Acts 2:1-4; 42-47; Matthew 18:19-20 At the tender age of 18, I was asked by my local church to be their youth leader. From that day on, and for almost 57 years, I have been involved with the mission and the ministries of the church of Jesus Christ. Not even “retirement” from active ministry …
1 Corinthians 3:1-10; Matthew 7:15-20 I once heard a story about a man who went fishing with his friend and after a while caught a really big fish. He was so excited, he leaned too far over the boat and fell into the water — the problem was, he could not swim at all. …
To stick together, or not to stick together — that’s the question Read More »
James 1:19-20; Matthew 5:22-25 Last Sunday we spoke about “anger,” a completely normal, basic human emotion very much like happiness, sadness, or anxiety, among many others. The “problem” with anger is that is tied to basic survival – it is the mechanism that regulates our instinctive “fight, flight, or freeze” response when we feel …
Ephesians 4:25—5:2; Mark 3:1-6 Let me tell begin with Pastor Miles, a controversial figure. His supporters described him as an enthusiastic and spirited speaker, but his critics called him angry and overly emotional. In his congregation there was a really sweet, calm lady who spoke softly and never got excited about anything. But Pastor Miles’s …
Acts 26:19-29; Matthew 22:36-40 May I begin with a few words about the Soccer World Cups? Never in my life have I missed a final game –except last December, for that match was scheduled to begin at 10 AM – church time here! NEVER!! What an existential dilemma, my friends — stay home for the …
Genesis 24:10-21; Matthew 9:35-38 As soon as I graduated as a schoolteacher, I got a phone call from a high school sponsored by the YMCA in Buenos Aires – to teach Social Studies and Ethics. I was barely 19 years old, and in those days, believe me, I was the shyest of all the kids …
Ephesians 3:14-19; Matthew 5:13-16 Something fascinating about the English language, in my opinion, is what we identify as slang, a very peculiar type of language within the language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal. Now, English slang is not the only slang in the world, it’s a universal phenomenon …
Exodus 3:7-14; Matthew 16:13-20 One Sunday morning after a lively, rousing service in a city church, a woman walked out of her church and bumped into a lost-looking man who was standing on the sidewalk. His eyes were fixed on the cross on top of the church steeple. The lady became very excited about the …
Philippians 4:1-7; John 16:28-33 Let me begin with a story about a man who was a tremendous worrier? He worried too much, and about everything. Even worse, he was worrisome — he worried other people with his worry. He couldn’t sleep at night because he worried so much. Well, one day he came out of …
Romans 12:1-8; John 15:1-6; 16-17 During experiments aboard the shuttle “Columbia” almost 30 years ago, scientists discovered that there are twenty-six lakes underneath the Sahara Desert. It breaks my heart to think of the people who are starving and dying of thirst in that region of the planet because these hidden resources have not yet …