“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-20) Everyone loves Christmas carols! As the seasons of Advent and Christmas approach, and we begin to hear those familiar songs on the radio, in stores, on loudspeakers, in our worship, our hearts leap a little for joy. Let’s face it. Carols instill joy in ...
My favorite Christmas story is about the young boy who was given a very important role in the church Christmas play. He was to be the angel and announce the birth of Jesus. For weeks he rehearsed the line that had been given to him, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy." The grandparents got in on it and any time the family was together and the boy was there, they would dress him up in his costume and he would rehearse his part for them, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy." They were ...
Each year we in the church are involved in a great drama. Although the script is ancient, thousands of years old, its message is as new as today and as hopeful as tomorrow. It has been played out on countless stages throughout the world, and the story is so incredible that in spite of its constant retelling, it never grows stale, is never irrelevant. It is always fresh, always worth hearing and it always brings healing and strength. Act I, Scene 1 of this churchwide drama began with the season of Advent as ...
Text: Luke 9:29-31 - And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerasalem. I am sure that there is no one within the sound of my voice who was not vitally aware that a few weeks ago we celebrated Super Sunday. For at least three weeks before that event, every news media, every form of mass communication, had ...
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I shall give you." And Solomon said, "Thou hast shown great and steadfast love to thy servant David my father, because he walked before thee in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward thee; and thou hast kept for him this great and steadfast love, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king in place of David my father, although I ...
In my home town, Pottsville, Pennsylvania, where I grew up as a boy, there is the county courthouse situated on one of the hills. Arising out of the center of the building was a high tower with a clock on it. The clock had four faces to enable townspeople to see the time from any direction. As a boy, I was always captivated by the clock because I wondered whether there were four clocks each with a face or whether there was one clock with four faces. If there was one clock with four faces, it was a mystery ...
"Among those who are born of women ..." If you are thinking of the human race, this is a rather inclusive statement; I can’t think of very many people it leaves out! And this is a statement of Jesus as he offers a summa cum laude of highest praise to one of his associates in the dissemination of truth and light. He says, "Among those who are born of women, there has not arisen a greater prophet than John the Baptizer" (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). What was it that was so great about John - this son of ...
A psychology professor at Yale University has listed the 12 most persuasive'' words in salesmanship. Third on his list is the word "new" as in "Buy it, it''s new." We like the word new, don't we? We like it in the cars we drive and the houses we live in and the clothes we wear. "Give me something new," may be the slogan of every American. And that is what our message is about today. What a magnificent opportunity Christ has given us—the opportunity to make new starts and fresh beginnings. The word "new" ...
A hotel in Budapest was having problems with its elevator. Since most of the guests spoke at least some English, the owner put up a sign. However, either he had a sense of humor or he was not very adept at English. The sign read like this: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.” I’ve known some unbearable people, haven’t you? Lloyd John Ogilvie wrote a book some years ago titled, Falling into Greatness. In it he tells about an old friend who ...
Saint Paul is "on a roll!" He keeps on coming with what he expects of the followers of Christ, as he has nurtured them. It is as though in a breathtaking fashion he wants to be sure his dear people are instructed properly. The words ring with excitement. Today's readers also feel the holy heat that is generated. The words are not theologically demanding as the same found in some of the passages from both Galatians and Romans. The elementary way we can experience the passage is very helpful. In short, it is ...
Being able to synthesize in such a way that harmony can be the outcome is among the many things the Apostle Paul does well. The often-pesky church at Corinth desperately needed such a skill, written and practiced in charity. To follow his inspired advice comes as a gift to all of us, 2,000 years ago or today. The individualistic Christianity, largely the work of Protestants, has been and is both a bane and balm, for us. To do our own thing is commendable and perhaps essential but it can prove utterly ...
He had grown up in a fashionable suburb of a large American city, a cosmopolitan area of considerable size and sophistication. He was a winner from the time he was born; you know, one of those babies that comes into the world with a smile and a confident air that life is friendly and meant for success. Oh, yes, he did his share of crying, and as an infant and pre-schooler, he had his share of sickness. But all in all, he was the kind of boy you would expect to see in a prize-winning television commercial. ...
Barbara Walters, of Television’s 20/20, did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the current Afghan war. She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands. She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walk behind their husbands. From Ms. Walters’ vantage point, despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem to walk even farther back behind their husbands, and are happy to maintain the old custom. Ms. Walters ...
There was a man who bought his fiancée a diamond ring, and showed it to his friend. His friend asked, “Is it a real diamond?’ He said, “If it isn’t, I’m out five bucks.” Then there was the fellow who wanted to buy his sweetheart some perfume. He went to the counter of an exclusive store, and the saleswoman recommended a perfume called “Perhaps” that sold for $100 an ounce. $100!” cried the young fellow. “For $100, I don’t want “Perhaps”, I want “For Sure!” Behind the hint of humor is the suggestion that if ...
In 2:14ff. Paul has given a sustained defense for the legitimacy of his apostleship. He has already pointedly urged the Corinthians not to receive the grace of God in vain by rejecting his God-given apostleship (6:1). In 6:11–7:4 Paul turns once again to exhortation and, in the process, draws the whole apology to a fitting conclusion that recalls its beginning (this rhetorical device is called an inclusio). The appeal pivots on the word hearts, which Paul has used extensively in the course of his apology, ...
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 ...
One of my favorite authors today is a professor at Loyola University in Chicago. His name is Father John Powell. In addition to being a best-selling writer, he is also a highly popular lecturer, teacher, and counselor. In his book entitled Through The Eyes of Faith, he tells about his prison ministry. About once a month, he visits a prisoner in the state penitentiary. He describes how difficult that is for him personally… the atmosphere is dismal, dark, depressing… and charged with suspicion. However, on ...
A business executive became depressed. Things were not going well at work, and he was bringing his problems home with him every night. Every evening he would eat his dinner in silence, shutting out his wife and five-year-old daughter. Then he would go into the den and read the paper using the newspaper to wall his family out of his life. After several nights of this, one evening his daughter took her little hand and pushed the newspaper down. She then jumped into her father’s lap, wrapped her arms around ...
Anyone who has ever worked with complex systems is familiar with the law of unintended consequences. You attempt something beneficial but it leads to something else unforeseen that is terrible. For example, a couple of decades ago, the fashionable mantra among environmentalists was, “Save the trees! Use plastic instead of paper!” Today New York City alone goes through more than 5 billion plastic bags each year, which pollute the seas and highways, and endanger fish and wildlife. The law of unintended ...
My family and I have spent several enjoyable vacations on the Atlantic Ocean, both at Cape Cod and along the rockbound coast of Maine. Always we have enjoyed the beaches and the pastimes attendant to them. One perennial pastime is the building of sand castles, and I well remember our children building them close to the sea’s edge and how, with tidal changes, the parameters of the ebbing and flowing would be altered, often allowing the ocean to become increasingly bold in assailing what the children had so ...
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been buried four days before. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Judeans had come to see Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother's death. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for." "Your brother will rise to life," Jesus ...
"Whoever loses ... for my sake ... will find ..." - Matthew 16:25 As Jesus was starting his final journey to Jerusalem, there to be crucified, he said this to his disciples: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?" In this monumental statement of our Lord, he gives to us a ...
Most of us have been victims of some kind of stereotyping. Mine is usually attached to the fact that I am a professor. Every once in awhile someone will accost me with words like, "Well, you wouldn't know about that! You live in an ivory tower." The plain fact is that the speaker doesn't even know me, but then that is what gives birth to stereotypes in the first place. I'm usually able to avoid an immediate defensive reaction. "What do you mean?" I ask. "Oh," he says, "you live behind safety glass. You don ...
There is an ad on television about hair coloring. It’s called "Preference" by L’oreal. At the beginning of that ad, you see a very beautiful young lady. There is a face on the screen. Then you get a close-up of the hair, and it is beautiful. The hair is bouncy and in control. There are no split ends. The young woman is very, very happy as she shows you what this hair coloring can do. After about twenty seconds of telling you all of the marvelous things that can happen, she tells you that L’oreal is just no ...
I want to begin this morning by telling you about two of my most prized possessions. The first one is a simple ordinary rock. It’s a rock with some green and yellow paint splattered on it. I use it as a paper weight on my desk. I have had it for over 30 years. It’s not worth a lot, but I cherish it. If I tried to sell it, I couldn’t get much money for it, but you see, I would never even consider selling it, because I treasure it so much. Why is it so special to me? Not because of what it is. Not because of ...