Jesus made three strong statements about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, and every one of them were negative. The first one was this: Don’t be hypocritical. Listen to these words from Matt. 6: Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your [...]
Several months ago I preached a sermon in which I called attention to the fact that the most visible face of Christianity in the US is the Christian Right, and that this face drives a lot of good people away. I went on to say that people who have grown up outside the church tend [...]
One of my favorite stories of all time is the one about the pastor who made an investment in a large tract of land which he hoped turn into a ranch where he could enjoy his retirement years. While he was still an active pastor, he would take off one day a week to go [...]
One of my favorite books of the last year is Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize winning “Gilead.” It is unanimously acclaimed by critics with phrases like “A novel as big as a nation, as quiet as thought, and as moving as prayer. Matchless and towering.” (Kirkus Reviews) It is the story of an aging preacher who [...]
I was coming back from Statesville last Wednesday morning when I happened to notice the bumper sticker on the car in front of me. You’ve all seen this one, probably hundreds of times, and it makes a very telling comment on the state of religion in America. Can you guess what it is? “HONK IF [...]
Those of you who know me best know that the most difficult time in my life was going through separation and divorce. I know, too, that many of you have traveled that same lonely and painful road, and perhaps you are best able to understand what I am about to say. In the darkest time [...]
If you know the story of Job, you’ll remember that he came to a place where, after losing his family, possessions, health, and enduring the “help” of his friends, he cried out, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” I believe that the only people who can say something like that are people [...]
A couple of events this past week got me to thinking about anger. I heard about a teacher who got very angry with a student, almost to the point of losing control. I talked with a church member who was angry over the way she had been treated by some other church members. I talked [...]
A little girl went up to a famous actress in the lobby of a hotel, and said, “You’re an actress, aren’t you?” When the actress smiled and nodded her head, the little girl kept on looking at her for a minute or two, and then said, “Well, why don’t you act?” And that’s a good [...]
Here’s one of my all-time favorite stories from the pages of American history. It needs no comment from me. You can draw your own conclusions. There was a Baptist preacher who had two sons who had really taken to an old stray dog. The dog was as black as coal, except for three very distinctive [...]
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