Christmas Is Over, Now What?
Dan Rodgers
Philippians 3:13, 14
POEM: Not too long ago, the Baltimore Sun conducted a contest, and the following poem received a prize for the best answer to the question, "What would you do if you had one more year to live?"
"If I had but one year to live;
One year to help; one year to give;
One year to love; one year to bless;
One year of better things to stress;
One year to sing; one year to smile;
To brighten earth a little while;
One year to sing my Maker's praise;
One year to fill with work my days;
One year to strive for a reward
When I should stand before my Lord,
I think that I would spend each day,
In just the very self-same way
That I do now. For from afar
The call may come across the bar
At any time, and I must be
Prepared to meet eternity.
So if I have a year to live,
Or just one day in which to give
A pleasant smile, a helping hand,
A mind that tries to understand
A fellow-creature when in need;
'Tis one with me--I take no heed.
But try to live each day He sends
To serve my gracious Master's ends."1
INTRODUCTION:
1. Certainly you would agree that is a thought-provoking poem. It causes one to think--"What if this were my last year on earth?" What if I knew I had only one more year to live--how would it change my life?"
2. Let's come back to the words of Paul. What were his thoughts about the past? What did he think about the future? Here's what he said, "This one thing I do, forgeting those things which are behind..." Then he said, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
3. It was not that Paul was a failure in the past and that he wanted to forget his mistakes--sure, he had his shortcomings...you can read about it in Romans 7; however, Paul had lived an outstanding and remarkable life--he had committed himself to living for no other, other than Christ: Philip. 3:8, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellenc ...
Dan Rodgers
Philippians 3:13, 14
POEM: Not too long ago, the Baltimore Sun conducted a contest, and the following poem received a prize for the best answer to the question, "What would you do if you had one more year to live?"
"If I had but one year to live;
One year to help; one year to give;
One year to love; one year to bless;
One year of better things to stress;
One year to sing; one year to smile;
To brighten earth a little while;
One year to sing my Maker's praise;
One year to fill with work my days;
One year to strive for a reward
When I should stand before my Lord,
I think that I would spend each day,
In just the very self-same way
That I do now. For from afar
The call may come across the bar
At any time, and I must be
Prepared to meet eternity.
So if I have a year to live,
Or just one day in which to give
A pleasant smile, a helping hand,
A mind that tries to understand
A fellow-creature when in need;
'Tis one with me--I take no heed.
But try to live each day He sends
To serve my gracious Master's ends."1
INTRODUCTION:
1. Certainly you would agree that is a thought-provoking poem. It causes one to think--"What if this were my last year on earth?" What if I knew I had only one more year to live--how would it change my life?"
2. Let's come back to the words of Paul. What were his thoughts about the past? What did he think about the future? Here's what he said, "This one thing I do, forgeting those things which are behind..." Then he said, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
3. It was not that Paul was a failure in the past and that he wanted to forget his mistakes--sure, he had his shortcomings...you can read about it in Romans 7; however, Paul had lived an outstanding and remarkable life--he had committed himself to living for no other, other than Christ: Philip. 3:8, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellenc ...
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