Monday Week OneLeviticus 19:1-2, 11-18Matthew 25:31-46 Be Holy As Is God We all know that God is divine. This is how we define God. But how does one define divinity? One might say that divinity means omniscience and omnipotence. These are both proper descriptions, possibly even definitions of divinity, but how can a human relate to these things? We know so many things that are more powerful than we and so many people who are more intelligent than ourselves. Maybe we can imagine the divinity of God as all ...
Object: A pair of ski poles, if possible. If not, help the children understand what ski poles are and what they are used for. Lesson: When we start to fall, Jesus is there for us to hang on to. Have you ever seen any of these? (Display poles.) Do you know what they are used for? (Children respond.) These are ski poles and people use them when they go skiing down the mountain. They go swoosh! swoosh! and use these poles to help them keep their balance and to point them in the direction they want to go. ( ...
Monday Week Three2 Kings 5:1-15Luke 4:24-30 Expectations -- What Should They Be? Expectations are one of the unavoidable realities of life. Although expectations will differ from person to person and from situation to situation, everyone has certain expectations. This is true in how we view events, material things, specific situations, and especially people. If we are honest, most of the time our expectations are high, especially when it comes to results desired and the usefulness and/or effectiveness of ...
Theme: We can miss the man, Jesus, if we become enthralled with His works. We can miss the Father if we cannot see Jesus. Summary: A slick public relations person is telephoning Jesus to set up a glitzy itinerary to promote Jesus' ministry. Jesus tells him He doesn't need that. (A monologue) Playing Time: 3 minutes Setting: Anywhere Props: A mobile phone Costumes: A sharp suit Time: The present Cast: HARRY (This character could be male or female) HARRY: (ON THE PHONE) Hello, uh, hello. This is Mr. Hastings ...
Moses was a master of masquerade! He lived a good portion of his life in disguise. From the time he was three months old he went into hiding. At three months he was placed in a basket among the Nile reeds. The infant princess Elora Danan, in the movie Willow, was placed in a basket made of river sticks which quickly became a boat. The little boat was pushed off from the shore seconds before the Queen's death dogs converged on the child's caretaker. Her basket was an escape to a safe land. Moses' basket, ...
Here we see the dynamic of witness. Look at what took place. Jesus met Philip and he called him, and Philip followed Jesus. Philip was much like Andrew; he could not keep a secret. When Andrew discovered Jesus, he ran to find his brother and said to him, "Come, Peter. I have found the Messiah." So with the same manner of enthusiasm, Philip went and found his friend Nathanael. He told Nathanael that he was sure that this was the Messiah. But Nathanael was skeptical. He was probably skeptical for several ...
Instrumental Meditation Words Of Preparation: from Deuteronomy 4:29; James 4:8, 10. "If with all your hearts ye truly seek me, ye shall surely find me;" thus saith our God. "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (KJV) The Prayer Of Invocation: Almighty God, author of eternal light: Illumine our hearts by the light of your grace, that our lips may praise you, that our lives may bless you, and that our worship may glorify you; through ...
In James Baldwin's Blues For Mister Charlie, there is an arresting scene in which a young boy announces before his grandmother and the world that he no longer believes in God. The wise and unperturbed woman replies, "Ain't no way you can't believe in God, boy. You just try holding your breath long enough to die." No less than breathing or the sucking of a newborn infant, prayer is instinctive human behavior. The disciples' plea, "Lord, teach us to pray," arises from a primal urge deep within the human ...
It does not seem to bother the children that Christmas is so close. Why is it they never seem to have any trouble getting ready for it? We older and wiser ones make a much harder thing of it; we always insist there is so much to do to get ready. Perhaps the difference is that the children are content to let Christmas happen, while we are so sure that it can't happen unless we do all the right things to make it happen. Many of the things we do to adorn this season, to set the stage for the drama that is ...
Drama 1 Cast of Characters MRS. ROGERS: Young English teacher at Spring Hill High School who seeks to teach more than grammar to her students. LEE: Junior student who is the main character; often has felt out of place with his peers; has a crush on Susie. SUSIE: Student who shares some of Lee's values, but often is swayed by group pressure to avoid him. JAMES: Class cut-up and a playful adversary to Lee's sometimes too-serious views of things. ROD: A classmate with very materialistic interests. PAM: Girl ...
Let’s face it: some folks come to church on Sunday morning with the expectation that, sooner or later, if they pay close attention, the preacher is going to step on their toes. It’s unavoidable; it’s inevitable; it just can’t be helped. In fact, it’s something some folks look forward to, in a masochistic sort of way. I heard a friend of mine say from the pulpit one Sunday, "Well, folks, I’ve been here about 5 years now. And if I haven’t stepped on your toes yet, be patient – I’ll get around to you sooner ...
If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (verse 1) A gong has always impressed me as an almost unnecessary instrument. Each time a musician slams into one with a mallet to achieve the dull, disconcerting clash, I fully expect a secret passage to appear, or an oriental servant to fawn onto the stage. Cymbals provide slightly more flexible, functional accents of emphasis. However, both the gong and the cymbal produce but a single monotonous tone ...
There is a story in which Moses is complaining to his public relations director that there is a lack of coverage in local Egyptian news media. Nothing seems to be getting the attention it should. And so, in conversation, the public relations director replies, "you are not getting the newspaper coverage you want, Moses, because you are not doing anything exciting." Moses answers, "Very well. I shall go down to the Red Sea, wave my right hand, the waters will part, and the Hebrews will pass through safely. ...
How do you act in a storm? A friend, who is terribly afraid to fly, was invited to speak at a special gathering of the religious body of which he was a part, in Frankfurt, Germany. As he approached the airport in New York a terrific storm was taking place. He dreaded the trip, and now that the storm increased in velocity, he was sure that the flight would be cancelled. He continued to think this, even as he approached the ticket desk, and finally was ushered aboard his plane. He began to think seriously ...
In the book of Proverbs we read: "A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken." A better translation says it more plainly: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones." The issue is also clearly stated by the preacher in Ecclesiastes: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ... A time to weep and a time to laugh." In the Gospel of Matthew this very clear reminder by our Lord: "Do not look ...
Cinderella was a very misused young girl. Her father had died and she lived with a stepmother and two half sisters. The stepmother proved to be extremely mean and the half sisters demanding as well as vain and haughty. Very quickly Cinderella became their maid, and in due time their slave. Cinderella became a slave for two reasons. For one she was a prisoner of the household. She had no other place to go and was helpless before the power of the others. Secondly, she felt herself to be inferior. When the ...
There’s an amusing commercial on television in which a man is about to let go of his bowling ball as he eyes the pins at the end of the lane. Just as he is ready to release the ball, he gets lifted out of himself by two men in sparkling white suits and goes walking off across the lanes, through the walls of the building and onto a staircase surrounded by clouds. At first he doesn’t understand what in the world is going on but then it suddenly dawns on him. He has just died. He looks at the two white-suited ...
As I was working on my sermon this past week I toyed with the idea of bringing a live butterfly along with me to church this morning so I could let it go right about now, as an attention getter. I decided against doing that, however, because I was afraid it would get your attention so well that I might never get it back again. I had visions of all of you sitting out there spending the rest of the service distracted as you followed the butterfly around, your heads bobbing up and down after it. So I brought ...
Theme: "Show us the Father." Summary: Susan is getting ready to watch television after a hard day's work. She is interrupted by a strange person who invites her to think instead of just accept all the world hands her. Playing Time: 9 minutes Setting: Susan's television room Props: Susan -- a small remote Fly -- a large remote Costumes: Susan -- contemporary, casual Fly -- fright wig, tutu, tennis shoes Cast: Susan -- a normal average person Fly-- an industrial-strength entity 11 voices on the television ( ...
ALAN RODDA, currently president of Ridgewood Holding Company in San Jose, California, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who at the time of delivering No Fifth Wheels in God’s Economy was Senior Pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Portland, Oregon. His particular tradition is quite explicit in affirming the Bible as the revelation of the divine word and affords the pastor great authority and responsibility as the interpreter of that word. Rodda speaks within this context to his normal Sunday ...
You can tell Christmas is on the way when the catalogs start arriving in the mail. Long before the first snowflake falls, there is an avalanche of slick paper flyers. They come as gifts from merchants with toll-free phone numbers, all in the hope that we will buy what they have to offer. Last year the first catalog came from a company that specializes in Christian home decorations. Like other catalogs, there were smiling snowman doormats and weatherproof gift-wrap for covering the mailbox. On page three, ...
Many of us have had them, those times when we felt like we were on top of the world, really happy, confident that we knew all the answers, could solve any problem that came up. Or we felt that we were really close to God, really in tune with God’s plan for us. In those moments we were excited and alive, and everything seemed new. The moment might have come at some exciting event in your life: graduation, baptism, your first kiss, your first day on your first job, your wedding, the birth of a child, even ...
Some years ago Bill Cosby did one of his many great comedy routines about his growing up years in Philadelphia.(1) He recalled a snowy winter day, enough snow on the ground for a really good snowball fight. So he and his friends had one. Now, if you grew up in an area where snowball fights are a common winter occurrence, you will know that there are certain unwritten rules about what is allowed and what is not. For example, you did not put a rock in the center of your snowball, because that could kill ...
Someone has defined the difference between prosperity, recession, and depression like this: During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food you buy for them. In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food. You hope they remain finicky until things get better. In a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat. The recession is officially over according to experts in Washington. A lot of Americans are ...
Fact is often stranger than fiction. When authorities in Baldwin, Wisconsin finally caught some local cattle rustlers recently, it turned out that the men had been carrying off calves and yearling heifers in the back of a Chevrolet Chevette. That meant loading a cow of up to 600 pounds through the rear hatch of a tiny, tiny car. You have to admire their determination. Those rustlers were willing to work hard for what they stole! While a number of people might be tempted to load stray cattle into a pickup ...