Let Go Of Our Painful Past—Part 4
A painful past can often inhibit our dreams. Perhaps you’ve experienced pain such as …
- A split of close friends within a church
- The failure of a spiritual leader you trusted
- Betrayal by a Christian friend you went to for help, who told others about your problem
- An experience where you tried your best to serve the Lord, but you failed
- Embarrassment by a harsh authority figure
- Criticism from class members you were teaching
- Having your best efforts sabotaged by a ruling board
- Being left for another by your mate
- Horrible memories of childhood abuse just now starting to surface
For me, after feeling I had failed in my inner city efforts, I was afraid to open myself to dreaming again for well over a decade. I ministered assuming something bad would happen that would undermine whatever I tried to do. My leadership style was careful and guarded. But I found in time that it wasn’t nearly as much fun serving the Lord like that. I still wanted to believe He had a dream for me that fit perfectly into what He was doing in His world.
Maybe that’s how you feel. A cacophony of voices from your past screams in your mind, “Your real name is Scarboy … or Scargirl. You’ll never make it when it comes to serving this King of yours!”
If we’’re not careful, we adopt the names others give us and forget that God calls us to be heroes, that in His eyes we are not destined to be frightened, but instead are meant to be men and women of valor.
“Come on, David,” you say. “It’s a tale for children you’re referring to, remember? This is the real world, not Great Park and Enchanted City.”
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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.
