THE PROUD PEACOCK

By

Shelby G. Floyd

Good morning everyone! It is a beautiful day, and as my friend says, “Every day is beautiful.” That is true, but some days are more beautiful. “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).

Today our lesson is titled, The Proud Peacock.” I think the Peacock is the perfect symbol to describe people who are puffed up with an overwhelming estimate of themselves and of their pride. We use the terms, proud Marine, proud parent, proud graduate, proud teacher, and on and on and on. There is nothing wrong with having a certain amount of pride or what I would call self-respect. But when we are talking about the kind of pride that the Bible describes and which God opposes, then we’re talking about the kind of pride in which a person says I have done all of this myself. No one else helped me and I did not depend on anybody! I did this all by myself, as if there are no other factors in what you are or what you have been able to accomplish.

That cannot be true. Every person and everything we accomplish is because somebody else has helped us. Whatever we do, we build on what everyone has done who lived before us. So when you and I are tempted to boast and arrogantly claim that we are proud of what we are or what we have done, just remember that somebody else also had a part in it—your parents, your fellow countrymen, your work associates, your family, and Almighty God. Nobody can accomplish anything completely by themselves and be proud in that sense.

THE TEXT

Let us look at our text today from the writing of the apostle Peter. We will only notice verse five as we begin our lesson:

1 Peter 5:5
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
NKJV

Continue reading “THE PROUD PEACOCK”

TULIP

By

Shelby G. Floyd

purple-tulip

John Calvin is credited with originating the false doctrine of predestination and foreordination. He taught that a certain number of people had been foreordained and predetermined from the foundation of the world, to be either saved or lost. The teaching of John Calvin is usually remembered by the acronym T U L I P: Continue reading “TULIP”

FIRST THINGS FIRST

By

Shelby G. Floyd

First Things First

In order to have a successful life, every person must have some priorities. Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught his disciples that God demands first place in their lives. There is not one person that gives God first place in every area of his life. Therefore in order to pursue this goal, we must grow spiritually and do our very best to give Christ top priority every day.

In Matthew’s account of the gospel Jesus said to his disciples, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6: 33). When we analyze this statement there are several things that are very obvious: Continue reading “FIRST THINGS FIRST”

The New Birth

By

Shelby G. Floyd

1 Peter 1.22-25

1 Peter 1:22-25
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
NIV

I have just lived to see the new birth of our fifth and sixth great grandson. The physical new birth of a child is one of the great wonders of life and blessing from God. An even greater wonder is how Almighty God can take a sin-laden person and give that person new life spiritually, with the promise of everlasting life to come.

In a conversation with Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, Jesus stated that there must be a radical change before he could enter the kingdom of God. In highly figurative language, Jesus spoke of this radical change under the figure of a new birth. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3: 3-5 NKJV). Continue reading “The New Birth”