Sermon Leftovers

One of Stephen Covey's basic principles is,   "Begin with the end in mind."   Most areas of your life would exhibit significant growth if you applied this principle. Why wouldn't you want to apply this concept spiritually as well? What is the end for Christians?   It is living in the presence of God our Father for eternity. Happily, a sliver of that future reality is available today for us as our Father has sent the Spirit to be present with us. Let that sink in. God is present with with you today. How does that impact the next thing on your todo list? Another way to "begin with the end in mind" is to consider that   an end goal for all Christians should be to look like Jesus.   If that is the end you desire, what will you do today to bring it to pass? Does your calendar reflect your desire to look like Christ? Does your bank statement demonstrate your efforts and investments in Christ-like behavior? What you do; how you plan; where you spen

The toughest shots are opportunities for great success A few years ago I was playing a rare round of golf. Because I’m no Tiger Woods (in more ways than one, I guess), I was able to see much more of the golf course than most. At one point, I found myself off the fairway and behind a few trees. About 15 yards ahead of me was an opening of about ten feet which provided a much more exciting (albeit perhaps not as wise) option  than a safe sideways punchout to the fairway. Don’t Be Distracted By Danger In The Distance Remembering a trick someone had taught me many years ago, I stood behind my ball and drew an imaginary line from the opening directly to my ball. Then I located a small stick which lay immediately on top of the imaginary line approximately two feet in front of my ball. I locked my eyes on the stick and moved into my address position beside the ball. From that moment on, I did not look up to see where my ball would lie. Instead, I focused all my energy o