A reader shared the following, which was published in the “Lite Fare” section of the Christian Reader. At our midweek prayer service, a member requested prayer for a neighbor woman who was having a difficult time and was feeling "just miserable." Volunteering to take the request, a man fervently prayed, "O God, bless this miserable […]
The Joy of a Tender Heart – Philippians 1:7-8
In a column written this week by Maggie Gallagher she states the following… This Father's Day, some 24 million American children will sleep in fatherless homes. So this Sunday, if you were lucky enough to know the love of a father, thank him. Oh, and if your kids wake up Sunday morning in the home […]
Keys to Joy – Philippians 1:3-6
D.L. Moody once said… Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling […]
True Joy – Philippians 1:1-2
What is authentic joy? What is true joy? Billy Graham said in the book The Secret Of Happiness, I once heard of a man who went to see a psychiatrist. He told the doctor that he was lonely, despondent, and miserable. He begged the doctor to help him. The psychiatrist suggested that he needed to […]
Loving God, Loving People – Part 9, Loving Your Enemies – Matthew 5:43-48
Kevin A. Pierpont Higgins Lake Baptist Church 5/23/04 In August 1983, Russell Stendal was taken hostage into the jungle of Columbia, South America, by a band of guerrilla soldiers. For nearly 5 months he learned what it really means to love one’s enemies. He wrote a letter home, saying, “I am in danger only of […]
Loving God, Loving People – Part 8, Love in the Church – John 13:34,35
D.L. Moody once said, “Show me a church where there is love, and I will show you a church that is a power in the community. In Chicago a few years ago a little boy attended a Sunday school I know of. When his parents moved to another part of the city the little fellow […]
We Need Each Other
I had just come home with my family from a great weekend of fellowship with other believers. It had been a great time of spiritual refreshment. That’s when I got an email that contained some unwelcome news. My spirit of joy was almost completely gone. I was quickly discouraged about the news I had just […]
Loving God, Loving People – Part 7, Love at Home – Colossians 3:18-21
Kevin A. Pierpont Higgins Lake Baptist Church 5/9/04 A mother put her son to bed on the eve of his fifth birthday. She was trying to communicate that birthday idea to him. “John,” she said, “this is the last night of your fourth year. Do you understand that?” John was ready to communicate with his […]