Leisure Suits

Genesis 2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. I want you to travel back in time with me for just a minute, back to the time of tiedyed shirts, bellbottom jeans, and disco clubs. Think back to the decade of muscl

What Is Your Life?

James 4:13-17 The message of James in our text today is one that no person should overlook or disregard. The message in this text is one that, if heeded can alter how we live our lives today and every day for the rest of our lives. I doubt that the lessons I am about to share with you are new i

Christian Citizenship 101

Philippians 3:7-21; 4:1 Millions of America citizens were neither born in the United States nor have at least one parent who is a United States citizen. They are Americans because they have chosen to become a citizen of the U.S. by naturalization. According to the Office of U.S. Citizenshi

A Life Less Ordinary

1 Kings 19:19-21 I don't know whether Elisha knew Elijah or not. He'd surely heard of him. I imagine the whole country was talking about how Elijah had taken on Queen Jezebel and her 400 prophets. I'll bet there were lots of stories going around about Elijah. Nowadays, Elish

What Is The Strength Of Your Life?

Philippians 4:1-13 Recently in The New York Times there appeared an article that was both funny and fascinating at the same time. The headline for the story read, With Lenin's Ideas Dead, What to Do With His Body? The story centered on what to do with the body, the physical remains of Vla

The Urgent Or The Important

Ecclesiastes 3:2 One day a professor took out a one-gallon pitcher from under her desk. She also produced about a dozen fist size rocks. She carefully placed the rocks in the jar. The rocks stacked up to the rim of the pitcher then she asked her bright students if the pitcher was full. "Yes" was their...

Listen . . . Just Listen

A church member shook Pastor Smith's hand after worship and enthusiastically stated, "Great sermon, Pastor. You ought to submit that one to Preaching." "Thanks," replied Rev. Smith who then quietly noted, "I hope to have all my sermons published one day, perhaps posthumously." Nodding...

Living as Exiles

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, 11; Philippians 3:17-4:1 A number of years ago I came across the results of a nationwide poll in which people were asked to define themselves in a single word. What would you answer? Not even one sentence but using just one word, who are you? Of the more than eleven-hundred people who participated in the...

Jesus the Trouble-Maker

John 2:13-22 Recently we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. Quite properly we hailed him as a latter-day prophet to America, a drum-major for justice, a visionary whose dream still inspires us. But I am old enough to remember our attitude toward Dr. King while he was alive. He was ...

Relationships: Sixth in a Series on 1 & 2 Timothy

1 Timothy 5:8 And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was writing to his apprentice, Timothy, words that spoke to the specific situation in Ephesus.