Death on the School Playground __________ was ten years old when his hfe ended tragically through a childish experiment of holding his breath and attempting to render himself unconscious. I recall the trick was not uncommon when I was a child. Expelling all possible breath a fellow classmate was asked to hold you tightly in a bear hug from the back. On the school playground this was done to ___________. Following release he staggered around, screamed, and fell to the ground unconscious. It was later ...
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words which you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. Yet hear now this word which I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ...
I don’t know about you, but one of the constants in my life is time spent with God. I depend on time spent in prayer. I lean heavily on the belief that God loves me and that God responds to my concerns. However, suppose when I went to God, I got God’s voice mail instead? Suppose I got an automated voice saying: “Thank you for calling My Father’s House. Please select one of the following four options: Press 1 for a request. Press 2 to give thanks. Press 3 to complain. For all other inquiries, press 4.” So I ...
Introducing the Characters (1:1-6): The opening verses of the Song give the title and introduce the characters. The central woman (identified in the NIV as “Beloved”) and a group (NIV “Friends”) both speak. The central man (NIV “Lover”) is addressed in the second person and mentioned in the third person. He does not speak here, although admiration of him by both the individual woman and the group forms the core of this section. Both sensory images and royal language are used to describe him. 1:1 The first ...
"I believe in God the Father, Almighty..." Do you now? Is this the same God that the folks down in Colombia believe in, the folks who have just lost homes, health, and loved ones in that devastating earthquake Monday? The same God to whom prayers are directed from those trying to survive the ethnic slaughter in Kosovo? The same God to whom the family of Tiffany Long [a local 10-year-old found raped and murdered] prayed for her safe return from school? "God, the Father, ALMIGHTY...?" Right! In Russell Baker ...
An old, old story has a minister going from Sunday School class to Sunday School class one morning to meet with the students to see how their studies were going. He came into one first-grade group and began to question them as to what they had been learning. They had been studying about God and eagerly, the youngsters shared their knowledge. One little boy said God created the whole world and everything in it. A little girl said that God loves us very much. Another little girl said that God had a son named ...
The story is told about a concert held in Philadelphia, PA. One of the pieces played by the orchestra featured a flute solo. This solo was to be played offstage so that it would sound as if coming from a great distance. The conductor had instructed the flutist to count the measures precisely in order to come in at the exact time. After all, with the flutist offstage, there could be no visual contact between the two of them. On the night of the performance, when the time came for the flute solo, the flutist ...
Before we begin, I want to wish all the Dads in the room, “Happy Father’s Day.” Fathers don’t get much respect anymore. Bill Cosby observed once that boys grow up spending hours and hours throwing footballs and going to games with their Dads. And when they make it big on the college scene, before the big bowl game they get interviewed, and the first thing they say is, “Hi Mom!!” No, fathers don’t get much respect anymore. But the news on Father’s Day isn’t all bad. The National Center for Fathering ...
I heard a story one time about a young doctor just getting started in his first practice out in the country. This was back in the days when doctors made house calls. Late one night he got a call from a farmer who said, "Doctor, come quickly, my wife is seriously ill." Well, grabbing his little black bag he hurried out to the farm. The farmer met him on the steps, rushed him into the house, and upstairs into the bedroom where his wife lay sick. The doctor took a look at her, told the farmer to step outside ...
Don’t you love “Before” and “After” pictures? Most “Before” and “After” pictures focus on the thrill of improvement. Your home before our design team got their hands on it: It looks like a nice suburban rancher. Your home after our design team worked on it! It looks like the Biltmore mansion! You, before you bought the Muscle Miracle Machine and you, after you bought the Muscle Miracle Machine. All the women swoon! You can almost hear the excitement in the television announcer’s voice, can’t you? The “ ...
In a civilized society, there are laws that cover almost every facet of human life. And sometimes those laws can be overreaching or burdensome. It’s the price we pay for living as part of a community instead of as a bunch of unorganized loners. But at least most of our laws make sense. Maybe we’d complain less about the laws of our state or town if we lived in a town where there are laws that don’t make any sense. For example, how about a law against dying? That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it, to create a ...
Theme: Forgiving Is A Command Based on Matthew 6:14-15: In the family of God, forgiveness is a command, not a choice. In order to be forgiven, one must forgive. There are no options. (This play is designed for easy production and special lighting is not needed. The occupation in the story may be changed to fit the church congregation best.) Scene: Kitchen of a farm house Props Table and two chairs Newspaper Coffee cup Seed corn cap Characters 1ST BROTHER: Middle-aged man who is loud and angry 2ND BROTHER: ...
Many of you, I'm sure, have seen those public service announcements on television promoting the use of safety belts which close with the tag line: "A law we can live with." It's intended, of course, to be something of a double entendre -- the phrase "can live with" meaning both able to accept and able to survive. Whether it will actually prove an effective campaign, I suppose only time will tell. However, at the risk of appearing irreverent, it seems to me that the same could be claimed of the Ten ...
Have you ever noticed how sometimes life just isn’t fair? It’s one of the hard realities we learn early on. No one has to wait for adolescence or old age to find it out. You can learn it in nursery school. Sometimes life just isn’t fair. Little brothers and sisters seem to get such special privileges. The things my little brother and sister got away with! There were times when I really felt like the prodigal son story was some kind of Jungian archetype for familial systems down through the centuries. Well ...
Remember the song: "That’s what I like about the South"? There appears to be something special about the southern area of our nation. People who live there seem to love it. They say its good for your health. Industry is shifting in that direction. Flocks of snowbirds flee there from winter’s drabness in the North. People like me dream of someday owning a place in Florida. The sunbelt draws us. There is promise in thoughts of it. It must have been a southerner who wrote the old song that says, "Cheer up, my ...
When I was a boy, back in the Stone Age when we rode dinosaurs to school, one of the things my brothers and I looked forward to was when my Mom bought fruit cocktail. That might seem odd for some of our young people because today, in our global economy, we can walk into the store and buy almost any fruit or vegetable any time we want. But back then, we were dependent upon fruit and vegetables being in season. Besides, fresh fruit (other than apples) was seen as a luxury of sorts. That why having fruit ...
Asadullah Nawabi was six-years-old when the Soviet Union invaded his home country of Afghanistan. Asad and his family escaped to the mountains in fear. They wandered there until they finally found a refugee camp where they lived for two years. Meanwhile, the Council of Churches in Crestwood, KY was trying to do its part in refugee resettlement. That's how Asad, along with his mother and father and brothers and sisters, wound up in that little Kentucky town. I was the pastor of the Methodist church. Sandy ...
Some consider it a secret. Others consider it almost a badge of honor. Some don't want to talk about it. Others almost seem to want to brag about it. What is it? It is "adoption." Some children won't find out that they are not being raised by their biological parents but by their adoptive parents until they are in middle school or even later. Other children are aware of their adopted status from the earliest days of their childhood. It is not something of which to be ashamed. It is essential to their ...
Paul’s Greetings The opening greeting in this epistle is typical of the way in which Paul has addressed other churches to whom he has written (1 Cor. 1:1–3; 2 Cor. 1:1–2; Phil. 1:1–2; 1 Thess. 1:1–2; 2 Thess. 1:1–2; cf. Eph. 1:1–2). Although the form of these salutations is quite similar to contemporary Greek models, the content is distinctly Christian and, in the case of Colossians, sets forth statements that are important to the body of the letter. 1:1 Paul links Timothy with the writing of this letter ( ...
"I wish I had no history to report. I've pretended for so long, that my childhood did not happen. I had to keep it tight, up near the chest. I could not let it out. I followed the redoubtable example or my mother. It's an act or will to have a memory or not, I chose not to have one. Because I needed to love my mother and father in all their flawed, outrageous humanity, I could not afford to address them directly about the felonies committed against all of us. I could not hold them accountable or indict ...
Theme: Paul: Apostle To The Early Church This set of four scenes is especially suitable to accompany a series of sermons or studies on the early church. The scenes carefully follow the scripture text while making the struggles of the early church, and particularly those of the apostle Paul, come alive. This drama is very useful for teaching profound Biblical truths, as God's plan for his church powerfully unfolds. These scenes can easily be produced on consecutive Sundays or used individually as stand- ...
In one corner of the ring stands the challenger, the Mystic Marvel. In the other corner stands the champion, the Supplanter. The Supplanter basks in all his successful conquests. He relishes that last match with Laban the Larcenist. It was such a sweet victory because the champ had beaten Laban at his own game ” somehow he had gotten away with more deceitful moves than even the underhanded Laban. The champ laughs as he thinks about how easy so many of his victories have been ” like taking candy from a baby ...
We have been dealing the past couple of weeks with some of the most basic human emotions--anger, hatred, resentment. This morning we want to deal with another--envy. A popular form of humor recently has been light bulb jokes. For example, "How many Wall Street brokers does it take to screw in a light bulb?" The answer: "One, The broker holds the light bulb and the universe revolves around him." Or, "how many Exxon officials does it take to change a light bulb. Ten. One to turn the bulb and nine to handle ...
I like to eat. According to the Gospels, so did Jesus. One of the criticisms leveled against Him by His adversaries was that He was always eating and drinking with “the wrong kinds of people.” As William Willimon says in his little book SUNDAY DINNER, “The dinner table is such an intimate, holy, transforming, mysterious place—you’ve got to be careful whom you eat with. If you are trying to convince yourself that another person is not a full, valuable human being, a brother or sister, be careful not to ...
Edward Bowen tells about a minister in Scotland who was concerned that so many stray dogs were being put to sleep. So she invented a new breed of dog, complete with registration papers. She didn’t want any dogs tospend their lives being called mongrels. She determined that her puppies would be the first in a new breed, a breed she called the Newtonmore Haggishound. She now offers membership in that breed to other dogs. Apparently the only qualification to be a Newtonmore Haggishound is that you must be a ...