Developing Hearts of Wisdom

Christ Restoration Church Sermons

selected passages
January 5, 2025
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“Even in our best shape we are a brittle piece of mortality. Your life is a breath, don’t waste it.”

~ Lecrae Devaughn Moore (1979-present), American musician, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur

“The greatest surprise in life to me is the brevity of life.”

“There comes a moment when we all must realize that life is short, and in the end the only thing that really counts is not how others see us, but how God sees us.”

~ Billy Graham (1918-2018), American minister and evangelist

“You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last.”

~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-AD 65), Roman philosopher, statesman, dramatist

“Let those who thoughtfully consider the brevity of life remember the length of eternity.”

~ Thomas Ken (1637-1711), English minister and hymnist

“Whatever is not eternal is eternally out of date.”

~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

“God did not derive His being from any other – His ‘is-ness’ is underived, original, eternal!”

~ Sinclair Ferguson (1948-present), Scottish minister and professor

“How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.”

~ A.W. Tozer (1897-1963), American minister and author

Sermon Passage

selected passages (ESV)

Psalm 39:4-8

⁴ O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵ Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶ Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
⁷ And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!

Psalm 90:12

¹² Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Romans 13:8-11

⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. ¹¹ Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Galatians 6:9-10

⁹ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ¹⁰ So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Colossians 4:2-6

² Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ³ At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— ⁴ that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. ⁵ Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.