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HOOK:
Paul lived down the street from me.
I watched him grow up with my own children. He was a strong swimmer,
with broad shoulders and a tall, lean build. His black wavy, hair
complimented his flashing blue eyes, and his broad smile never
quit. Paul loved talking to people. Gregarious, kind, and
generous, he promoted Jesus everywhere, and planned to serve God as a
minister. That spring, Paul would graduate from college and already
had a ministerial job lined up.
Paul was twenty-two years old when a
drunk driver crossed the median strip and smashed into his car
head-on. After the Accident, Paul lived on life-support for four
days while his parents stood by his side. They suffered their own
passion, so to speak, until Paul joined his fiancé (who was also in the
accident) in death.
Now, since you didn't know Paul, this
news might touch you some. You might feel some of the sadness I
feel. But since I knew him, I most likely have deeper feelings
about his death than you. Paul's parents and siblings, of course,
experienced much more grief than you or I. Why? Because they
shared his life. They loved him more.
LINK:
The more we know a person, the more
there is to love, and the deeper compassion we develop for him or
her. During the second week of the retreat, we spent time
developing a love relationship with Jesus. This deeper
relationship helps us move into the Third Week because, like Paul and
his parents, the closer we grow to Christ, the more desire and ability
we develop to enter into the passion with Him.
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HOOK:
Look
at this picture of a house washed away by Hurricane Georges. (show the
picture). With no foundation, it floated into the ocean.
Unless there is a hurricane, we usually
take foundations for granted. While most houses have them, we
don't think about it. Yet, a foundation keeps a building from
sinking, cracking, sliding off a hill, sagging, or blowing away during a
strong wind. And something else interesting about foundations - they
need to match the size of the building. If you think about it, you
never see a 100x100 ft house built on a 10x10 foundation - or vice
versa, do you?
LINK:
Spiritual foundations are similar to house foundations in at least three ways.
1. Like a physical is necessary to begin
building, we need a spiritual foundation - a place to begin our spiritual
growth.
2. To construct a spiritual building of quality, we
must start with an ample foundation - one that will support our
development.
3. A spiritual foundation must match the
size of the building on it. If we plan to "upgrade" our
spiritual building, we should look at the foundation first, to make sure
it will adequately support that growth.
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