Thanksgiving Hymn

Hard Words

The sixth chapter of the Gospel of John spends a lot of time dealing with bread and eating. But it isn't till the end of this long chapter that Jesus gets to the meat of the lesson. Everything is going along fairly smoothly, even if not fully understood. Then Jesus announces that his flesh and blood is the main ingredients of the saving meal. Jesus said, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." John 6:56-59 NRSV This is one of the most difficult text to read. It is disquieting, even gross. No wonder many of those who were following Jesus at the time walked away. People walked away because they could not see beyond the hard words. Up to this point, they enj...

Favorite Bible Stories - Jonah

Sermon excerpts from Sunday, January 25, 2015 Last week I told you there were two topics that people don’t want to hear. One was evangelism. We discussed that last week. This week we are going to look at that other subject – Stewardship. Or for today message, using your talents as God desires. God came to a man named Jonah and told him to go to Nineveh, a wicked city, and “preach against it because its wickedness has come up before me.” In other words, his assigned task was to proclaim God’s judgment on Nineveh’s sins. But Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the historic enemy of Israel. In the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., the Assyrians plundered Palestine, looted and burned its cities and deported its inhabitants. In 722-721 B.C., it was Assyria that destroyed the Northern Kingdom. Just like most of us, Jonah had his reasons for not wanting to use his talents as God wanted. We giv...

Foolish Things - Excerpts from February 2, 2014 Sermon

Foolish Things: There are some very strange laws on the books concerning churches and here are just a few: young girls are never allowed to walk a tightrope in Wheeler, Mississippi, unless it’s in a church. In Blackwater, Kentucky, tickling a woman under her chin with a feather duster while she’s in church service carries a penalty of $10.00 and one day in jail. In Honey Creek, Iowa, no one is permitted to carry a slingshot to church except police. No citizen in Leecreek, Arkansas, is allowed to attend church in any red-colored garment. Swinging a yo-yo in church or anywhere in public on the Sabbath is prohibited in Studley, Virginia. And, finally, turtle races are not permitted within 100 yards of a local church at any time in Slaughter, Louisiana. (2) There is a lot of foolishness in the world—and that foolishness includes you and me. That’s right. Paul calls us foolish. He writes in I Corinthians 1: 26-29, “Brothers, think of what you were when yo...

Joy in the Journey

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