Topic > Christian Beliefs > Future >
Looking ahead to our permanent home in heaven
Friday, February 17, 2012, Part 4
Idea: Faith doesn’t make us comfortable; in fact, it can cause us great pain.
Purpose: To help listeners understand that it’s better to suffer for something than to live for nothing.
Looking forward to the reward awaiting us in heaven!
Thursday, February 16, 2012, Part 3
Idea: Faith doesn’t make us comfortable; in fact, it can cause us great pain.
Purpose: To help listeners understand that it’s better to suffer for something than to live for nothing.
How we can live differently because we know there is more to come beyond this life!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012, Part 2
Idea: Faith doesn’t make us comfortable; in fact, it can cause us great pain.
Purpose: To help listeners understand that it’s better to suffer for something than to live for nothing.
Glorifying God In Life And Death
It seems we most often think about how we can glorify God through our lives when we are active and strong. But I wonder if we should also consider how we might glorify God through our death.
How the decisions we make today can shape our future
Monday, February 6, 2012, Part 1
“Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children; because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me” (Psalm 69:6-9).
Idea: Christ identifies with us if we are insulted for His sake.
Purpose: To help listeners realize how closely we’re identified with Christ when we are put to shame for His sake.
The Land Of And
In a TV commercial I saw recently, the kids argued in the back seat of the car about where to stop for dinner. One wanted pizza; another chicken. Mom, in the front passenger seat, said, “No, we’ll stop for a hamburger.”
Longing For Home
When our son Stephen was a youngster, he went away for a week at a Christian summer camp. Later that week, we got a letter from him that was addressed to “Mom and Dad Crowder” and simply said, “Please come and take me home today.” What his child’s mind couldn’t comprehend, of course, was that it would be days before we got his letter and more time before we could come for him.
Facing The Future
While going through some old files, I came across a 1992 special issue of TIME magazine titled “Beyond the Year 2000: What To Expect in the New Millennium.” It was fascinating to read the predictions made 2 decades ago about what the future would hold. Some general observations were on target, but no one foresaw many of the events and innovations that have radically changed our lives. The most telling statement to me was, “The first rule of forecasting should be that the unforeseen keeps making the future unforeseeable.”
Death Destroyed!
Medical researchers are working tirelessly to find a cure for cancer, a clue to the mystery of Alzheimer’s, and ways to conquer a host of other debilitating diseases. But what if you awoke to headlines saying DEATH DESTROYED! Would you believe it? Could you believe it?
Only A Sketch
In The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis tells the story of a woman who gave birth to a son while confined as a prisoner in a dungeon. Since the boy had never seen the outside world, his mother tried to describe it by making pencil drawings. Later when he and his mother were released from prison, the simple pencil sketches were replaced by the actual images of our beautiful world.
Sandcastles
When our kids were young, my wife Martie and I enjoyed family vacations in Florida visiting our parents. It was especially wonderful to be there in the warmth for a brief respite from the Michigan wind-chill factor. I couldn’t wait to just relax on the beach with a good book. But my kids had other ideas. They wanted my help building sandcastles. Reluctantly, I’d get up to help, only to be quickly consumed by the project at hand.
So Long
My grandfather refused to say “goodbye”; he felt the word was too final. So, when we would drive away after family visits, his farewell ritual was always the same. Standing in front of the green ferns that lined his house, he would wave and call out, “So long”!
Investing In The Future
Jason Bohn was a college student when he made a hole-in-one golf shot that won him a million dollars. While others may have squandered that money, Bohn had a plan. Wanting to be a pro golfer, he used the money as a living-and-training fund to improve his golf skills.
1,000th Birthday
In his book Long for This World, Jonathan Weiner writes about science’s promise to radically extend how long we live. At the center of the book is English scientist Aubrey de Grey, who predicts that science will one day offer us 1,000-year lifespans. Aubrey claims that molecular biology has finally placed a cure for aging within our reach.
Joyful Reunion
Some years ago when our children were still small, I flew home after a 10-day ministry trip. In those days people were allowed to visit the airport boarding area to greet incoming passengers. When my flight landed, I came out of the jet-bridge and was greeted by our little ones—so happy to see me that they were screaming and crying.
