For more than 10 years, I have been trying to renovate my house, but cracks in the walls kept appearing, and no matter how many times I fixed the doors, they would not shut properly. The problem was that three-quarters of the house sat on sand and one-quarter on clay. The pylons had only been placed about six inches into the ground, and there is even a spring beside the house!
In Luke 16:19–31, we read of the story of a rich man and a beggar. The beggar sat at the rich man’s gate, but that man of wealth was unwilling to reach out to help him. Eventually they both died, and the rich man ended up in agony, desperately wanting just a drop of water to cool his tongue. While this is a terrible end for the rich man, the real tragedy is that he wanted someone to go witness to his brothers so they wouldn't come to that awful place. Abraham made it clear that no one could go back to tell his brothers.
We love to read about the amazing transformation that happened in Acts, Chapter 2. The Holy Spirit came and filled the 120 people gathered in the Upper Room, and the results were nothing short of amazing. Hearing the gospel proclaimed led to the conversion of three thousand people, including many from other nations who heard it in their own language. These new believers gathered into what most people would call the first church, and everything seemed perfect: their worship, their devotion to God, the way they gave to one another sacrificially, and the way they grew.
Chris Kennedy’s brother-in-law has ALS, a disease that stops someone from being able to use their muscles and usually leads to death. On July 15th, 2014 Chris Kennedy poured a bucket of ice water over his head and uploaded the video to Facebook to draw attention to the disease. Thus began what became known as the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” In the video, he challenged six close friends and his cousins to do the same to raise awareness for ALS.
In Luke 15.1-7 we read the story of a shepherd with 100 sheep. When one runs away, the shepherd leaves the 99 to go find that lost sheep. When he returns with the lost one, there is great rejoicing!
In 1783, George III of England was the leader of the greatest empire at that time. But despite his power in such a great kingdom, he lost 13 colonies all at once. How could it be that those 13 tiny colonies could successfully sever ties with England and form their own nation? The answer is simple: they joined forces and worked together. None could have done it alone, but together they made it happen.
