“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.” (John 15:22) What strange words are these! Especially the part where Jesus says, “If I had not come...” What would it be like, I wonder, if Christ had not come? Would it really make that much difference? Are we right in dating all human history from the birth of Christ, so that everything that has happened before He came is called “B.C.” (before Christ) and everything that has happened since then is ...
“I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” In a message titled Seizing Your Divine Moment Erwin McManus speaks of his son Aaron: “One summer Aaron went to youth camp. He was just a little guy, and I was kind of glad it was a church camp. I figured he wasn't going to hear all those ghost stories.... But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn't tell ghost stories, because we don't believe in ghosts, they told demon and Satan stories instead. And so when Aaron got home, he was ...
A few weeks ago (February 4, 2005) one of the major TV news networks (ABC Nightline) presented a powerful and amazing true story about the redemption of a notorious drug addict who had been lost… and then found. The program was entitled, The Doctor and the Reverend. The Doctor was an African-American man who was well-known and much feared in one of the roughest and toughest sections in the United States… the Badlands of Philadelphia… a run-down inner-city neighborhood infested with drug addicts of all ages ...
A few weeks ago (February 4, 2005) one of the major TV news networks (ABC Nightline) presented a powerful and amazing true story about the redemption of a notorious drug addict who had been lost… and then found. The program was entitled, The Doctor and the Reverend. The Doctor was an African-American man who was well-known and much feared in one of the roughest and toughest sections in the United States… the Badlands of Philadelphia… a run-down inner-city neighborhood infested with drug addicts of all ages ...
One of my favorite movies is "The Untouchables." Elliott Ness is the hero, Al Capone is the villain. The entire picture is a portrayal of how Ness is trying to nail Capone and send him to prison. Capone seems to thwart him at every turn until Ness discovers the one person who can put him away—his bookkeeper. The climatic scene in the train station is one of the most exciting I have ever seen, as the mob is trying to get the bookkeeper out of town while Ness is trying to stop them; and he succeeds only ...
At first glance, I thought it was a great victory. The past week a Federal Appeals Court ruled that the phrase "In God We Trust" on a government building, does not violate the separation of church and state. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, ruled on May 13th that the national motto may remain on the facade of a county government building in Lexington, North Carolina. Then listen to what the court has to say and I am quoting Judge Robert King. "The Fourth Circuit has ' ...
[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.] Original Title: A Pair of Ducks and Abundant Life New Title: Paradox Blocks It’s always interesting to discover a child’s take on things. The Internet recently carried a series of letters from children ...
When the man heard the phone ring, his stomach began to turn. Something told him this was the call he had been dreading, “Sir, I’m calling from the bank to let you know we are foreclosing on your home. You are going to be evicted in one week.” The man began to beg, “You can’t do this. I haven’t been able to find work since I was laid off and I have nowhere to take my wife and children.” But the banker replied, “Sir, I am sorry there is nothing I can do.” For a moment the man sat there stunned, but he then ...
Because he is aware of practical problems in the community, James makes an abrupt switch from peacemakers, the wise leaders of the community, to the actual situation of intrachurch conflict. 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? That is a good question, for if God’s wisdom is found in peacemakers, community strife does not come from them. A conflict with the pagan world or the synagogue might be the inevitable result of following Christian standards, but these are quarrels within the church (i.e ...
But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.…Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 14-15; 21) “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy.” (Deuteronomy ...
"So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them a warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life." Is ...
Setting Imagination - in the actresses and in the audience - is the only requirement for a setting for this drama. The scene is Jerusalem, a city crowded with pilgrims attending the Festival, not far from the Temple, which is the center of Festival activity. A bench or two shall be provided, stage left, for the women to sit upon during part of their conversation. You may wish to use extras to show the audience there is a crowd in the city, although the dialogue will tell them that. If you do use extras, ...
When you think of Christ, do you see him as an idealist or as a realist? There are those who see him as primarily an idealist because he talked about love in an unlovely world. He talked about forgiveness in an unforgiving world. He talked about goodness in an evil world. He talked about a loving heavenly Father in a world of earthquakes, fire, flood, and other natural disasters. How then do you see Christ? Was he an idealist or was he a realist? I believe there is a neglected side to Christ’s personality ...
The Garden of Gethsemane is not really a garden but an orchard. Olive trees still grow there today. During Jesus’ day it was a place of business, an olive press produced the local areas supply of oil. This is where the word Gethsemane comes in. A gat (Hebrew) is a press, a large five-foot high square stone pillar, and a semane, or seman, is oil. So on the evening before his crucifixion he went to the orchard of the Olive Press with Peter, James, and John, to pray. If you lived in the first century and ...
Larry Davies in his book, Sowing Seeds of Faith in a World Gone Bonkers, tells about a wedding he performed once on a wooden boat dock over a beautiful pond in Amelia county, Virginia. To his surprise, on the night before the wedding the bride (we’ll call her Pamela) called to ask him to read a special set of marriage vows to her new husband after the formal ceremony was through. She would give him a copy of the vows just before the service started. The next morning, the groom (we’ll call him Paul) also ...
For Christians around the world, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It was the practice among early Roman Christians for penitents to begin their period of public penance on the first day of Lent. They were sprinkled with ashes, dressed in sackcloth, and obliged to remain away from fellowship with other people until they reconciled with fellow Christians on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday and three days before Easter, the day of resurrection. Ash Wednesday is ultimately about one of the ...
In the small town of Mapleville, the ecumenical Thanksgiving Eve service was poorly attended. Once it was a popular event for the whole town, gathering people from a variety of denominations and faiths. In recent years, attendance had faded to a faithful few. Most of those who came in any given year were members of the host congregation. What began as a spirited occasion that brought together a variety of clergy, choirs, and congregations had shrunk in numbers and dwindled in enthusiasm. One minister was ...
BACKGROUND MATERIAL It is rather strange that Mark is the only Evangelist to record this particular miracle of Jesus. It is believed that the other Gospel writers had Mark's writings in hand when they wrote their Gospels. And this was a double miracle, a healing of both deafness and of a speech impediment. All the more wonder that Mark is the only one to relate this action. Another area of conjecture concerns the man's speech impediment. Although he is often called a deaf-mute, the scriptures refer to his ...
Matthew 6:25-33 (C) Thanksgiving DayLuke 17:11-19 (L) In the small town of Mapleville, the ecumenical Thanksgiving Eve service was poorly attended. Once it was a popular event for the whole town, gathering people from a variety of denominations and faiths. In recent years, attendance had faded to a faithful few. Most of those who came in any given year were members of the host congregation. What began as a spirited occasion that brought together a variety of clergy, choirs, and congregations had shrunk in ...
Muhammad Ali is reported to have said, “When you’re as great as I am, it’s hard to be humble.” Whether or not he actually said it, I don’t know, but it sounds like him. I recall seeing pictures of the famous fighter waving his boxing gloves in the air and saying, “I am the greatest!” How much was media “hype” designed to strike fear into the hearts of his opponents in the ring, and how much he actually believed it himself, is open to conjecture. But once we start saying it, it becomes hard not to believe ...
The letter moves toward its conclusion with a long, crucial defense of the truth of the resurrection of the dead and its intrinsic importance for all of Christian faith and living. The length and complexity of this reflection, coupled with its subject matter, make this portion of the letter important for understanding early Christian belief and practice, the foundational nature of resurrection faith for all of Christian theology, and the reconstruction of Paul’s overall understanding of God’s work in and ...
While Don Richardson was a student at Prairie Bible Institute in the 1950s, his heart burned in anticipation of bringing the good news about Jesus to an unreached tribe. He and Carol found their prayers answered in 1962 as they sailed out of Vancouver harbor toward Netherlands New Guinea. Before long, they were deposited by a missionary plane among the Sawi people, a group of tribes living in the trees of the interior rain forest. The jungle floor was too damp for permanent dwellings, so the Sawi helped ...
Scene I [Members of a junior high Social Studies class are seated on one side of stage area. Miss Hardgrader, the teacher, stands in front of them.] Hardgrader: Now, class, before you leave today I just want to remind you that your reports on Christmas legends are due tomorrow. [Everyone groans.] I will call on some of you to read yours aloud; so all of you come prepared. I’ve also invited the other grades in our wing to come visit our class tomorrow when you give your reports, and I thought it would be ...
A young man and woman had been dating for a long time. One starlit evening, the young man called up his sweetheart to ask her to go on a ride with him. He said he had something very special to share with her. He picked her up in his much loved antique sports car and drove out to the park. There they had a lovely candle and starlight picnic. For some reason, the young man did not talk much. He seemed distracted. The young woman noticed all of this and was too excited to talk much, herself. She'd been ...
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 ...