a. “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Reward time

 

·         Glorious home going

 

·         New body

 

c. Next week…. “the gain!”

 

 

 

1. Teens….get a boyfriend

 

2. Young marrieds

a. Raise kids?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Galatians 1:15-16) “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His Grace (16) to reveal His son in me,”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                    a. Literally “I know this”

 

2. (19) “what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance”

 

1. Salvation (or) Deliverance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. And the opposite is true of those who resist God’s plan for their life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. It’s a supernatural plan…so He has provided supernatural power to help you accomplish the plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a. It doesn’t just happen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

d. Do you have 3 people that will pray for you daily?

 

 

 

 

 

The church is built over the site that Constantine selected as the original location of the cross and tomb of Christ about 325 AD. You would think that such a site would be holy. But if you have ever been there, you will know that the church is divided into areas in which the various church orders compete for prominence in seeking to entice tourists to their particular attraction. Imagine God dwelling in a place like that!

 

 

Here is the pinnacle of Renaissance architecture embellished with the highest achievement of Renaissance art. Michelangelo worked there. And so did Raphael. But I always remind visitors to Rome that these men were paid with the indulgence money squeezed from the peasants of Germany and that it was in protest against such injustices that Luther started on the path that gave birth to the Protestant Reformation. 

 

 

Is it any wonder that Paul stood upon Mars Hill in Athens and reminded the Greeks of his day that “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” (Acts 17:24).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a. “experiencing God”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eric Liddle’s commitment to athletic excellence was well documented in the film Chariots of Fire. But his commitment to his Christian values was what made headlines when he refused to compete in the 100-meter dash during the 1924 Olympic games because the race was scheduled for a Sunday. Nonetheless, Liddle went on to set a world record in the 400-meter dash and win a Gold Medal. If you saw the film, you may recall the sobering note that appeared on the screen as the final credits rolled. 

 

Following the ’24 games, Liddle could have basked in fame and glory in his native Britain, but in less than a year he left for China to serve with the London Missionary Society, just as his father had done. For part of Liddle’s 21-year career in China, he taught science courses at the Anglo-Chinese College in Tientsin. Later, he did evangelism work in rural areas, usually traveling over rough terrain on foot or bicycle.

 

The Chinese/Japanese struggle continued into the early 1940’s and a few weeks before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Liddle was imprisoned by the Japanese, just after getting his wife and two children out of China.

 

Liddle hoped he would be able to join his family, but the months in captivity stretched into years as he lived among 1800 people crammed into a compound only 150 x 200 yards. Seldom mentioning his Olympic career or his Gold Medal, he preferred to help by teaching and tutoring and giving special care to the older people who were weak and ill. He continually helped organize and run Christian meetings that became a critical part of keeping many people alive in the squalor of open cesspools, rats, flies and disease.

 

Just a few months before the camp was liberated, a brain tumor took Eric Liddle’s life, but he let few know of his tremendous pain and suffering. To the last day he continued moving about, walking slowly under trees near the camp hospital where he taught the children games. His smile never faded, but he died the next evening. He was buried in a little cemetery in the camp with an honor guard made up of the children who had meant so much to him while being separated from his own family.

 

One of those children was David Mitchell, who later wrote: “None of us will ever forget this man who was totally committed to putting God first, a man whose humble life combined muscular Christianity with radiant godliness. What was his secret? He unreservedly committed his life to Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. That friendship meant everything to him. In the cramped men’s dormitory, early each morning by the flickering oil of a peanut oil lamp, he and a roommate studied the Bible and talked with God for an hour. As a Christian, Eric Liddle’s desire was to know God more deeply, and, as a missionary, to make Him known more fully.”

 

For Eric Liddle, to live was Christ, and to die was gain.