Make God’s Dreams For Us Our Dreams As Well—Part 2
Step Right Up!
The tilt-a-whirl and the sword swallower and the shooting gallery caught the attention of my friends. But what I was fascinated by was a booth that featured what looked like miniature steam shovels. For a quarter a try you operated nobs that would make the claw (or the shovel) go up, down, and sideways, and open and close. Wonderful prizes were there to be picked up by this little shovel including, would you believe, a roll of five dollars worth of quarters. I watched a man win one of those rolls!
I saw others try and fail. But after a while I figured out what they were doing wrong. So eventually I just had to try my hand at it.
The test turned out to be harder than I had thought. And before I knew it, my only dollar was gone. However, on the last try I almost captured that elusive stack of quarters. Now it was decision time. Back at home I had five dollars in my top dresser drawer. I was saving that to buy a new trick at Harry’s Magic Shop. But with what I had already learned about the miniature steam shovels, I knew that in just another turn or two I could capture those quarters. Then I’d have my five dollars back, the dollar I had already lost, plus at least three or four dollars I wouldn’t even have to spend. I don’t have to finish the story.
What was it that would prompt a boy to lose every cent he had on that stupid game? In the end I had absolutely nothing to show for my carnival experience—no hot dog, no pop, no ride on the octopus, nothing! I couldn’t even tell my folks I’d had a great time.
Maybe it was the dream that I could get around the tough things all boys had to do to get “rich”—mow lawns, deliver papers, hawk ice cream at ball games. I don’t know. But I do know that most days for most people are horribly routine, and life tends to go by rather quickly. All of that makes us susceptible to whatever appears a bit more exciting and bigger than life.
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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.
