Mark wrote his account of that first Palm Sunday to a Roman audience. What would have been on their minds would have been … a very real contrast between the triumphal entry of Jesus on this day and the pageantry of Roman emperors who returned from their wars. For instance, as a symbol of bloody conquest Caesar chose a prancing horse at the head of a processional that included his warriors, a group of shackled prisoners who’d been conquered, and an extravagant display of the booty that the army had...
Monday, April 2, 1739, marked a pivotal day in the history of the world; it was on that day that John Wesley (an Anglican priest) abandoned any reservations he had about preaching outside of a church building. It was on that day (Kingswood, Bristol) that John took to open-air preaching. Wesley’s decision brought him face to face with the common people of England—many of them miners. And this new ministry that was just beginning in his life—soon to be called ‘Methodism’—ignited a revival like England had never seen! Regarding that...
All of us have doubts in life, don’t we? How about honest doubts about your faith at times? Is Jesus who he said he was? Did he really come to save us—was that necessary … or, as seems to be popular these days, does everyone really go to heaven anyway and all Jesus was was a good teacher, with a miracle or two thrown in for good measure? Was he truly the Son of God who was resurrected on the third day … or, as many still believe, was his...
Today, folks, we’re going to be looking at the ideas of darkness and light—the difference each can make in our lives. And, I want to begin with this thought: darkness can have adverse affects on our lives, kind of like this… Some have said that making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. “Why,” he exclaimed,...
So, what is a ‘herald?’ According to the dictionary, a herald is a ‘bringer of news’—literally, somebody who brings or announces important news. A ‘herald’ can also be a ‘sign of what will happen.’ A good example for us at this time might be … the robin. (I saw my first robin this past week.) The robin is the herald of spring! The robin is one of those signs that let us know that spring is coming… Our OT prophets are ‘heralds.’ And, they were ‘heralds’ with a purpose—excited to...
When I think of prophecy, I almost always think of foretelling the future. Maybe that’s what you think of, too. And, a modern day version of that might be what we call ‘forecasting.’ Now, there are many who ‘forecast’ today—two prominent ‘forecasters’ that come to mind are economic advisors … and the much coveted job of forecasting the weather. Looking to the future; that’s what forecasting is all about. And some, as you well know, have had much better luck at forecasting than others… What’s the old saying? Well, I...
Edgar R. Fiedler was an American economist who served both the Nixon and the Ford presidencies, dying in 2003. Fielder was a rather entertaining sort who at one time came up with what he called “Fiedler’s Forecasting Rules.” Here they are: It is very difficult to forecast, especially about the future. He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass. The moment you forecast, you know you’re going to be wrong — you just don’t know when and in which direction. If you’re ever right, never...
Sometimes in life, walls are a good thing. But, at other times, they are not. They are those things that hold us back from where God wants us to go. We’re going to touch on a couple of those walls today, as we conclude this series—Wired for Worship. Listen now to our scripture lesson for today (1 John 4:7-21, NLT): “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does...
What comes to mind when you think of the word community? Is it a town, a club, a small group of friends or something else? The Bible tells us the Church should be a place of community – authentic community. But what does that look like? Today, I’d like to share with you a couple of my experiences of authentic community and what God has taught me about authentic community through these experiences. Last July, I had the opportunity to attend Lifest in Oshkosh. For those of you not familiar...
In order to be the holy temple that God is building us to be, we need to take biblical unity seriously. That needs to be one of our primary goals, as we come into this place to worship. Today, during the Children’s Moment, I did my best to describe the difference between unity and disunity. That’s where we have to begin, in order to have a better understanding of what this phenomena is really all about… I described Super Bowl Day at the Pegram household. There was unity there that...
