Category Archives: Uncategorized

Jesus is the greatest of all teachers who’ve ever lived. Not just because of what he taught. But how he lived it.

In the profound Mountain Message, the Teacher said, “Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy” (Matt 5:7

He did more than command mercy, He demonstrated it. The Holy Spirit reveals one such occasion in Luke 10. “Jesus, Master, Have Mercy on Us” cried 10 men who were lepers. They were outcasts. Untouchables. The pariahs of their day. Afflicted with the worse disease imaginable. Tim Zindale describes this way: Continue reading →

This morning I am surrounded by stuff. Over 250 boxes of stuff! Well, that is what happens when you’re married for almost 48 years! You acquire a lot of stuff. Allied Van Lines has estimated that we have about 20,000 pounds of stuff as we make our move to North Texas.

The King James Version of the Bible actually uses the word “stuff” to describe goods, possessions, belongings or baggage. Continue reading →

This quarter at Hickman Mills we are studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Though I have read, studied and taught it many times, it is always fresh, rich and challenging with modern-day application.

The study reminded me of a story  related  years ago by Phillip Yancey, in his book “The Jesus I Never Knew,” about a Texas A&M professor, Virginia Stern Owens, who assigned her students to write a short essay on the sermon on the mount. Here’s a sample of some of the student’s reactions: Continue reading →

Fifty years ago I made the decision as a teenager to preach the Gospel of Christ. Although there have been various opportunities, interests and even the need on occasion to “make tents,” I’ve never wavered from my primary passion.

The commitment to preach has taken Norma Jean and me to many cities and states throughout the years–from Maine to California. And even a mission trip to Kazakstan. We have lived and engaged in located work in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and now Missouri. I have tried to approach what I might do and where I would live based on the exhortation in James 4:13-17. Continue reading →

Joe Theismann, now an ESPN sports commentator, enjoyed an illustrious career with Washington Redskins as an All Pro quarterback.

Theismann, who led the Redskins to two Super Bowl appearances–winning in 1983 before losing the following year. When a leg injury forced him out of football in 1985, he was entrenched in the record books as Washington’s all-time leading passer.

However, at the end of Theismann’s career he learned a bitter lesson. In an interview he said, “I got stagnant. I thought the team revolved around me. I should have known it was time to go when I didn’t care whether a pass hit Art Monk in the 8 or the 1 on his uniform. When we went back to the Super Bowl, my approach had changed. I was griping about the weather, my shoes, practice times, everything.” Continue reading →

A man asked his wife, “What would you most like for your 40th birthday?”

She said, “I’d love to be ten again.”

On the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and they went to a theme park. He put her on every ride in the park – the Death Slide, The Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear. She had a go on every ride there was.

She staggered out of the theme park five hours later, her head reeling and her stomach turning. Then they were off to a movie theater where they ate popcorn and sweets and drank Cola. At last, she staggered home with her husband and collapsed into bed. Continue reading →

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Everyone recognizes this famous quote from Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which was delivered 53 years ago this year on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Although Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15^th, yesterday was the national holiday, which was signed into law by President Reagan in 1986, that honors the slain civil rights leader. In honor of Dr. King, federal offices were closed, tributes were offered, and TV specials chronicled his life and legacy. Continue reading →

“This is plagiarism at its worst! You did not create this!” recently wrote one of my readers.

The reader continued to chastise me saying, “An old black preacher (I can’t remember his name, but I have the entire sermon on CD!) wrote and preached this about 7 years ago! Write your own sermons, man!” Continue reading →