At the tender age of eleven, my father and his three siblings were orphaned. His father died in the cold of winter. His mother fled for fear. The four children were left to fend for themselves. In a real drama of Survivor, my father set out the following spring to find work on farms as a hired hand. For 87 years now, he has dug out a living by the sweat of his brow. A few weeks ago, I sat by his hospital bed, holding his hand as he awakened from surgery. My father's hands are huge. If he ever gets you in ...
Across thirty centuries, comes this cry of grief from David, whom God called from being a shepherd of herds to be the shepherd of His people, Israel. David had a son named Absalom. Absalom had murdered his brother because that brother had raped his sister, Tamar. After being accepted back into the family, Absalom had led a rebellion against his father, the king. That rebel son had won the Israeli army to his side. In a dramatic showdown in the woods of Ephraim, Absalom rode through the forest away from his ...
It is no surprise to me that James closes this writing with an admonition on prayer to God for wisdom and knowledge for all areas of our life. By praying, we experience the understanding that God''s grace is sufficient for all our needs and that He is sovereign over all of them. I read recently of a family on vacation who wanted to enjoy some time of recreation in a nearby playground. The little girl wanted to get in but the gate was locked. Her father explained that she couldn''t play there because of the ...
Parenting is not, I repeat, not for the faint of heart. For many of us, it was easy enough to bring our sons and daughters into this world and to hold their tiny forms in our arms. We had no idea what was coming. The 4 a.m. feedings, the nights spent vainly trying to comfort a wailing child, watching as they took their first steps, the joys of toilet training, the "terrible twos" ... those moments are but distant memories now. In the blink of an eye, our sons are teenagers, and as I am working on this ...
On 10 July 2013 someone posted a YouTube video. Three days later it had 5 million hits. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD6wdrVFc0g The one minute clip shows an amazing life-or-death race. It was shot by some Krueger Park tourists on safari in South Africa. Routinely and sternly, visitors to the park are told to stay in their vehicles at all times. But tourists being tourists, you know the rest of the story. The video shows cars parked along the access road with all their windows and doors ...
When Catherine of Siena was only a girl, she had difficulty relating to her family. She resented her household chores and longed to cloister herself within a convent. A wise teacher, however, counseled her to remember that she could always keep a little cell within her own heart to which she could inwardly retire. St. Teresa of Avila called it an "interior castle of the soul" that no cares or fears could storm. Mary, the mother of Jesus, must have had a little interior castle of her own. Luke, in his ...
There are many inadequate views regarding the essential nature of the Protestant Reformation. Some consider Luther as an ecclesiastical rebel who sought to overthrow an ancient church organization. Nothing was further from his purpose. He pleaded only that the gospel of Christ be given free course within the church. The Reformation was not a summons to attack the Roman Catholic Church but to affirm the positive convictions derived from God’s revelation of himself in Christ. Another misconception is that ...
Steven and LaDonna had been married nearly ten years before they were finally able to conceive a much-desired child. To their surprise and concern, little James arrived prematurely, weighing a scant four pounds. He required several weeks in the hospital's incubator and lots of prayers before he could finally go home. In the years since then, Steven has often shared how his firstborn, and only child, changed his life forever. Having that little life depend on him made him a better man and better husband. ...
Have you ever taken a course of action or held a particular attitude, all the while thinking that it was correct and then never giving it another thought? That is what happened with Ludovico Gadda, Pope Leo XIV. Ludovico was born in a small Italian town, like many of the popes, all from Italy, who have occupied the Chair of Saint Peter since the time of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. It seemed that Ludovico was destined for ministry and priesthood from his earliest days. He was ordained and ...
The scripture lesson for this morning trips its way through the sixth, seventh and eighth chapters of the book of Genesis. This includes most of the account of Noah and the Great Flood. For reasons you might or might not consider obvious, this part of the Bible generates considerable debate. From time to time, the controversy spills into the public arena. In February 1993, CBS had a two-hour prime time program titled, The Incredible Discovery Of Noah's Ark. The program, hosted by Darren McGavin, featured ...
Can anyone doubt the troubled state of marriage? Across the nation, we average one divorce decree for every two marriage licenses. In some parts of the country, as many divorce as marry each year. In spite of this high divorce rate, people do not give up marrying. In fact, a higher percentage of people marry today than a century ago. It seems this problem can, at least in part, be traced to the high demands we make on marriage. Particularly, we have tremendously high emotional expectations. Our ancestors ...
62. Preparing the Way, Preparing Our Hearts
John 1:1-18
Illustration
Scott Hoezee
All four gospels talk about John the Baptist and his fiery message of repentance. Two of the four gospels do not mention Jesus' birth at all. But Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all recognized that no gospel would be complete without John the Baptist. A gospel may skip Christmas but it may not skip John. Why? Because as Zechariah knew already when John was just eight days old, John was going to be the necessary advance man to get the world ready to receive Jesus. If Jesus was the one who would plant the ...
The letter came from a college senior working as a student counselor in a dormitory at a distant university. "Dear Mom," she began. "During my growing up years, few things irritated me as much as your attempts to quiet my righteous indignation by telling me that life is not fair. I swore I would never say that to my children. However, in my work with distressed college students, I find myself telling them the same thing. I still rail at life's inherent injustices, but I have learned I had best accept that ...
Abraham and Sarah had longed for a child. Throughout their married life they had prayed to God for a son to be their heir. Thanks be to God, those prayers were answered. They were well past the age when one might reasonably expect the birth of a child when Isaac was born. How delighted they were. God had promised that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and with the birth of a male heir that promise was given tangible possibility. In the scripture for today, Isaac is ...
Preface Strong Son of God, immortal Love, Whom we, that have not seen thy face, By faith, and faith alone, embrace, Believing where we cannot prove; Thine are these orbs of light and shade; Thou madest Life in man and brute; Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot Is on the skull which thou hast made. Thou wilt not leave us in the dust: Thou madest man, he knows not why, He thinks he was not made to die; And thou hast made him: thou art just. Thou seemest human and divine, The highest, holiest manhood, thou. ...
PROGRAM 1. Candlelight Ceremony Choir 2. In the Beginning Narration 3. "I, Mary, Mother of Jesus" Reading 4. Jesus’ Ministry Narration and Drama 5. Choral Arrangement Depicting the Upper Room Choir 6. The Betrayal Narration 7. Choral Arrangement Depicting the Betrayal Choir 8. The Garden of Gethsemane Narration 9. Choral Arrangement Depicting the Garden Choir 10. The Trials Narration and Drama 11. The Soldiers, Part One Dialogue Drama 12. The Processional and Crucifixion Choir, Drama 13. The Soldiers, Part ...
Once there was a Baptist minister and humorist named Grady Nutt. Grady could tell some of the most hilarious stories. One of Grady’s classic stories was of a seminary student who pastored a rural church on the weekends. Word came to this student preacher that a man in his church had died. Could he come and conduct the funeral? The young preacher had never done a funeral before, but after receiving counsel from one of his seminary professors about how to proceed, he drove out to the home of the man who had ...
Call for Mutual Consideration Paul’s concern for unity of mind and mutual consideration among the members of the Philippian church need not imply that there was an atmosphere of dissension there. The fact that two members are singled out by name and urged to agree in 4:2 could suggest (unless 4:2 belongs to an originally separate letter) that theirs was an exceptional case of conflict. We do not know what Epaphroditus had told Paul about the state of the church, but at this time Paul found sufficient ...
The date was June 11, 1963; the place- The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Vivian Malone, a young black woman, enrolled that day as a freshman. Federal troops ensured her entrance, but the doorway was blocked by Governor George Wallace. Holding out for segregation, the governor ultimately failed, and Ms. Malone became the first African-American to graduate from the University of Alabama. Vivian wasn't the only newcomer that day. James Hood was at her side and needed encouragement. So she slipped him a ...
If we could change some of our images of the Christmas story, it would mean more to us. If we could get the birth narrative straight, it would not be diminished but enriched. Luke records the incident of Christ's birth in a very simple and a very beautiful way: "[Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." Regardless of the stories that we have been told and hear about the little Bethlehem hotel being ...
Big Idea: Irrespective of the cause of our illnesses, the Lord cares for us in our vulnerability. Understanding the Text The literary type of Psalm 41 has been the topic of much discussion, since the poem does not seem to fall easily into any single type. Perhaps Kraus’s “prayer song of the sick”1 is appropriate for this psalm, although we might simply designate it as an individual lament. The psalm, in fact, begins with a benediction on those who “have regard for” the sick (see the comments on 41:1). ...
After Confederate General Robert E. Lee retired from the military, he was named President of Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, originally named Washington Academy because of a gift from George Washington. The name was changed in 1871 in honor of General Lee. While Lee was president of the University, a new student came into his office and asked for a copy of the school's rules and regulations. Lee looked at him and said, "Son, we don't have any rules and regulations in print." The young ...
During this past week, I was confronted by an impossible task. I was asked, by her friends, to see a young woman in an attempt to cheer her up, or bring her out of her time of bitterness and depression from which she was suffering. Get the picture, please. Just about two years ago, this attractive young mother had her leg amputated in a motorcycle accident. She still suffers the pain of learning how to walk on an artificial leg. Then, just a week ago, her husband, the father of her two children, was ...
“Our hearts are forever restless until they find their rest in God." A brilliant, articulate university professor made that statement more than 1,600 years ago. In September of this year, a cover story in Newsweek magazine on “Spirituality in America" came to this conclusion. “There is a hunger in the human heart for a transcendent experience of God." It's Christmas Eve. The bars are closed; churches are open. Whether or not it is clear to you, you have found your way to church because you are spiritually ...
DISCONTENT Like a thorn in the flesh, like a fly in the mesh, Like a boat that is chained to shore, The wild unrest of the heart in my breast Tortures me more and more. I wot not why, it should wail and cry Like a child that is lost at night, For it knew no grief, but has found relief, And it is not touched with blight. It has had of pleasure full many a measure; It has thrilled with love's red wine; It has hope and health, and youth's rare wealth-- Oh rich is this heart of mine. Yet it is not glad--it is ...