The Story of Cyrus - God the Rehab Addict

Here is a copy of a message I gave a while back at church, enjoy!

            Well if you have been with us this summer you know we are moving along here in our study of the book of Isaiah and this Sunday our journey brings us to chapters 44 and 45. So far we have been discovering how God is truly a Rehab Addict and these chapter contain yet another one of God’s rehab attributes.
            
            Have you ever had an old shirt that you just loved to wear on Saturdays while lounging around the house, or that shirt that you just had to wear as you mowed the lawn every week? Somehow, no matter how much of the logo or decoration of the shirt wore off, or the mustard or spaghetti stains that plastered nearly every inch of fabric, every Saturday you put on that old shirt and did your thing. People used to tell you to, “get rid of that shirt, no one could use that anymore, its too old and worn out.” You refused too stubborn to believe the blatant lie your friends were telling you. One day while away for a while your partner snuck into your drawer, grabbed that shirt, and gave it away. You came home to learn of the demise of your lucky old shirt and you are devastated, thinking you will never see it again, or so you thought. A few weeks later you were out for a run and you happened to see somebody mowing his or her lawn in your shirt. You shout, “See somebody can use that old shirt!” meanwhile the cars driving by think you have lost your marbles. You continue on your run with a sense of vindication and a new pep in your step.  

             That picture is the similar type of vindication God might feel when someone says to you, “you can’t make a difference in this world you’re just one person” and you step up, you prove them wrong, you change a community or a life for Christ. In God’s Rehab tool belt there are many different tools used to reshape lives and make things useful again. This morning we are going to see how God used a tool to shape a life of a Gentile King before he was even born.

"The Light of the World" - A Most Interesting Sight

Here is a copy of the sermon message I am giving this morning at Cornerstone Community Church. Hope you enjoy.

So in the message last week Pastor Craig touched on this idea about Jesus as the “Light of the World.” Now in today’s study we are going to see how Jesus brought a kind of light into a blind man’s life, which will reflect the similar claim Jesus made in the previous chapter. You heard a few different scriptures describing what might have been understood by the Pharisees and those listening when Jesus proclaimed in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”[i] I want you to keep this scripture in mind for later on when we come to the text for this morning. It should help tie this all together.

           

            The idea of light it certainly something we take for granted in our modern society. Today we can flip a switch and lights just pop on. We don’t have to light a candle or start a fire to light our path in the darkness, we have flashlights and even our cell phones to shine a light on the way. If you’re a little scared of the dark, never fear, we have a night-light specifically designed to let your mate sleep while providing you with enough light to quell your fears. We even invented lights that pop on and off by us clapping (I realize I just dated myself by doing this). Worried about nighttime travel, well we invented headlights for your vehicles.