Become World-Class Christians—Part 8
Gateway to the Heart
Children have an amazing ability to capture the hearts of adults. I recall an enchanting dirty-faced little beggar girl I encountered some years ago near the Gateway of India, Bombay’s principal landmark and tourist attraction.
She could beg in I don’t know how many languages. She would wait long enough to catch the language she thought you were speaking. Then she would come up and make her appeal in the few words she thought you would understand. “Money please—hungry—nice man.”
I would have taken her home with me if I could. I really would have. That little lady, maybe five or six years old, found a soft-hearted American in me. I gave her money, but I often wonder what her ultimate fate was.
God’s final attempt to get Jonah to identify with His concern for the great city of Nineveh was an appeal based on the 120,000 innocent children living there. Scripture doesn’t say what the prophet’s final response was.
I also have tried to use the appeal of children as a gateway to your heart. I hope these little ones will open modern Jonahs to the multitudes of lost folk in Nineveh-like settings foreign to us. All these people, both young and old, are God’s children.
His incredible dream is to reach out to them all. And God wants us to identify both with His heart and with His command to take the message of His love to all parts of the globe. As we sing in the hymn, He wants His kingdom to spread “from shore to shore.” He wants to reign “wher-e’er the sun does His successive journeys run.” This is what He dares to dream.
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
