I love the idea I read recently: "Man's rejection may be God's direction.
If you are human, you know what it means to be rejected! As Jesus sends his 12 disciples out, teaching them to be his witnesses in the world, he prepares them for the certainty of rejection. The question is not whether we will be rejected or not, the question is how do we handle the rejection. We can choose to take rejection personally, or we can ignore the rejection and push our way into people’s homes anyways, or we can do as Christ says, go on to a place where we will be welcomed and heard.
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![]() Two disciples on the road to Emmaus with a "stranger" “The mountains are all right I guess, but they sure do spoil the view” (caption underneath a photo of a beautiful mountain). At times our sight is dim. Believing, but not quite seeing the Lord. To miss the beauty of the mountains, to miss the Lord among us. One of my heroes of the Bible is the disciple Cleopas and another unnamed disciple. Not because these two are so amazing, but because they are so ordinary --because they are so much like me. Paul the apostle in his writings in the New Testament talks about running the race of faith and finishing strong -- I think of myself more as a plodder. That’s the best I can do – plod along, not always understanding, yet now and then the Lord has opened my eyes to see that which is amazing and wonderful, there the Lord was all along right under my nose. Like the moment you at last find the elusive puzzle piece, snatch it up, put it in place and cannot believe you did not see it earlier. The Lord is there all along. A pig and a chicken were walking by a church during a fundraiser. Getting caught up in the atmosphere, the pig suggested to the chicken that they each make an offering. "Great idea!" the chicken replied. "Let's offer them ham and eggs!" "Not so fast," said the pig. "For you, that's an offering. For me, it's a sacrifice."
Sacrificial giving. The woman with perfume is an amazing person, commended by the Lord for doing “a beautiful thing…” What a wonderful example this woman who lavishly pours out abundance, more than she has, on the feet of Jesus. A mother went to live with her son, his wife and a granddaughter. When she first came into their home there was great celebration at the evening meal. As time went on the woman became elderly, lost some control, and made noises with her food. The evening meal became an unpleasant experience as the woman had a harder time with etiquette and pleasantries, so the son moved his mother to the corner of the room, To make things easier the woman was provided a pig trough. This made the evening meal much more pleasant and delightful with no more embarrassing noises and spilled food. One day the granddaughter, who was becoming a young girl, was daydreaming of her future: “When I grow up, I’m going to have a husband and a house just like this one, and mommy and daddy, you’ll live with me, and I’ll have a pig trough for you, too.” The next night, for the evening meal, the old woman was back eating at the table.
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Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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June 2021
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