Imagine you’re playing a very serious game of Clue. You’re wearing a fedora with the brim pulled down low, and every five minutes you say something that you hope sounds like Humphrey Bogart. You may even be packing heat. You’ve played the game well, and you are zeroing in on who-done-it. You know where the dirty deed was done and you know how it was done, but you’re not sure who did it. It could either be Professor Plum or Miss Scarlet. It is your turn. The good news is you’re holding the “library” and the “lead pipe” cards so you can play them to smoke out your culprit. In your best Humphrey, you snarl, “Library, lead pipe, Professor Plum.” No matter what happens, you will soon know which of your suspects did it. The woman to your right shows you a “Professor Plum” card. You give her a little smirk and say your favorite

You either hate or love Tom Swiftie puns. If you hate them, I am sorry.  If you love them, well, as Tom said right before he flipped the switch, “You will be delighted.” Here are some of the classics: “‘Where are my pants?’ asked Tom briefly.” “‘These lines keep intersecting,’ Tom said crossly.”  “‘I like ragged margins,’ said Tom without justification.” “‘Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes,’ Tom said sheepishly.” “‘I’ve got a new watch,’ Tom said with abandon.” “‘I’m tired of boat rides,’ Tom said sternly.” “‘I’ve been waiting to see the doctor,’ said Tom patiently.” For the last few weeks, we’ve been trying to ascertain how people in Jesus’ day (and even how Jesus himself) perceived demons. We’ve consulted the “Book of the Watchers” (3rd century BCE), the “Book of Jubilees” (2nd century BCE) and the “Dead Sea Scrolls” (1st century BCE); and all of them

You need to know the context.   Last Sunday, my sermon introduction was a dud. I talked about a question that I had heard years before that had plagued me ever since. The question was: Suppose you’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it.  What would you do with the elephant?” I said that we would go to a store, buy a big umbrella and head to the beach. The response was underwhelming. It was my fault. No one knew the context.  They didn’t know that originally my sermon was too long which necessitated me hacking away at my introduction. There were originally two other questions. They were cut. Originally, I told people these were questions innovative employers used to interview prospective employees. This fact was cut.  All I left in was the question about the elephant. No context. No framework. No understanding. Worse, no Super