Contributed by Terry Barnhill on Feb 26, 2012
THE "GOING OUT"
We read in John 15:26, "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me."
The "sending" the "going out" which Jesus refers to here is not like a king sending a servant. It is an extending
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Presbyterian/Reformed
CONTAMINATED
I'm all thumbs when it comes to band-aids. I know you're not supposed to touch the pad, the part that compresses the wound. If you do, then you contaminate it, and you run the risk of infection. And, of course, you don't want to do that. So, every time I use a band-aid, it's something
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Presbyterian/Reformed
HAPPY FAMILIES
Leo Tolstoy opened his novel, Anna Karenina with this line:
"Happy families," he said, "are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
I don’t know if that’s entirely true, but, of course,
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Presbyterian/Reformed
FIRST PHIL AND FIRST PHYLLIS
Some years ago, I asked the leaders of our church to do a little exercise with me. I fabricated two imaginary people, one a man and the other a woman. Since this is First Presbyterian Church, I named the man "First Phil" and the woman "First Phyllis." I suggested that
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Presbyterian/Reformed
A DIFFERENCE IN WORLDVIEW
It was one of those awkward moments in a friendship -- when you feel like you should speak up, but you're not sure how your friend will react. I was a teenager -- just finishing up high school, thinking about the future. My best friend and I were preparing for a day of
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Presbyterian/Reformed
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THE 5 BIGGEST MISTAKES THAT THREATEN RELATIONSHIPS
Dr. Edward Hallowell and his wife, Sue, authors of Married to Distraction: Restoring Intimacy and Strengthening Your Marriage in an Age of Distraction, teach you how to spot hidden distractions in your relationship and reveal the mistakes you may
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jan 23, 2012
WILLIAM BORDEN: NO RESERVES, RETREATS, REGRETS
In 1903, a young, bright man named William Borden graduated from high school – a millionaire. He was the heir to the Borden Dairy fortune. Following graduation, William traveled around the world. Everywhere he went he was touched by the needs of
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jan 17, 2012
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A BAD DAY
Mr. Insured had just purchased a new 7509cc Honda motorcycle. After a few leisurely trips around the block to become acquainted with this powerful new machine, he parked the cycle in front of his home to show it off to his neighbors.
It started to rain, however, and not wanting to get
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jan 5, 2012
WITHOUT JESUS--WHAT A MESS
I still remember the suppertime. We were having spaghetti – and what’s spaghetti without adding Parmesan Cheese. As you know Parmesan, once refrigerated, tends to clump together. So I took the jar of Parmesan, and in dramatic fashion, held it in front of my face and
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 25, 2011
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THE ACCESS OF A SON
Dale was one of my childhood friends. His dad ran the projectors in one of the local movie theatres. If I went to that theatre without Dale I paid full admission and had to sit on the main floor with everyone else. If I went with Dale, I got in free and got to sit up in the
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Presbyterian/Reformed
AFRAID
I was all alone. I lived with four other guys in a huge, old house just off the campus of Baylor University, but I was the only one home. I must have been twenty-one or twenty-two – a grown man, practically a college graduate – but I was afraid. There was usually a surplus of noise in the
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 22, 2011
It's like little Mary who, having been naughty, was sent into her bedroom to "think things over." Coming out all smiles after a while, she said, "I thought and prayed."
Her mother said, "Fine! That will help you to be good."
Mary responded,
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 1, 2011
THE MARTYRS FOR CHRIST
James the son of Zebedee was beheaded in Jerusalem, the first of the apostles to die, during the Easter season in about the year A.D. 44.
Matthew was slain with the sword in a city in Ethiopia.
Mark was dragged through the streets of Alexandria until he expired.
Luke was
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 1, 2011
WHERE DOES GOD FIT IN?
One Christmas season a schoolteacher in England supervised the construction of a manger scene in a corner of her classroom. Her pupils were delighted to set up the model barn and cover the floor with real straw and then arrange the clay figures of Mary, Joseph, the
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Presbyterian/Reformed
WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW
They say, "What you don't know can't hurt you." But it's not true, is it?
Suppose your house is invaded by termites that are eating away at the studs and beams and rafters, and you don't know it.
Suppose you are on an extended trip but you left water boiling on the
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Nov 9, 2011
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THE OLD MAN AND THE SAVIOR
Jan Weinert wrote: "The old man came into the service shortly after it started. He sat at the end of my row, with two vacant seats between us. A noticeable hearing aid was in his ear, and he held the bulletin up to within inches of his thick glasses to try to read it. As
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Presbyterian/Reformed
CHILDHOOD REMINDERS
When I first came to Wichita Falls, Joe and Eloise were living over on Hursh, and I remember going to call on them one day. The front door cradled a lovely stained-glass window. When I asked about it, Joe said, "It’s from the old church in Vernon." Every time he entered and
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Nov 4, 2011
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ALLOW THE WORD TO DISTURB YOU
"We need to repent of the haughty way in which we sometimes stand in judgment upon Scripture and must learn to sit humbly under its judgment instead. If we come to Scripture with our minds made up, expecting to hear from it only an echo of our own thoughts and never
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Presbyterian/Reformed