Most sermons on this text deal with one of two things: either a detailed account about the four men who carried their paralytic friend to Jesus and, because of the crowd, were forced to open up the roof and lower him into the healing presence of Jesus, or the relationship between forgiveness and healing. But I want to focus our attention on that Capernaum crowd. It was a warm autumn morning in Sep...
It is a picturesque story containing drama, suspense, and humor. I have imagined the crowds pressing in upon Jesus in an effort to hear clearly the profound wisdom and good news he was sharing. There was an excitement in the air going along with being in the presence of a celebrity. I also have imagined the delightful scene of the four friends carrying the paralyzed man, trying to press through ...
After Jesus had completed his tour of the synagogues he returned to Capernaum to rest for a few days. The news got out quickly that he had arrived and soon the house was filled to overflowing with people and people even spilled out into the streets. Into this crowd came four men carrying on a stretcher a friend of theirs who was paralyzed. So jammed was the narrow street that they could not get th...
"Who in the world does he think he is?" was the question buzzing around in the threatened little minds of the scribes in our Gospel lesson. Jesus had just spoken forgiveness of sins to a man and he had said it as if he really meant it! The scribes immediately took offense. "Only God can do that!" they said to themselves. "Who does he think he is, anyway?" As our Lord carried out his ministry of he...
This morning Mark tells us about the healing of a paralyzed man. This episode goes to the heart of Jesus' approach to the needs of people. Throughout the Gospels we see his concern for the physical dimensions of life and for human suffering. "He had compassion on them" is a common phrase describing his response to the people with whom he came in contact.
However, this morning's event leaves no qu...
Sometimes a story in the Bible has me feeling like a kid in
a candy shop. There are so many goodies in front of me that it's difficult to
know which one to select. Such were my feelings as I prepared this sermon on
the healing of the paralytic.
I was tempted to entitle this sermon, “When Jesus Is There,
The House Is Full," but, I doubted that would be true on a snowy Sunday. I
considered a c...
Dr. Arthur Caliandro, long-time pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, had a therapist on his church staff. One day they were having a conversation about prayer. The therapist told him that prayer was the most therapeutic behavior for a human being. Caliandro was not surprised but he was excited because an expert in human behavior was telling him what he knew all along — prayer is powerful!
Do you d...
There was an interesting article in People magazine recently. It was about a young man, eighteen-year-old Kevin Hines, who, in September of 2000, decided to give up his fight with depression by jumping off San Francisco’s Golden GateBridge. As he paced and cried along the bridge sidewalk, Kevin looked for someone who would talk him out of his crazy decision. If even one person expressed concern ...
As a pastor I can really relate to the story of a pastor who was candidating at a church, and they told him that they wanted to call him provided he would agree to live by faith. When he asked the six men on the committee what they meant by that, they said, "Well, what we mean by that is, you're not going to have any stated salary, but you're just going to trust God to meet your needs."
The man t...
What excites you the most? I don't mean just any one thing, but what are the things that come to your mind that really get you excited? I thought about this and this is just a short list for me, but it will give you some idea of the things that really get me excited.
Knowing that I am going to heaven
Knowing that God loves me unconditionally
A romantic get away with Teresa
Spending time with my s...
If you eat at your hotel dining room while in Reno or Las Vegas, you can't help being in the middle of a casino. Every Nevada hotel has restaurants intermingled with first floor casinos, making it unnecessary for guests to ever leave the premises.
So it was that while finishing a cup of coffee at the Lodge Buffet I got to eavesdrop on the casual dinner conversations of a man and a woman. The two ...
When I see a bumper sticker, I like to pull up along side the car and see if the message fits the driver. Sometimes it's a surprise. I saw an off-color bumper sticker on a car. I pulled up along side, and saw a little old lady driving. It makes you wonder what's happening to our world.
Jean saw a car with a bumper sticker on it that said, "Honk if you love Jesus." So she pulled up along side and ...
It's one of those stories you see circulating on the Internet. The author is unknown, but the sentiments are universal. It's titled THE CITY OF REGRET:
"I had not really planned to take a trip this year, yet I found myself packing anyway. And off I went, dreading it. I was on another guilt trip. I booked my reservation on "Wish I Had" airlines. I didn't check my bags--everyone carries their bagga...
Some of you have seen the play, “Big River”, now playing in New York. This setting of Mark Twain’s Huck Finn is well done.
The music is exceptional. For days after I saw it, I found myself blurting out, “Arkansas, Arkansas, O how I love Arkansas.” I would find myself humming the tune and trying to remember the words of that haunting piece.
In one scene, two river rogues who have commandeered Huc...
The gentle healer came into a town one day.
He touched the blind and helped the lame to walk away.
But more than that, he forgave the sins of those who stray.
The gentle healer comes into our town today. [1]
A full twenty percent of the gospels deal with the healing ministries of Jesus. Seeing the crowds he has compassion on them and one by one, person by person, individual by individual, he heal...
There is a story of a Vermont farmer who was sitting with his wife one evening on the porch, looking at the beautiful valley laid out before them. Everything about the moment was filled with peace. At last the farmer spoke quietly, as if reluctant to break the spell. “Sarah,” he said, “we’ve had a lot of ups and downs together during these forty years, and when I’ve thought of all you’ve meant to ...
Have you ever used the phrase, "I felt right at home"? It's a pretty good phrase for purposes of describing some degree of comfort about a situation. I'd say Ichiro Suzuki makes himself right at home standing at first base. I'd say that Tom Brokaw was a broadcaster who was at home in front of a television camera. I know people who feel most at home when they are out tending their garden or working...
This is probably one of the best-known vignettes in all of scripture, this wonderfully appealing story about friends who are so anxious to get one of their number who needs healing to Jesus that they will go to incredible lengths to make it happen. Hence, we have history's first recorded elevator ride.
By way of background, Mark's gospel lets us know that there have already been a number of heali...
Did you happen to see that wonderful story in Thursday's paper about five-year-old Branden Lake in Youngsville who called 9-1-1 last Sunday morning to get help for his Mom who was lying unconscious on the bathroom floor?(1) Adding spice to the account was the fact that the emergency dispatcher on the other end of the call was the boy's Dad, Todd Lake. Everything turned out all right - mother Karen...
Of all the wonderful gifts that God has given us, one of the greatest is friendship. It certainly makes my own personal “Top Ten” list. When we’re going through some emotional or physical trial of life, friends can help to reassure us that God is there with us, and we don’t have to face any obstacle life throws in our path alone.
I remember my two best friends from my high school days - Larry and...
"There is a cancerous strain eating away at the average American," writes C. Neil Strait.1 He continues, "It is a strain brought on by too much work and too little play; too much hatred and too little love; too much fear and too little faith. The overbalance has infected life with a strain that eats away at the energies of life like a dreadful disease. The strain that besets a lot of people is mor...