Song of Songs: The Greatest Love Story in the World

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 30        Coming Back Again -- Part I               And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them--Luk 2:51               It Was Hard to Return to Nazareth after the Vision of Jerusalem              That visit to Jerusalem was one of the great hours in the life of Jesus. It must have moved Him to the depths. Often in the quiet home at Nazareth His mother had spoken to Him of the Holy City. And the Boy, clinging to her knee, had eagerly listened to all she had to tell. Now He was there, moving through the streets, feasting His eyes upon the Temple. He had reached the city of His dreams. Clearly it was a time of vision. "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? In...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 29        The Boyhood of Jesus               And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Now his' parents went to Jerusalem every year at the fast of the Passover. And when he was twelve fears' old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast--Luk 2:40-42               Uneventful Years Need Not Be Unprofitable              One of the holiest doctors of the mediaeval church, who was placed by Dante among the saints of paradise, said a striking thing about the youth of Jesus. "Take notice," he said, "that His doing nothing wonderful was itself a kind of wonder. As there is power in His actions, so is there power in His retirement and His...

  George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 28        Simeon and Anna -- Part II               And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him .... And there was one Anna. a prophetess .... which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day--Luk 2:25, Luk 2:36, Luk 2:37               God's Performance Greater Than His Promise              Next we see that God's performance is greater than His promise. There is an old legend that Simeon had stumbled over the words in Isa 7:14. And as he prayed and wrestled with his doubts, it was revealed to him that with his own eyes he would s...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 27        Simeon and Anna -- Part I               And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him .... And there was one Anna. a prophetess .... which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day--Luk 2:25, Luk 2:36, Luk 2:37               Age and Infancy Meet              No more beautiful scene could be imagined than this meeting of age and infancy in the Temple. As we read the story of the life of Jesus, we find Him surrounded on all hands by hypocrisy, until we begin to wonder if there was any religion left in those who haunted these sacr...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 26          The Message of Christmas               And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us--Luk 2:15               Find Out What God Is Doing in Your Neighborhood              It was a great thing for these shepherds to be in the same country with the new-born Christ. There were many other folk upon that countryside. There were the merchants of Bethlehem, and the shopkeepers. There were the Roman officers taking the census, and the Roman soldiers in their garrisons. But they never dreamed that the crisis of all history...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 25        Where to Go at Christmas               And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem--Luk 2:15               Bethlehem Did Not Know What God Was Doing in Its Midst              Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, that we may see the unobtrusiveness of God. How little the great world knew that night of all that was happening at the inn! The inn itself was crowded; every corner of it housed a traveler. Men were talking excitedly and eagerly on a hundred subjects of the hour. And the great subject of eternity--the birth that was to alter all the future--unobserved, was at their very hand. Nobody was discu...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 24        Love and Courage               And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and they were sore afraid--Luk 2:9               But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping and seeth two angels and she turned herself back, and saw Jesus--Joh 20:11, Joh 20:12, Joh 20:14               The Shepherds Were Afraid              We do not like to associate fear with Bethlehem. Fear seems to be banished from the picture. We associate Bethlehem with joy and singing, and with the springing up of glad and glorious hope. Our Christmas hymns are among the gladdest hymns to be found in the whole range of Christian praise. Even waifs and strays, and...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 23        The Angels and the Babe               And, Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them; and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid--Luk 2:9               God Speaks Your language              One of the messages of this beautiful story is that God speaks in ways we understand. That is part of His fatherly compassion. The wise men from the East had spent their nights observing the stars, it was no chance, then, that it was by a star that they were led to the feet of the Redeemer. But the shepherds, devout and humble Jews, had been familiar since childhood with the angels, and it was through angels that God drew near to them. I believe that the divine voice has a diff...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 22          The Eternal Son               Before Abraham was, I am--Joh 8:58               Unto us a child is born--Isa 9:6               The Joy of Christmas              At Christmas, in common with all Christendom, our thoughts gladly journey towards Bethlehem. We see the manger, and the little Babe within it, and the shepherds listening to the song of angels. A birthday is always a great day, and Christmas is the greatest birthday of the year. There was no sounding of trumpets in any court about it, yet it was mightier than any birthday of the Caesars. We have only to think of all that Christ has been--we have only to think of all tha...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 21        They Found What They Diligently Sought               When they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother--Mat 2:11               At Last They Reached Their Goal              I notice first of all that these wise men from the East came to the house at last. They had had a long and toilsome and perhaps a perilous journey; they had crossed the desert and they had forded rivers; yet in spite of all hardship and difficulty and obstruction, here they were at their desired haven. There had been days when their journey seemed a failure, when they were tempted to renounce it altogether; they had knocked at door after door in Jerusalem seeking news, yet for a long time they h...

George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons Devotional For December 20        The Wise Men and the Star               There came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him--Mat 2:1-2               God Speaks Our Language              One of the first lessons of this passage is that God speaks to men in ways they can understand. These Chaldeans had been stargazers from childhood; the study of the nightly heavens was their passion. They had watched the stars with a patience and an accuracy such as are never suffered to go unrewarded. And now by the aid of the stars they loved so well and on which they had meditated with such unwearied devotion, they are brought to...