compassion-toward-the-poor

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “Compassion Toward the Poor”   (359 KB)

Preview:-

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.  A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.

Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them

Definition of the Poor:
Someone who is struggling to meet the minimum needs of life: Food, clothing, health care, and shelter.
Webster: Having little or no money, goods, or other means of support.

Discernment:-
“Does this include everyone who makes a request for help?”
“Am I obligated to help everyone who squanders their opportunities or mismanages their life?”

True Poverty:-
Third World People
Homeless

Observations:-
Long life and limited resources can make a person needy.
Poor health can make us needy.
One family here spends $12,000 a year on medicine.

Wrong Attitudes Toward the Poor:-
Take advantage of them.
Look down on them.
Blame them.
Coddle them? – No
Help them? – Yes

Right Attitudes Toward the Poor:-
Love and help them-Jesus did!
Treat them as human equals with dignity and respect.
Leave some of our prosperity to them: “Leave the corners of the field.”

Don’t Oppress The Poor:  Be honest in your dealings.

Our Priorities – Share with others.

Working for Justice:-
Fair Laws and Programs.
Balance giving help and getting them to help themselves.

Teaching Some of the Cardinal Virtues of Christianity:-
Accountability.
Self-control.
Dependability.
Deferred gratification
Honesty.
Hard work.

Sharing With the Needy:-
Missions.
Local Benevolence Programs.
The Church Pantry.
Individual Actions.

Conclusion:-
The Story of the King and the Beggar.

all-about-prayers

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “All About Prayers”   (4.19 MB)

Preview:-

Types of prayers:

1.Praise
2.Request
3.Intercession for others.

From Paul’s example, we can get some secrets/ techniques for successful prayer. We need to learn to engage in intercessory prayer as modeled by Paul.

Three StepsIn Praying for Others:

1. Want the Best for Others:
Don’t just think of yourself!
Desire that which is spiritually best for them.
Don’t just want the physical/material.

2. Identify Others’ Needs:
Be sensitive/Observant.
Ask Them About Their Needs

3. Ask God to Bless Them.
Believe in the Power of God.

For the Recipients of the Blessing:-

– Appreciate the intent and concern of others.
– Share your needs &
– Ask for the prayers of others.
– Trust in the power of God to work in your life

the-importance-of-good-advice

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “The Importance of Good Advice”   (370 KB)

Preview:-

Advice helps us decide who is the happy man – the person who is taking his advice from the right source.

The most important question is, Where do you get your advice about living, about the meaning of life? From the supermarket tabloid? From Entertainment Tonight? From the Jerry Springer Show? Or from God’s word. Not all advice is created equal. There is good advice and there is bad advice. Good advice comes from God’s book, containing God’s values. There is a group of people who represent the worst possible source of advice-ungodly advice.

This psalm divides all advice into two great categories: good and evil. Often times it may not be as easy to recognize the distinction between the two categories as is stated here, but often recognizing the difference is just as black and white as it is portrayed in this passage.

When we speak of law, it has a heavy, restrictive idea-things we cannot do. The low of the lord is more like instruction. It tells us the right way and the wrong way to do things. An instruction manual when written well and used appropriately helps us to understand why some things work and others don’t it tells us what things to avoid, what things to make sure and not leave out or fail to tighten so that our project turns our well. That’s what it is all about so that our project of living doesn’t end in the scrap heap. So that we don’t come to the end of putting together a life only to find out that we left out the things that really work. Or helping us repair our life when we find out that we got it all put together backwards. These instructions are found in the laws, so we should love this instruction book, filled on advice for living.

The truly happy man is one who not only consults God’s word in hard times – he is one who loves the book and reads it continually. It is the Bible, God’s little instruction book that is the true guide, helping us in all areas of life. The truly happy man mediates in the word of God day and night.

Then we go out into the laboratory of life. We observe, we test, we experiment to see just how what we have read and learned can be put into practice. One way to teach kids to love the word of God is to read to them from the great Bible stories.

Life is filled with difficult circumstances. It is precisely at times of great difficulty when the ability to drink of the deep waters of life. A local bank advertises: other banks have branches, ours has roots. There are times when we need roots that go deep into God’s sustaining water. Then, when the unrighteous face the same circumstances, they do not have the depth to sustain them.

If we have partaken of the advice of the wicked, if we have spent our substance in riotous living, the only thing left is the chaff. Someone said that to be able to look back and say, I have lived well is to have doubled one’s existence. If we live within the framework of God’s advice, we will not dry up and blow away. We will be sustained by God himself.

The ultimate test comes as one lives his or her life. The psalmist gives us this reassurance. The LORD watches over the way of the righteous,  but the way of the wicked will perish.