Sermons

Introduction:

What a difference one word, or even one letter can make! There was an Illinois man who left the snow-filled streets of Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him there the next day. When he reached his hotel, he thought he would send his wife a quick e-mail.

However, he could not find the scrap of paper on which he had written her e-mail address, so he tried to type it from memory. Unfortunately, he missed one letter and mistakenly sent his note to an elderly woman whose husband had passed away just the day before.

When this grieving widow checked her e-mail, she took one look at the monitor, read the message, let out a tremendous scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint. Her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

Dearest wife,
Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.
Your loving husband
P. S. It sure is hot down here!

What is it that gives us assurance? Is it our faith? Is it our works? Do we choose just one? Do both matter? Over the next two Sundays we will look at the role that faith and works play in our relationship with God.