Morning Service
682 WINGS AS EAGLES
238 ANOTHER YEAR IS DAWNING
Opening Prayer & Announcements
506 I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR
Scripture Reading: Psalm 74:12-17
381 BLESSED ASSURANCE
Sermon: Making the Most of Winter
Invitation: 488 JESUS I COME
Afternoon Service:
541 HE KEEPS ME SINGING
366 HEAVEN CAME DOWN
Sermon: Is it Worth it?!
Invitation: 253 TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS
Psalm 74:12-17KJV
If you want things to grow, you plant in the springtime, and then you cultivate in the early summer, and you reap in the fall. And even the winter, as it comes with its cold, prepares the way for another springtime.
And it's the same way in our life. Why do we have difficult times and joyous times? Why do we have sorrow and grief? Why do we have both pain and happiness?
That man has done, man can do; and what has never been, may be. Plowmen have become gentlemen, and tailors have sported into members of Parliament. Tuck up your shirtsleeves, young hopeful, and go at it. Believe in god, stick to hard work, and see if the mountains are not removed. A faint heart never won a fair lady.
Don’t wait for helpers. Try those two old friends, your strong arms. Every man must carry his won sack to the mill. You must put your own shoulder to the wheel and keep it there, for there are plenty of ruts in the road. If you wait till all the ways are paved, you will have light shining between your ribs. If you sit still till great men take you on their backs, you will grow to your seat. Your own legs are better than stilts; don’t look to others, but trust in God and keep your powder dry.
Don’t be whining about not having a fair start. Money you earn yourself is much brighter and sweeter that any you get out of dead men’s bags. A scant breakfast in the morning of life whets the appetite for a feast later in the day. He who has tasted a sour apple will have the more relish for a sweet one; your present want will make future prosperity all the sweeter.
As for the place you are cast in, don’t find fault with that. You need not be a horse because you were born in a stable.
As to a little trouble, who expects to find cherries without stones, or roses without thorns? He who would win must learn to bear. The dog in the kennel barks at the fleas; the hunting dog does not even know they are there.
Everybody who does not get on lays it all on competition. Good workmen are always wanted. There’s a penny to be turned at the worst booth in the fair. “Times are bad,” they say; yes, and if you go gaping about, times always will be bad.
Many don’t get on because they have not the pluck to begin in right earnest. They who set stout heart against a stiff hill shall climb it yet. What was hard to bear will be sweet to remember. If young men would deny themselves, work hard, live hard, and save in their early days, they need not keep their noses to the grindstone all their lives, as many have to do.
If you want to do good in the world, the little word “Try” comes in again. There are plenty of ways of serving God, and some that will fit you exactly as a key fits a lock. Don’t hold back because you cannot preach in St. Paul’s; be content to talk to one or two in a cottage. Very good wheat grows in little fields. Little pigeons can carry great messages. Even a little dog can bark at a thief, wake up the master, and save the house. A spark is a fire. A sentence of truth has heaven in it. Do what you do right thoroughly, pray over it heartily, and leave the result to God.
C. H. Spurgeon