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There are over 900
stories and commentaries on this blog. It is added to
daily.
Click on http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
to read selected Sermons from
over 50 years of Rev. Wyrick's ministry.
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French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests--and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning--and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution--and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!"
I am indeed addicted to nagging both myself and others around
me as to the seriousness of living better lives...and promoting the Christian
ethic to the top of the decision making heap.
Not just for the morality
of it...though that should be a more than sufficient reason...but for the
reason that if we as a nation do not practice the morality of decent compassionate
living then our country becomes a jungle with jungle behavior...and thereby no
longer the America I grew up in and love so greatly.
And what kind of
Christians? Notable Christians that are
so much so they are noticeable Christians.
Yes...there is right and there is
wrong and if "it feels good then it must be alright" is no guideline
for acceptable behavior.
I grew up in an America where God was honored in our schools
and children went to Sunday School and a handshake was as good as a
contract...and while there are still vestiges of such...and millions who seek
their Savior...there are far too many who mock Christian behavior as out of
touch with reality.
Am I screaming on a street corner with no reason for such
screaming.
Should I be bothered when a female
prison guard in New York was fired because she refused to stop wearing a
necklace with a cross that she kept hidden under her uniform. A court upheld
the decision, saying, "If anybody saw the cross, they might be influenced
toward Christianity."
Should
I speak up when in far too many places manger scenes are legally banned...some
ripped down, burned and thrown into the streets!
Today,
in Dallas, Texas not for teaching or speaking of Christ in the classroom but
simply having a bible on your teacher desk...you can be fired.
Cool
it cry out some. Be tolerant say
others. But cannot one speak out for
Christ while not speaking out against other religions. Can we not level the playing field?
Will some reading this... call for the silence of such talk?
Is
there any correlation between this high regard for theological silence and the
fact that 60 percent of high school and college students say there is nothing
wrong with cheating on tests?
Cursing has always been around but in the past it was nowhere near so hard
core or constant.
Fights
in my time in school were with fists.
Today teenagers die by guns. Has
it really gotten worse in our schools?
The answer is yes if you agree that an increase of 520% in crime in
schools in the last 40 years is worse.
If any of the above is true...what can we do? What must we
do? And the "we" which
is you and me must double and triple in our numbers...and lessen our silence
about what is right and wrong.
In one of George
Washington's inaugural addresses he said, "No people can be bound to
acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more
than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to
the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some
token of providential agency." In plain English he said, it is God Who got
us this far, and we had better not forget it!
Our
founding fathers made it abundantly clear that this land was founded on God and
the Bible. Indeed, the Bible was the
first and only book to be used in public schools for years.
Think on the
fact that we have been brainwashed by
humanism, situational ethics, and relativism.
It is almost a
description of our own day.
" In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that
which was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6)
"No" It is a word that has gone out of
fashion...or am I wrong to suggest this?
"I'm personally
against it (whatever it is)" say many Christians "but I never say it
because it upsets people."
Upset
people for Christian values? Yes...Upset
America because these Christian values are increasingly ignored.
+++++++++++++++
In 1994
William J. Bennett gave the following talk.
His words of wisdom were true then.
Prophetic, they are even more true today. (the following are excerpts) (Excerpts)
"...
by the end of the decade 40% of all American births and 80% of minority births
will occur out of wedlock. These are not good things to get used to.
In 1940 teachers identified the top
problems in America's schools as: Talking out of turn, chewing gum, making
noise and running in the hall. In 1990, teachers listed drugs, alcohol,
pregnancy, suicide, rape and assault. These are not good things to get used to,
either.
There is a coarseness, a callousness
and a cynicism to our era. The worst of it has to do with our children. Our
culture seems almost dedicated to the corruption of the young. We have become
inured to the cultural rot that is setting in. People are losing their capacity
for shock, disgust and outrage...
The ancients called our problem
acedia, an aversion to spiritual things and an undue concern for the external
and the worldly. Acedia also is the seventh capital sin--sloth--but it does not
mean mere laziness. The slothful heart is stepped in the worldly and carnal,
hates the spiritual and wants to be free of its demands.
"...what must we do? We must return religion to its proper place.
Religion provides us with moral bearings, and the solution to our chief problem
of spiritual impoverishment depends on spiritual renewal. The surrendering of
strong beliefs, in our private and public lives, has demoralized society.
Today, much of society ridicules and
mocks those who are serious about their faith. America's only respectable form
of bigotry is bigotry against religious people. And the only reason for hatred
of religion is that it forces us to confront matters many would prefer to
ignore.
Today we must carry on a new
struggle for the country we love. We must push hard against an age that is
pushing hard against us. If we have full employment and greater economic
growth--if we have cities of gold and alabaster--but our children have not
learned how to walk in goodness, justice and mercy, then the American
experiment, no matter how gilded, will have failed.
Do not surrender. Get mad. Get in
the fight.
++++++++++++++++
QUOTES BELOW ARE
FROM WYRICK'S WRITINGS...CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING TO TAKE YOU THERE... http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
(These
are selected sermons from over 50+ years of ministry)
+++++++++++++++++++
Just
remember that “the pain of discipline will cost you pennies, whereas the pain
of regret will cost you millions.”
++++++++++++++++++
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.
+++++++++++++++++++
Anxiety
out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to put his best foot
forward.
++++++++++++++++++
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 do that.”
++++++++++++++++++++
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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++
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 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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