Michael Stone charged into the parliament building in Belfast, Northern Ireland, armed with bombs, a knife and a handgun. After he was wrestled to the floor, he was charged with trying to kill several of the leaders that were inside. His defense after his arrest was that everything he did that day was merely "performance art replicating a terrorist attack." In other words it was just a joke! Many people may not have the chutzpah as Stone but use the same technique. They will criticize the church and its leader’s using humor or as if they are just “having some fun.” What it really is a thin layered attack. Those that do this may think it is harmless but the Bible says otherwise. In Proverbs 26:18-19, we read, “Like a madman who throws Firebrands, arrows and death, So is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, "Was I not joking?" Next time we hear people veil their attacks a just a joke, lets remember what the Bible says and watch out for what they are really doing.
In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...
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