The Sermon Story

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:11 ). Discouragement does not always come from disaster. Very often it comes from people: a careless word, a cold silence, a complaint that nothing is ever good enough. These three stories about discouragement, retold in our own words, look at three ways we can drain the courage out of others: by failing to show gratitude, by refusing to be pleased, and by criticising in a way that crushes. Each ends with a takeaway for preaching or reflection. If the first story makes you curious about the Greek myths, Sopranu's review of Homer's Iliad , where an early version of this fall appears, is a good place to start. Stories in this post: The Fall of Vulcan: Wounded by Indifference Not Much of a Dog: The Neighbour Who Could Not Be Pleased "I Have No Word From the Lord": A Harsh Evaluation ──────── ✝ ──────── The Fall of Vulcan: Wounded by Indifference This is...

"Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise" ( Proverbs 15:31 ). Criticism can sting, crush or harden us. It can also make us better. Much depends on how we receive it, and on what kind of critics we choose to become. These four stories about criticism, retold in our own words, look at both sides. Two are about people who were criticised: one turned the hurt into revenge, the other turned it into growth. Two are lighter stories about the kind of critic nobody wants to be. Each ends with a takeaway for preaching or reflection. Stories in this post: The Greatest Forger: When Criticism Turns Into Revenge Ole Bull: The Violinist Who Asked His Critic for Help "Not Much of a Dog": The Critic Who Cannot Be Pleased The Complaining Monk: Two Words a Year ──────── ✝ ──────── The Greatest Forger: When Criticism Turns Into Revenge This is a true story. We have corrected one detail from the version often told: the painting sold to the Nazis was not The ...