THE BEGINNING OF ALL VIRTUES

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.

— Cicero

Contributed by: SermonCentral PRO

BLIND FOR A DAY

Helen Keller once said, ” have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. It would make him more appreciative of sight and the joys of sound.”

Contributed by: SermonCentral PRO

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THE HUNDRED DOLLAR WORD

Rudyard Kipling lived from 1865 to 1936. He was English, yet born in Bombay,

India. He wrote poetry and is the author of books like Captain Courageous, How the Leopard Got His Spots, and The Jungle Books.

Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word.”

The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said, “Here’s a one hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling.

Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words.”

Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, “Thanks!”

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THANK GOD!

A man has been lost and walking in the desert for about five days. One hot

day–actually, they’re all hot–he comes to the home of a preacher. Tired and

weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The preacher

takes him in and nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks the

preacher for directions to the nearest town. The preacher tells him the

directions, and offers to lend him his horse to make it. The preacher says,

“However, there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say ‘Thank God’

to make it go and ‘Amen’ to make it stop.”

Anxious to get to town, the man says, “Sure, okay” and gets on the horse. He

says, “Thank God” and sho ’nuff, the horse starts walking. A bit later he says

louder, “Thank God, thank God,” and the horse starts trotting. Feeling really

brave, the man say, “Thank God! Thank God! THANK GOD!” and the horse is soon up

to a full run!

About then he realizes he’s heading for a huge cliff and yells “Whoa!” But the

horse doesn’t even slow! It’s coming up REAL QUICK and he’s doing everything he

can to make the horse stop. “Whoa, stop, hold on!” Finally he remembers

“AMEN!!!”

The horse stops a mere two inches from the cliff’s edge, almost throwing him

over its head. The man, panting and heart racing, wipes the sweat from his face

and leans back in the saddle. “Oh!” he says, gasping for air, “Thank God.”

Contributed by: Brian Mavis

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REMEMBERING GRATITUDE

“The parents of a young soldier killed in action gave their church a gift of

money as a memorial for their son. During the presentation service, the mother

of another soldier overseas whispered to her husband, “Let’s give the same

amount for our son.” “What’s the matter with you?” he asked. “Our boy hasn’t

died in battle.” “That’s just it,” the mother replied. “let’s give it because he

was spared.”

SOURCE: Ronald Youngblood. Special Day Sermons, Second Edition. Grand Rapids:

Baker Book House, 1989, p. 33.

Contributed by: John Williams III

-from SermonCentral pro

THANKSGIVING; PRAISE; GRATITUDE