Contributed by Glenn Durham on Apr 8, 2008
William Shakespeare has King Lear say: “Sharper than a serpent’s tooth is a thankless child.” Maybe you feel Lear’s sentiment. Mom labors hours over a hot stove, and dad rises thrice during the meal to refill cups, clean up plates, and serve desserts, but not a peep of gratitude reaches their ears.
...read more
Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Apr 9, 2008
I remember years ago a young woman who was divorced, then “shacked up” with a man (Can we use the old term, instead of using those sanitized words, “She had an affair”?). When challenged she said, ‘It’s not like I was a virgin.” This woman was brought up in a conservative church yet implied that,
...read more
Denomination:
Pentecostal
I was reading Outdoor Life the other day while waiting to get my allergy shot and came across an interesting story. It was in a section entitled, "This Happened to Me."
A turkey hunter had successfully called in a big gobbler within shooting range and shot the turkey. He picked up his trophy
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Simon Taylor on May 29, 2009
YOU CAN'T STUDY ALL THE TIME
The best way I can explain what I mean is looking at my teacher training. As most of you know, I was at once time a student teacher. A lot of what we do is theory – child development, teaching methods, and so on. Even when you graduate you’re expected to keep up my
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Independent/Bible
Contributed by Mark Armstrong on Jun 2, 2009
A FEW WORDS
Imagine going into a bank, innocently filling out a withdrawal slip, and within minutes being arrested by the police. When Ron Schatz filled out a withdrawal slip in an American bank, he had no idea that handcuffs would soon be placed upon him. It took a while to straighten out the
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Scott Bayles on Jun 2, 2009
Robert J. Morgan once told the story of a preacher who was approached by a man who wanted to join the church. “But,” the man said, “I have a very busy schedule. I can’t be called on for any service, like committee work, teaching, or other such things. I just won’t be available for special projects
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Christian Church
Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Jun 22, 2009
GOD'S CALENDAR
Here’s my calendar for July. (………) I mark up the days which have a special meaning for me or an event to watch out for. Last month I did have a calendar event – it was my birthday! That was a ‘red-letter day’, something which marks an important day. I won’t tell you how many years
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Thomas Cash on Dec 17, 2009
Listen to part of the June 2006 editorial of Christianity Today, written when The Da Vinci Code was being released in theaters:
“The tendency to grasp at excuses for not making a commitment to (God) was illustrated by National Public Radio commentator Peter Manseau. He compared the Gospel of Judas
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 21, 2009
I have a friend who had an accident and now lives in constant pain. I ring him up occasionally and seek to encourage him. He loves God but is totally incapacitated. What do you say? How can you provide them with a window of hope?
Job expresses his frustration to his friend for his insensitivity to
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 29, 2010
HOPING MORE PEOPLE DO THE RIGHT THING
A recent (March 2010) AFP article hit the presses this week:
CHICAGO (AFP) – People fell onto a bag of cash like a pack of hungry piranhas after more than $100,000 tumbled out the back of an armored truck onto an Ohio street, local media reported.
The bag
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Independent/Bible
Contributed by David Moore on May 26, 2010
GOD-FANATICS
Did you know that an online survey of 20 000 football fans revealed that 51% said they would starve themselves for a week if that would bring victory in the upcoming World Cup to their national squad. More than 40% offered to give up dating for a year, 7% said they would gladly give
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 7, 2010
A number of years ago the National Council of Churches declared a week in October to be “Peace and Justice” week. They created an interesting poster to promote the emphasis. The poster depicted a globe or world held aloft by many different colored human hands. What they didn’t realize is that this
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Nazarene
Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jun 29, 2010
There is a fable of a kite which once said to itself, “If I could just get rid
of that man who is holding me back, then I could fly above the clouds and kiss the stars.” One day the string broke. Now, at last, the kite was free to soar higher than it had ever gone before. But much to its surprise
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
I remember years ago, when I was the pastor in another city, we had a man in our church that worked in a local processing plant. His name was Doug. One day, a new guy – a fellow by the name of Mike – showed up to work there, and Doug got acquainted with him and invited him to come to our
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 14, 2010
FOOD FOR THE NEXT DAY
Psychologist, Charles Allen tells this story in one of his books:
As World War II was drawing to a close, the Allied armies gathered up many hungry orphans. They placed them in camps where they were safe and well-fed. Yet despite the excellent care they received, the orphans
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Brethren