There is a wonderful story out of the 16th century about Bishop Hugh Latimer, a great leader of the church. One Sunday morning he entered his pulpit and looked out to see King Henry VIII in the congregation. He knew that what he had to say that day would not go well with King Henry. He thought for a moment and then said to himself, but out loud for all to hear, “Latimer, be careful what you say to...
"And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.""And he made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." (Revelation 1:6a [KJV]) A four-year-old boy was about to have a birthday. His mother told him he could have any kind of pa...
A
pastor friend and his wife once adopted a young cat that bounced up
to his parsonage looking hungry and friendless. From the beginning of
the relationship, the cat readily came to them and blissfully stroked
her whiskers against their outstretched hands. She was comfortable
with people. My friends were quite willing to provide for the cat's
few needs: food, fresh water, a potent flea colla...
The READER'S DIGEST tells of young Matthew, age 4, eating an apple in the back seat of the car. "Daddy," said Matthew, "why is my apple turning brown?" His father explained, "Because after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple came in contact with the air which caused it to oxidize, thus changing its molecular structure and turning it into a different color."
There was a long silence, and t...
Sheep sometimes have a reputation for being passive and helpless. “Gentle as a lamb,” we say. Well, maybe . . . maybe not.
Reuters News Service told of an Egyptian man who had been pushed to his death from a three‑story building by a sheep that he was preparing for slaughter. The report noted that many Egyptian city dwellers keep livestock on their rooftops. This particular city dweller had been ...
(Thanksgiving) The juxtaposition is startling--the Thanksgiving feast we have just enjoyed and our text for the day:
" . . . I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; naked and you clothed me, sick and in prison and you visited me." (Mt. 25: 35-36 The Living Bible).
And yet what better day is there than this one--betwee...
Christian unity proclaims security in a personal King, Jesus the Christ!
The whole concept of security has taken on new connotations since the Second World War and especially with the news other nations besides the United States have the atomic bomb. Relatively speaking, it has not been too many years that individuals or even nations could cross mountains and/or oceans to gain security from enemi...
2 Samuel 5:1-5, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ezekiel 34:1-31, Jeremiah 33:1-26
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Christmas is a time of joy and enjoy, but also a time of unprecedented envy. The great gifts one person receives are inevitably desired by any number of that person’s friends. The gifts one child receives are immediately coveted by their sister or brother. Shopping for a gift for others, we often find things we desire for ourselves as well!
We like to have what others have. We like to do what oth...
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. (Psalm 119)
Animation: “What Kind of Sheep Are You” Online Test: http://selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=baaa
Animation: Live Lamb (you can rent a lamb at your neighborhood 4H club or a nearby farm)
Animation: Shepherd’s staff (any large natural wood staff will do)
We love the Christmas story...
Imagine yourself in a remote location, separated from familiar faces and places. The location could be a city teeming with people, but nobody there knows you or cares to know you. Or maybe it’s a lonesome wasteland in which you are separated from another human being by scores of miles. The distance — either geographical or relational — creates an unforgiving barrier between you and interaction wit...
In a recent article, Thomas Long shares the story of a rather unusual occurrence which happened one Sunday morning, some years ago, in a large, suburban church. Just prior to the sermon, as the congregation began to settle back in their pews, a neatly dressed man suddenly stood up in the balcony and announced in a clear, loud voice, "I have a word from the Lord!" Needless to say, several startled ...
Faye Neff, writing in THE CLERGY JOURNAL, tells about a newspaper in Maine that printed an embarrassing mistake. The paper ran a photo of the local board of council members, but someone placed the wrong caption under the picture. Beneath the photo were these words: "Naive and vulnerable, the sheep huddle for security against the uncertainties of the outside world." Can't you just imagine that capt...
Difficult times not only try a person's soul but frequently force a person to step up to a new challenge. Perhaps this has been your experience: You are at a crossroad unsure of which direction to head, so you venture out blazing a new path. Later, when you look back you realize that particular experience was a turning point in your life. There may even be times when something unexpected happens t...
Would you agree that we are an image-conscious society? Appearances are important to us. And not just our personal appearances. We want the things in our environment—our homes and cars and sneakers and even our lunches—to look Instagram-ready. The problem with living in an image-conscious society is that we are easy to deceive. Too often, appearance wins out over substance. If something looks good...