Every generation for the last sixty years has had an event occur that they will never forget. It is a bookmark on the hard drive of their memory. The World War II generation, still living, remembers exactly where they were December 7, 1941, when they heard about Pearl Harbor. For my generation, the boomer generation, the singular event we remember occurred on November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I still remember walking back from the library to my sixth grade class, where ...
The Bible is the book that is owned by more people in America than any other single book. But what do Bible owners really know about the Bible? 82% say the idea that “God helps those who help themselves” is taken directly from the pages of the Bible. 66% say there is no absolute truth. 63% cannot name the four gospels. 58% cannot name half or more of the Ten Commandments. 58% do not know Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. 52% do not know the book of Jonah is in the Bible. 48% do not know the book of ...
Just for the fun of it, we are beginning each of our Advent messages by recalling a Christmas song. Some of these songs are secular, some are sacred. Our song for this Sunday is several decades old. It was first sung by a young rock-and-roller named Elvis Presley. I don’t know if you remember him or not. Of course Elvis sang, “I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas without you.” I hope I put in a sufficient number of “blue, blues,” in case there is a die hard Presley fan in the room. However, I felt ...
There is only one way to sell a vacuum cleaner turn it on and use it. There is only one way to evangelize turn on your faith and use it! Jesus used a variety of methods sometimes strange, sometimes plain, sometimes controversial to bring wholeness and wellness into people's lives. Jesus tailored his healing techniques to the needs of the person or community, but there was one unchangeable and unshakable foundation around which everything else revolved: He was what he said he was. He turned on his life to ...
There is a calendar titled The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said. Each day features a stupid statement from somebody. A page in the calendar had this amazing quote. Listen closely: “If you bought our course, ‘How To Fly In Six Easy Lessons,’ we apologize for any inconvenience caused by our failure to include the last chapter, ‘How To Land Your Plane Safely.’ Send us your name and address and we will send you the last chapter posthaste. Requests by estates will be honored.” (1) If you are a pilot, I hope you ...
I want to put two famous quotations side by side and see which one you think is closest to the truth. Here is the first one. "There is no such thing as a sure thing." Now that would probably capture the sentiment of most people around the world as in the year 2004. 9/11 and terrorism around the world has changed everything. Security on New Year's Eve this last year was unprecedented. International flights were cancelled for the first time in the history of airlines over terroristic threats. One train of ...
Even though I am not a fisherman, because we have been talking about fishing the last several weeks, the more I study fishing, the more it fascinates me. When I was a boy growing up, fishing was mainly a hobby. Now it is both an art, a science, and big business. When I read about how fish are being caught today, I start feeling sorry for the fish. Fishing used to be a sport where the fish had pretty much an even chance with the fisherman. Today it is no contest. All of us are familiar with what is known as ...
If there is one area in my life where I see so many failures and feel so many frustrations it is in my dual role as a husband and as a father. I see so many expectations that Teresa has for me and the boys have for me and that my churches have had for me and I have even had for myself that I didn't always meet. Quite frankly, for good reason, because I couldn't meet all of their expectations and the truth is - neither can you. Men, many of you can too closely relate to the man in that video. Most of us at ...
Pop Quiz Question: What was the very first command that God ever gave in the Bible? Answer: "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3, NASB) Light is a major theme in the Bible. God and light are so interconnected and so inseparable that the Bible even says, "God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all." (I John 1:5, NASB) That verse alone sheds a lot of light on the verse that we are going to be studying today where Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12, NASB) You may not think this is ...
A. J. Jacobs is an American journalist and guinea pig who write books based on plunge experiences. Once he joined Mensa and read all thirty-two volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica to see what it would be like to be “The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World (2004). In another plunge experience he decided only to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about everything in life. That project had the title I Think You’re Fat (2007), which kind of ...
History shows that people are invariably looking for Messiahs or Christs. There is that special person who is to come among them and, in a sense, do for them what they cannot do for themselves. Even for years after our Lord arose from the dead and ascended — yes, and still at this moment — people are looking. Our Jewish friends, in particular, have this long historical record of watching and waiting. There were, and are, many disappointments in all of this yearning. Indeed, before and after Christ there ...
Several years ago, my wife and I took a vacation where we drove to Mexico City in an old Volkswagen van. Neither of us speak Spanish, but along the primary route down and in Mexico City itself, we had no trouble communicating because many people there spoke English. After spending a few days in that city, we decided to make our exit from Mexico by driving up a highway along the west coast of the country. That route provided us many attractive views of the Pacific Ocean and, as we got farther north, the ...
Leonard Sweet in his sermon, "The Exquisite Attitude of Gratitude" writes: "On a gray Friday in January 2007, during the peak of the early morning commuter rush, an unassuming young man entered the L'Enfant Plaza train station in Washington D.C. As the crowds rushed by, the man found a place to stand out of the way of the foot traffic. He opened the violin case he carried. He threw into the case a few coins and dollar bills to "prime the pump." And then he proceeded to begin playing. But this was no ...
A number of years ago, all of the children in church were getting ready for the Christmas program which was just a week away. One of the little girls was practicing her songs. Her Mom told me that she overheard her daughter in the other room practicing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." As she listened a little more carefully she discovered that while the tune was good, the words were a little off. Instead of singing "with angelic host proclaim," the little girl was singing "with the jelly toast proclaim." ...
Once to every man and nation Comes a moment to decide In the strife of truth with falsehood For the good or evil side. In the wake of worldwide terror, I have wondered aloud and pondered deeply what the leadership role of the church should be in a time such as this. Should we push forward or pull back? Should we unveil a new vision for this congregation or wait for a better day? I have asked many of you to give us some guidance. You have said to me without exception, “Howard, the Church is needed now more ...
“Americans will never taste security and safety unless we feel security and safety in our land," said Osama bin Laden a few weeks ago in a video shown around the world. It is the purpose of terrorists to terrorize and it appears these criminals have succeeded in making Americans more fearful than ever before. Never again will we board a plane, open a letter, or enter a stadium with the kind of innocence we assumed before September 11th. How will we learn to live with this kind of fear? To fear or not to ...
He drew a circle that shut me out, a heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout, but love and I had a wit to win, we drew a circle that took him in. I would like to complete this series of sermons on human relationships by talking about Christian unity. One bread, one body, one cup of blessing which we bless. Come…to the table. Come to the table, we need to talk. At the table, communication happens. People are drowning in information, but starving for communication. As one businessman said, “I don't understand. I ...
It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person, it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed, until he found where the real problem was and there he landed. He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the question of marriage. “Go call your husband,” Jesus said to her. He did that with the rich young ruler and landed on the question of money. “Go sell all of your possessions and give them to the poor,” He said to that man. He did that with Zacchaeus and landed on the ...
Every now and then one of the TV networks offers up one of those shows with an overview of old TV commercials. We look back and laugh at the hairstyles and clothing and laugh. Some the of the more famous and prominent ad characters are still around. Do you remember E.F Hutton commercials. They were for a stock brokerage firm. The TV ads would show two people talking in the midst of a crowd of noisy people: at a party or a sporting event or a restaurant. The two of them would be discussing stocks. One of ...
A group of tourists were visiting a rather picturesque town on the outskirts of a well know city. As they walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. One of the tourists, in a rather patronizing way, asked, "Were any great men born in this village?" To which the old man replied, "Nope, only babies." (1) That wisecrack answer holds a lot of truth. There are no instant heroes, there is no instant status or fame, whether in this world or in the Kingdom of God. Growth takes time. We live in the instant age. ...
Pastor Paula Womack made a “Top Ten” list (aka David Letterman) of ways you can tell it’s the Sunday after Easter. Not all the items on her list fit us, but some of them are very clever. So, here are six ways you tell it’s the Sunday after Easter: Number six: There’s not a lily available for purchase anywhere. Five: Wal-Mart has rotated the Easter candy to the clearance table and brought out the Mother’s Day cards and gift ideas. Four: The stores have removed the stuffed bunnies from the shelves and ...
Almost all denominations, or what I call “tribes,” used to be able to boast an extensive farm system for growing the next generation of leaders. The past two decades have seen a gradual dismantling of that farm system. But you can still see features of it. Starting with the cradle roll and ending with the theological seminary, the church built for its future just like sports teams built for their future in a farm system. One of the most important vestiges in the church’s farm system is summer camp. How ...
"Welcome to the center of the world!" This is the message of the first chapter of Ephesians. The author of Ephesians has told the Gentile-based churches that they have been brought into the center of all that is — in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the rest of this letter, he will be seeking to tell them the meaning of this great news. He wants to stress that this relocation of themselves by God's motivating grace means that they are called to change the way they understand their ...
We live in a world that canonizes celebrity. It no longer matters how much a person has accomplished or how much they have contributed to society. All you have to do to become famous in today’s world is to keep yourself in front of the media. We have people, it’s often noted, who are famous simply for being famous. People like Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, for example. They became so famous that they starred in their own reality show “The Simple Life.” Before that, says one critic, Paris Hilton did ...
Karen Fair tells about her three-year-old daughter, Abby, who was having trouble sleeping through the night. She kept waking up because she was afraid. Each time Karen tucked her into bed again, she would remind her that Jesus was with her and that He would keep her safe. The sleepless nights continued, with Abby seeking comfort in her parents’ bedroom. Finally, one night Karen asked her daughter if she had prayed for Jesus to take her fear away and help her fall asleep. “Oh yes,” Abby assured her. “He ...