"Thank God For The Dirty Dishes" Poem

I decided to give full poem written by Cecelia Williams and shared by her Pastor son John Williams III on on the Sermon Central Illustrations section. This was used in the sermon I preached Sunday Oct. 14 on "Complaining".

Rev. John Williams III shares this:

"My natural mother once wrote a poem about being thankful that I have always treasured since I discovered it. She died in 1984 with s

kin cancer. But, all that I learned from her is still with me today. I thank God for every memory and every valuable lesson that she taught me about life.
Her Poem went like this…

Thank God for dirty dishes,
They have a tale to tell.
While other folks go hungry,
We’re eating very well.
With home and health and happiness
We should not want to fuss.
For by this stack of evidence,
God is very good to us.
(Cecelia D. Williams)

It is often that stack of evidence that we so often forget or slight because we are too busy fussing or complaining."

Think Again About Complaining

Today I preached from Numbers 11 on the theme of Complaining. In Numbers 11 it tells of a chain reaction that occurred related to complaining.

During the Exodus some fringe people complained about the food God provided, then the Jews themselves complained, Moses ,the leader, complained and wanted to die and God Himself became discouraged and angry at the whole situation.

The point--- be careful  about complaining- you could set off a chain reaction of negative responses around you.

More importantly - Complaining is often rejection of God's path for your life and rejection of God trying to fine tune your trust in Him.

Be careful- Complaining is a downward spiritual path.

Be thankful for the dirty dishes - it shows you had food to eat! (paraphrase- Cecilia Williams)

You Are Key to Improving Relationships - Home Improvement Sermon Series #2

Home Improvement Sermon Series #2– You Are Key to Improving Relationships

Love is foundational to all relationships:

-John 13:34 (NIV) “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  

1st.--_ACCEPT their uniqueness.

God made everybody different

Slide-    Romans 15:7 (NIV) “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

                                                                                         

I Corinthians 13:5a (TLB) "Love does not demand its own way."

Our children are not necessary a carbon copy of …..

On a Scale of 1-10 --How are you doing at accepting others as DIFFERENT?

                                                                                                       

|_______________________________|

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

          2nd.    Trust them with responsibility.

Did you know if you protect them too much it is  like rejecting them

The goal is to trust –to do that you have to be patient to build up their confidence

On a Scale of 1 to 10 ---What is your Trust level of  people ?                                                                    

|_______________________________|

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

     3rd.  Expect the best

Research shows students doing much better under teachers who thought the student was a higher IQ than average.  Why?

Because expectations make a huge difference in performance!

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT) “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”         

-  SO RATE YOURSELF

Which do you tend to do ?

What do you expect from people?

The Best or Worst? –

|_______________________________|

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

Could you help improve this situation?

4th. AFFIRM their value.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) “Encourage one another and build each other up.”

People need to know “they  matter”

·       If you love somebody – find a way to show it !

·        GIVE THEM   ATTENTION

•        Show AFFECTION

•        Show Appreciation

The Apostle Paul knew how to do this- He would Affirm the people 1^st then go on to discipline them in love.

----Philippians 1:3 (TLB) “All my prayers for you are full of praise to God.”

Do you AFFIRM people by giving them Attention, appropriate levels of Affection and/or Appreciation?

How AFFIRMING ARE YOU?

|_______________________________|

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

Stay encouraged in Loving People as Jesus did!

(*Resource and Outline based on Message by Pastor John Watkin of the Highland Avenue Community Church of the Nazarene)

The Church is Showing Signs of Growth

After an extended period of downturn in the Chandler Church of the Nazarene's numbers small but strong signs of health are returning. New people are beginning to show up at the events and a positve tone is beginning to talk hold. I praise God for the encouraging signs!