Regifting Encouragement (2 of 4)
Series: Regifting Christmas
Steve Jones
Acts 9
Sermon Summary: We can re-gift encouragement by seeing 1) The Need for Encouragement, 2) The Qualities of an Encourager, and 3) The Power of Encouragement.
INTRODUCTION: DEAR ABBY: I have been retired from teaching for many years, and would like to share a lesson I learned that stands out in my memory like no other.
I was young and teaching math at the junior high school level. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and the students were very stressed. They were frowning, frustrated and carping at each other and me. Wanting to stop the crankiness before it got out of hand, I asked the students in the room to take out two sheets of paper and list the names of the other students in the room, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish the assignment. When the students handed me the papers and left, they seemed more relaxed.
That weekend, I wrote the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what the students had said about that individual. On Monday, I gave each student his or her list. Before long, everyone was smiling. ''Really?'' I heard one whisper. ''I never knew that meant anything to anyone.'' ''I didn't know anyone liked me that much!''
The assignment was never mentioned again, but it didn't matter, because the exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students felt better about themselves and each other.
Since most everyone is thinking about ''giving'' during this time of year we are identifying some of the gifts with which God has blessed US and that we can re-gift to others in turn. The nice thing about these gifts is that EVERYONE needs them. Last week we started with the gift of forgiveness. If you're a Christian, you have it. AND you can give it to others who may have ''sinn ...
Series: Regifting Christmas
Steve Jones
Acts 9
Sermon Summary: We can re-gift encouragement by seeing 1) The Need for Encouragement, 2) The Qualities of an Encourager, and 3) The Power of Encouragement.
INTRODUCTION: DEAR ABBY: I have been retired from teaching for many years, and would like to share a lesson I learned that stands out in my memory like no other.
I was young and teaching math at the junior high school level. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and the students were very stressed. They were frowning, frustrated and carping at each other and me. Wanting to stop the crankiness before it got out of hand, I asked the students in the room to take out two sheets of paper and list the names of the other students in the room, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish the assignment. When the students handed me the papers and left, they seemed more relaxed.
That weekend, I wrote the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what the students had said about that individual. On Monday, I gave each student his or her list. Before long, everyone was smiling. ''Really?'' I heard one whisper. ''I never knew that meant anything to anyone.'' ''I didn't know anyone liked me that much!''
The assignment was never mentioned again, but it didn't matter, because the exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students felt better about themselves and each other.
Since most everyone is thinking about ''giving'' during this time of year we are identifying some of the gifts with which God has blessed US and that we can re-gift to others in turn. The nice thing about these gifts is that EVERYONE needs them. Last week we started with the gift of forgiveness. If you're a Christian, you have it. AND you can give it to others who may have ''sinn ...
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