Jesus, according to the information that John gives us in the beginning of his Gospel, had a strange system of recruiting his disciples. Two of John’s disciples left the Baptizer when he identified Jesus for them as "the lamb of God" and spent the rest of the day with Jesus. Andrew was one of the two, and he recruited his brother, Simon, whom Jesus immediately labeled "the Rock." The next day Jesu...
It is part of God’s nature to know all things. We call this quality omniscience. God knows everything. There is nothing he does not know. Jesus once said that the Father’s knowledge is so total that he even knows when a single bird falls out of the sky and he knows the number of hairs we have on our head. In the case of some of us it is easier for him to keep track of that last statistic. That God...
How many of you know someone who is partially or completely color blind? Seeing colors is something we frequently take for granted until we try to imagine what the world looks like to someone who cannot. One such person described the task of getting dressed in the morning as one of the more difficult decisions that he faces during the day. He admitted that there have been many times when he went t...
"Stick to the knitting," is a phrase that I came across in that book by Peters and Waterman, In Search of Excellence. They outlined some successful businesses that emerged in this country following the Second World War. One of the characteristics they said successful businesses had in common was that they focused on what they did best. Peters and Waterman called that, "stick to the knitting." Ther...
Jesus and Moses went golfing one day. Jesus was about to hit a shot and said, “Hey Moses, watch this! Just like Arnold Palmer!” Moses said, “Jesus, you can do anything but don’t try to be like Arnold Palmer.” Jesus said, “No, watch this — just like Arnold Palmer!”
Jesus hit the ball in the water so Jesus asked Moses to get the ball. Moses parted the water and got the ball. This continued for abou...
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 tha...
When two people get married, the man, as you know, plays the part of the groom and the woman plays the part of the bride. From the very beginning of this union, anybody can see an outstanding difference already between the perspective groom and the perspective bride. All the bride can think about and all the bride is excited about is the wedding. From the time she gets the ring and sets the date, ...
Are you tired of the “10 Best” or “10 Worst” lists yet?
For some reason, January is the month for every “10 Best” and “10 Worst” list imaginable. January editions of every magazine, plot lines on tabloid TV, even articles in “serious” news coverage finds it mandatory to include a feature on some “Ten Worst” or the “Ten Best.”
The ten best movies,
the ten worst videos,
the ten best books,
the ten...
It goes without saying, but we constantly need to be reminded that we live in an amazing world, yet often we fail to recognize or appreciate this reality. Those of us who are middle-aged or more can remember the wonder that captured the American people in the 1960s when President John F. Kennedy made a pledge to place an American on the moon before the end of the decade. When the Soviet Union sent...
I ran across a story about a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that...
Well, good, old Nathaniel. In a way, he's the mystery disciple of the New Testament. His name doesn't even rate a mention in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Only in John's gospel do we hear about the disciple with the parochial ideas about Galilean towns.
Picture, if you will, our man Nathaniel. Like Peter, he is a fisherman by trade. He hails from Cana, another in a long line of undistinguished little h...
How many parents have blessed the invention of the “Swing’N’Sway?” Can I get a witness?!
There are actually two versions of this battery operated baby care gizmo. For newborns there is a Swing’N’Sway bassinet that gently rocks from side-to-side and back-to-front to simulate the infant being held and walked and rocked. This enables new Moms and Dads to catch some desperately needed shut-eye. For b...
It was a rollicking night at the theater. A young actor named Tom Key was playing the part of Jesus in the play Cotton Patch Gospel and he was clearly bringing the house down. The play, a romping, bluegrass musical which depicts the ministry of Jesus as if it had occurred in the cotton fields and Baptist churches of rural south Georgia, was in its final performance run, and Key was feeling confide...
Text: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" John 1:46
The wedding march had just begun. I stepped to the center of the chancel area. In the ministry there is no moment as deeply moving as that when a wedding march begins. The groom took his place, followed by the best man, at the front of the sanctuary. Down the aisle came the ushers and the bridesmaids. Then into the Narthex came the bride ...
I like the story of the young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this...
I wonder about folks who proclaim their theology through the medium of bumper stickers. I have wondered ever since I read about the fellow who honked when he saw the bumper sticker, “Honk if you love Jesus,” only to be greeted by an obscene gesture from the driver of the other car. I suppose “Have a nice day” is harmless enough, but I recently came across one which said: “Don’t tell me what kind...
Hear the word of the LORD, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.' Jeremiah 31:10
Props: Conch Shell
You are being called.
It’s the middle of Monday morning. You’re in your office amidst the hustle and bustle of people rushing down the hall. You’re late to a meeting. Your report to the boss is due ...
According to a recent report from the BBC News, inhabitants of a village in northern Nigeria are celebrating the renaming of their village. The old name of the town was “Area of Idiots.” Wonder why they wanted to change it? “Area of Idiots.” The new name of the village is “Area of Plenty.” I believe you will agree with me that’s an improvement.
The local emir announced the name change after resi...
Wilhelm Loehe was a young pastor in Bavaria, the southeastern corner of Germany. He finished his theological studies in the early 1840s and began to think about where he might like to serve as a parish pastor.
Loehe had some characteristics that were viewed by some as virtues, by others as liabilities. He was idealistic, determined, courageous, outspoken, and — in the minds of his detractors — br...
Ever hear of those infamous love stories in which someone looks at another person and immediately, they seem to recognize each other. We sometimes call this seeing your “soul mate.” Anyone ever have that happen to them? Perhaps some of you are still married to your “soul mate” –that person who just instinctively “gets you,” “knows you,” “and deeply loves you.”
Some say it’s the eyes, that when y...
[A Message for Good Friday. Bulletin outline found below.]
Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see.
Early in his Galilean ministry, Jesus invited Philip to follow him. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth." Nathanael responded somewhat sarcastic...
I have always liked this story — and not for the WHOLE story, just that one memorable line: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46)” That is just the kind of snide comment that makes me smirk. And, to be quite honest, it is one of the things that I like about our scripture — it is honest. Over and over and over again, the pages of our holy writ are littered with snide comments, unfait...
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. --Genesis 28:12 I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. --John 14:6 MAX (formerly HBO) has seen huge success recently with its show scripted by Julian Fellowes (author of the popular Downton Abbey), called The Gilded Age. Set in late 19th century...