There is a unique beauty and tenderness about the hour of sunset. The sun impresses its memory upon a darkening world by tinting the western sky with its most original and harmonious colors. The last hour of the day is its most beautiful and memorable. So it is in human relations. The tender beauty of sunset glows from the hour of farewell. We say goodbye to those who are not so intimate but reserve the last precious moments to those nearest our hearts. And after all else is forgotten we remember the ...
This sermon is based on Luke 2:8-14. Not the Luke 1 text above. His name is Matt. He is a grown man now, a six feet, 5 inch tall Texas, but each year his family remembers and celebrates something he did one Christmas when he was just a young boy. It happened in Tyler, Texas in 1966. Matt lived in the best of worlds or the toughest of worlds depending on how you looked at it because, you see, Matt was one of six children, and he was the only boy. That’s right, he had (count ‘em)… 1, 2, 3, 4… 5 sisters! Now ...
When you were a child, did you play the game, Hide and Seek? If you did, you will remember that the person who was "it" closed his eyes while the rest went to hide. To give them time to hide, the child started counting: 5, 10, 15, 20 and up to 100. Then he would say, "Ready or not, here I come!" The point of the game was to hide oneself so well that the leader could not find you, for if he found you, and beat you back to the goal, you had to be "it" the next go-around. The secret of the game was preparing ...
After only a week of married life, a young husband had to leave his bride to fight in the war. Though they were a half- world apart in distance, they frequently exchanged letters and occasionally he would send her a gift to remind her of his love. Then one night there was a sudden and unexpected knock on her door. Cautiously she opened it and to her amazement there stood her soldier-husband. On his face was a grin that extended from ear to ear. They ran into each other's arms and laughed and cried with the ...
There is no pain in the world quite like it: the awful pain of feeling rejected. It hurts! It crushes the spirit and breaks the heart. Let me show you what I mean with a true story. Pastor James Moore tells a story about a girl named Jessica. She was a tall, slender, sixteen-year-old blonde girl, who looked like she might grow up to be a model or president of the P.T.A., or a corporate executive. She was attractive, outgoing, personable, radiant, and happy. She was an only child and her parents were ...
Mussa Zoabi of Israel claims to be the oldest person alive. He says he's 160 years old. Unfortunately, Guinness Book of World Records isn't going to print his name simply because his age can't be verified. Mr. Zoabi is older than most recordskeeping systems will go. But here's the interesting thing! However old he really is, Mussa Zoabi knows exactly how he managed to live so long. He'll tell the secret to anybody who wants to know. He says: Every day I drink a cup of melted butter or olive oil! Doesn't ...
A teacher, Lisa Trewhitt Earby of Cleveland, Tennessee, tells about reading one-on-one with a first grade student who encountered the words "thank you" for the first time in print. Hoping the student would use some of her newly learned reading strategies, Lisa gave the girl plenty of time to work out the words herself. After a few moments, though, Lisa decided to tell her the word "thank." When she didn't respond, Lisa said more emphatically, "Thank." The little girl responded in her native Tennessee ...
One of the first things many young women have to do when embarking on a career in corporate America is to learn a new language--the language of metaphors from the world of sports--metaphors like "swing for the fences," "full-court press," "knock-out punch," etc. Let's face it. Men, for the most part, talk about sports. Surely you've read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Men talk about sports; women talk about relationships. At least, that's what the experts say. The Apostle Paul was a man. And so ...
I happened to see part of a comedy program on television a couple of weeks ago. One of the segments of the program consisted of two or three short movies made by a producer unfamiliar to me. I take it that he is just getting started in this business. But he had a terrific “gimmick.” He found out when buildings were to be demolished in New York, and then arranged to take pictures of them being blown up or torn down. Only he interwove himself and his own dialogue into the picture. He would talk to the ...
A cartoon in the New Yorker magazine reveals two very well-dressed businessmen having an exotic lunch in an expensive eatery. One of the men has a look of horror on his face as he says to the other, "I had the most terrifying dream last night. I dreamed that the value of the dollar had slipped so low that it was no longer worth worshiping!" This is exactly what James is addressing and correcting in his challenging words. Most of us here today know that money is a poor substitute for a living relationship ...
It's an awesome responsibility to preach. One of my heroes, Bishop Gerald Kennedy, was fond of telling of the Church of England Bishop who remarked that a sermon is something a clergy person will cross a continent to deliver, but will not walk across the street to hear. There may be more truth in that than most of us will admit. Yet, when we get beyond our egoes and our yet unredeemed arrogance, we know that preaching is an awesome responsibility. And especially is it so at a high hour such as this when we ...
One of the most effective and colorful congressmen to ever go to Washington was a crusty old gentlemen from Texas named Sam Rayburn. He served Congress for over 50 years — during the last ten of those years, he was Speaker of the House. But the real greatness of Sam Rayburn was not in the public positions he held. It was in his common touch. One day he heard that the teenage daughter of a Washington reporter had died. Early the next morning he went over to the reporter’s house and knocked on the door. “I ...
Harold and Maud is a fascinatingly different, but warmly convincing novel. It's by Colin Higgins, and is the story of two persons who not only affirm each other's existence, but also cherish the mutual meanings they share. A young man in his 20's and an enchanting woman in her 70's become real friends. Maud cares for Harold, not because he is useful or ornamental. He is neither. Not because of anything he does or has, but just because he is himself. Harold is thus better able, when he is with Maud, to ...
Once there was a great intersection in the ancient city of Bethlehem. We know a little something about great intersections. When we travel by car, we discover that the intersection of interstate highways becomes the epicenter of all kinds of activity: lots of traffic, and with the traffic come motels, restaurants, gas stations, fast food places, and more. Furthermore, within certain cities, some particular intersections have gained worldwide fame. The corner of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood, Piccadilly ...
John was showing off his new apartment to his friends. “Say, what’s that gong for?” asked Ed. “That’s not a gong,” John replied. “That’s a talking clock.” “A talking clock?” Ed asked in disbelief. “How’s it work?” “Watch,” said John. He picked up a sledgehammer and took a swing at the gong. A voice from the other side of the wall screamed, “Knock it off, you idiot! It’s 2:00 A. M.!” A talking clock, to be sure. Also, a good test of your neighbors. A certain woman owned a dog named Tatters. Tatters was ...
We have a young man in our church family who is in the military. He is now on his second tour of duty in Iraq. Every now and then I drive down the street where his mom and dad live here in Houston… and I’m always touched to see that they have yellow ribbons on all of the trees in the front yard. The “yellow ribbon” is a dramatic part of our culture now. It means: - “We love you!” - “We miss you!” - “You are wanted and treasured and welcome here!” - “Please hurry home!” … The yellow ribbon is a powerful and ...
It once was reported on the news that one of our Mariner spacecraft was expected to make a new discovery. Billions of miles away on the borders of our solar system, the Mariner was expected to discover a new planet or star or even a black hole. Astronomers have long speculated about the existence of another planet in our solar system to explain the irregularity of the orbit of planet Uranus. It seems to be lured by the pull of the gravity of another body, the lure of the unseen. In the winter, while ...
This week's gospel text finds Jesus once again arriving to a gathered crowd and a waiting crisis. Upon his arrival Jesus is immediately approached by Jairus, a leader in the local synagogue. This time, however, Jairus does not represent ecclesial authority. Rather, he symbolizes every desperately worried parent that ever lived. Imploring aid for his grievously ill child, Jairus throws accepted standards of behavior to the winds and falls at the feet of this virtual stranger. Jesus responds instantly, ...
Isaiah 40:1-31, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27, Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 40:21-31 Chapter 40 is the opening chapter of Deutero-Isaiah written in 540 B.C. at a time of the Babylonian captivity. God's people are slaves in a foreign land. They are weak and helpless. They need a message from Yahweh. He is a God of power and glory. The people are saying that their God does not know of their situation. Yahweh reminds them that he is creator of the world, an everlasting God who gives strength to the powerless. They that wait on the Lord shall have his ...
An elderly man stopped at a hearing aid center and asked about prices. "We have them from $25,000 on down to $1.50," the salesman said. "What’s the $25,000 one like?" asked the elderly man. "Well, it translates three languages and is the latest in electronics," the salesman replied. "And what about the one for $1.50?" the customer asked. "It’s this button attached to a string," said the salesman, pushing it across the counter. "How does it work?" asked the customer. "It doesn’t," said the salesman, "But if ...
When I was teenager, I worked one summer at a church camp washing dishes. One day, after cleaning up from supper, the cook, his assistant, the groundskeeper, and I ended up out behind the dining hall where there was an old tree stump on which someone had painted a target. The cook, who was always up to trying something new, had brought with him the kitchen's meat cleaver, a hatchet-like utensil, and he suggested a contest to see which of us could throw the cleaver most squarely into the center of the ...
Mary Magdalene may very well be the most enigmatic and controversial figure in the resurrection story. In a way the holy scriptures give us just enough information to excite our curiosity in regard to her personal relationship with the man she adored, Jesus of Nazareth. We still wonder what kind of person she was. Fiction writers have had a field day, especially in recent years. Was she really married to Jesus and did they have children? Did they establish a bloodline that is with us today? Such inquiries ...
The little book of Joel has a big part to play in the overall story of the Hebrew Scripture. Its purpose is to warn of God's impending judgment against the people of Judah because of their sins, and to urge them to turn back to God. The book is written by Joel, the son of Pethuel, and it is directed toward the southern kingdom, and God's people everywhere. The book itself is one of the literary gems of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is written and built up with care and dramatic effect. There are surely other ...
It is a sign that we theologians have run out of ways to ponder the existence and being of God when we start naming our theologies after animals but here goes: "Dog Theology" goes like this: "You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. You must be God!" "Cat Theology" goes like this: "You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. I must be God." I would like to put forth a Squirrel theology. The way squirrels live their lives puts them on a different theological plane than dogs or cats? ...
I just read about two Senior Citizens who were out for their usual morning walk. They both had been complaining about the aches and pains of getting older. As they passed the local funeral home one of them turned to the other and said, "Look there's no hope of recovery, we're just getting older. Let's just go in and give ourselves up." (1) I also read about a For Sale ad in the Roanoke, Illinois, Review which read: "Hope chest: Brand new, half price, long story." (2) I'd like to know the story behind that ...