When the unsinkable Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, one reporter wrote, "The tragedy of man is that he cannot build a boat to match his boasts." In many ways we have been able to conquer the sea. When it loomed up as a barrier to our progress across the earth we built boats to sail on it, created atomic submarines to travel through it, and designed jets to fly over it. What’s more, we can even swim in it. But we cannot become master of it. The story which forms the miracle we consider now is about a ...
If there is anything that is true about our society it is this: We have become an excuse-filled society. It used to be that to say, "Excuse me," was a gesture of courtesy. It is now a method of getting around personal responsibility. One of the most respected authors in America made this observation: Our culture has declared war on guilt…Perhaps the most prevalent means of escaping blame is by classifying every human failing as some kind of disease. Drunkards and drug addicts can check into clinics for ...
How many of you have a computer at home? How many of you ever surfed the net? If you do, you know there is an entirely new language to learn when you get involved with computers. I thought I would give us a little quiz just to see how well we are "with it" when it comes to talking computer lingo. I'll show you the word then you tell me the definition. ASAP – As soon as possible FYI – For Your Information LOL – Laughing Out Loud KIT – Keep In Touch TTYL – Talk To You Later BCNU – Be Seeing You G2G – Got To ...
I suppose you have had the chance to watch at least a little television during these busy days before Christmas. Have you noticed that the news programs are carrying more stories about unfortunate people these days...people who have lost their homes, people who are facing debilitating disease, people who seem to have had their whole world fall in on them? Have you noticed that? I understand why: somehow the plight of desperate folks seems all the MORE desperate in the midst of what should be a season of ...
I'm told that they used to tell a story in Russia that Adam and Eve were Russians and they came at that from very logical deduction. They were improperly clothed, they had only one apple between them and everybody was always telling them that they lived in a paradise. Today you can't tell that joke in Russia. No one, not even the most ardent, die hard, hanging on, Communist dreamer. No one would even begin to hint at the possibility that the people in Russia and in the Union of Independent States are ...
I suppose you have had the chance to watch at least a little television during these busy days before Christmas. Have you noticed that the news programs are carrying more stories about unfortunate people these days... people who have lost their homes, people who are facing debilitating disease, people who seem to have had their whole world fall in on them? Have you noticed that? I understand why: somehow the plight of desperate folks seems all the more desperate in the midst of what should be a season of ...
COMMENTARY 1 Kings 19:15-21 Elijah obeys Yahweh's command to anoint two kings and a prophet. This and the previous two lections deal with the problem of depression as Elijah experienced it. A preacher might use these three Lessons for a series on overcoming depression. The way out: (1) Elijah is physically restored by rest and food provided by an angel; (2) Elijah had an experience with God on top of Mount Horeb where he heard the still, small voice of God; (3) in today's Lesson the final step in ...
[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] A famous news anchor tells about attending a revival as a boy in his home town of Bloomington, Texas. It was a spectacular extravaganza the whole town attended. The tent was open, the floor was sawdust ...
Carl Joseph is a young black athlete who comes from a little one-horse town down in Florida. It’s a very poor town. There’s one road in and one road out, one old hotel, one fairly decent restaurant, one high school, one dilapidated theatre that shows ten year old movies, one grocery store, just one of everything. From that town, Carl Joseph entered the University of Pittsburgh on a four-year football scholarship. Strangely enough, he will never play in a single game for the Panthers. But then Jackie ...
The Jehovah's Witnesses have changed their minds. After warning for decades that the world would end within this present generation, the leaders of the sect announced in December 1995 that they have softened their position. As a spokesman explained, "Jesus said that 'this generation will not pass away' until a number of signs have taken place (Mark 13:30). When we reflected on the scriptures, we decided that he was talking about his generation rather than ours." Ex-Witness James Fenton, professor emeritus ...
Isaiah 40:1-5Matthew 5:1-12 I believe we have developed a greater understanding of the meaning and means of mourning. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross published her classic book titled On Death and Dying. In it she identified five basic stages in the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Personally and professionally, I have found these helpful categories in recognizing where I am in my grieving and where others are in theirs. I have also found it to be true that getting ...
The Jehovah's Witnesses have changed their minds. After warning for decades that the world would end within this present generation, the leaders of the sect announced in December 1995 that they have softened their position. As a spokesman explained, "Jesus said that 'this generation will not pass away' until a number of signs have taken place (Mark 13:30). When we reflected on the scriptures, we decided that he was talking about his generation rather than ours." Ex-Witness James Fenton, professor emeritus ...
I believe we have developed a greater understanding of the meaning and means of mourning. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross published her classic book titled On Death and Dying. In it she identified five basic stages in the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Personally and professionally, I have found these helpful categories in recognizing where I am in my grieving and where others are in theirs. I have also found it to be true that getting stuck in any one of the first ...
It is a true story - no matter how much like a fairy tale it may sound. A totally unsuspecting man literally stumbled upon the world's largest diamond - all 3,106 carats of it. It happened in Premier Mine #2, near Pretoria, South Africa, in early 1905. This amazing stone was then sent in an ordinary cardboard box to England. One hundred and five stones were cut from this diamond, known as the Cullinan diamond. Two of the largest stones which it produced, the 530-carat Star of Africa and the 317-carat ...
I want to tell you the story of an Old Testament character by the name of Joab. Joab spent his entire life as the Commander in Chief of the armies of the Nation of Israel. He was David's hand-picked general. David was God's anointed king over Israel and, as you know, he was a type and a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God's anointed king. Joab served David all of his life only to be slain, at the command of David, at the end of his life. Now Joab's downfall can be attributed to one simple ...
I don't watch a lot of television, but there is one program that I try to watch every day. I would encourage you to watch it. First of all, it is clean, family oriented, and something that all of the family can watch. Secondly, it is extremely educational, and will teach you a lot of things that you otherwise would never know. Thirdly, it is very inspirational. It has great story lines, real live heroes and heroines, and builds character. It is exciting, never boring, has non-stop action, and, at times, is ...
I want to juxtapose two quotes to you: one you will not be familiar with; one you will be very familiar with. Here is the first quote, given by historian Christopher Dawson, over thirty years ago: We have entered a new phase of culture we may call it the Age of the Cinema in which the most amazing perfection of scientific technique is being devoted to purely ephemeral objects, without any consideration of their ultimate justification. It seems as though a new society [is] arising, which will acknowledge no ...
It was supposed to have been fun. No one was supposed to have gotten hurt. Little children haven't become greedy yet have they? A minor league baseball team in Michigan held a promotion after a game, dropping $1,000 in cash from a helicopter over the outfield. Then they let the children run after it. The air should have been filled with giggles as the children plucked dollar bills from the air and scooped them off the ground. No one expected cries of pain. No one expected the older, bigger children to ...
Two young men walk into church. They both are the same age -22, same height, same weight, and same build. The first young man walks in with a crisply starched long-sleeved Polo shirt, freshly ironed slacks, clean-cut, fresh-shaven, and wearing shoes in the latest style. The second male walks in wearing a t-shirt, blue-jeans with more holes than pockets, flip-flops, tattoos on both arms, a nose-ring and orange hair. Immediately, if we are honest, most of us would look at the first male and think, “He needs ...
Acts and the Third Gospel clearly come from the same hand. Not only their common dedication, but their common interests and their unity of language and style leave this beyond doubt. Moreover, the way in which they are introduced—the Gospel with its relatively detailed preface, Acts with its shorter introduction echoing the other’s language—points us to the fact that these are not simply two books by the same author, but two volumes of one book. This arrangement of a work into a number of “books” having a ...
A pollster was taking a survey of how much of people''s income goes to different kinds of spending. The person being interviewed said, "I spend 40 percent of my income on housing, 20 percent on clothing, 40 percent on food, and 20 percent on transportation and amusement." The pollster said, "But sir, that adds up to 120 percent." The reply was, "I know it!" Some of us, when the credit card bills come due, are probably discovering that we are spending at least 100 percent of our income. As one man put it, " ...
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lessons for this Sunday articulate the completion of God's salvation and encourage the reader to enter God's new world. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 is a call for Israel to choose life in the land over death in the wilderness, while Psalm 119:1-8 provides encouragement for the worshiper, who has left the wilderness and entered the land, to persevere in walking on God's roads in God's world. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 - "Bond Yourself to God and Choose Life" Setting. The book of ...
It’s a common expression. When good fortune comes our way over which we have no control, about which we really did nothing, we say, “I was in the right place at the right time.” We hear it all the time about people who have made a lot of money, without a lot of effort: “He was in the right place at the right time.” We say a similar thing when the unwanted happens to us. “I was in the wrong place at the right time.” Some of us feel that’s the story of our life — being in the wrong place at the right time. ...
Have you ever been betrayed by one of your closest friends? After opening yourself up and becoming vulnerable to another person, to have them abuse the trust you placed in them and stab you in the back can cause more pain than if that person had beaten you to a pulp. If a person who claims to love you turns around and hurts you deeply, you probably do what most of us do in that situation — you hurt them back. Certainly, you wouldn't choose to spend your last night alive with that person. Especially if you ...
Have you ever noticed how some families move a lot? Some are corporate moves, some are military, and some are United Methodist pastors. Whatever the case, every time they move they have to find new lodging. In the military, quarters are often provided. The same may be true for clergy if churches own a manse or a parsonage. But, sometimes you have to look for a new home, which means spending some time with real estate agents traveling here and there to find the perfect house. Of course, no house is ever ...