Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011
ARTHUR'S ENVY
When I served on staff at Rayne Memorial UMC on St. Charles Avenue, a young man named Arthur began attending. Arthur was a nice guy but was different, both in appearance and in personality. Arthur got involved in the young adult ministry I had started at the church and was accepted
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Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011
SMALL THINGS WITH GREAT LOVE
Gary Morsch is the founder of Heart to Heart in Kansas City. As a physician, he has done magnificient work around the world taking medical supplies to low income people. Several years ago, he took a trip to Calcutta and Mother Teresa's House for the Destitute Dying. He
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Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011
WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT?
Parker Palmer was offered a job at a university and was wrestling with whether or not to take the job. Parker decided to ask 12 friends to come together to think about whether he should take the job. They began asking him questions. One of them asked, "Parker,
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Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011
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THE GLUE TRAP OF LUST
Adam Hamilton tells the story of moving into his house after it was built only to discover that it was infested with mice. So he got glue traps which have a scent that attracts the mice. They step on it and then are stuck. Then the mice need to be killed and disposed of. He
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Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011
THE IMPACT OF LUST
I think about a woman I knew in college who dated and slept with one guy after another until one night she slept with several men consecutively. After college, she went from one relationship to another until she had a mental breakdown. Now in her mid 40s, she just pulling her
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Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011
GLUTTONY PANTS
Chef Chris Cosentino, Food Network star and executive chef at Incanto restaurant in San Francisco, has created the Gluttony Pants for those of us who occasionally indulge and engorge without the post-meal awkwardness. The pants have three buttons, allowing you to expand the pants'
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WE HAVE THE KEY
Father William Bausch told a story of a boy who one morning had arrived very early at school and waited patiently at the door. Next to arrive was a lady who was surprised that this youngster had arrived so early. "It’s locked" the pupil said as the teacher tried the door. She began
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Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 29, 2011
WHO IS THIS GUY?
Chuck Colson relates this interesting story in his book How Then Should We Live?:
"In William Steig's Yellow & Pink, a delightfully whimsical picture book for children, two wooden figures wake up to find themselves lying on an old newspaper in the hot sun. One figure is painted
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Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Jul 14, 2011
JAMES: SLAVE OF GOD
James, the half brother of Jesus, who wrote the Letter of James, could have easily identified himself as "the younger brother of Jesus." But he
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Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jul 10, 2011
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THE WIZARD OF OZ: GETTING HOME
I remember watching the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy is trying to find her way home, and along the way she runs into a scarecrow with no brain, a tin man with no heart, and a lion with no courage. But they learn that there is a wizard in the land of Oz who can help them
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Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on May 29, 2011
THAT CROSS ALONE
Clarence Jordan, author of the "Cotton Patch" New Testament translation, and founder of the interracial Koinonia farm in Americus, Georgia, was getting a red-carpet tour of another minister's church. With pride the minister pointed to the rich, imported furnishings and luxurious
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Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on May 27, 2011
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THE TRUE FOLLOWER
The true follower of Christ will not ask, "If I embrace this truth, what will it cost me?" Rather he will say, "This is truth. God
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Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on May 26, 2011
WRATH ON THE MESSENGER
I don't know about you, but one of my all-time favorite TV shows is M*A*S*H. I especially loved it when the company clerk Radar would have to give bad news to the head nurse "Hot Lips" Hoolihan. He would tell her the news and expect to have to face her wrath even though he
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Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on May 12, 2011
VOICE OF AUTHORITY
When I was serving with YWAM in the summer of 1982, we played a concert at a school in Amsterdam. As the concert ended, the students began to come up to us and talking with us, and believe it or not, some even asked for our autographs. At that moment a tall, thin, man with a
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WORDS IN THE SPIRIT
When I was asked to be the preacher for the North Little Rock Ministerial Alliance Community Thanksgiving Service, I was floored. I didn't think that anybody thought that much about me. I was honored by the gesture, but the moment I said "yes," my nerves got the best of me. I
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Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Apr 14, 2011
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Song writer and worship leader Graham Kendrick said, "Worship is first and foremost for His benefit, not ours, though it is marvelous to discover that in giving Him pleasure, we ourselves enter into what can become our
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GRANT'S FOCUS
One of the great personalities to come out of the American Civil War was Ulysses S. Grant. One of his strong qualities was his ability to focus. One story is told about him doing some paper work in his tent, and a document he needed was on the other side of tent. So he waddled across
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Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 17, 2011
GOD USES PEOPLE LIKE DERRICK
In Dayton, Ohio, attorney Derrick Farmer gave a motivational talk to at-risk teens. Derrick is 48 years old and has been an attorney since 1999. Now, what was unusual about this event was that it was picketed by 30 Dayton police officers. Why? When Derrick was 16 years
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Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 17, 2011
IT'S OK TO CLAP
In 1989, I was an intern pastor at Boston Avenue UMC, a 8,300 member church in downtown Tulsa, OK. Let me give you an image of our worship service. We wore full robes and vestments, we processed with a choir of more than 60 people with the the cross leading the way. We sang hymns
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