"... This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ." A conductor said to the Lt. Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, as he was boarding a train, "Go right up the steps, sir, turn left, and take a seat." But the Lt. Governor turned right instead of left and found himself in an empty car. He had just settled himself down when some twenty people, all dressed exactly alike, came in the car. The conductor said, "Sir, I think you’ll want to move into the other car. You see, these people are all from the ...
There he came to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." And he said, "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great ...
I doubt there is a person in this sanctuary who doesn’t know the AT&T ad which says, "Reach out and touch someone." Cincinnati Bell plays it for us all the time. It is on the television and on our car radios. We are bound to run into it at one of the commercial breaks. If we do not watch television or listen to the radio but we go to the ballgame, there it is on the big scoreboard in centerfield between the innings. In great big letters comes this great big sign, "Reach out and touch someone." The music ...
It’s a long way from the bottom to the top. But that is the call of the Christian life. "That like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4b). The title of this chapter belongs to Thornton Wilder. In his book, the scene opens on New Year’s Eve, 1899, just before the new century is born. A group of men are sitting around the stove in a country store. Dr. Gillis, the community seer, is facing the question, "What will the new ...
Not everyone can frame a word the same way - some words are harder to pronounce than others; almost everybody has at least one word which gives him trouble to say. Little children, just learning to speak, often have trouble making an "l" or an "r." A small boy, in a church I served as pastor, had this problem. It was a delight to ask him to say: "I really like to see little rabbits run", for when he said it, it came out: "I weally wike wo see wittle wabbits wun." This Old Testament text has a similar ...
"HE HAS RISEN" It was a solid, staid, old parish to which I was called just after the war, one that needed a bit of waking up here and there, and on our first Easter, we arranged to have the Sunrise Service begin with a fanfare by a quartet of trumpets sounding forth from the balcony. Well, the trumpeters were quite enthusiastic, and I must admit, quite loud; and, quite frankly, the innovation was not received with unanimous approval. In fact, one elderly lady in the congregation was quite vocal about it. ...
Object: Several pieces of fruit such as apples or bananas. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk a little about the way Paul became a disciple of Jesus and a little about the way that you became one of God’s disciples too. I brought with me some things that I think you all like to eat. I am going to lay them out on this table so that you can take a good look at them. Good fruit is really beautiful to look at, and it is even better to eat. I am going to ask for a couple of volunteers to ...
The day after Christmas we carefully made our way out of town on the ice. We were on our way to South Padre Island for a few days of rest and fun. It is a long drive to South Texas, and we were glad to finally arrive. When we found the leasing agent for the condo we had rented, I went inside to get the key. When I went inside the office, the woman at the desk was on the phone speaking Spanish to someone. The longer I waited, the more irritated I became. I was tired after the long drive, I wanted to get ...
Isidor Isaac Rabi, a Nobel Prize winner in Physics, and one of the developers of the atomic bomb, was once asked how he became a scientist. Rabi replied that every day after school his mother would talk to him about his school day. She wasn't so much interested in what he had learned that day, but how he conducted himself in his studies. She always inquired, "Did you ask a good question today?" "Asking good questions," Rabi said, "made me become a scientist." In order to ask a good question I think you ...
Jesus laid claim to a special relationship with God the Father. He demonstrated an all-consuming love for the Temple (where formal business with God was done in worship and study) when, according to Saint Luke, he was twelve years old. Neither Matthew, Mark, nor John includes that account in their gospels. But Luke evidently considered the incident to be a true story that was important enough to be included in the gospel that bears his name; he was interested, as his Acts of the Apostles affirms, in ...
The subject of war can be found throughout the bible. And why is this? After all it is a holy book. The answer: The Bible is full of war because life is full of war. The Bible not only tells us about God it tells us about mankind, and therefore it addresses the most significant events in human history. We are currently in such a time, and because we are at war it is appropriate for us this morning to take a look at the subject of war and what the Bible has to say. Let me start by asking you a question. Do ...
Robert Bly has given us a painful and scathing analysis of our present American society. He titled his work The Sibling Society. Bly confesses he began this work in a lighthearted vein. He employed poetry, fairy tales, and legends to highlight the contradictions he noted all around him. However, he soon discovered that he was into some really serious business. Essentially, what he uncovered was that we are all swimming in a tank of half-adults. For Bly, Elvis and Woodstock were watersheds at which time all ...
A friend of mine who is a psychologist told me once that he has found the perfect formula for getting through Christmas. He says, “You just put your mind in neutral... and go where you are shoved!” Of course, he was just kidding around... but we know full well what he was talking about. The Christmas rush, the hectic pace, the heavy traffic, the long lines, the frayed nerves, the bills, the deadlines, the pressures... all combine to cause some people to give up and give in and just stonewall through the ...
I am happy to see each of you-particularly those of you I don't see too often. I heard about a woman who confronted her minister at the door after worship. She complained, "Why is it every time I come to church you're always singing that same hymn, `Christ the Lord Is Risen Today'?" It's clear how often she made it to church. I want to give you a question to think about. The question is, What map did you bring with you? All of us are familiar with maps, but we may not associate them with Easter. Before ...
Shridhar Chillal of India hasn't cut the nails of his left hand since 1952. That's almost fifty years ago! No surprise that Shridhar holds the Guinness world record for long fingernails. But Shridhar reportedly doesn't care about fame or even fingernails. He has only one goal: to make money out of his dubious accomplishment. "I haven't had a good night's sleep for 30 years," he complains. He had a vision of how his nails would look one day in a glass case attached to a plaster replica of his 56-year-old ...
There are certain texts in the Bible that have a built-in excitement about them. There is no text more exciting than this morning ™s. Imagine if you will a great grandstand-the largest grandstand ever constructed-larger than that erected for the Kentucky Derby or the Indianapolis 500 or any Super Bowl. This great stadium is filled to capacity with spectators come to witness a racea race with vital consequences. At the starting block of that race are you and I. All eyes are upon us as we begin crouching ...
In a picturesque Italian town stands a beautiful cathedral that was built in the fourteenth century. The beauty of the church has inspired countless people for hundreds of years. The church is the tallest building in the town and can be seen from a considerable distance. It is truly a monument of faith. Tourists visit this beautiful old cathedral and marvel at its art and treasures. You might think that such a beautiful cathedral would be filled with worshipers each Sunday. You might even think that it ...
Have you ever wanted to give God suggestions about how He ought to do things? Not earth-shattering suggestions, perhaps. Just simple things ” like the foods we eat. Why not put all the vitamins and minerals in the tasty foods? Save all the fat and cholesterol for spinach and liver and Brussel sprouts. And perhaps God could do a little better job of distributing the weather. The Mid-west doesn't need as much rain as it has been receiving. Meanwhile there are places in the world that are experiencing drought ...
I want to think with you for a few moments on the idea of "Why Change is Possible." I want to think about the new beginnings and fresh commitments that these Bible lessons make possible. The new year can and should be a time when we grow spiritually by allowing the power of God to be fully operative in our lives to change those attitudes and actions in our lives that prevent our work and witness from having a greater impact for the kingdom of God. That brings up a significant question, perhaps one that I ...
Several years ago Frank Court told the story of a student at Iowa State University who took to selling magazine subscriptions for additional income. He determined that a likely customer might be the president of the University. The student was greeted at the door by the president's wife who was able to resist his sales pitch by saying that her husband already received more magazines than he could read. The student assured her that he understood and turned to leave. It was then the president's wife saw ...
I want to ask you a very important and penetrating question this morning to set the stage for our sermon today. Please answer it in the quietness of your own heart but with utter honesty. Do you have a forgiving spirit? Do you have a forgiving spirit? You could probably answer this question with both a yes and no. When it comes to the difficult subject of forgiveness, there are always limitations, conditions, circumstances, and varying qualifications to the answer we give. However, as we gather this ...
Annie tried to keep her feelings of distress from showing. Why was it so hard? For seventythree years she had been struggling to keep her feelings to herself. That was how she was brought up. "Don't make a scene, Annie," her father would say to her. "Show them you've got some backbone." And she had listened. No matter how much she hurt inside, she was usually able to keep her emotions bottled up. Only once had she failed. It was when Frank died. Frank had been her life. Forty years they had been husband ...
This is the third Sunday in November--a day that will live in infamy for diehard football fans. The year was 1968. The exact date was November 17. Little did people know as they made their way home from church and prepared for an afternoon of professional football on television that this would be a day that would plunge a large portion of our population, mostly male into outrage. The New York Jets were playing the Oakland Raiders on the West Coast. It had been a long drawn-out game. The Jets were ahead by ...
Sometimes you just can't win. A man had been driving all night and by morning was still far from his destination. He decided to stop at the next city he came to, and park somewhere quiet so he could get an hour or two of sleep. As luck would have it, the quiet place he chose happened to be on one of the city's major jogging routes. No sooner had he settled back to snooze when there came a knocking on his window. He looked out and saw a jogger running in place. "Yes?" he said. "Excuse me, sir," the jogger ...
John and Ruth Jones were celebrating the 4th of July by having their extended family over for a cookout. They had planned a spectacular home fireworks display--even though fireworks were illegal in their state. A relative called at the last minute to ask if he could bring a friend to the cookout. John and Ruth graciously said yes. The friend turned out to be a police officer. What were John and Ruth to do? John quietly whispered to their son, John, Jr., "Hide the fireworks--quick." That is no surprise. If ...