Ham In The Pot

There is a story of a Mother who cut the ends off of her ham every time she cooked it. One day her daughter asked her why she cut the ends of the ham off and her reply was “I don’t know, my Mother always cut the ends off of hers”. So, the daughter went to her grandmother and asked her why she cut the ends off of her ham and her reply was “I don’t know, my Mother always cut the ends off of hers”. Finally, the daughter went to her great-grandmother and asked her why she cut the ends off of her ham and her reply was “baby, back in the day, we didn’t have a pot that was large enough to hold the whole ham, so I had to cut the ends off so the ham would fit in the pot”.

The moral of this story…many of us have been “wasting” good meat in our worship experiences, simply because we figured because it was working, or because it has always been done like that, why do anything different?

Some people don't even know why their church does certain things in their worship...or why their order of service (liturgy) looks a certain way...or why they don't include certain worship expressions (lifting hands, for example) even when it is clearly in the Bible. The only answer they have:

It has always been done this way - why change?

He Turns Everything Around

No matter what you are going through in these days – set your eyes and your hearts on the Lord, as He is able to turn any disaster or difficulty into our strength. It takes great faith, and noble character to go from weakness to triumph, but Jesus has made a way for us to overcome in every situation, and every weakness. Here are some of the ways He turns our hearts around so that we can walk in total victory:

He turns our curses into blessings – Neh. 13:2

He turns our sorrow into joy – Esther 9:22

He turns our mourning into joy Jer. 31:13

He turns our mourning into dancing Ps. 30:11

He turns our darkness into light – Ps. 18:28

He turns our wilderness into pools of water – Ps. 107:35; Is. 41:18

He turns our wilderness into vineyards – Hos. 2:14-15

He turns our trouble into doors of hope – Hos. 2:15

He turns our captivity into prosperity – Amos 9:14

He turns our captivity into freedom – Is. 61:1

He turns our hearts toward our children and our children’s hearts toward us – Mal. 4:6

He turns our disobedience into wisdom – Lu. 1:17

He turns hearts back to His presence – 1Ki. 18:37

He turns our weakness into strength – Joel 3:10

Allow the Lord to have access to your heart - the turning begins there 

7 Things - Characteristics of Revival Preaching During the Great Awakening

George Whitfield (1714 - 1770)

Historian J.C. Ryle listed seven characteristics of the messages that were preached during the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century:

1 They taught the supremacy of Holy Scripture.




2 They preached the total corruption of human nature.




3 They taught that Chris's death upon the cross was the only satisfaction for man's sin.




4 They preached the doctrine of justification by faith.




5 They taught the universal necessity of heart conversion and new creation by the Holy Spirit.




6 They spoke of God's eternal hatred against sin and of God's love for sinners.




7 They preached that there was an inseparable connection between true faith and personal holiness. They never allowed for a moment that any church membership or religious profession was the least proof of a man being a Christian if he lived an ungodly life.




These awakeners continually cried, "No fruit, no grace." Jonathan Edwards believed that "every experience of God could be counterfeited except those with an insight into His holiness."




An insight into the holiness of God will always produce a life-style of repentance. When one enters upon this highway called holiness, it does not mean that he is perfect. It does mean that he is walking down a road of change. Repentance means a change of heart or a change of mind. Throughout the Christian life we should be continually changed, or conformed, into the image of Jesus Christ.

Great Awakening: 1730s to 1740’s – some say it lasted to about 1760

Lead by: Jonathan Edwards, Gilbert Tennent, George Whitfield

Major Themes: The saving grace of Jesus; Total Dependence on God

This awakening began at the same time as the Enlightenment which emphasized logic and reason and stressed the power of the individual to understand the universe based on scientific laws.

Significant facts to remember about the Great Awakening:

- It pushed individual religious experience over established church doctrine, thereby decreasing the importance and weight of the clergy and the church in many instances.

- New denominations arose or grew in numbers as a result of the emphasis on individual faith and salvation.

-It unified the American colonies as it spread through numerous preachers and revivals. This unification was greater than had ever been achieved previously in the colonies.