMONS
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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.
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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
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