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 Contemplation & Reflection October 29, 2007 |
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Revival of the Mind
by Brad Beamon Philippians 4:8-9 You have an amazing machine inside your head we call the brain. You may not have a high IQ, maybe only average or even below average intelligence. But your brain is still something amazing. Did you know that inside the skull of your head is more information stored than in the Library of Congress and all 17 million volumes? That is pretty amazing for a little machine that only weighs about 3 pounds. Full Sermon » 
Slowing Down for Reflection
by Marilyn Murphree Luke 21:25-26 When I was growing up, there was a woman at our church who would always say, “STAY ready so you won’t have to GET ready.” She was saying basically what today’s Scripture says--live your lives in such a way that you will be ready if Jesus should come today. Each week in the Apostle’s Creed you say, “I believe that he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” Live your lives in such a way that you won’t be caught offguard if that day would be today. How do we do this in our busy 21st century lifestyles when our days are filled to the brim and overflowing with all kinds of obligations and responsibilities? Full Sermon » 
Christian Meditation
by Mike Wilkins 1 Timothy 4:7-8 I remember when I was a kid, we were living in New Dundee and my dad’s office was not in the church building, it was in the basement of our house. In order to go to work in the morning, he only had to walk downstairs. One time when he was coming upstairs he got winded, just climbing the stairs. He decided there and then that he had to get into shape. So he started walking to get the mail – the post office was about 1 km away, so every day at lunch he would walk 2 km round trip to get the mail. After a while he started to run a bit in his walk and then he began running every day. Full Sermon » 
Cease Fire: Finding a Peace that Lasts
by Melvin Newland Philippians 4:2-9 Have you heard about Tracy Lyperd? Tracy was a beauty queen in VA a few years ago. Shortly after crowning her successor, she drove 250 miles to seek revenge on her ex-boyfriend for jilting her and marrying another. She took along a pistol, a hammer, lighter fluid and matches. When she arrived at his house and rang the doorbell, it was answered by his new father-in-law. Tracy faked having car trouble, and asked if she could use the telephone. Full Sermon » 
The Heart
by Martin Dale Psalms 119:9-16 This evening, I would like to consider the heart. St Francis of Assisi once said: "Preach the Gospel all the time – and use words if necessary." Christianity is not, in my opinion, a religion. What I mean by that is that Christianity is not a set of rules – Do’s and Don’ts - and if you keep them, God will accept you. It is a lifestyle defined by our heart. The glorious Gospel message is that God accepted us – while we were yet sinners and forgave us. Full Sermon » |
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Leaving the Facts to Rot
"Instead of putting facts into the [wine] press of meditation, and fermenting them until they can draw out inferences, they leave them to rot and perish. They extract none of the sweet juice of wisdom from the precious fruits of the vine-tree. A man who reads only a tenth part as much, but who takes the grapes of Eschol that he gathers, and squeezes them by meditation, will learn more in a week than your pendant will in a year, because he muses on what he reads." Source: Charles Spurgeon | Contributed by: Lindy Axon
To Improve the Mind
"In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate."
Eyes and Minds on God
There’s a story of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who was deeply immersed in meditation during a church service, and he failed to kneel at the appropriate moment. His enemies hurried to the bishop and demanded that Dante be punished for his sacrilege. Dante defended himself by saying, “If those who accuse me had had their eyes and minds on God, as I had, they too would have failed to notice events around them, and they most certainly would not have noticed what I was doing." Contributed By : Pat Cook
Constant Conversation
There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Source: Brother Lawrence
What is Christian Meditation?
Christian meditation has nothing to do with emptying our minds. Christian meditation engages every part of us-our mind, our emotions, our imagination, our creativity and, supremely, our will. As Archbishop Anthony Bloom puts it, ‘Meditation is a piece of straight thinking under God’s guidance.’ Source: Joyce Huggett | Contributed by: Jim Kane |
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