Luke 18: 9-14 Mark Twain said many years ago, “I don’t know of a single foreign product that enters this country untaxed except the answer to prayer.” A kindergarten class went to the fire station for a tour and some instruction in fire safety. The firefighter was explaining what to do in case of a…
Category: sermon
Into All the Truth
John 16: 12-15 Once upon a time there was a piece of iron which was very strong. One after another, the ax, the saw, the hammer, and the flame tried to break it. “I’ll master it,” said the ax. Its blows fell heavily on the iron, but every blow made its edge more blunt until…
Death Ends Nothing
John 20: 19-31 A small child was sitting in her mother’s lap. They were looking at a magazine together. When they came across an artist’s depiction of Jesus, her mother asked, “Do you know who that is?” “Yes,” the young child said matter-of-factly, “He goes to our church.” Wouldn’t you think the mother would be…
They Deserve It!
Luke 13: 1-9 They came to Jesus and, in effect, asked him, “Did you see what Pilate did?” Jesus discerned what they said to really mean those Galileans were bad people. A woman and her grandmother – a very forgiving and religious soul – were sitting on their porch discussing a member of the family….
As Jesus Did
Acts 2: 1-24, 32-36 For years, Tony Campolo, renowned preacher, college professor and author, would speak at a Christian festival in central Pennsylvania. Thousands of young people would attend the festival which had a definite Pentecostal flavor to it. The festival always reached a crescendo on Saturday night. Tony was often the featured speaker on…
A Vine Through a Branch
John 15: 1-8 The pastor asked a small boy in the church, “Can you tell me who made you?” The youngster thought a moment. Then he said to the pastor, “God made part of me.” The pastor asked, “What do you mean, ‘part of you?’” The boy answered, “Well, God made me little. I grew…
He Made a Ruckus
Mark 11: 1-11 Back in January of 1993, April, Eli and I visited my parents, my brother, my sister and her family in Baltimore. While we were there, the inauguration of Bill Clinton was scheduled. We decided to go to D.C and see the inaugural parade. April and I met in Washington while in seminary…
Light and Belief
John 3: 14-21 We will soon begin to see in the evening moths fluttering around streetlights and porch lights. Come to find out, they are migratory insects. It is believed moths draw close to the lights in the evening because they are meant to fly at night attracted to the heavenly lights like the moon…
Reflections on the Third Sunday
John 2: 13-22 The temple was not meant to be a marketplace. The religious asked him what authority Jesus had to fashion a whip from cords and drive the sheep and cattle out of the temple and pour the coins of the money changers onto the ground and overturned their tables. He told them, “Destroy…
Baptized with Water and Holy Spirit
Mark 1: 4-11 John knew something greater was coming. John the baptizer proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People throughout the Judean countryside and all people of Jerusalem went out to John to be baptized by him, confessing their sins. He told those gathered to him he baptized with water, but…
Psalm 102 in The Message 