Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. John 19:25b-27 On the eighth day after his birth, Jesus was presented at the temple by Joseph and Mary. While Joseph, Mary, and the infant ...
Cast PATIENT - Resident of a nursing home (male) HOMEMAKER - Food-happy matron (female) SHOPPER - Wealthy, materialistic socialite (female) SPORTSMAN - Young ski enthusiast (male) MERCHANT - Toy store owner (male) TRADITIONALIST - Sentimental Swedish-American grandma (female) CORPORATION MAN - Heavy-drinking party-goer (male) *CHILD - Greedy little girl (female) WORKING WIFE - Frazzled victim of the Christmas rush (female) *May be read, in character, by an adult. Presentation time: about half an hour Using ...
"You will go to prison for six months," said the Judge. So John Bunyan went to prison for nothing worse than preaching in the little Bedford Baptist Church. "Baptist" preaching was against the law. But Bunyan persisted in breaking the law. He told Justice Keeling, "If I was out of prison today, I would preach again tomorrow, by the help of God." So it was back to prison. This time for twelve years. And again for six months. John Bunyan, who gave us the great classic, Pilgrim’s Progress, spent one fifth of ...
Cast Narrator Peter Mary of Magdalene John Jesus Nine other disciples Costumes Contemporary dress is recommended for entire cast. For contrast Jesus wears white clothing. Properties Needed Fishing net Short sword about 24 inches long with broad blade tapering from 2 1/2 inches to a sharp point, painted gold. Lights and microphones as needed. The play is designed for presentation in a sanctuary with no scenery. Choir O Come and Mourn McGlohan Narrator Jesus has been crucified and it is now the third day ...
"I’m sorry, nothing can be done." There are probably no more terrible words than these. They mark the end of labor, the end of possibility, the end of hope. The family holds vigil in the surgical waiting room. The dated magazines on the table have been read and re-read. The wall clock moves in slow motion, and the family waits. A dark spot on an X-ray demanded attention. "We just don’t know," the surgeon had said. "We’ll have to go in and check." Now he appears, a loosened surgical mask around his neck, ...
The Ascension of our Lord used to be celebrated universally and dramatically. Some churches had special holes in their roofs that were used on Ascension Day; when the words were read - "While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven" - a likeness of the risen Lord would be hauled up from the floor of the nave to and through the roof and out of sight of the people worshiping below. The same hole was used on the Day of Pentecost when, in some of these same churches, roses were ...
Is there a word which falls upon the human consciousness with a more resounding "thud" than the word "Repent"? "Oh no," you say. "It is the theme of the prophets, the touchstone of the gospel, and the initial requirement for entrance into the kingdom." That is true, but it is also true that the inherent dynamic of "Repent," one of the foremost action words in the vocabulary of humankind, has been neutralized by a generation no longer arrested by its appeal. A concrete sign in the shape of a cross stands ...
The really meaningful times in our lives come when we realize how very small - yet cared for and important - we are. As our narrative unfolds today and as his vision emerges for him, Isaiah, the aristrocrat - the prophet - cries out, "Woe is me!" He is stirred to the depths by the experience of the awesome, insurmountable distance between eternal God, the Creator, and the human being, a weak and vulnerable sinner. I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips ... for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of ...
Introduction David was one of the greatest military commanders and statesmen in history. He established a dynasty that was destined to last for more than 400 years. The story of David’s early career is interwoven with the events of Saul’s reign (1 Samuel 13:31). His fascinating rise to leadership from the obscurity of a shepherd’s life makes for astounding reading. He appeared as a harp player in the king’s court. He had a marvelous victory over the giant Goliath and some gallant exploits among the ...
"The message of Christ’s death on the cross is nonsense ..." 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Characters: Lector Announcer Antagonist Protagonist (Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn "Take My Life and Let It Be Consecrated." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins.) LECTOR: The message about Christ’s death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost; but for us who are being saved, it is God’s power. For the scripture says, "I ...
"Tell me, who do people say I am?" (v. 27b) Every photographer knows the importance of having the camera lens in focus before triggering the shutter. You can set the right shutter speed. You can open the lens to its proper setting. But if that lens is not in focus, the picture will be worthless. Anyone who’s trying to sell something these days knows the importance of having an accurate focus on the market for which a product is intended. Whether you’re trying to sell soap or soft drinks, it’s necessary to ...
Sometimes when we go home, things seem strange. For example, if we have been away a long time, things aren’t the same when we get home. Sometimes home looks better when we arrive after being away a long time; sometimes things look worse; usually things look different. We gain a different perspective, having moved to a new area, or just having taken a vacation. Sometimes the relatives back home don’t understand us. That happened to Jesus in his town of Nazareth.1 Jesus had launched his ministry from ...
This morning we are continuing our Lenten series on the Passion of the Christ, the last week of the life of Jesus. Previously we looked at the events of Sunday when he enters Jerusalem on the donkey fulfilling the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah. It was a day of celebration. On Monday Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, curses the fig tree, and clears the Temple of the moneychangers. It is a day of emotions. Today we focus on Tuesday, the day of teachings. It is a day questions. Someone has figured that if we put ...
Someone has figured that if we put all of the materials in the Gospels that tell us about the life of Jesus together that it would equal about 80 pages. Yet, most of that would represent duplication, for we know that some of the Gospel writers copied from others. If, therefore you eliminate the duplication, you would have only 20 pages that tell us about Jesus life and teachings. Of those 20 pages, 13 of them deal specifically with the last week of his life. And if you separate it still further, you will ...
An old story. A classic car lover was perusing the classifieds and saw an ad that seemed impossible to believe. A 1966 candy-apple red Corvette, a dream car, and offered for $100. What? $100...for a classic? No way, José. Was it a wreck? Or maybe the price was a misprint. Still, he had to find out, so he called. A woman answered the phone and assured him that the car was in excellent shape and that there was no mistake about the price. He dashed over. To his delight the car proved to be everything the ...
Solomon. The third king of Israel. The son of David and Bathsheba. Solomon is remembered for a number of things: his building program which included Jerusalem's original magnificent Temple, his immense wealth generated through trade and administrative reorganization, his 700 wives and 300 concubines (or PORcupines, as some Sunday School students will tell you), and his legendary wisdom, the result of the prayer we read in our lesson. If there is any single story commonly remembered of King Solomon it is ...
Every time I hear the story of the feeding of the five thousand, I am reminded of reading of a man packing a shipment of food for the poor people of Appalachia. He was separating beans from powdered milk, and canned vegetables from canned meats. Reaching into a box filled with various cans, he pulled out a little brown paper sack. Apparently one of the pupils had brought something different from the items on the suggested list. Out of the paper bag fell a peanut butter sandwich, an apple, and a cookie. ...
"Beatin' balls and beatin' balls." That title comes from our fair city's attention to golf this week with the presence of the PGA Tour here for the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. (It will always be the GGO to me though.) "Beatin' balls and beatin' balls." Whoever happens to win this afternoon will undoubtedly offer a phrase like that to anyone looking for advice about how to win at golf. Get out on the practice tee and spend hour upon hour upon hour upon hour "beatin' balls and beatin' balls." As ...
I recently read of the Rev. Martin Perelra of the Roman Catholic Our Lady of the Airways parish in Moulton, Ontario. It seems he was downtown bringing Communion to a sick member but was unable to find a place to park. So he DOUBLE-parked and left a note on the windshield. It said, "This is a priest. I circled the area for 20 minutes but couldn't find a spot. Will be back in five minutes. `Forgive us our trespasses.'" When he returned he found a parking ticket with its own note attached. It read, "I have ...
There is a wonderful new hymn in our hymnal. It is becoming something of a tradition to sing this hymn number 707, The Hymn of Promise, at Easter… and at memorial and funeral services. The hymn was written in 1986 by Natalie Sleeth, a respected and prolific writer of Christian music. She wrote this hymn for her husband, the late Dr. Ronnie Sleeth, who was an outstanding professor of preaching at Vanderbilt Divinity School and later at Iliff School of Theology. In 1986 Ronnie Sleeth was told by his doctors ...
Several years ago, the Presbyterian Church prepared new catechisms for the instruction of both children and adults in the basics of our faith. What we had been using up till then (or NOT using, as the case generally was), had been written in the seventeenth century and was in archaic language that was difficult for modern ears to understand. The new catechism for children begins this way: Question: Who are you? Answer: I am a child of God. Good start, I think. And what brings it to mind this morning is ...
The six-year-old came home from Palm Sunday services proudly carrying his palm. Mom and Dad quizzed him on his Sunday School lesson for the day. He responded enthusiastically, "Jesus came to Jerusalem on a donkey. And the happy people waved their palm branches and sang, O Suzanna..."(1) Happy people singing. What a special day! Jerusalem was going to be Camelot, and Jesus was going to be King Arthur. The crowds were dreaming of trumpets and towers, capes and sashes, flowing robes and sparkling scepters. ...
The Good Samaritan. Familiar story. One researcher found in a survey that 49% of the people interviewed said they would be able to tell the story of the Good Samaritan if asked to do so, 45% said they would not be able to, and 6% were unsure whether they could tell it or not. Among those who attended religious services every week, the proportion who thought they could tell the story rose to 69% percent.(1) But whether or not one could accurately retell this parable, the concept of the "Good Samaritan" is ...
Don Elder and his 6-year-old granddaughter Sarah Umhauer, both members of Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, Buffalo, N.Y., were enjoying cider and doughnuts on Reformation Day. Elder said, "Sarah, I wish you didn't have school tomorrow so you could go to church with me and Grandma." Sarah asked, "Why are you going to church tomorrow, Grandpa?" "Because it's All Saints' Day," he replied. "But Grandpa," she said, "we're not saints, we're Lutherans." (1) I'm not going to speculate on how many Lutherans ...
Remember as a child when you played hide and seek? Remember how you would cover your eyes and count? Then you would speak those immortal words: "Ready or not, here I come." Do you get the feeling this time of year that you can hear the voice of Christmas like Marley's ghost saying to us, "Ready or not, here I come." The next few weeks will be filled with so much activity, all the parties, the shopping, the visits to Santa. I like the story about the grandmother who took little Anne along on a shopping trip ...