Do You Want to Be Healed?

Do you like the way you are, or would you like God to change you? Jesus asked that same question to a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. The answer would seem simple; however, the result could mean a huge change in one’s lifestyle. This week we begin a sermon series on the Pool of Bethesda and learn what can happen when we have the courage to allow God to heal our infirmities.


Scripture: John 5:1-9a
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie – the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.


Renewing Reflections
It is our prayer Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon “We Need a Savior” delivered on Christian Crusaders July 19, 2000, by Rev. Larsen:

We can point to certain leaders in our own land who served our land as temporal shepherds: Abraham Lincoln and F.D.R .We do not overlook such leadership. However, beyond these earthly problems no human can answer our true problems. Without Christ no matter how much of the material we possess, we are like sheep without a shepherd. We do not know how to live abundantly or die victoriously.


Mother's Day Gift Suggestion
If you’re still searching for a meaningful Mother’s Day gift for a special woman in your life, consider a set of five motherhood-themed sermons on audio CD from Christian Crusaders. This CD set comes attractively packaged and ready for giving—it can even be mailed directly to your recipient. Call the Christian Crusaders office to order the classic Mother’s Day gift set for a suggested donation of any amount.


On the Light Side
Mother's Dictionary of Meanings

Dumbwaiter: One who asks if the kids would care to order dessert.

Feedback: The inevitable result when the baby doesn’t appreciate the strained carrots.

Full Name: What you call your child when you’re mad at him.

Grandparents: The people who think your children are wonderful even though they’re sure you’re not raising them right.

Hearsay: What toddlers do when anyone mutters a dirty word.

Independent: How we want our children to be for as long as they do everything we say.

Puddle: A small body of water that draws other small bodies wearing dry shoes into it.

Show Off: A child who is more talented than yours.

Sterilize: What you do to your first baby’s pacifier by boiling it, and to your last baby’s pacifier by blowing on it and wiping it with saliva.

Top Bunk: Where you should never put a child wearing Superman jammies.

Two-Minute Warning: When the baby’s face turns red and begins to make those familiar grunting noises.

Whodunit: None of the kids who live in your house.

We Want to Hear From You!
What is something God has helped you change for the better in your life? Share your story by posting in the "Comments" section of this blog.

The program "Do You Want to Be Healed?" will air Sunday, May 9, 2010. Visit www.christiancrusaders.org for radio stations and times, or to listen online.