June 17, 2007
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Soul Weariness
After a full wedding weekend we had a glorious worship service. Two other churches joined our congregation. The singing, my friendly reader, was lusty and loud. The sermon was on depression or soul weariness. Not a typical sermon for Father’s Day, but it’s where we are in the text (Hebrews 12:3-4). “Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.”Here are a few snippets I wrote down:
People often drown in despair with their makeup on.
[The idea being that people in our midst look fine on the outside, but are truly discouraged.]People chew pills that God intended them to swallow.
Sometimes our lives are like cheap cheese.
[I whispered to my dear friend, "Velveeta." She whispered back, "It's not Gouda."]If you are going to doubt God, be sure to also doubt your doubts.
Build your happiness on reality – not simply on diversions.
At one point in the sermon my husband leaned to me and whispered, “Gollum.” Three seconds later our son leaned to him and whispered, “Smeagal.”Our pastor highly recommends this book by Martin Lloyd-Jones.
The June 17th sermon isn’t up loaded yet; it’s a great one. If you are interested, message me and I’ll forward the two page outline of the sermon. That’s a quick way to get the gist of it.
Comments (4)
I find it an excellent after church exercise to write a short post about the sermon. Although I am a note-taker, nothing solidifies the material in my mind like a recap.
I enjoy yours..
Dana in GA
PS I’ve been talking about your lusty singing
Sounds like you had a glorious week-end!
My husband has the Martin Lloyd-Jones book in his library. I did a quick read-through on it at one point, and though I’m not recalling particulars, I do remember thinking it was helpful enough to recommend to others.
Loved the “doubt your doubts”quote.
Blessings to you this Monday morning, Carol.
Lloyd-Jones book is what I was thinking of as I began to read your post. In fact, it was the second time today that I’ve thought of the book, and it’s only 9:37 a.m.!
I rarely re-read books but started rereading Ordering Your Private World (McDonald) this morning. It’s been about 23 years since I read the first time. During the reading I thought that my next re-read needs to be Spiritual Depression which I read shortly after OYPW. SD is simply packed with good stuff.
Thanks for the sermon quotes. I particularly like the pill one.
Have a wonderful beginning-of-the-week, Carol!
Janie
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!