What a contrast to cover-ups of clergy who molest. Your survey of the four Gospels to see Jesus touching children contrasts sharply with the scandals of sexual molestation of minors perpetrated by priests and other clergy. This might be the ideal sermon and selection of passages (esp. Matthew 19:13; Mark 10:13; Luke 18:15) with the strongest chance to put to shame any Catholic clergyman or Protestant preacher who has fondled or molested a boy or girl.
Even better, it serves to positively inspire and exhort the rest of us that our hands can bestow good touches, our arms can encircle children in strong, comforting embraces, but it would be better to have our hands cut off than to use them to commit “bad touch” upon a child.
Beautiful preaching Beautiful reminders straight from the Bible of what our greatest joy in heaven will be: to see our Lord Jesus Christ and to be made like Him! Glory Hallelujah!
Reply to Marsha Fowler My remarks about Dr. King's worldview are based upon his writings and his speeches. He clearly denied the bodily resurrection, the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, and the substitutionary atonement. He is widely regarded as a "modernist" who did not accept or preach the gospel.
He made it clear, in his preaching, that he had no hope of the resurrection, that all his hope rested in this life.
I know that is disturbing, because Dr. King had many excellent things to say about justice, and accomplished many good things.
That is why he stands as a tragic public example of the profound sadness of having no hope in eternity.
Suspect your motives How, dear sir, do you make these claims about Dr. King’s viewpoints. I am saddened by your temerity in judging Dr. King’s heart.
Good exegesis Thank you Pastor Hey for providing me with encouragement and joy...and some terrific lesson prep for the Sunday School lesson I'm teaching tomorrow on 2 Sam 6!
Great Sermon! With all due reverence pastor, I cannot say that I have the same charitable disposition that separates what Graham preached in the pulpit from what he himself says in interviews, that he beleives. Such disparity has proven to be a stumbling block to many souls. They're not mere speculations. When I examine what Lloyd-Jones preached and what he would say when being interviewed by the BBC, it's the same bold biblically based message, always. Unforunately for Dr. Graham there is plenty of room for his ministry on the broad road that leads to destruction. There will be many who prophesied in our Lord's name that will hear the words 'depart from me, I never knew you.' I don't know. Perhaps I'm wrong about his position before God, that he has indeed been presented faultless before Him, because of the merits of Christ, while his works are burned up as wood hay and stubble. But when my Roman Catholic mother can point to people like Dr. Graham to buttress her point that she is just fine before God as a practicing Roman Catholic, it does not cause my confidence level to rise about whether or not this man was a true man of God. Lord Bless brother.
Response to FG I would separate what Billy Graham preached, consistently and all the way to the end - that Christ Jesus is the only way of salvation - from his speculations about God's ways outside direct knowledge of Jesus. I think his speculations were incorrect and dangerous, but he never preached them or relied upon them when appealing to sinners to come to repentance and faith. I did address in the sermon the falsehood of Graham's speculations in these matters. His ecumenism with modernists and Romanists are of greater concern to me. I think they did more damage to the church. And yet, I don't doubt that BG trusted alone in the work of Christ on the cross as his only hope of salvation, repudiating his own works and relying only on Christ's atoning sacrifice. And that alone is why BG has been presented faultless before the Glory of Christ with exceeding joy. Not because he was in himself faultless, but because the Savior cleansed BG with His very blood at Calvary.
Great Sermon! Let me just start off by saying that the greatest preacher of the 20th century was NOT Billy Graham. It was Martin Lloyd Jones. That being said, I must say that when I read statements such as the one that Graham made in 1978 McCall's, where he stated that he no longer believes that a pagan in a far country would perish if he didn't hear the Gospel, and that the embracing of natural light was enough to get him to heaven, thru nature and so on, my perception of him is one of a forked tongue minister, who preaches the true Gospel out of one side of his mouth and a false gospel out of the other. I prayed for a long time that he would publicly repent of these false teachings and embracing the enemies of God as brothers and promoting them to God's people and the world in general. His sins go way beyond mere imperfection and venture into, or at least dangerously close to the area of selling out the gospel and Christ. We do not have the benefits of the New Testament describing to us his true spiritual state, as was the case with Samson and Lot. So the only thing I have to go on is that there was no known repentance on his part for these sins. Sorry. I know I'm not his judge, but neither am I the least bit confident that he is with the Lord at this time.
Reply to comment I did describe Billy Graham's compromise, and I did, several times, state that he should have been publicly corrected, and that believers should not have attended or supported his ecumenical crusades. But I'm afraid that some people won't be satisfied without a searing denunciation of the man. The entire point of the sermon was that, whatever his faults - and he had them - he has now been presented faultless before the presence of Christ with exceeding joy! None of the saints are perfect in our own selves, but when a believer is received by Christ at his death, then that saint is perfect before the One Who died to save us! All of Billy Graham's sins of the flesh have been buried with his body, awaiting the body's perfection at the resurrection. All of Billy Graham's sins have been taken away forever by the Savior's sacrifice and blood shedding at Calvary. We ought to rejoice that now Billy Graham is in glory, and all his faults have been taken away completely. This is the way it operates for all believers, including the ones that we thought were utterly wrong and harmful and disobedient while they still lived.
Revelation 3:16 The sermons posted on SA about Billy Graham truly reveal the shepherds. The shepherds protect the sheep from the wolves and sound the alarm. They are not more concerned with the praises of men rather than the praise of God (John 12:43). BG was loved by the world, yet Luke 6:26 clearly teaches this is the mark of a false prophet. Was Bob Jones Jr. wrong when he denounced Graham as a false teacher who “is doing more harm to the cause of Jesus Christ than any living man. You stated in your sermon that you did not have time to research Billy Graham's life....why not? I humbly ask you to research his life thoroughly and then preach a solid warning to your flock of a master deceiver and ecumenist who was comfortable and accepted by all religions. Billy sought to unite all religions at the expense of the truth when Jesus Christ clearly stated in Matthew 10:34 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." We are living in dark and dangerous times. Revelation 3:16 reveals God's thoughts about compromise.
Good Sermon! This sermon was not too hot, not too cold, but "just right", as Goldilocks would say, concerning Billy Graham. Mr. Hey acknowledges areas in which Mr. Graham erred regarding the gospel, while reminding listeners of Paul's warning in Romans 14 not to harshly and hypocritically judge others in doubtful matters, inasmuch as all of us are desperately guilty ourselves. He also wonderfully quotes Jesus' admonition from Luke, the gist of which is that however obedient we may think we are, at the end of the day we should consider ourselves "unprofitable servants".
You're Not Wrong Excellent sermon, Pastor Hey. Until the genocide ceases in this country, it will never be anything but a nation drowning in the blood of the unborn.
Like Israel in their unrepentant nature, refusing to make national atonement for the murder of the Lord Jesus Christ, not ever being forgiven and constantly left in the eye of death from Muslim nations.
God certainly will not hear the cries of "Peace in Israel" while they remain unrepentant.
Same for America.
Great Sermon! I will not pledge my allegiance to a piece of cloth. I pledge my allegiance to God and to my fellow neighbor, but not to a piece of cloth. The wording of this pledge is wrong. It starts out by saying "I pledge my allegiance to the flag....."
No I will not pledge my allegiance to a flag.
Change the wording to "I pledge my allegiance to God and to my neighbor...."
But since there are atheists in America, then I guess it is less embarrassing to pledge allegiance to a piece of cloth then to God. I guess we have to make people happy first, instead of pleasing God first.
Great Sermon! Dear Brother, I do thank you very much for this sermon which was made a real blessing to me. Good to hear the use of the AV also, as opposed to modern versions, which seem to be prevailing so much these days. You are certainly a man who is one with our own pastor, John P. Thackway, at the Holywell Evangelical church, in North Wales. Once again many thanks for your most encouraging Word.
Great Sermon! I like the message that is great to learn when explained well, basically in simple terms. Some folks could make this message really complicated and tough to understand. Thanks for a refreshing look at an much too often over-looked topic.