Weddings are done in all kinds of places and for all kinds of people, so it is truly special to be in this beautiful Sanctuary once again and to be here on this glorious occasion. Emily and Evan, 30 years ago the prettiest woman I had ever seen and I were married in this very spot , and Dianna and I could have never foreseen on that day that we would be here this day to give our own daughter in holy matrimony. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Sermon
Humble Pie and the Food Pyramid
I have on more than one occasion had to eat crow. That is, I have proclaimed or predicted or prophesied something very emphatically that I later had to retract or admit I was wrong about. Now granted, this rarely has happened to me, but it has on a few occasions. The real problem comes when you have to right something that you were wrong about and eat a course of humble pie and crow. Continue reading
Vertical Limit
Hebrews 12:18-25. I have always wanted to retire near the ocean, but when I vacation I like to go to the mountains. I really sense both majesty and serenity when I am privileged to go out to the Rockies or even the Ozarks. I even enjoy pictures of mountains and even enjoy movies that feature mountain vistas. One fairly recent movie I enjoyed was “Vertical Limit.” Continue reading
Manifest Destiny
O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. Continue reading
How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Have you heard of the reality TV show on a couple of years ago that featured five Amish young people who were removed from their homes and supplanted in the middle of Beverly Hills, the cosmopolitan bipolar opposite of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Continue reading
A Picture Worth a Thousand Words
I love amateur photography. I have taken a few really good photos in my life and many not so good or mediocre ones. I am amazed at the PICs that Emily (our church member & wedding photographer) has taken of my Emily (my daughter), but I know she is a professional, and I know she has a good subject to work with. I hope to someday get a good camera and one of those super-duper printers that are wide carriage and take eight separate ink wells. Of course, buying eight cartridges of ink is worse than filling up the Yukon with a tank of gas, but the resultant prints are remarkable. Continue reading
Climb Every Mountain
I have an announcement to make this morning: I am climbing Mount Everest. Well not really; you see we have a Mount Everest Fitness Club at the hospital and it involves stair climbing. You have to climb enough stairs to equal the height of Mount Everest, which is roughly 29,000 feet or almost six miles up. Now six miles doesn’t sound very far, but it is when it is straight up. Continue reading
Honest to God
I have certainly evolved in my eating habits as a human over the last year, and as you know I now try to follow a healthy diet most days. I always had been a meat, bread and potato guy, shunning most vegetables and I was not big on fruit. I did chocolate like a crack addict, and pie was in my food pyramid. Continue reading
Unholy wars
I have a minister friend from Memphis, Tennessee, where there are more Baptist than people. He told me the story of a Baptist Church of some reputation there. It seems that someone called the police to this Baptist Church because of a ruckus going on there. When the police arrived, they found a microphone cord noose around the pastor’s neck, and the deacons trying to hang the pastor. Continue reading
The Five Second Church
What is the longest sermon that you have ever heard? I hope you don’t say this one because all mine are pretty much under 20 minutes. They may seem long, but trust me, they are not. It is not that I can’t preach a long one like those other Baptist, it is just I figured out a long time ago that one 45 minute sermon is the same work as three 15 minutes sermons. And besides, I am always afraid that I am just one week away from running out of soap. Continue reading