Communion

Tampa, Florida has a huge annual festival called "Gasparilla Days." It takes its name from a pirate named Jose` Gaspar. The problem is, Jose` Gaspar never existed at all. Many local residents claim he was invented just for the purpose of finding an...

Communication

Have you ever run across this piece of advice on communication from the late Steve Allen: "In promulgating your esoteric cogitations or articulating your superficial sentimentalities, and amicable philosophical or psychological observations, beware of...

Church

It is important to remember that Jesus did not quit meeting with His disciples because Judas was a traitor and a thief, because Peter was fickle, or because Thomas had his doubts. His disciples were at times rude, thoughtless, unkind, and...

Bible

The Waldensians suffered much persecution in Europe. When they feared their Bibles would all be destroyed, they began to memorize them. Different family members would take different sections of scripture so that a family member would memorize...

Authenticity

Kierkegaard once told a story about the time a fire broke out in a great theater. Hoping to avoid a panic, they send out a famous actor to make the evacuation announcement. He explains what is happening and what they need to do and the crowd thinks...

Social Justice

The Golden Rule is not what one of the characters in the Wizard of Id said. He said, "The Golden Rule is, 'He who has the gold makes the rules.'" It is precisely this concept of justice that protects those who don't have the gold.

Living Upstairs

Gilbert K. Chesterton once made the spiritual observation that in the house of life many people are content to live in the cellar. In fact, they seem to assume that the cellar is the only room in the house.

Here Be Dragons

Preaching. In theory, it sounds so straightforward. We engage the text, allowing it to speak to our hearts. We explore the text, understanding its meanings, its context, its nuances, and its history. Then we explain the text, coming up with something called a sermon. Ideally the sermon...

Faith Conditioning in the Fourth Quarters of Life

There are many "Fourth and Long" times in our lives. "Fourth and long" and the clock is ticking. The question is: can you make it through the fourth quarter? Are you conditioned for adversity in your life? This sermon on faith uses Paul's words from 2 Corinthians to show us what to expect, how to condition for it, and what we must be prepared to do in the "Fourth Quarters of Life."