April 28 Sermon and Announcements

 CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

April 28, 2024

GOD’S SEVEN WONDERS

Psalm 63:3-4, Revelation 3:20

Most of us have heard of the Seven Wonders of the World. A little quiz

as we get started. How many of you know what the seven wonders

are? These seven are all manmade, not natural wonders, just to make

sure we are talking about the same thing.

These are the seven most believe are worthy of the title:

1) Great Wall of China

2) Taj Mahal in India

3) Petra, Jordan. Some believe this town was built where Moses

struck the rock and water came forth.

4) The Colosseum - Rome, Italy

5) Chichén Itzá in Mexico - Mayan

6) Machu Picchu – Peru – Incas

7) The Great Pyramid – Egypt

How many of you got all of them? I will admit I only remembered one

before I saw the list. What we are going to spend a few minutes this

morning looking at is God’s Seven Wonders. To give credit where it is

due, the devotional book of Billy Graham is where this list came from.

Last week in our devotional what we read about and the Lord led me to

really think about was the amazing way God has dealt with us, his

creation.

These seven wonders remind us of what God has done and continues

to do in the lives of those who seek him. I am going to give you the list

Billy Graham came up with and then we will look a little closer at them.

GOD’S SEVEN WONDERS

1) The wonder of God’s love.

2) The wonder of God coming to live among us.

3) The wonder of the cross.

4) The wonder of conversion.

5) The wonder of peace and joy given to us through Jesus Christ.

6) The wonder of God’s plan for the future.

7) The wonder of your own commitment to Jesus Christ.

Let’s go over them one more time. So, what do you think? Do they

make sense to you? Would you have different ones? As you think about

that, let us briefly look at each one of these seven a little closer.

1) The wonder of God’s love. We may not fully be able to

understand it, but the creator of the universe loves each and

every one that he has created. God’s desire for each and every

one of us is to have the best life we can and that is only possible if

we recognize who God is and what he has made available.

2) The wonder of God coming to live among us. The wonder that

God came to earth in a human body and lived and breathed just

like we do. One of the reasons God did this was to experience first

hand what we go through while we are here on this earth. Jesus

felt pain and sorrow. Jesus was tempted and Jesus felt joy as well.

Because of that, God can relate to us in ways he would not have

been able to do otherwise.

3) The wonder of the cross. Not only did Jesus come to live among

us and experience many of the ups and downs we all go through,

Jesus also came to this earth to pay the price for our sin. In

Romans 3:23, we are reminded, “For all have sinned and fallen

short of the glory of God.” Try as we might, we do sin, but God

loved us enough to come to this earth and be the perfect sacrifice

for our sin. The verse we all know found in John 3:16, “For God so

loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that

whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting

life.”

4) The wonder of conversion. The word conversion means to

change, to turn. We cannot convert ourselves. We all need God’s

help. God has also given us the Holy Spirit that helps us to more

consistently say no to sin. When that happens, we are given a new

life, a new focus.

5) The wonder of peace and joy given to us through Jesus Christ.

When we come to realize we are forgiven by God, we understand

how much God loves us and cares about us, we begin to develop

peace and joy that just was not really possible before. In

Philippians 4:7, we are told of the peace that passes all

understanding that will guard our hearts in Christ Jesus our Lord.

6) The wonder of God’s plan for the future. God has made several

promises about the future. For the here and now for His people,

he says in Jeremiah 28:11, “I know the plans I have for you, plans

to give you hope and a future.” Also, God’s future plan for us is

that when our time on this earth is over, we will spend eternity

with him. And also, in the future Jesus will return for His church.

7) The wonder of your own commitment to Jesus Christ. God’s

seventh wonder has to do with you and me - our own

commitment to Jesus. Jesus came to this earth to save all who will

receive God’s gift of love. However, God will not force anyone to

receive it. That decision cannot be made by anyone but you and

me. When you and I make that decision, what a miracle and

wonder it is. It does not mean there will never be any more

problems in our lives. What it does mean is the creator of the

universe now is able to step in and help us through the tough

times and rejoice with us in the good times.

So, what do you think? Does this list accurately describe the wonders of

God? May we truly live in awe of the wonder of God. He loves you and

me in ways we may never fully realize, but we should never stop trying.

As we close out our time together, let us look one more time at the

verses we started off with.

Psalm 6:3-4

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live.

Revelation 3:20

Here I am; I stand at the door and knock. If anyone

hears my voice and open the door, I will come I and eat

with him, and he with me.

These scriptures directly relate to God’s seven wonders and God’s

commitment to you and me as well as our love and commitment to

Him.

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

Sunday School 9:00

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

Today 3:00 here Traughber Pie Party

May 1 12:15 Books Between Bites with Ruth Siburt at the Decatur Public Library

--deadline for newsletter submissions

May 2 7:00 Board meeting (commissions & board)

May 5 directory information/changes due

May 19 Council Meeting after worship

Camp Emmanuel registration is open. Schedule is on the

bulletin board.

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

Donation Box for April: Camp Emmanuel

First Sundays: Food Bank donations

Keep in Your Prayers

Martha Wood; Shirley Clarkson; Mike Roach; Dave White; Louis &

Carol Sulwer; Ava; Nora Hanaver; Larry Traxler; Randy and Michelle

West; Mike Gentry; Eli Brunner; Nancy Fansler; Doug Larrick; Ron &

Kathleen Petersen; Debbie Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm;

Mike and Carol Seidenstricker; Adiline Young; Kim Lehmann; Mayo &

Darlene Hanaver; Stacie Warren; Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken

requests; victims of disasters; victims of shootings; shut-ins; the

Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine; Israel, Iran, the

Palestinians; Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the Springfield congregation and the

ministries of CROP, SERRV, and Heifer International, all started by

the Church of the Brethren.