2020 August

Falling Up: Ananias and Sapphira

Falling Up: Ananias and Sapphira

This sermon is based on Acts 4:32-37; 5:1-11. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: The Bible starts off great. God creates this beautiful garden so that he may bless his people and dwell with them. He even calls their relationship very good. But three chapters into the story, the wheels come off; and from then on, the Bible mostly becomes a story of one failure after another. Sure, there are great success stories: Abraham (if we ignore the Hagar thing), Joseph (if we ignore his lying to his brothers), Moses (if we ignore the murder and the striking of the rock episode), Joshua (what a good guy!), the prophets, Mary and Joseph, and Jesus (I’m sure there are more, but not many more). Let’s face it, the Bible is chock full

May These Quotes Be with You

May These Quotes Be with You

One of my favorite books is a collection of quotes entitled, If Ignorance is Bliss, Why Aren’t There More Happy People? It is one of a half-dozen quote books that I have in my library. Why so many? Because I believe in the power of a great quote. I feel Joseph Epstein could have been talking about me when he said, “I am not merely a habitual quoter, but an incorrigible one. I am, I may as well face it, more quotatious than an old stock-market ticker-tape machine, except you can’t unplug me.” Amen to that! But I also believe that what the world needs now is more people who “own” a great quote and know how to use it. A great example of this happened this past Sunday. After Outdoor Church, I was talking to Ken about how much I enjoyed our “bluegrass worship” service (Ken played guitar and

Falling Up: Saul

Falling Up: Saul

This sermon is based on 1 Samuel 13:5-15. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: The Bible starts off great. God creates this beautiful garden so that he may bless his people and dwell with them. He even calls their relationship very good. But three chapters into the story, the wheels come off; and from then on, the Bible mostly becomes a story of one failure after another. Sure, there are great success stories: Abraham (if we ignore the Hagar thing), Joseph (if we ignore his lying to his brothers), Moses (if we ignore the murder and the striking of the rock episode), Joshua (what a good guy!), the prophets, Mary and Joseph, and Jesus (I’m sure there are more, but not many more). Let’s face it, the Bible is chock full

I Quote; Therefore, I Am

I Quote; Therefore, I Am

Stephen Wright once said something I wish I had said (okay, I wish I had said several things he has said; but for our purposes, I am thinking of one thing in particular). He said: “I wish the first word I ever said was the word, ‘quote,’ so right before I die I could say, ‘unquote.’" Now that is brilliant! See, I am a firm believer that you are what you quote (if you already forgot that Joseph Epstein quote from last time, shame on you—for punishment, reread last week’s blog). In other words, quotes enhance all aspects of our lives (at least, good ones do—they may even put a smile on your face). And while the word-picture is a little disturbing, William DeVault is right: “A quote is just a tattoo on the tongue,” which means we should always have a good quote ready to go at a moment’s

Falling Up: Naaman

Falling Up: Naaman

This sermon is based on 2 Kings 5:1-16. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: The Bible starts off great. God creates this beautiful garden so that he may bless his people and dwell with them. He even calls their relationship very good. But three chapters into the story, the wheels come off; and from then on, the Bible mostly becomes a story of one failure after another. Sure, there are great success stories: Abraham (if we ignore the Hagar thing), Joseph (if we ignore his lying to his brothers), Moses (if we ignore the murder and the striking of the rock episode), Joshua (what a good guy!), the prophets, Mary and Joseph, and Jesus (I’m sure there are more, but not many more). Let’s face it, the Bible is chock full

You Are What You Quote

You Are What You Quote

The title of our blog post today comes from a great quote from Joseph Epstein (the essayist, short-story writer and editor, not the bagel brother) who said: “I believe it was Gayelord Hauser, the nutritionist, who said that ‘you are what you eat’; but if you happen to be an intellectual, you are what you quote.” Amen to that, brother, and pass the bagel! As you all know, I love a good quote. And for three very good reasons. First as David H. Comins said: “People will accept your idea more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.” Second, I also believe that Winston Churchill was right. I wish I was an original thinker and had numerous Ph.D.’s that would enable me to produce incredible insights and tremendous thoughts week after week, but that is definitely not me (as Popeye said, “I am what I am, and

Falling Up: David

Falling Up: David

This sermon starts our new series and is based on 2 Samuel 11:1-17, 26-27. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: The Bible starts off great. God creates this beautiful garden so that he may bless his people and dwell with them. He even calls their relationship very good. But three chapters into the story, the wheels come off; and from then on, the Bible mostly becomes a story of one failure after another. Sure, there are great success stories: Abraham (if we ignore the Hagar thing), Joseph (if we ignore his lying to his brothers), Moses (if we ignore the murder and the striking of the rock episode), Joshua (what a good guy!), the prophets, Mary and Joseph, and Jesus (I’m sure there are more, but not many more). Let’s face

The Right Quiz for Right-Thinking People

The Right Quiz for Right-Thinking People

We start off with a quiz today. There are four questions. Which of the following (and you can check all that apply) were used to manage the Black Death when it was ravaging Europe? Medicines Quarantines Passports (individuals were given passports to identify themselves and tell where he/she had been) Spy networks (spies were sent out to monitor other cities to see if they had been exposed to the plague and would then warn the people back home) Running away Prayers Processions Which was the response of health officers to people who were not wearing masks during the Spanish Flu in San Francisco? Fine them $10 Throw them in jail Shoot them Remove them bodily from the city Where did the first recorded case of the Spanish Flu occur? Mexico Kansas Madrid Texas Which city handled the Spanish Flu epidemic better? New York Philadelphia Here is the question we have

What We Need Now Is Grace

What We Need Now Is Grace

This sermon is based on Matthew 18:21-35. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Hard times. They come; they go, and then they come back. It’s hardly fair, but that’s life in a fallen world. Let’s face it: if hard times were dollars, we would all be rich. There are all sorts of stories in the Bible about people in difficult situations, even impossible situations. The people are enslaved in Egypt. They are oppressed and beaten down by foreign tyrants. They are carried off into exile. They find themselves starving and exhausted, wandering in desert wastelands. And then there are the lepers, the possessed, the blind, the deaf and the lame, each agonizing in their own private anguish. And don’t forget the dying, the brokenhearted and the despondent. In every case, there is