Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

Edward Gibbon, the English historian, defined history as “the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.” You need not read very far in history to see that there is much truth in this analysis. While in sports, technology, and a few other areas man has made magnificent advances, in personal and international relations his record is one of...

One of the most unique things in all the world is a person's memory. Many years ago Dr. Wilbur Penfield, the eminent Canadian brain surgeon, discovered that the human mind stores a permanent record of every experience, and when the brain is electrically stimulated, it can call up in vivid detail all of these experiences. This marvelous ability to remember is both a b...

Divorce is the most shattering blow the human spirit can suffer. When you deeply love your mate and have a strong conviction about marriage, divorce can be worse than death. When you lose a mate through divorce, they are just as gone and you are just as lonely as if they had died. Divorce brings with it all of the shock and the loneliness of death, plus much more. Ho...

1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; 2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the...

There is a lot of fuzzy thinking about guilt. It is a favorite theme of the playwrights, novelists, and poets, and even a popular conversation piece at cocktail parties. What is guilt? It should be noted that there is a difference between guilt and a “sense of guilt.” A sense of guilt ordinarily accompanies guilt, but not necessarily. It is possible to co...

John Newton, who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace,” was once the captain of a slave trading ship. In 1748, caught in a great storm at sea, he turned to God and became a Christian. In time he became a wonderful parish priest and built a great church. As an old man and blind, he began dictating his memoirs. One day he said, speaking of the thousands of slaves...

In 2009 William L. Calley, the only U.S. Army officer convicted of the 1968 slaying of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, made an extraordinary public apology.   Calley was a young Army lieutenant when he was court-martialed for his part in the massacre of 500 men, women, and children. In his confession he said, “There’s not a day that goes by that...

A man came out of church one Sunday and said to me, “Preacher, be good to yourself today.” It was his way of saying, “You are important also.”   It reminded me that I had often been better to other people than I had been to myself. I think a lot of people are that way. They have gone through a divorce, failed in business, had a child...

15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard. Introduction       The message today is so simple that I hope you don’t miss it. I’ll give it to you in just one sentence with six words: The way of transgressors is hard. Most people don’t believe that. In fact, they believe just the opposite. They believe th...