Andrew Tobias, the financial author put it this way. Go down any day to the waterfront, and you will find a crowd of unhappy people. Someone will be having trouble getting the motor…

One of the best letters of reference ever received at the University of Alabama Medical School, according to the Director of Admissions, came from an old mountaineer. The letter read: "I've known this …

One of the worst things that can be said of people is that greatness passed by, and they did not recognize it. Yet in the words of Henry David Thoreau:

The morning wind forever blows;
The poem o…

The main message of these 72 workers is the simple declaration "The kingdom of God is near." Dallas Willard once said that when he was a young boy, rural electrification was taking place throughout the United States. For the first time ever, tall poles popped up across the landscape of the countryside with huge electric wires strung from pole to pole to pole. But initially at least, not everyone trusted electricity and so not many rural families opted (for a time) to not hook up. They heard the messages of…

A preacher in the Midwest tells of a woman who called him to speak of her dissatisfaction with the program of the Church. He invited her to come to his office and talk the problem over with him. She accepted the invitation and brought to his attention some of the things that were needed and could be done. 

He gratefully acknowledged the wisdom of her ideas. He then said, "This is wonderful that y…

Biblical passages are, in some ways, like a fleet of rental cars. Some get driven a lot, some are less popular. Some are easy to handle, others take more skill and experience to…

If we are going to be effective in reaching people for Christ we are going to have to start showing people that we really care. Evangelism and missions must be relational in nature. There is no record of Jesus walking up to someone out of the clear blue sky and saying: I am the Messiah and then him beginning to show his care for them. No, he showed his care for them first and then he revealed himself to them.

A story is told about a man who was on a luxury liner and suddenly he falls overboard. He can't swim and in desperation he begins calling for help. Now it just so happens that there were several would be rescuers on deck who witnessed the incident. The first man was a Moralist. When he saw the man fall overboard he immediately reached in…

There is an old story told about a man by the name of Ali Facid. He had a small farm and a family. One day, the story goes, a Buddhist priest came by and said to Ali Facid: You know, there are valuable stones called diamonds, and if you get one of these you could be a wealthy man." Ali Facid went to bed that night, but the words of the old priest haunted him. He was so obsessed that he felt that he must find him one of these diamonds so that he could become a ruler. He sold his farm, put his family out to neighbors and went out to find his acres of diamonds. Months passed. He was broken in body and spirit. His funds were g…

On January 13, 1982, when Air Florida's Flight 90 crashed on takeoff and fell into the icy waters of the Potomac River, Martin Skutnik, age 28, saw the plane go down. He stood with other spectators on the riverbank watching a woman who had survived the crash and was struggling to swim in the cold water. Skutnik plunged into the river and rescued her. He had never taken a life saving course, but he saved the woman's life. He probably did…

Backpacking teaches you the value of traveling light. One seasoned hiker explained it this way. Prepare for a hike by making three piles. The first pile should contain only those things you absolutely cannot live without. In the second pile put the things …

There is nothing like success to make you unsure of yourself. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to making a go of a project is the process of doing something so well that you never do anything else for fear of failure. If a writer makes it to the best-seller list the first time out, every novel to follow will be judged by the first. If a baseball player gets a home run the first time at bat, every time he comes up to the plate, the stands will be judging the performance in light of that first hit. If a movie director's first film is a box office smash, it's going to be hard to produce a second film that will do as well.

It sounds crazy, but it is true. It is safer and more assuring to work your way up than being a star from the momen…

Delegation is more difficult than it sounds. Delegation is especially difficult for talented and extraordinary leaders, and even more difficult for leaders who seem to have a special calling from God. That was the case with Moses some 13 centuries before Christ. After successfully leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt toward freedom in the Promised Land, Moses had problems with a somewhat rebellious and cantankerous group.

So he complained to God, "I am not abl…

Joseph Aldrich wrote a book several years ago entitled, "Lifestyle Evangelism."  His central point is that Christian people need to build bridges of friendship with people who are without a spiritual home. It is across these "bridges" that people can be gently nudged towards the love of God and the support of a caring Christian fellowship.

It is one thing to see the harvest. And it is important to see it.  It is another thing to care about the harvest. And i…

Have you ever been in a heated argument with someone and couldn't let the matter drop? You just had to continue making your point. Why? Because you had to have the last word.

If you have ever been in a classroom discussion, you have discovered the importance of that class reaching some sort of resolution and conclusion to the discussion. Students will often look to the teacher to settle the matter. The teacher has the last word.

If you ever watched Ted Koppel on the late night television show Nightline, you saw him struggle with trying to be fair in dealing with…

This concept of authority as something that causes another person to "do what you want him to do" is reflected in most definitions. For instance, the Random House Dictionary of the English Language speaks of authority as "a power or right to direct the actions or thoughts of others. Authority is a power or right, usually because of rank or office, to issue commands and to punish for violations." Again the root idea seems to be control or direction of the actions of others.

We see this same idea even in sophisticated examinations of authority. For instance, William Oncken, …

Many of the hymns of Christianity stir in us a regard to the urgency of our eternal salvation. "Delay not, delay not, O sinner draw near ... delay not, delay not, the hour is at hand." The Advent hymns breathe the urgency too: "Prepare the royal highway; the King of kings is near…

Many of the hymns of Christianity stir in us a regard to the urgency of our eternal salvation. "Delay not, delay not, O sinner draw near ... delay not, delay not, the hour is at hand." The Advent hymns breathe the urgency too: "Prepare the royal highway; the King of kings is nea…

The following article is based on a sermon by missionary Del Tarr who served fourteen years in West Africa with another mission agency. His story points out the price some people pay to sow the seed of the gospel in hard soil:

I was always perplexed by Psalm 126 until I went to the Sahel, that vast stretch of savanna more than four thousand miles wide just under the Sahara Desert. In the Sahel, all the moisture comes in a four month period: May, June, July, and August. After that, not a drop of rain falls for eight months. The ground cracks from dryness, and so do your hands and feet. The winds of the Sahara pick up the dust and throw it thousands of feet into the air. It then comes slowly drifting across West Africa as a fine grit. It gets inside your mouth. It gets inside your watch and…

Can people change instantly at salvation? Some traditions call it repentance and renewal. Some call it Sanctification of the believer. Whatever you call it most traditions expect some quick fix to sin. According to this belief, when someone gives his or her life to Christ, there is an immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in habits, attitudes, and character. We go to church as if we are going to the grocery store: Powdered Christians. Just add water and disciples are born not made.

Unfortunately, there is no such powder and disciples of Jesus Christ are not instantly born. They are slowly raised through many trials, suffering, and temptations. A study has found that only 11 percent of churchgoing teenagers have a well-developed faith, rising to only 32 percent for churchgoin…

Washington, D.C. March 30, 1863

Senator James Harlan of Iowa, whose daughter later married President Lincoln's son Robert, introduced this Resolution in the Senate on March 2, 1863. The Resolution asked President Lincoln to proclaim a national day of prayer and fasting. The Resolution was adopted on March 3, and signed by Lincoln on March 30, one month before the fast day was observed.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to …

Most nice respectable American churches don't talk about sin, judgment, or hell. Why? Because they are post-modern. Most Americans read the Bible selectively, omitting those parts they don't like. The first thing many American churchgoers throw out is the concept of hell, because (in their view) a nice, well-behaved God wouldn't let anybody go to hell. After you lose hell, you lose a sense of sin. Nobody is guilty of anything. Everybody is just a victim.

The call to repent has no meaning. Dr. Calvin Miller of the Beeson Divinity School claims that instead of repenting we play a nice little game entitled, "It'…

The theme of poverty, riches, possessions and the realm of God is a constant theme of Luke. It begins with Mary's song. Mary had an encounter with an angel. "You will bear a son and call his name Jesus," the angel announced. "Let it be with me according to your word," said Mary. Elizabeth, Mary's relative, blessed Mary for her trust that God's word of promise would be fulfilled. And then Mary sang a song. Mary's song may just well be the central song of Luke's entire gospel. Luke tells many stories in his gospel that are best understood as comments on her song!

Mary's song sings of a God of great reversals. This God has high regard for a lowly maiden. This God scatters the proud and puts down the mighty from their thrones. The high are made low and the low are exalted. This God, furthermo…

Have you ever heard of Choglit soda or OK soda?  Maybe you remember Surge, which was around for a few years and tasted a lot like Mountain Dew?  No?  All three of these sodas were launched by Coca-Cola and all three were complete and utter failures.  In April, CEO E. Neville Isdell reminded shareholders of these failures in order to shake up Coca-Cola's "risk-adverse" culture. …

Matthew 13:45 - "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls."

Nehemiah 3:32 - "And between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repair."

The distribution and sale of goods is probably the oldest and most wide-spread phase of trading, and the market place was very important in the lives of the people. Here it was that the merchants plied their trade. Their places were usually near the gate (as we see in our second text), or in the open square in the center of the city. Often certain streets were set aside for some particular trade or merchandise.

Surplus produce and …

In Rebuilding Your Broken World, Gordon MacDonald suggests twenty-five questions to help develop accountability and invite feedback. If we desire to grow, we should submit ourselves to a spiritual mentor and answer these questions honestly.

1. How is your relationship with God right now?
2. What have you read in the Bible in the past week?
3. What has God said to you in this reading?
4. Where do you find yourself resisting Him these days?
5. What specific things are you praying for in regard to yourself?
6. What are the specific tasks facing you right now that you consider incomplete?
7. What habits intimidate you?
8…

As Jesus and his disciples gathered in the upper room, something seemed to be wrong. Although it is not explicitly stated in the narrative, we can surmise what it might have been. But first let us set the stage. In the Lord’s day when people gathered for a meal, it was the slave’s duty to wash the people’s feet before the meal began. The Lord and his disciples were poor; therefore the disciples probably took turns washing off the dust of the roads from the sandaled feet of the little brotherhood. Normally they did it willingly as a matter of course. But tonight, all of them sat stubbornly in their places and would have none of the menial duty. Perhaps on their journey to the upper room they continued to argue with each other as to whom would have the position of honor when Jesus ushered in…

Acts 16:28 - "The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens."

A school has rules to keep students from hurting or disturbing each other. Cities, counties, states, and nations make laws that large groups of people may live together in peace. Rules and laws, however, serve their purpose only so long as everyone obeys school rules, because he does not want to interfere with the rights of other people and because he knows that everyone must respect laws if he himself is to be protected.

In every group, however, some people refuse to obey the laws in the hope of gaining something. Because there are such people in every group, it has long …

My friend, and mentor, the great Quaker Douglas V. Steer, tells a story that comes out of Maine.  A short in stature young blacksmith in a small town fell in love with a tall local girl, but he was so short that he was too bashful to tell her.  One day she came into the smithy to call for a tea kettle that he had fixed for her and she had thanked him so nicely that he suddenly found courage to ask her to marry him. She consented and he got up on the anvil and put his arms around her and sealed it with a kiss.  Then they took a walk ou…

A seminary students told the story about a course he had to take with all the other beginning theologs called Supervised Ministry. It was non-credit, but still required. He was assigned community work at a Head Start center near downtown. Every Monday he would go down there and volunteer his time. All of the children, as w…

Rejection can be one of the most painful experiences any of us can have. Ralph Keyes in his book "Is There Life after High School?" writes that Mia Farrow has never forgotten the time every girl was asked to dance but her. Nor did Charles Schulz of "Peanuts" cartoon fame ever forgotten that the yearbook staff rejected every cartoon he turned in to them.…

Few of our nations' chief executives could match Herbert Hoover's executive competence, intellect or energy. With a handful of assistants, he put together a series of relief operations that saved millions of lives during and after World War I. He was familiar with Latin and proficient in the principles of mining and metallurgy. Yet his Presidency was a failure. Poor judgment (high tariffs and taxes) did him in.

Franklin Roosevelt'…

There is an ancient Scottish legend that tells the story of a shepherd boy tending a few straggling sheep on the side of a mountain. One day as he cared for his sheep he saw at his feet a beautiful flower. One that was more beautiful than any he had ever seen in his life. He knelt down upon his knees and scooped the flower in his hands and held it close to his eyes, drinking in its beauty. As he held the flower close, suddenly he heard a noise and looked up. Before him was a great stone mountain opening up right before his eyes. And as the sun began to shin…

Luke 9:62 - "Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’ "

A plowman, simply, was one who used or held the plow; husbandmen and plowmen are used synonymously in the Scriptures. Th…

A number of years ago there appeared in The Los Angeles Times a poignant story of a four and one-half year old girl named Katie Sleeman, a patient at Children's Hospital, who was dying of cancer. "She had originally been diagnosed as a seven-week-old baby with retinoblastoma a cancerous tumor in the eye. She lost both eyes, and despite the best that medical science could do for her, a tumor appeared near her brain and it could not be removed. So Katie suffered more hardship in her brief life than most of us do in all our years. But despite her hospitalization, all of the treatments…

While filming a documentary in Israel, Malcolm Muggeridge began reflecting upon the Temptation of Jesus. Listen to his thoughts:

Curiously enough, just at the right moment to begin filming, when the shadows were long enough and the light not too weak, I happened to notice near by a whole expanse of stones, all identical, and looking uncommonly like loaves well baked and brown. How easy for Jesus to have turned these stoned loaves …

Acts 1:4-14 contains certain encouragements to the followers of Christ to be an "expectant" fellowship. With this in mind, let us consider some specific instances where expectancy is implied.

1. Acts 1:5: "For John baptized with water but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." What is the difference between John’s water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

a. John’s baptism. Water baptism was commonly practiced by the Jews long before the appearance of John. It symbolized religious purification, and in a more specialized use it was applied when new converts entered into Judaism (proselyte baptism). John, however, baptized both Jews and Gentiles as a rote of moral purification for the approaching Kingdom of God. Although John’s baptism would enable those who …

This is actually a pretty new festival in the church year. Its roots go back only to the early 1900's, when the world's great empires British, American, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese were all at war or about to go to war somewhere.

The man who was the pope of the Roman Catholic Church at the time wrote a letter in which he dedicated the world to Christ the King. In the letter, he reminded the empires that God is present with the whole human race, even with those who do not know God.

After World War I, Pope Pius XI designated the last Sunday in October as Christ the King Sunday, a day to remember that Christ received power and honor from God and was thereby made ruler of the universe. Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday of the church year for good reason. It's a time to…

Crowns have always been the sign of authority and Kingship. Charlemagne, whom historians say should deserve to be called "great" above all others, wore an octagonal crown. Each of the eight sides was a plaque of gold, and each plaque was studded with emeralds, sapphires, and pearls. The cost was the price of a king's ransom. Richard the Lion Heart had a crown so heavy that two earls had to stand, one on either side, to hold his head. The crown that Queen Elizabeth wears is worth over $20 million. Edward II o…

I heard about an expert in diamonds who happened to be seated on an airplane beside a woman with a huge diamond on her finger. Finally, the man introduced himself and said, "I couldn't help but notice your beautiful diamond. I am an expert in precious stones. Please tell me about that stone." She replied, "That is the famous Klopman diamond, one of the largest in the world. But there is a strange curse that comes with it." Now the man was really interested. He asked, "What is the curse?" As he waited with bated breath, she replied, "It's Mr. Klopman."

Some of you may wish to re-evaluate your diamonds on that basis. But seriously the true curse of any kind of valuable possession is its capacity to steal our hearts and souls. The rich young ruler is one of those unique characters from the B…

Maybe we need to rethink sin. Maybe we need to think of sin in broader categories than just "bad things done" or "good things left undone." Maybe the most uncomplicated definition of sin we could give would be our inclination to take the easy way out.

Our gospel text for today offers a good way to assess our new definition. The devil offers Jesus temptations which seem, on the surface, harmless enough. They are certainly not temptations to do evil. The devil is just encouraging Jesus to take the easy road in order to show the world that he really is the Son of God. Look, again, at these "harmless" temptations.

"Command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Temptation number one. Not a bad idea, really. Think about it. A lot of good could come from such a move. Changing stones to bread c…

When Martin Luther began publishing abroad his new teaching, the time came for him to take a stand and he took it. The gentle and scholarly Erasmus advocated many of the same ideas as Luther, but he had not the courage to take his stand so boldly. Scholars sometimes quip, somewhat inaccurately, that Luther hatched the egg Erasmus laid. Nevertheless, when Luther was called before all the ecclesiasti…

The Messianic Age. This is what every Jewish child of God was hoping, praying, and waiting for. It is easy to see why when we hear God's Old Testament promises about the Messianic Age:

• (Isa 2:2) In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
• (Isa 2:4) They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
• (Isa 35:5-7) Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. (6) Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. (7) The burning sand …

In 1816, Lord Byron wrote a narrative poem that has become a classic. The poem is titled, "The Prisoner of Chillon," and it is the story of a man incarcerated in the dungeon at the Castle of Chillon near Lake Geneva, Switzerland.

The prisoner was in a narrow, cramped dungeon cell for such a long time that he began to think of it as home. He made friends with the spiders, insects, and mice that shared his cell. They were all inmates of the same dungeon and he was monarch of each race.

The years in the dark dungeon cell had taken their toll. He was no longer unhappy or uncomf…

Singer and songwriter Gloria Gaither describes Christ’s authority:

The Bible tells us that there is power in the mere mention of Jesus’ holy name.  . . . Jesus. The mere mention of His name can calm the storm, heal the broken, raise the dead. At the name of Jesus, I’ve seen sin-hardened men melted, derelicts transformed, the lights …

Today as much as ever, people need to know that this kingdom is real and available. They need to see the joy and the possibilities of that kingdom in us. Because often people are too easily satisfied just to make do with what is quick and easy and cheap. People settle for sex or liquor or a rock band or the distractions provided by entertainment. They look to these things to save them, or at least to help them move forward in a grim world. But, as C.S. Lewis once wrote, we are far too easily satisfied. We're like a child who turns down an invitation for a day at the beach and chooses instead to stay sitting in a slum alley making mud pies just because the child really can't imagine how much better a day at the shore can be. "What could be better than making these slimy mud pies?" the child…

In Act 5 scene 5 of Shakespeare's Macbeth, the character Macbeth has heard that the queen is dead and he knows his own death is imminent. At this time he delivers his famous soliloquy:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow
creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, Out, brief candle
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
and then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot. Full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing. 

Is Macbeth right? Is life nothing but a shadow having no substance, no meaning? Writers and philosophers since recorded time have tried to answer the question. I don't think any of them have been successful in answe…

Ten Basic Statements about ministry:

1. The foundation of ministry is character.
2. The nature of ministry is service.
3. The motive for ministry is …

We are shocked by the message of the parable of the workers in the vineyard, for it goes against the grain of our natural expectation. It mocks our logical sense of justice. Perhaps we are more drawn to the message of the Norwegian writer Jens Peter Jacobsen in his novel Niels Lyhne, which tell about a man who rejected God. As he grew older, he secretly desired the peace of faith, but he refused to come to God weak-kneed toward life's ending. Fate had been harsh to him, with death visiting those whom he loved most. Tenaciously, he held on to disbelief and a philosophy of nihilism even though he wanted …