Two weeks before his first heart attack in 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower summoned evangelist Billy Graham to the presidential retreat at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. After nearly four hours of conversation, the President suddenly looked Graham squarely in the eye, and said, "Billy, I want you to tell me why you believe in heaven, and why you believe in the afterlife." Dr. Graham declares President Eisenhower talked with him many times on the subject after that, including his last conversation with him in ...
[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 Name: God Sometimes Changes His Mind New Name: Forgive Us Our Trash Baskets A little boy was asked what we learn from the story of Jonah and the whale. His answer was, "People make whales sick ...
One of the most powerful pieces of prose that I have read in a long time is a little playlet entitled: "The Long Silence." Listen to it: "At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God's throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them, but some groups near the front talked heatedly not with cringing shame, but with belligerence. ‘Can God judge us? How can He know about suffering?' snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed ...
Think about these words: dedication, devotion, discipleship, commitment, consecration, surrender, sacrifice. There are no blue-light specials on these virtues in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not k-mart. I want you to get these two statements into your heart. Salvation is free, but discipleship is not cheap. You may be familiar with the term day-trader. A day-trader is a high-risk investor who jumps in and out of the stock market often many times a day to capitalize on small price changes. ...
Welcome, on this July 4 weekend. Tomorrow we will be celebrating one of the remarkable documents ever created, the Declaration of Independence. We give God thanks for our freedom. And we pray that in our own small way we will contribute to the coming of the day when all the world’s people will be free. There is a delightful story about an elderly lady who had always wanted to travel abroad. She’d never even been out of the country, so she started the process by getting her passport. She went to the ...
A little boy watched, fascinated, as his mother gently rubbed cold cream on her face. “Why are you rubbing cold cream on your face, mommy?” he asked. “To make myself beautiful,” said his mother. A few minutes later, she began removing the cream with a tissue. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Are you giving up?” Welcome on this Mother’s Day. It’s not easy being a Mom. Those of you who have children know it’s not easy, regardless of their age. One Mom says that she’s going to try something different next ...
After the thanksgiving in 1:3–11, the body of the letter begins with a lengthy section in which Paul seeks to deal with various accusations the Corinthians have made against his character and conduct (1:12–2:13). By the writing of 2 Corinthians, Paul has heard the good report from Titus that most of the Corinthians have been reconciled to Paul (cf. 7:6–7). Yet, because of the discrepancy between Paul’s written word and his actions, the Corinthians have become suspicious of Paul’s motives, accusing him of ...
Nebuchadnezzar Is Troubled by a Dream (2:1-16): Big Idea: God sometimes allows mere mortals, however powerful, to discover the bankruptcy of their belief systems before revealing himself through his messenger. Understanding the Text Daniel 2:1–49 is woven into the book’s overall literary structure in two ways. First, it advances the narrative of chapters 1–6, in which the first four focus on Nebuchadnezzar (chaps. 1–2 with historical markers and 3–4 without) and the last two show the transition from ...
Mark 1:14-20, Jonah 3:1-10, Jeremiah 3:6-4:4, 1 Corinthians 7:1-40
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme: The right time. In the First Lesson (Jonah 3) Jonah warned the inhabitants of Nineveh that it was time to repent. In the Second Lesson Paul thinks that the time of Christ's return is very near. The Gospel begins with our Lord's call to repentance and faith. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 After being vomited up by the great fish, Jonah reluctantly agrees to preach repentance to the citizens of Nineveh. The populous city readily repents and God retracts his decision to punish the sinful ...
Adrenaline pulsed through our bodies as we nervously took our positions in the field. It was an important playoff game, and everyone was feeling the pressure. The second baseman dropped a routine fly in the bottom of the seventh, allowing three runs to score which tied the game. In the third inning the right fielder had uncharacteristically overrun a pop-up after losing it in the sun, permitting the first run. Now it was the bottom of the eight inning, the score tied, runners on first and third with two ...
Production Notes Simple props are used. A flashlight may suffice for illuminating the scenes as the Rag Dolls appear. The Rag Dolls' costumes may be made by tacking small squares of cloth over blue jeans, etc. Blush or rouge may be used on cheeks to give the appearance of a simple, rag doll. Cast of Characters NARRATOR MR. McKENZIE: A shopkeeper in his late 60s. Beginning to be a little stoop-shouldered. Wears glasses. MRS. McKENZIE: Helps in the shop and makes the dolls. GERALD: Young man about sixteen. ...
A Worship Drama Characters In order of appearance The Woman The Man Average Man Bible Lady Liberal Lady Child Beggar Scientist Woman of Means First Teenager Second Teenager Politician Properties At one point during the drama, all characters except the Woman and the Man will pick up large stones to hurl at the Woman. These are prominently marked with labels such as: Ingratitude, Expediency, Envy, Pride, Scorn, Apathy, Gluttony. The Return (Scene: on a park bench is seated a good-looking, modest but sexily ...
A little girl came home from worship. It was Palm Sunday. Her father asked what she had learned that day. She told him she learned all about the crowd waving their palm branches and singing a song to Jesus. The father was pleased that she had learned so much. He asked, “What was the song they were singing to Jesus?” The little girl paused, then said, “I think it was ‘O Susanna’.” Palm Sunday is the celebration of that momentous day when crowds of people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem and the crowds sang, “O ...
At a family gathering, a grandmother was coaxed into doing something she had never done before. After much friendly badgering, she climbed slowly up on an exercise bike. She took her time getting in just the right position. She waited a few moments. Then, nervously, she said, "All right, you can turn it on now." If only work in the church could be handled like that. If we could magically flip a switch, and then watch as the work is done for us. But work in the church requires a delicate blend of divine ...
"You will not handle the name of the Lord your God as though it is nothing, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who handles his name as though it is nothing." Exodus 20:7 One of the best plays that I have seen in a long time was the prizewinner of a few years ago titled "The Miracle Worker." The story of Ann Sullivan’s battle to educate the blind, young Helen Keller, the story is a masterpiece on human perseverance and love. Called by Helen’s wealthy southern parents to train their child, "Miss Annie ...
I heard a story once. A Mr. Jones picked up the wrong umbrella in a hotel, and the umbrella's rightful owner called his attention to it. Embarrassed, Mr. Jones offered his apologies, picked up the right one, and went on his way. But the incident served to remind Mr. Jones that he had promised to buy umbrellas for his wife and daughter, so he went across the street to a store and purchased one for each of them. As he came out from the store and began to get in his car - THREE umbrellas on his arm now - the ...
Have you ever noticed that communication is difficult business? In the book AMERICA'S DUMBEST CRIMINALS there is a story about a blundering, wannabe robber with speech difficulties in Thibodaux, Louisiana, who just couldn't win for losing. Sam Lincoln entered Bob's Cafe and, speaking in his thick, backwoods Cajun accent, ordered the waitress to "give me all the money." Unfortunately, she couldn't understand a word he said. To her it sounded like he was ordering "a sieve with all the honey." In desperation ...
Few of us will ever have the experience that John Neidigh of Jackson, Mississippi, had many years ago. John became trapped in the eye of a tornado. Even more amazing was the fact that he lived to tell about it. By the time John learned of the tornado's presence, it was too close for him to escape. His mobile home began moving up and down, as if it were a surfboard on a killer wave. Trees and debris flew by. The wind peeled off his roof. The sound was like the howl of a freight train. Suddenly, Neidigh's ...
One of the most helpful books of recent years has been Rabbi Harold Kushner’s When Bad Things Happen to Good People. In the opening pages he writes, “Like most people, my wife and I had grown up with an image of God as an all-wise, all-powerful parent figure who would treat us as our earthly parents did, or even better. If we were obedient and deserving, he would reward us. If we got out of line, he would discipline us, reluctantly, but firmly. (God) would see that we got what we deserved in life.” (New ...
On any day, almost anywhere in the world, we can witness one of the most remarkable demonstrations of corporate versus individual behavior. All you need to do is look skyward and wait for a flock of birds to pass overhead. Sparrows, starlings, pigeons (aka rats with wings), some of the most ordinary, unappreciated avians are able to perform virtuoso performances that still defy complete comprehension. Without a real language, with brains so small and simple we jeer them ("bird-brained"), these speckled ...
Several years ago a book came out entitled "The Greatest Story Ever Told". I am sure that millions of people knew the subject of the book before they even opened its pages. Because it was the story of Jesus Christ. Quite frankly, the greatest story ever told is the story of how God the Son left heaven and came to earth in the form of human flesh, lived a human life, died a human death, was raised from the dead supernaturally that He might come and live in the hearts of those who would receive Him by faith ...
There was a three-year-old who had never been "trunk or treating" before but he'd seen how excited his big brother was, so he was excited, too. His big brother wanted to go as the Hulk, so he wanted to go as the Hulk. When the family got to the church, big brother went with some friends, Mom passed out candy and Dad took the three-year-old around. Dad stayed in the background, as the little boy walked up to one of the cars with a friend manning the trunk. "Trick or treat." As the man reached out with a ...
Salutation What is striking about the salutation to Titus is its considerable differences from those in 1 and 2 Timothy, especially its lengthy elaboration of Paul’s apostleship (vv. 1–3), a phenomenon found elsewhere only in Romans. These verses, which form a single, extremely complex sentence in Greek, conclude with a note about his apostleship as a trust. The main thrust, however, emphasizes the purpose of that apostleship: to bring God’s people to faith and truth, and thus to life. That life, he ...
Big Idea: Paul makes explicit the story of Israel. Obedience to God’s law was required for Israel to remain in covenantal relationship with God. But Israel repeatedly broke the law, and consequently divine judgment fell on Jews. Moreover, God’s judgment will fall on individual Jews on the final day of reckoning if they do not repent by accepting Jesus as the Messiah. Understanding the Text In placing Romans 2:1–11 in its literary context, we focus in from the big picture of 1:18–3:20, which condemns all of ...
My wife is a clown! Wait now—let me explain that. I mean that literally, not figuratively. I don’t mean she’s a clown in terms of being a cutup, an always-clowning-around type of person. I mean she is literally a clown, and she has been involved for about ten years in a clown ministry. Her name is “Serendipity,” given to her by a longtime preacher friend. One thing that name means is “unexpected” and “unsuspected.” The fellow suggested the name because God’s grace comes at unexpected times from unexpected ...