Lately, I have been trying to make a list of some of the most memorable sermons that I have heard over the course of my life. Since I have been a Christian since the age of three and am now in my sixties, I have a lot to choose from. Some of them I remember the words that were said and some are memorable for the reactions that I had. So, after years and years which ones do I remember?
I think that my first pick for one of the most amazing talks was from Corrie ten Boom in an auditorium in Minneapolis around 1974. Corrie ten Boom was the author of "The Hiding Place". For those of you who have not heard of her, her book is a "must" read as far as I am concerned. She was a Dutch watchmaker who, with her family, hid many Jews during World War II and as a consequence spent a long time in a concentration camp. After the war she traveled the world sharing her faith.
When I attended the conference for which she was the main speaker, she was an 82 year old little gray haired lady. Even though she did not shout or raise her heavily accented voice at all, you could feel the power and force of her words! At one point she held up a tapestry that looked odd. It had a jumble of colors and threads going this way and that. She said that this is how we sometimes see our own lives. They do not always make sense and we do not always know why God allows certain experiences -good, bad, and tragic. Sometimes our lives look and feel messy and confused.
Then she turned the tapestry over.....On the other side was a beautiful, delicate pattern woven with many colors into a perfectly designed cross. She said that this is how our loving God views our lives, As Christians, he takes each and every thread and because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, turns them into something beautiful!
Around the same time as we heard Miss ten Boom speak, a song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither became popular in Christian circles. I heard the words to that song and used it as a lullaby for each of my four children.....It has become very precious to me. Hear are the words....
Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion, He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But He made something beautiful of my life.
If there ever were dreams
That were lofty and noble
They were my dreams at the start
And the hope for life's best
Were the hopes that I harbor
Down deep in my heart
But my dreams turned to ashes
And my castles all crumbled
My fortunes turned to loss
So I wrapped it all in the rags of my life
And laid them at the cross..
Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion, He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But He made something beautiful of my life!
Have a good day! Love, Sue
I think that my first pick for one of the most amazing talks was from Corrie ten Boom in an auditorium in Minneapolis around 1974. Corrie ten Boom was the author of "The Hiding Place". For those of you who have not heard of her, her book is a "must" read as far as I am concerned. She was a Dutch watchmaker who, with her family, hid many Jews during World War II and as a consequence spent a long time in a concentration camp. After the war she traveled the world sharing her faith.
When I attended the conference for which she was the main speaker, she was an 82 year old little gray haired lady. Even though she did not shout or raise her heavily accented voice at all, you could feel the power and force of her words! At one point she held up a tapestry that looked odd. It had a jumble of colors and threads going this way and that. She said that this is how we sometimes see our own lives. They do not always make sense and we do not always know why God allows certain experiences -good, bad, and tragic. Sometimes our lives look and feel messy and confused.
Then she turned the tapestry over.....On the other side was a beautiful, delicate pattern woven with many colors into a perfectly designed cross. She said that this is how our loving God views our lives, As Christians, he takes each and every thread and because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, turns them into something beautiful!
Around the same time as we heard Miss ten Boom speak, a song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither became popular in Christian circles. I heard the words to that song and used it as a lullaby for each of my four children.....It has become very precious to me. Hear are the words....
Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion, He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But He made something beautiful of my life.
If there ever were dreams
That were lofty and noble
They were my dreams at the start
And the hope for life's best
Were the hopes that I harbor
Down deep in my heart
But my dreams turned to ashes
And my castles all crumbled
My fortunes turned to loss
So I wrapped it all in the rags of my life
And laid them at the cross..
Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion, He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But He made something beautiful of my life!
Have a good day! Love, Sue
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