Our Extreme Home Makeover is moving right along, but there is one thing we have not yet mentioned and that is – building codes. As you know, before you can occupy a home, it has to meet standard building codes. Building codes are developed by people who are actively involved in the construction industry. Their purpose is, "To provide minimum standards for the protection of life, limb, property and environment and for the safety and welfare of the consumer, general public and the owners and occupants of ...
Believe it or not, in the last several years I have become somewhat of a country music fan, and one of the groups I like is a group called Rascal Flatts. They came out with a song that both haunts me every time I hear it, and yet also brings me a sense of comfort. I want you to listen to just the first verse: Listen to the words one more time: I've dealt with my ghost, and faced all my demons; Finally content with a past I regret; I found you find strength in your moments of weakness; For once I'm at peace ...
I am concluding the series of messages we have entitled - fear factor. I am afraid fear may have gotten a bad rap, because some fear in life is good. In fact, some fear is even necessary. Small children need to be taught to be afraid of a hot stove or else they will be burned. As they get older, they need to be taught to be afraid of a busy street or else they may get hit by a car. As they become teenagers, they need to be taught to be afraid of driving a car too fast or they might be killed. The fear that ...
The fact that you are here in church this morning instead of at home sleeping in or reading the newspaper says something about your religious commitment. But it's also true that you could have chosen to go to church today without coming here specifically. For many of you, this is not the nearest church building to where you live. In fact, several of you drive past one or more other churches on your way here. I am delighted that you have come here of course, but it is a fact of modern times that you have a ...
Repentance is relationship. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story titled, The Birthmark. It is a story about a man who married a very beautiful woman who had a birthmark on her left cheek. She had always thought of it as a beauty spot, but her husband saw the birthmark to be a sign of imperfection, a flaw. It began wearing on him so much that all he could see was that birthmark. He could not see her beauty, her graciousness, or her great personality. He could only focus on what he perceived to be a flaw ...
So much happening in so little time! We are left gasping for breath. We stagger under the weight of the mighty arm of historical occurrence. You and I praise God because we know the rest of the story. Those present did not know how things would turn out. They must have been like awestruck children nearing exasperation. Those of us who have read and perhaps studied the great writers amazingly discover that Saint John tops them all. Shakespeare was truly brilliant but there is a peculiar demeanor about our ...
Keeping our word has a long and positive history in our nation. For generations, a man was known by whether or not he kept his word. His word was his bond. Deal after deal was made on that basis. The essentials of the business world found it always helpful and even necessary for commerce to run smoothly. Some of us can remember vividly how these agreements functioned. Woe be unto that man who did not keep his word! If it happened more than once or twice and there were no extenuating circumstances, he was ...
Those bidding good-bye are around us all of our lives. Sometimes there are almost unbearable feelings and other times merely a shrug of the shoulders. We may sense terrible lostness. Occasionally, it may be a matter of saying under our breaths that it is good riddance. Perhaps most of us have been there and done all of that. In the case of our dear Lord's ascension, we discover quickly that this is not a usual parting which is common to our experience. There is something very different here! We weren't ...
This chapter of Luke brings us ever closer to the end of Jesus' public ministry. Jesus enters Jericho, just fifteen miles or so from the holy city of Jerusalem. It is here that Jesus transforms the life of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. This is one of the few stories that is peculiar to Luke and is a wonderful human-interest story. The fact that Zacchaeus is willing to climb a tree to see Jesus is a clear indication that he really wanted to see and meet the carpenter from Nazareth. His eagerness to see ...
Our blessed Lord presses the issue. Do you or do you not want to be my disciple? If you do not, then it is with great sadness that your Savior must move on with those who are willing to fully commit themselves. In our lives, each and every one of us receives Christ’s invitation of discipline and abandonment of the world. No longer are we getting acquainted. We are being asked to come into a relationship at once glorious and painful. Yes, it comes to all of us — sooner or later. It is like moving from an ...
This time of year is high noon sports season. Post season baseball, leading up to the World Series. NFL games are the reason no one stays after church for coffee hour anymore. Football is also why any board meeting scheduled for Monday night is doomed. It is the full moon time for the “Friday Night Lights” of high school football, and Saturday mornings are filled with small-fry soccer games. Every possible form of competition is in high gear. It seems that as the temperatures begin to dip, head-to-head, ...
When you visit a church camp you're aware that you're separated from civilization. When you take a walk late at night, for whatever reason, and it's usually for whatever reason, you can't help but wonder what that rustling in the darkness might be. It's probably a raccoon, or a smaller animal, as frightened of you as you are pretending that you're not frightened of it. But it could be a bear. It's an unnerving experience to see a bear close up. Bears in the wild are the epitome of untamed nature. They don' ...
What is the most ludicrous business deal you ever got into (or out of) just in time? In the tiny town of Flushing, Ohio, amidst the coalfields of Belmont County, stands a brick building which used to house the Citizens' National Bank. Like a lot of community financial institutions of its day, this bank specialized in small loans made to local farmers, sheepherders, and working-class folks in the nearby area and harbored the hard-earned dollars of their working-class neighbors. Their capital was fortified ...
Today we want to celebrate the gift of music. After all, what would Christmas be without music? Didn’t angels sing the night Christ was born? (Luke 2) Well, it doesn’t actually say they were singing. It says they were saying, “Glory to God in the highest . . .” but that sure sounds like singing to me. Music is such a wonderful gift. A few years ago a group of junior high school students was given a test of musical terms. Here were some of their answers: Music sung by two people at the same time is called a ...
Today on this final Sunday of Advent we would like to celebrate small towns. How many of you grew up in a small town? Small towns are just a little bit different. As someone has written, “You know you live in a small town when . . .” A baby born on June 14 receives gifts from local merchants as the first baby of the year. You speak to each dog you pass by name and he wags his tail at you. You can’t walk for exercise because every car that passes you offers you a ride. You can name everyone you graduated ...
There is a special joy in children at different stages of their lives. This is a gay time for Jerry and me with Kerry and Kevin. We were together for a happy time – Thanksgiving. We had a very special time with Kerry. It pleased us that she was so excited about school; that hasn’t always been the case. She’s primarily excited about her art. At one point in our conversation, Kerry grew quiet and subdued - which is very unusual for this most bubbly of all our children. She began to talk about the way she was ...
Three-year-old Ian Hough of Auburn, Washington, loves the story in the Bible of the time God spoke to the boy Samuel. One night after his mother read Ian this story she asked him if God had ever spoken to him. To her surprise, he answered, “Yes.” “What did God say to you?” his mother asked. Ian thought and then said in his deepest voice, “Ian! Go to bed!” (1) Does God speak to people? What do you think? David Holwick tells a story that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. It was about a man named Bob Haifley ...
Alexander Pope said “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Lewis Smedes says, “God invented forgiveness as a remedy for a past that not even he could change nor forget.” Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven. Those who are forgiven much, love much.” Come, let us take a closer look. Jesus is invited to join Simon the Pharisee for dinner. Why Simon invited Jesus is anybody’s guess. Maybe Simon sincerely wanted to know Jesus. Maybe dinner was a trap. Maybe Simon was just curious and decided to find out for ...
“Why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Have you ever felt that way? You wanted to say that to the Lord? There have been times in my life when God seemed far off, beyond the reach of communication. I have awakened at 3 o’clock in the morning, morning after morning after morning, and anguished in spirit until day break, but my praying was more frustrating than fruitful. My passionate pleas seemed to bounce off the ceiling and ricochet around the walls. It never ...
There is an old story about a construction worker who attempted to lower a barrel of brick by means of a rope and pulley. The bricks however, were heavier than the worker. The man went up as the brick came down. The two collided in mid-air, injuring the worker's shoulder. Upon impact, the bottom of the barrel ripped open. The brick spilled out. Now, the worker was heavier than the brick. As the man came down at high speed, he collided with the barrel coming up, causing injury to his shins. This time the ...
A religious coalition led by Rev. Jim Ball launched a media campaign three months ago asking Americans “What Would Jesus Drive?” The advertisement, designed to discourage religious people from driving SUV’s, pickups, minivans and other gas guzzling vehicles, quickly captured the attention of Americans. The three major auto makers publicly stated that they already made fifty models of fuel efficient cars, but trucks and SUV’s now outsell cars at dealerships across America. Comedian Jay Leno said Jesus would ...
As I surfed the Internet preparing this sermon, I ran across a web site entitled Belief-o-matic. It enticed me to answer twenty questions about my concept of God, the afterlife, and human nature and they in turn would tell me what religion, if any, I ought to practice. I took the challenge. Within a few minutes it was clearly determined that I was meant to be an Orthodox Quaker. Since Quakers have neither pastors nor sermons, I decided to wait until after Easter to make the switch. Beliefs—In some form or ...
Have you heard the story about a man who slipped and fell while trying to clean the limbs from his roof? He slid down the steep shingles, slipped over the eave, and barely managed to grab hold of the gutters. Dangling there three stories from the earth, the man looked to the heavens above and shouted “My God can any body help me?" Suddenly time stopped, the clouds parted and a voice from heaven said, “Have faith, turn loose." The man took one more glance at the ground below, then looked back to the heavens ...
Whenever there are people who share a common interest they tend to congregate in crowds. According to the Guinness World Records 23,600 people got together in Upton Park London in May 1999, to blow bubbles. The largest number of visitors to a department store in one day took place on December 20, 1995, in Nextage, Shanghai. A million shoppers showed up. The greatest number of live spectators to any sporting event was 10 million over a three week period at the annual Tour de France. The largest mass choir ...
Why is it . . . You’re on vacation in a brand new place . . . You go out to dinner at a brand new restaurant . . . You’re facing a brand new set of dining options . . . Yet you already know how the plates will look when they come to your table. Dad will have some kind of steak. Mom always goes for something with salsa. The kids cruise the menu for the latest incarnation of chicken strips or burgers. Faced with a completely new situation, we instinctively try to make it as familiar as possible. That’s why ...