IT’S FRIDAY. BUT SUNDAY’S COMING! Communion with Christ

Communion

W. A. Criswell tells a story about the Duke of Wellington once attending a small church in England.  It was their custom to come to the front and kneel down to receive communion.  The Duke, who had just been honored as a hero in the battle of Waterloo, came forward and knelt down.

About the same time a poor ragged old man came down from the other side of the building and knelt beside the Duke.   Immediately a deacon came up behind the old man, gently placed a hand on his shoulder and quietly whispered for the man to move farther away from the Duke. Or to rise and wait until the Duke had taken communion.  Continue reading

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Is Bill O’Reilly’s Solution Right?

Bible.Plant

“Reader’s Digest”  once told the story about a company who mailed out some special advertising business post cards with a mustard seed glued to it.  The following caption read something like this: “If you have faith as small as this mustard seed in ( our product), you are guaranteed to get excellent results and be totally satisfied.”

— Signed, The Management Continue reading

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Some Thoughts About the Royal Baby

mother-holding-baby-drawingWhen a King is about to be born people are watching.  Waiting.  Anticipating.

After all it’s not a common occurrence.  Or an every day event.  Or an ordinary birth.  It’s unique.  Unparalleled.  Unequaled.  Special.  Very special.

And now the Royal baby has come into the world!  Adored.  Admired. Celebrated.

And don’t you just love his name?  It flows.  It just rolls off your tongue. Continue reading

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Lessons Learned From Little Children

Nehemiah

Like most preachers, I receive notes, letters, and drawings from children.  Most are very sweet, cute, and encouraging.  However, I’ve never received any notes quite like the ones compiled by this unknown author.  Supposedly these are actual letters written by children to the preacher.

Dear Preacher, I would like to go to heaven someday because I know my brother won’t be there. Stephen. Age 8, Chicago Continue reading

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Word of the Week: Mercy

Mercy

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.

“But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother explained. “I plead for mercy.”

“But your son does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied. Continue reading

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IT’S FRIDAY. BUT SUNDAY’S COMING! Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Cross.Soldiers.Gambling.

Elizabeth Cecelia Clephane was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1830.  Her parents died when she was a child. And she died at the young age of 39, having lived most of her life with illness.

Deeply religious and concerned about others, Elizabeth ministered to the downtrodden in the village of Melrose, where she lived most of her life. She was bright. Clever.  And cheerful. People in the village called her “Sunbeam.”  But Clephane didn’t see herself that way.  She wrote these words: Continue reading

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Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

 Together

Twenty-two years ago Rodney King became nationally known after being beaten by Los Angeles police officers.  The African-American construction worker was on parole for robbery and following a high-speed car chase on March 3, 1991 was caught and beaten unmercifully.

George Holliday, a nearby resident, witnessed the vicious beating and video taped it from his apartment balcony.  Mr.  King’s plaintive cry was eventually heard around the world “Why can’t we all just get along?

Following the recent riots, vitriolic response and heated rhetoric regarding George Zimmerman’s acquittal for shooting Travyon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, King’s question still rings in our ears.  Continue reading

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People Looking For An Excuse To Sin

Riot

Devin Dickey says he was just going for a jog late Sunday evening.  While pausing to  stretch, three men in a car stopped, and ordered him in the car at gunpoint.

After driving around for   awhile, they stopped and one the guys asked, “Do you know who Trayvon is?’

I said, “No,” thinking of somebody local. Continue reading

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How To Let Your Light Shine

Light.Love

Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton were honored at the White House Monday afternoon by President Obama.  Also in attendance at the ceremony former President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara.

So who are Floyd and Kathy?  What did they do?  And why were they honored?  Continue reading

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Word of the Week: Love

Love.1Cor13Several years ago I heard a story about a psychology professor who believed that parents should not punish or spank their children.  His motto: ”Just love your children.

Although he had no children of his own, whenever he saw a neighbor scolding a child for some wrongdoing, he would say, “You should love your boy, not punish him.” Continue reading

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