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There are over 900
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Wyrick's Writings click on the following. Just click on the URL below
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Have you read
Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables?"
The book has been read by millions and millions more have
seen the movie...and the message it sends has changed lives.
To help your remembrance...stay with me...Jean Valjean
has spent 19 brutal years in the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread to feed
his starving family.
When
finally he escapes his attitude toward mankind is a hard and hopeless thing.
Man,
any man, after all those years of torture, any person is for Jean Valjean a
thing to be used, stolen from, abused as he has been abused.
Finally,
after being driven by fear from every inn where there are people...he does
indeed have about him the outward look of a criminal sort who cannot be
trusted...finally...he is given food and shelter by an old bishop.
Sitting
at the bishop's supper table and eating like one half starved, he notices the silver plates and candlesticks.
Later
that night, when all is quiet and still and the old bishop is fast asleep, he steals
into the pantry, places the silver plates beneath his ragged clothes and slips
out into the night.
Not
long thereafter the old Bishop is awakened by four gendarmes, bringing Jean
Valjean to face his victim.
Jean
cannot believe what happens next. The
old Bishop with such a look of benevolence on his face that he cannot believe,
says to Jean, "Ah, there you are. I
am glad to see you. But I gave you the
candlesticks also as well as the plates, which are silver like the rest and
would bring two hundred francs. Why did
you not take these along with the plates?"
The
look of astonishment on Jeans face was beyond description.
After
the police were gone, the old Bishop looks at Jean and says, "Forget not, never forget
that you have promised me to use this silver to become an honest man."
Jean
Valjean, listening, can not remember any such promise.
The
Bishop continues, "Jean
Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for
you. I withdraw it from dark thoughts,
and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God."
Then,
as Jean wanders off into the night, the poor benumbed and besotted soul had no
thought of becoming a good man.
In
no time at all he proves he has not repented or changed. A small child, a chimney sweeper, Petit
Gervais is playfully tossing forty-sou pieces in the air. Dropping one it rolls at the feet of Jean
Valjean who promptly places his foot on it..and laughs as the frightened child
flees without his money.
And
then, a vision comes to Jean...a vision a Bishop who gave to a thief who could
now steal from a weeping child.
And
Jean Valjean begins to weep and he cannot stop...and as he weeps a light grows
brighter and brighter in his mind...an extraordinary light...a light at once
transforming and terrible.
His
past life appears before him; his first offense, his long expiation, his brutal
exterior, his hardened exterior, his many schemes of vengeance, his last
despicable action of stealing from a child.
A
crime made even meaner when coming so close after the pardon of the Bishop.
All
this returns and appears to him clearly and this light issuch as he has
never seen before. His life as he now
seees it issuch a horrible and frightful thing.
But then there is a softened
light that shines upon his life and upon his soul. And...
it seems to him that he is looking upon
Satan by the light of Paradise.
Every
man reaches a point in life when he must consider what is most important...
Taking
or giving...
Few
reach the depths that Jean Valjean did...
few
have so high to rise from a point so low...
but
every person must reach a point of decision ...a time to decide what is most
important...and what kind of person they have become and want to continue to
be.
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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
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"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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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
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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 ENTITLED
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 ENTITLED
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 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 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 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
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