What Is the Way of Wisdom

Asbury First United Methodist Church

Text: Matthew 22:15-22

Middle Aged Wisdom Sayings

1. We are because I am; I am because we are.
2. God will give you everything you need, but won’t put it in a bag for you.
3. Gold that is hard sought-after is twice as precious.
4. When you’ve reached the end of the rope, tie a knot and hang on.
5. All things work together for good to those who love the Lord.
6. A leader is a person with a magnet in his heart and a compass in his head.
7. The Lord helps those who help themselves.
8. The essentials of life are hidden in plain sight.
9. Look before you leap.
10. Pick battles that are big enough to matter and small enough to win.
11. Horses don’t kick if they’re pulling and don’t pull if they’re kicking.
12. Change has no constituency.
13. The greatest challenge facing the Asbury First congregation is reaching the unchurched.
14. Inattention to, underestimation of, disregard for divine faithfulness, can lead to human tragedy.
15. You can do too much.
16. You can do too much for others.
17. The opportunities you didn’t get you probably didn’t want.
18. There is a kindness that kills.
19. Rebuilding is much harder than building, and this is true for staff and program as much as for brick and mortar.
20. For the artist, material that is resistant also holds the potential of support. Resistance and support go together.
21. God reigns, is Christlike, and is persistently involved in history.
22. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

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