There were two fellows who lived and breathed baseball. They were professional players with the Atlanta Braves and you would think that playing for a living would be enough. But not so – these guys breathed, ate, and slept baseball. More than teammates, they were very close friends. So, they talked with each other about that mattered most in their lives. One of their big concerns was whether there would be baseball in heaven. They loved baseball so much that they were not sure at all they wanted to spend ...
I. I weep for Adonais – he is dead! O, weep for Adonais! though our tears Thaw not the frost which binds so dear a head! And thou, sad Hour, selected from all years To mourn our loss, rouse thy obscure compeers, And teach them thine own sorrow, say: “With me Died Adonais; till the Future dares Forget the Past, his fate and fame shall be An echo and a light unto eternity!” II. Where wert thou, mighty Mother, when he lay, When thy Son lay, pierced by the shaft which flies In darkness? where was lorn Urania ...
According to the three-year ecumenical lectionary, developed in recent years, the Sunday before Easter is primarily known as the Sunday of the Passion, instead of Palm Sunday. The procession with palm branches is still recommended, but the emphasis of the day has shifted to the Passion of Christ, as seen in the suggested lengthy Gospel readings appointed. In this worship service, however, we have chosen to lift up the Palm Sunday theme, and to focus on the kingship of Christ and his triumphal entry into ...
Object: a large soft drink cup and large french fry container, also a "supersize" soft drink cup and "supersize" french fry container. Good morning, boys and girls. Do you like going out to eat? What do you like to order? Maybe a hamburger, and some french fries, and a soft drink sounds pretty good, doesn't it? There are all sorts of sizes you can get, too. You can get a small fry and drink, a medium, a large size, and now you can even get a supersize soft drink and fries. Wow! That's huge, isn't it? Do ...
Theme: God's Spirit Through The Ages (Based on Ezekiel 37 and Joel 2:23-29) This intense drama takes the dry bones vision of the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37 and ties it with the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. Scripturally based, this drama is meant to add depth and meaning to the church's celebration of Pentecost and/or Baptism. Setting: The graveyard of bones which the prophet Ezekiel saw in Ezekiel 37. It is now centuries later Characters: THE PROPHET EZEKIEL: A man who speaks with conviction and ...
Tell me, how would you like to have life served up to you? The newest neophyte among the Madison Avenue ad men will tell you. Every word of copy that they write promises to fulfill what they consider your deepest yearnings. You want it soft, just as soft as Puff facial tissues. You want it comfortable. You want it secure. You want to live in a kind of bovine, cud-chewing complacency, comfort, and contentment. You want to be born without labor pain to your mother, to live in a computerized, automated Utopia ...
Program for Worship Bulletin "And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7) Welcome Prayer Carol "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" Scene I Joshua, Miriam, and their children Adam, Lela, Lydia and Susanna arrive in Bethlehem where they expect Joshua's brother, Aaron, to put them up in his inn. They, like most people in town at that time, are there to be enrolled for the census. They arrive outside ...
This sermon is most effectively presented in a dramatic form. You may want to verbally introduce the setting before using the actual text - announcing that you are back in Bethlehem on that Night. As you act out the directions, you will capture your listeners’ attention and add a great deal of impact to the words. What strange news has greeted me this night! Shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem claim that in the night watches an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around ...
Although the moment the Thanksgiving turkey cools down much of Western culture plunges into the Christmas frenzy, in the church calendar there is one more Sunday before Advent officially gets underway. This is the last Sunday of Pentecost, Christ the King Sunday. It seems pleasantly paradoxical that the church devotes a Sunday to celebrate Christ's exaltedness, his lordship, his omnipotence, just before we begin the weeks of Advent that contemplate Christ's entrance into this world as a frail and tiny ...
The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore, love truth and peace.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ And many peoples and ...
There is no doubt about it, Christmas is a dangerous time of year. You ever tried negotiating a mall parking lot between Black Friday and Christmas Eve? You know one level of danger. You ever tried to gather together a fractious, far-flung family into one Christmas moment? You know another level of danger. You ever tried buying a toy for the kids or grandkids, a toy where levers don’t break off, where there are no hidden, choky bits, where glitches galore don’t make the toy “unsafe?” You know another whole ...
Of all the topics that a pastor talks about, by common consensus everybody would agree, the most sensitive topic that a pastor talks about is - money. However, the most difficult topic that a pastor deals with is the one we have been talking about for the last couple of weeks in the series we’ve entitled, “Missing Person.” We have said that a missing person is any person who is far from God - any person who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The very first command that Jesus ever gave ...
He walked rapidly, his long robes flowing behind him to be whipped by the brisk, dry east wind. His two servants occasionally quick-stepped to keep pace, their sandals padding softly on the dust of the deserted streets. As they turned eastward from the upper city, the declining, full moon flung their shadows ahead like long moving fingers pointing toward the white limestone buildings of the temple compound. Nicodemus’ mind was thoughtless, yet filled with many thoughts. He had no plan, no course of action ...
"I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say." Calvin Coolidge It's a funny thing with kids: after they are born we can hardly wait until they start talking, then after they learn to talk we can hardly wait for them to shut up! Someone has observed that children go through four stages in their communication with their fathers. First, they call you "Da-da." Then they call you "Daddy." Then they call you "Dad." Then they call you "collect!" Solomon was extremely concerned that his children be wise in the ...
Those of us who live in the United States have no experience with royalty or with “kingdoms” ruled by kings or queens. We have no royal family, so we have to invent our royalty. We had the “King of Rock’n’Roll,” Elvis Presley. We had the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson. We had a “King of Soul,” James Brown. We have a Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. We have a “King of all Media,” Howard Stern. We have a Queen of Clean, Linda Cobb. We even have a King of Greasy Goodness” for the Queen of Clean to clean up: ...
I don't know of anyone that disputes the fact that John Wooden is the greatest basketball coach who has ever lived. His UCLA basketball teams won ten NCAA National Championships in twelve years, including seven in a row. In his book entitled Wooden, he begins with this story: My Dad, Joshua Wooden, was a strong man in one sense, but a gentle man. While he could lift heavy things men half his age couldn't lift, he would also read poetry to us each night after a day working in the fields raising corn, hay, ...
Characters Teacher Angel Lead Shepherd 1st Angel 2nd Angel 3rd Angel 4th Angel 5th Angel Joseph Mary Angel Choir Shepherd Shepherd 1 Shepherd 2 Shepherd 3 1st Child 2nd Child 3rd Child 4th Child 5th Child Props Chairs Blackboard with “Junior Angel Training” written on it Lectern or music stand Christmas tree Christmas tree decorations 4 Bibles Manger, with a baby “Christmas Eve At Angel School” offers a variety of speaking roles for children of all ages, making it a good choice for medium-sized Sunday ...
Amazingly, George Lucas, who created one of the most famous villains of all time in Darth Vader, could not resist the storyline that even with the Darth Vader there is always "A New Hope." There is always the hope that anyone who has gone over to the dark side, no matter how far or how deep, can once again reemerge to the light side and the right side. Thousands of years ago God told the Prophet Jeremiah of a land that we could call "The Land of New Hope". To illustrate that land, He told Jeremiah to go ...
One of my favorite writers is Loren Eiseley. He is an anthropologist and naturalist who can blend scientific knowledge and imaginative vision, and record his findings with the perception of a painter, the words of a poet, and the heart of a prophet. I share one of his stories in his own words, because the way he puts words together is powerful and inspiring. “The sound that awoke me was the outraged cries of the nestling’s parents, who flew helplessly in circles about the clearing. (A raven had raided ...
I was driving down Poplar Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in Memphis, when I noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of me. In large letters, it said, “I AM A GENERIC CHRISTIAN.” Well, that got my attention. I never thought about anyone being a generic Christian. I saw that something else was written on the bumper sticker and I wanted to know what it was. I’m afraid I got dangerously close to the rear end of the fellow, so that I would be close enough to read what was there. It said, “Ask me ...
In the middle of the soloist's anthem at church one Sunday, a young boy turned to his grandmother and whispered, "She can't sing very well, can she?" Grandma knew the woman had had a deep love for God so she said, "Well, she sings from her heart. That's what makes it good." He nodded thoughtfully. Several days later they were riding together and singing along with the radio when the grandson turned to his grandmother and said, "Gramma, you sing from your heart, don't you?" (1) I remember the choir in one ...
Today's gospel story is all about a miracle molecule called water. Any water people here? I don't mean sun people who gather at the water because of the sun. I mean true water people. Swimmers? Surfers? Fishermen/women? Boaters? Bathers? Hot-tubbers? Islanders? Anyone here ever spend a night on an island somewhere? If you live on an island (like we do Orcas Island, Washington State), you're surrounded on all sides by water, cut off from easy access to the rest of the state, and the country. Islanders are ...
A man went to his doctor to find out why he had been having such severe headaches. The doctor ran some tests and after a few hours called the man into his office. "I have terrible news," he told the patient. "Your condition is terminal." "Oh no!" the man wailed. "How long do I have?" "Ten," began the doctor. "Ten what?" the patient interrupted. "Days? Months? Years?" "Nine," said the doctor, "eight, seven, six . . ." There is a man who was having a bad day. There is a man living in panic, not peace. True ...
A few months ago, I told a lawyer story in one of my sermons. It was a funny story that didn't speak too well of lawyers. One of our attorneys, Charles Patton, told me he was going to get me back. He hasn't done so, but he did send me a cartoon -- not about preachers -- but again, about lawyers. So, lawyers, I'm not picking on you -- this came from one of your peers. In the cartoon, Moses is on the side of Mt. Sinai. Aaron and other Israelites are there with puzzled questioning looks on their faces waiting ...
Theme: Mary and Joseph -- Accepting God's Call This four-part drama may be presented as a unit or as individual scenes. Written to portray Mary and Joseph's calling as very personal and self-sacrificing, this wonderful story is placed in a setting to which a modern congregation can relate. This series may be utilized as a preparation for Christmas: one segment per Sunday during Advent, or sprinkled throughout the year and culminating near the holiday season. Scene I: Luke 1:26-33 Setting: Modern Nazareth ...