Ecclesiastes 12:10

           Willie Nelson had two hits that didn't go well together.   Mama’s Don’t Let You Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys and My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.  Don’t get me wrong, I like cowboys but if you don’t want your kids to be like someone, they shouldn't have them as heroes .           Willie isn't the only person to get that mixed up.  It seems today we make heroes of people we wouldn't want to be like. We idolize people because they make a lot of tackles, run fast, look cool in movies or can hit that high note.  Never mind their numerous arrests, that they have had several children by different women, their drug addiction or that their clothing passed immodesty a long time ago.   Shouldn't the people we emulate be more than wonder trick ponies?  Is that all we strive to be?         ...

Crazy Hypothetical*: What it you knew the next thing you prayed for would be answered exactly as you prayed for it, what you ask for? How would you pray? Would you think more about what you are praying for? Could your prayer go horribly wrong in some sort of Monkey’s Paw way? (Think about generic prayer statements, I.E. be with the sick, keep us faithful, guard, guide and direct us) Would you be selfish? What if this only worked on the last thing you prayed for? What does this say about how we think God is going to answer our prayer? * Crazy Hypothetical is a mental game that gives you a conditional choice that gets you thinking about a subject. I used these for several years as discussion starters in Bible class. The best ones can’t be answered “correctly”. They require you to think beyond an immediate reaction. You have to choose one of the options, it's no fun if you don’t

Monday morning scattershooting while wondering why I thought style of article was a good idea.   I love freebies. You know those trinkets you can pick up at conventions and trade shows.  A couple of years ago I picked up a little tube of hand sanitizer that is about the size of a pen from the Duke consulting table at Polishing the Pulpit. I still carry that around because it is so handy.  Most freebies are like that, they don’t cost a lot but the people that get them really like them.  We should give spiritual freebies to strangers. Things like compliments, congratulation, credit. Those don’t cost us much but can make a big difference to other.  I did a sermon series on a book called “ Try Giving Yourself Away” by David Dunn . The book has several great ideas along those lines.    I saw in my news feed another celebrity had a “wardrobe malfunction”.  I really hate that term. Most “wardrobe malfunctions” could be solved if people woul...

  We all have been betrayed. Let down by those we have loved. Dismissed by those we struggled for. Forgotten by the ones that should have cared about us most.  The boss tells you that despite your hard work, jumping thought every hoop and bending over backwards to please him, he doesn't think your performance is good enough and is letting you.  You know that it was but you also know it doesn't matter.  The girlfriend that tells you that she doesn't think “we right together anymore”, that all the time and attention you gave wasn't enough.  You suspect there is another man but it doesn't keep you from hurting.  The friend that was once a confidant, a kindred spirit, someone you would have given your life for, has told your greatest secret, turned against you, and abandoned you when you needed them most.  You want to strike back hurt them like they hurt you but you know it not the right thing to do....

  Swiss researchers arrived at a fascinating conclusion about the impact of mothers' vs . fathers' church attendance on the future religious observance of their children .  The detailed survey indicated that if the father attended church regularly, and the mother was non-practicing, then 44% of their children became regular church-goers .   But if the mother attended regularly, and the father was non-practicing, then only 2% of their children became regular church attenders .   Even when the father was an irregular attender and the mother non-practicing, a full 25% of their children became regular attenders, while if a mother was a regular attender and the father irregular, only 3% of the children became regular attenders .     In short, if a father does not attend church, it won't matter how dedicated the mother is in her observance, only one child in 50 will become a regular attender .  But if a father is even somewhat observant, th...

I was once was told that the whole purpose of a blog was to be able to write all those things you can find a way of saying in normal conversation, so I decided to spend each Monday writing things that have come to mind but aren't so well put together to make up an article or sermon or even a coherent thought....   Remember that kid in Jr high that would always talk about his girlfriend that lives two towns away.  Nobody really believed he had a girlfriend but he had made her up to look cool but it reality it made him so much more pathetic. (OK maybe that kid was me) That is how I feel about the   Mantei Te'o hoax. New rule for society: If you never have physically met a person you cannot refer to them with an intimate name (I.E. girlfriend, boyfriend) I blame Facebook for creating this confusion.   I had this conversation today, Barry : Linda, did you know anything about my good pen? It is missing Th...

  In 1982, Gregory Watson was trying to find a topic for writing assignment for a government class that he was taking at the University of Texas at Austin.  While researching the Equal Rights Amendment, Watson came across documentation of another unratified constitutional amendment dating back to the 1st Congress in 1789 that had been authored by James Madison.  Madison's proposal would delay congressional pay raises until the electorate got a chance to respond.  Intrigued, Watson switched the subject of his paper and researched what was a still-pending constitutional amendment, despite 192 years having elapsed. Watson's paper argued that—unlike the ERA—the 1789 amendment had no deadline within which the nation's state legislatures must have acted upon it and that it could belatedly become part of the U.S. Constitution.  His report recommended—on policy grounds—that the amendment should be ratified, as delaying changes of congressional salary would be bene...

  There are many things I am not very good at.  Spellling.  Ignoring a strange attributes for politeness sake. (Yes, that woman has spectacularly hairy arms, but quit staring at them.) Wrapping presents.  Dealing with awkward situations.  Faking your way thru not remembering someone’s name.  Preaching (according to some who would know good preaching if they heard it, but they won’t hear it because they are too busy talking in the foyer to hear it!)  Letting go of criticism.  Pronunciation.  Ending phone conversations.  I could name many more things I am bad at (and you could probably do even better), but I made my point.  However, I can’t really say that I am " the worst " at anything. Dead last, absolutely worst is a singular achievement that no one really wants.  We can admit our shortcomings, but to think of ourselves as the worst is a little too bold.   But that’s just what Paul does in 1 st  Timothy 1...

             A good long while back I was doing some visiting when I had two very different experiences.  Both visits were to those that had been ill for some time.  Both were to people in pain.  Both had additional problems brought about by their illness. As much at it seemed they would be alike, they could have been more different.             One visit I heard nothing but complaints.  How few had visited, how bad of a time it had been, all the problems the doctors had caused, and on and on.  The other visit however, was different.  No complaints but gratefulness on those who had visited and called; concern for others that were sick and in need; hopefulness on the treatment received and the future.  One of those visits felt like work, one felt like enjoyment.   Similar circumstances, similar problems, vastly different outlooks . ...

Normally I write something that attempts to be of use to others but this is more of an attempt to solicit advice.  Last Sunday night, I did a sermon on the need for parents to be involved in Bible class and church activities in order to be correct examples for their children.  More than one person told me that I should have done the sermon on Sunday morning.  I had considered it but felt that worked better for Sunday night (see next paragraph).  So preachers, what makes you do a sermon when? My personal criteria that I use to determine if it is a Sunday morning or night lesson might be different than some.  I am not a big believer of doing “the best sermon when more people will hear them” line of thinking.  My idea is if you don’t best material at night, why will people want to come back.  This isn't really an issue with me as all my sermons are top level and there really is not “best material” (insert sarcasm mark)*. So, I make my judg...

A teacher in Bible class I attended recently pointed out something I had never noticed before in Paul’s writings. Every book he writes begins and ends with a greeting of grace. For example, he says “ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ ” at the start of his letter to the Romans (Romans 1:7).  He ends his letter to Timothy with “ The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you .” (2 nd Timothy 4:22) The word grace was a common expression among the Greek speakers. To some it may be thought of as only an expression, such as how people today use “God bless you” or “have a blessed day”, but to Paul it was so much more. He understood the vital nature that grace has in the life of a believer. Without grace we could not be saved (Ephesians 2:5, Titus 2:11).  Grace strengths our hearts (Hebrews 13:9). Our words are to be measured by grace (Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 4:6). It allows us to be capable of good works (2 nd Corinthians 9:8). Grace is ...