The Problem Of Counterfeit Christianity

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Walking in the hot summer sun, we were enjoying a wilderness hike near a saltwater marsh in south Louisiana. Suddenly my son Jonathan was crying out, "It moved! It moved!" I looked up and he was dancing in circles about 15 yards ahead of us. Running to his aid, I arrived to see a...

Preaching Paul

In Preaching Paul (Abingdon) by Brad R. Braxton, the author seeks to provide a guide to the homiletical, biblical and theological issues relating to preaching Pauline texts. He offers many insights that emerge from his experience as a pastor as well as a professor of preaching and...

Awakened To A Calling

Awakened To A Calling (Abingdon) includes eight sermons preached to young adults considering vocations in pastoral ministry. With sermons by Fred Craddock, Jeremiah Wright, Tom Long and others, this slim volume contains interesting reflections on the call to ministry.

The Problem Of Ineffective Christianity

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 On July 20, 2004 Jason Clauss and his brother went surfing on a beautiful summer day off the coast of Long Island, New York. At the end of several hours of fun, Jason returned to shore and had removed his wetsuit when he heard cries for help offshore. Two brothers had been pulled...

Finding Your Spiritual Home

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Children shouldn't have been throwing the ball in the church's fellowship hall downstairs, but they were . . . and the inevitable happened: striking the wall by accident, the boys left a small, indented "crater." One of the older men came in the next morning with his tools, calling out to me as...

Wisdom

Consider some of these pearls of wisdom that have been passed on to us by way of the Internet. 1. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film. 2. He who laughs last, thinks slowest. 3. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory. 4. Seen it all, done it all, can't...

Temperance

The AP carried a very sad Spring break story. One person died and several others got sick after a tequila-drinking competition in Santo Domingo. The man who died was the winner of the contest. Ricardo Ivan Garcia drank more than 50 shots of tequila to win the prize worth $330. Was...

Sincerity / Honesty

The news recently carried the story from Florida of a baby cat born with two faces. It is not certain how long the cat will live, although it had begun taking nourishment which was a good sign. Several experts said they had never seen such an abnormality before. The owners named the cat...

Salvation

According to a fairly reliable anecdote, W. C. Fields, who had been a life-long agnostic was still concerned as his health deteriorated and death approached. He was concerned about not making it into heaven, if indeed there was one. Thomas Mitchell, a fellow actor discovered Fields...