Turning Point
The Example of the Savior…in the Turning Points of Life
Have you ever heard or read the poem by Robert Frost which begins, “Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood?” It is about a traveler who simply comes to a fork in the road....a turning point in his walk…for he must decide which fork he will take. And, as the poem says, the fork he takes “will make all the difference.” Life is full of forks in the road, isn’t it? It is full of turning points. In the next few Sundays, as we approach the celebration of Easter, we will look at a number of Turning Points in our lives and the example of Jesus as He leads the way. Turning Points are tough. Sometimes it’s hard to know which direction to take. Thank God Jesus is with us. He will guide us – not simply by telling us what to do, but also by His example in the life He lived for us! Need a little help in the Turning Points of your life? This series is for you!
Sunday, February 14th In the Face of Great Temptation, He Listens to the Father
“I think I saw a “puddy cat.” Do you remember the cartoon? The main characters were a parakeet and Sylvester, the cat. Often, Sylvester is pictured with a Good Angel speaking in one ear and an evil angel speaking in the other ear…And when Sylvester listens to the wrong one, he always -and hilariously- suffers for it. But in the Turning Points in our lives, amidst the cacophony of voices, is there one that we can trust and listen to? Come and see what Jesus did. Turning Point! He is our example, our template, our Savior, our King!
Sunday, February 21st As the Storm Approaches, He Prays
Do you remember the last time a hurricane hit the Florida coast? Do remember seeing film during the Newscast of people boarding up their windows and generally “battening down the hatches” in preparation for the storm? That’s what wise people do; they prepare for the storms in life. How? Come and see what Jesus did. Turning Point! He is our example, our template, our Savior, our King!
Sunday, February 28th When All Hell Breaks Loose, He Heals
I remember seeing a movie where, in a very difficult and dicey situation, as “all hell is breaking loose,” a man named Faramir says to himself, “this is an opportunity for Faramir to show his character.” What do you do –how do you show your character – when “all hell breaks loose” in your life? Come and see what Jesus did. Turning Point! He is our example, our template, our Savior, our King!
Sunday, March 6th When All Depends on It, He Makes the Good Witness
Have you seen a movie or watched one of those shows such as Law and Order where the conviction of a horrible criminal hinges on someone testifying to what they know and saw in court, even though their life has been threatened and may be forfeited if they do? It’s always easy to say, “Oh, they need to testify,” ….but what if it was you? Whether we realize it or not, we often come to such Turning Points in our lives, where we have the opportunity to make the Good Confession. What should we do? Come and see what Jesus did. Turning Point! He is our example, our template, our Savior, our King!
Sunday, March 13th In the Face of Impending Death, He Gives
Have you ever heard the phrase, “where the rubber meets the road?” It means something like, “when you scrape all the veneer of life away and you are faced with a foundational issue and question, what will be your answer, your reaction, and your action?” That is, on the most basic level, who are you and what will you stand for….and what will it look like? Such is the question of facing impending death…a question, really, once you scrape the veneer away, that we face every day. So, what should we do? Come and see what Jesus did. Turning Point! He is our example, our template, our Savior, our King!
Sunday, March 20th When He Could Have Turned Away….. Palm Sunday He Embraces the Road of Suffering
Have you ever read the poem, “Into the Valley of Death Rode the 600?” It is the account of an English Calvary charge during the Crimean War. In the poem, it acknowledges that everyone knew immediately –with canon to the right and canon to the left of them – that someone had made a mistake….yet they rode on. And in stanza four it says, “Then they rode back, but not –not the 600.” Sometimes, in the Turning Points of our lives, we are challenged to be “all in” on something, no matter what. How do we know what to do? Come and see what Jesus did…and why! Turning Point! He is our example, our template, our Savior, our King!
Sunday, March 27th He is Risen! End Game! Slam Dunk! We Win! Easter Sunday
Approaching the Super Bowl, all the pundits make their picks but then say something like, I just hope we have a good, close game. Well, not me. I want the champion to be the champion. I want the champion to win overwhelmingly convincingly so that no one can say, Well, they were lucky to win that one, or It could have gone either way. I love it when the champion blows out the other team so there is no doubt! In fact, that's the way I think it should be!
Easter is God's blow out victory for you and me. God left NO doubt! Jesus is The overwhelming champion. End Game! Slam dunk! Scoreboard! We win!
Today, we celebrate!....And we remember what this means for us!