The Antidote to Grumbling

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

“Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others.... In each of us there is something growing, which will BE hell unless it is nipped in the bud.”

~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British writer and academic

“Unbelief doesn’t see God as the ultimate good. So it can’t see sin as the ultimate evil. It instead sees sin as a good thing and thus God’s commands as a stumbling block to joy. In believing the Devil, I didn’t need a pentagram pendant to wear, neither did I need to memorize a hex or two. All I had to do was trust myself more than God’s Word. I had to believe that my thoughts, my affections, my rights, my wishes, were worthy of absolute obedience and that in laying prostrate before the flimsy throne I’d made for myself, that I’d be doing a good thing.”

~Jackie Hill Perry, poet, writer and hip hop artist

“Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat-out denial of the gospel of grace.”

~Brennan Manning (1934-2013), Franciscan priest and author

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

~Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor

“Preaching should break a hard heart and heal a broken one.”

~John Newton (1725-1807), author of the hymn “Amazing Grace”

“One mark of growth in grace is increased humility. The man whose soul is growing feels his own sinfulness and unworthiness more every year.”

~J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), English writer and minister

“I do not know when I am more perfectly happy than when I am weeping for sin at the foot of the cross.”

~C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), famed London preacher

SERMON PASSAGE

selected passages (ESV)

Psalm 105
1 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

1 Thessalonians 5
12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit.

Philippians 4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

John 6
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.