Ecclesiastes 12:10

    It was a celebration. In 2 Samuel 6:5 we read, “ Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals .” The ark was finally returning to its proper place among the people of God. The people were united as it says in 1 st Chronicles 13:4, “ Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people ”.   However, the party comes to a sudden stop when the ox pulling the cart stumbles, and a man by the name of Uzza reaches out to steady the ark. He is immediately struck down by God. Now the celebration turns to tragedy, and David's emotions go from rejoicing to anger and then fear (2 nd Samuel 6:8-9).   Why has this happened? Why did God do this? How can we bring the ark back?   David would later come to the answer when he does what he should have done in the first place, seek ...

  An interesting event is recorded in Mark 14:12-15: On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?" And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.   Jesus has been focused on the upcoming Passover and what it is going to mean for everyone. This will be where he institutes the Lord's Supper, this moment will foreshadow the saving world of the cross, this will be his last time to teach his disciples. This worship time will be an important event.   To the disciples it may seem that it was a...

   T o Europeans, American chocolate tastes like vomit. And they are not wrong. Now don’t misunderstand, I like American chocolate but maybe it is because I don’t know better.   . In 1893, successful confection Milton Hershey made a trip to the Chicago World's Fair. There he discovered the rich, elegant taste of German chocolate and realized he needed to add it to his offerings. So, the next year he introduced what we know call the Hershey bar and it became more popular than all his other products. With European chocolate still unknown to the American masses, the Hershey bar became the iconic definition of what a chocolate bar should taste like throughout the United States.     His method for making the chocolate was different than the Europeans however. His process created creates something called butyric acid, also found in Parmesan cheese and the spit-up of babies. It helped to increase the shelf life of the candy but it also gave the candy a tangy taste....

  It’s a modern-day adage that doesn’t seem to get many challenges, “It doesn’t matter how you worship as long as you worship God”. It is a way we can make all religions equal if not if doctrine or practice at least in result.   Besides God doesn’t care how a person comes to him as long as he comes to him. Right?   Let consider a passage a command given by Moses to the Israelites: "These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth.   "You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.   "You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.   " You shall...

 Sunday mornings can be a hectic time. Little ones to get out of bed. Clothes to be put on (and then taken off and others put on). Get breakfast, get your Bible, and get in the car, We ARE LATE. It’s a miracle we ever make it on time. Yet, that isn’t the late I’m talking about.   You see if we get to worship and the first time we thought to pray is the opening prayer, we’re late to worship. If the song is the first time we thought to praise God, we’ve been tardy. If our giving is just remembered as the plate is being passed we are somewhat overdue.   We worship on the first day of the week but we often confuse it for the last day. I’m not just talking about how we structure our calendars. I’m thinking of how worship is often tacked on to the end of our lives instead of being first and foremost. We can’t get to it because so many other things come before.   If we begin with the things of God first, the rest of life has a way of fitting in but if w...

  Tom Osbourne, the legendary coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, was a great recruiter but the one recruit he regrets not getting was Marshall Faulk.  While several big-name programs were after him, Nebraska seemed to have the inside edge. Osbourne had charmed all the people in Faulk’s life, his mother, his teacher, his coaches, even Faulk himself. However, they made one crucial error. They were recruiting him as a defensive back. Marshall wanted to run the ball. So when the less notable program of San Diego State said they’d let him carry the ball, he signed with them.  In his second game as a freshman, he set the record for yards in a single game. He would run all the way to the NFL and the Hall of Fame.     What could he have done at Nebraska, a team known for its great running game? We’ll never know because they never bother to ask Marshal Faulk if he wanted to be a running back.   David did something similar. He wanted to build a nice ced...

  It really is a true story.   It happened in Florida back in 1986.  Jurors were being transported upstairs by elevator to hear a case when the elevator got stuck between floors. For twenty minutes they hung there until the elevator was finally fixed. On their late arrival, the judge was concerned that the event might sway the jury. Why?     The case they were to rule on involved an escalator accident. And the company being sued was the Otis Elevator company. The same company that operated the elevator they had just been stuck in. And they knew it because they have been staring at that sign for the last twenty minutes. Amazingly, the judge decided not to disqualify any of the stranded passengers/jurors, concluding instead that they were able to put aside their recent experience with the defendant and rule fairly.   I’m not so sure.   The actions that surround a message have a great impact on the message. We need to remember th...

  We’ve all probably heard the adage that the majority of communication is nonverbal. This notion is from Dr. Albert Mehrabian, author of the book Silent Messages. In his research, he found that only 7% of any message is conveyed through words, the rest (38% through certain vocal elements and 55% through nonverbal elements) is unspoken.   What we say is more about how we say it and the influence of other factors that make the message.  Our smile conveys sincerity.  Our dress imparts seriousness (or the lack thereof). A head nod implies conviction. This isn’t just for the person talking, but also for the one listening .   I know when I preach the nonverbals of the crowd affect my message. Are they disinterested? Am I making my point? Am I being confusing? Do they agree? Are they about to throw tomatoes?   The sad thing is I know that often times peoples nonverbals are not at all directed towards the lesson. His scowl isn’t about the sermon...

  Not everyone loves Mother’s Day.  For some, it’s a painful reminder of the mother than is no longer with them.  For others, it’s a reminder that they could never be a mother.  Still, others don’t have a mother that was much of a mother. For those, the celebration is more pain than joy.   But no one hated Mother’s Day more than Anna Jarvis.   Anna didn’t just dislike the feeling it created for her, she hated the commercialization of the holiday.  She saw the cards as a lazy way to get out of writing a letter.  She hated those trying to turn a buck on the forced sentimentality.  She spoke out against Mother Day.  She protested.  She even went as far to attack a vendor selling carnations.  Her efforts drove her to insanity and she was committed to a Santorum, where she would eventually die.  All because she hated Mother’s day   Which is odd since the whole thing was her idea.   Anna Jarvis s...

  I often hear voices in worship.  No, I’m not going crazy.  No, it’s not that people are bad at whispering.  It's during the singing.  It’s not, however, the people present. The voices I hear are in my head and some are the voices of people that long since passed.   Let me explain before you think that ‘I’m not crazy’ is a mistake.  When we sing certain songs, I remember back to the church I grew up in. Some of the members there; some of our song leaders.  It might be the twang as they sang about ‘ the blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins’ . Or the passion in a voice when they proclaimed ‘ sing and be happy’ . The voices of people I grew up watching praising the Lord and setting an example that still comes back to me today Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord Ephesians 5:19   Music has a funny effect on memory.  I can’t remember what ...

One of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite stories was about a horse that was about sold at the cross-roads near where he once lived.  He told it as follows: The horse was supposed to be fast, and quite a number of people were present at the time appointed for the sale.  A small boy was employed to ride the horse backward and forward to exhibit his points.  One of the would-be buyers followed the boy down the road and asked him confidentially if the horse had a splint.  "Well, mister," said the boy, "if it's good for him he has got it, but if it isn't good for him he hasn't.   I wonder if a lot of people take that same approach to serving the Lord. They feel like they are doing what God wants even if they don’t know exactly what that is.   The people of Athens were like that. They made an idol to an unknown God, assuming that any god would want an idol. The true God, He doesn’t.  Paul attempted to help them overcome their ignorant worship wi...

  A few years back the wife and I took at mini vacation to go skiing.  We no sooner arrived at the slopes when a large storm moved in.  We hurried back into town, knowing we better stock up since the blizzard might keep us trapped inside for a few days.  After grapping some basics, we thought we would grab what would be our only hot meal for the next few days.  The only problem was that all the restaurants were shutting down in anticipation of the weather.  Only one place was open, so we went inside to get something.   That was a mistake.   I don’t know if it was always this way or they just knew we had a captive audience but the only thing on the menu was lasagna, for forty five dollars !  No sides, no salad, no bread, just lasagna.  Now it wasn’t bad lasagna but for forty five dollars I was expecting it to be the best thing I ever ate.  It wasn’t.  l I look back and think that was probably the most expensive food ...

   When it comes to worship some will claim we need to have more emotion. More uplifting singing, better feel good lessons, an increased desire to praise the Lord.  It got me to thinking about the emotions that would be necessary for one engaging in the worship of the Almighty.  So I began to look at scripture that linked the two. In that research, I noticed an emotion that is regularly linked to worship, but isn't often brought up - Fear.    In all those that talk about increasing emotion in worship, I can't say I remember anyone exclaiming we need more fear in worship.  However let’s consider some verses: Psalms 2:11-12   Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling .  Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! Hebrews 12:28-29   Therefore let us be grateful for r...

This is the Radio program for the Hope Church of Christ What Do You Get The Man That Has Everything?

  The city of Butte, Montana had a problem when the large strip mine in the area closed down in 1992. They were left a 500-acre, 900-foot-deep lake of stagnant water filled with a amalgamation of toxic metals and acidic mine waste known as the Berkley Pit. An overflow of the pit would be an immediate danger to the entire community. Elaborate steps have to be to be taken to scare away waterfowl with loudspeakers, firecrackers and a boat, since some geese that have touched down there for a drink were then had been found dead, their insides scoured with burns and sores.    So what could they do with a pit of toxic water? Simple, sell tickets! The city found out that people would pay to come in and see the mess. One a chamber official calls it the “biggest tourist draw in southwest Montana." They even have plans to increase the ticket prices because attendance has been so high.     It goes to show that people can be drawn in to see anything. Sadly, many chu...

In 1st Kings 18, we read of the dramatic contest between Elijah, the true prophet of God, and the 450 prophets of Baal. Each group was to offer sacrifices to their deity and let their god offer the fire. The prophets of Baal did so with much enthusiasm.  For the entire day, they jumped around, cried out with loud voices and even went so far to cut themselves in order to bring forth their god. But in the end the Bible says, “ they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.”  For all their excitement and drama, nothing happened and consequently no one cared. In today’s modern religious world, people think that the more dramatic and exciting the worship service, the more people will want to attend. But this passage shows that while a ruckus may garner some quick attention, if it makes no real difference, people will eventually lose attention. That is why it is so important that our worship is...

I recently ran across this article that told about a recent traditional Christmas Nativity play at St. Stephen's church in Tonbridge, England. It centered on music from the Beach Boys, with Mary turning into a "surfer girl" to sing "God Only Knows" and the Three Wise Men portrayed as Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson performing such favorites as "Fun Fun Fun" and "Good Vibrations". The reason given by the pastor was that, "Nativity plays ... can just be a bit dull. This made it more realistic." When I read this article, I was dumbfounded in the audacity of the whole production. But it was the line about the play being “more realistic” confused me the most.  Anyone with any Bible knowledge would realize this is absurd. The only thing I can figure is the “pastor” meant it was more real in feeling not it fact. This is a common false assumption in many religions today that if something has the right feeling than it makes any mistake or err...

Last week I was forced by friends to watch American Idol.  I’m not a fan of any reality show but his one is especially annoying to me. I think it comes down to the fact that I am tone deaf and I can’t ever figure out why the judges and audience pick the people that they do. What makes this one so good and other so bad?  The talent just doesn’t come through to me. If I had to pick best singer, it would be my daughter when I lean over in services and hear her singing. It may not be perfect pitched but it affects me like no other. It is because she is my daughter and I love her and love when she is doing what I asked her to do. This must be why God chose for us to worship him in song. God doesn’t hear the talent or the skill. He hears the heart of  His beloved children obeying His will. Many today will go to extreme (and sometimes unscriptural) ways to “improve” worship in human terms.  Those terms don’t matter to God. Worship to God has always been those who love God s...