Imagine how surprising Matthew’s life was to him. One day he’s sitting at the tax collector’s booth, busily engaged in taking whatever he can get from people. That night he’s got Jesus in his house, throwing a dance party. And the next day -- the very next day -- he’s in the house of the ruler of
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Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 16, 2004
based on 26 ratings
| 8,289 views
YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’VE GOT TILL IT’S GONE
Our power is shut off, and suddenly we become thankful for electricity. Our garbage is not picked up, and suddenly we become thankful for the garbage collector’s weekly stop. A good friend dies, and suddenly we discover how much he meant to us. Our
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The tax farmers in Israel, here called tax-collectors, were somewhat different from IRS agents. They were more like Mafia enforcers, employing thugs to shake down local citizens and merchants. The Romans specified how much each tax man was supposed to pay them, and the architelōē or
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Catholic
Contributed by Evelyn Weston on Sep 21, 2003
I once saw a famous painting that helped me understand the feelings of Matthew on that day. The Call of Saint Matthew, by the Renaissance painter Caravaggio, shows the scene.
On the left side of the painting, Matthew sits at a table, counting coins that he has earned in his work as a tax
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Lutheran
Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 20, 2011
I DON'T WANT TO BE A FIREMAN
I recall a conversation I once had with a precocious little boy we once had in the church I pastored for 10 years in Wiesbaden. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.
"Well," he replied, "I don't want to be a fireman."
I'd never had a kid tell me what
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Baptist
Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 8, 2003
based on 2 ratings
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We are not to be isolated but insulated, moving in the midst of evil but untouched by it. Separation is contact without contamination. Jesus was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26), yet He
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Baptist
WE HAVE NO ONE BY THAT NAME
Some people are just plain stubborn!
Theatre Arts magazine: A subscriber to the Theatre Arts magazine called "Information" for the magazine's number.
"Sorry," said the operator, "but there is nobody listed by the name of Theodore Arts."
The subscriber insisted: "It's
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Baptist
Contributed by Art Good on Jul 26, 2007
Phil Yancey writes about it in his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace? It’s a picture of what our church is, can be, will be, should be.
One of the pictures Jesus often uses of grace is of a wedding banquet. So this is what Yancey writes:
Accompanied by her fiance, a woman went to the Hyatt
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Art Good on Jul 26, 2007
Recently I read about a Pastor who had a thorn. He had just started - getting involved in teaching and preaching and sensing that it might be some area of calling for him.
It was on a Sunday morning at this church and five minutes into his message he started to get dizzy and woozy and the room
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Art Good on Jul 26, 2007
A friend in Erie who had a huge Irish Setter. Truman was not very discriminating when it came to chasing after female dogs. He didn’t much care what kind of dog she was, he was interested.
Truman was getting himself in trouble so my friend put in one of those invisible fences. Collar on dog.
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Art Good on Jul 26, 2007
Illus. The other night I put the boys into bed. “Good night, go to bed, no talking. See you in the morning” Pretty clear right?
I was 5 feet from the door and I heard them talking.
So I went back in. Reminded them, no talking. Go to bed!
10 minutes later I hear giggling. I walk in just as
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Art Good on Jul 26, 2007
It’s kind of like someone who has a slow leak in their tire. Each day it loses a little bit of air. And they might even notice it looks a little low. But they don’t take care of it.
One morning they go outside and their tire is completely flat! And they think to themselves, “Man, my tire just
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Art Good on Aug 14, 2007
based on 1 rating
| 5,491 views
Soren Kierkegard, the 19th century Danish religious philosopher, told a story about a town where only ducks lived.
Every Sunday the ducks would waddle out of their houses and waddle down Main Street to their church. They waddled into the sanctuary and sat in their proper pews.
The duck choir
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Art Good on Aug 14, 2007
based on 1 rating
| 2,518 views
A man spread vicious rumors and harmful gossip about another man. In this small village the judge not only presided over cases where the law was broken but also over cases involving unethical or improper conduct.
So the man who had spread the malicious gossip was brought before the judge. The
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Art Good on Aug 14, 2007
Christmas night 2002, Jack Whittaker had five out of five numbers in the West Virginia Power ball drawing.
Jack Whittaker had just won $314 million, the largest undivided lottery jackpot in history. He took the one lump payment and received $113 million after taxes.
Listen closely to this part.
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Art Good on Aug 14, 2007
based on 2 ratings
| 1,735 views
A young banker was driving his BMW, in the mountains, during a snowstorm. As he rounded a turn the vehicle slid out of control and toward a cliff. At the last moment he unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped from the car.
Though he escaped with his life, his left arm was caught near the hinge of the
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Denomination:
Wesleyan
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