Inadequacy

"If we will admit our inadequacy, we can have God's adequacy. . . . The greatest problem in the church is trying to do God's work with man's strength. . . . The key to Christian sufficiency is realizing that everything comes from God and nothing comes from me." (Ray Stedman)

A New Possibility

A New Possibility (Lectionary Starters) Third Sunday after Epiphany, Year A January 26, 2003 Mark 1:14-20 Jim Killen, a minister of the United Methodist Church, Beaumont, Texas Could you use a hope transfusion? Are you ready to get excited about a new possibility? Would you listen if some cred

Image And Toughness

A schoolteacher injured his back and had to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. It fit under his shirt and was not noticeable at all. On the first day of the term, still with the cast under his shirt, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in school. Walking confiden

College Rules

On the first day of college, the Dean addressed the students, pointing out some of the rules: "The female dormitory will be out-of-bounds for all male students, and the male dormitory to the female students. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $20 the first time." He continued: "Anyb

Good For Evil Enjoined

Satanic activities continually make the headlines. Bombing, murder, rape, fraud - the depressing accounts are endless. I can almost hear the devil's sinister laugh as he sees the pessimism and hopelessness these reports create in the hearts of people everywhere. Good news, on the other hand, is upl

Idolatry

In his book The Prophets, Norman Podhoretz points out that idolatry is not so much to "go after other gods" as to make a god of oneself. The "worshippers of idols . . . were bowing down to the work of their own hands. What they were worshiping was themselves. And in worshiping themselves, in trustin

What is All of this About the Holy Spirit?

What is all of this about the Holy Spirit? (Lectionary Starters) First Sunday after Epiphany. Celebration of the baptism of our Lord. Year A January 12, 2003 Acts 19:1-7 Jim Killen, a minister of the United Methodist Church, Beaumont, Texas What is the Holy Spirit? What is that all about anyho

Adversity

Over 2,000 years ago a young Greek artist named Timanthes studied under a respected tutor. After several years, the teacher's efforts seemed to have paid off when Timanthes painted an exquisite work of art. Unfortunately, he became so enraptured with the painting that he spent days gazing at it. One

Cleverness – Problem Solving

A man walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. He says he is going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for such a loan, so the man hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce parked on

Word Of God

Full Bible Intelligence When a new FBI agent is hired he is given intensive training. As part of the program, he is taught to watch for counterfeit money. He makes a thorough study of the genuine bills-not the phonies-so that he can spot the fake currency immediately because of its contrast to the