Here’s a portion of it:

What’s your attitude about life?
Do you – like Isaiah — have an attitude that sees the things God can do?
Do you focus on the great future God promises – and do what you can to make it a reality?
Or – do you – like Mary – have an attitude that allows you to see what God is doing in your life — and worship and praise Him for His blessings?
Or – like Judas — are you stuck in reality — so stuck that you can not see what God is doing — and can do — in your life and in the world?
Can you have an attitude that sees what God is doing and can be doing in the world and in your life — regardless of how out of step it makes you with everyone else — or do you only have the same attitude everyone else has – whether it’s an attitude of love and praise for God or not?
Which is your attitude?
Which is the way you live?
Which is the way you approach life?

You can read the entire sermon here.

Here is a portion of it:

Friends – Lent is a time for reflecting on God’s love for us and how we share God’s love for us with others. God’s love is so great that God expressed it through the arms of Christ upon the cross. God’s love is a love that includes all who come to Him – sinners and tax collectors – prodigals – and yes – if they will let it – Pharisees and older brothers – and even you and me.
Indeed – if we let ourselves be a part of God’s loving and forgiving plan and come to God for forgiveness – God’s love can touch even you and me – and lead us into new ways to live in love with God and with all people.

You can read the entire sermon here.

Here is a portion of it:

Our Old Testament lesson for today is an exception to that rule.
It may be true most of the time that you get what you pay for — and yet — here’s an offer that is for free.
Now — we all know that there’s no such thing as a free lunch — right?
And yet here is Isaiah giving us an image of God as a street merchant — hawking wine and milk that is free — wine and milk that has no price – that is free for the taking.
Now — if someone were to offer us wine and milk that is free — we just might be skeptical.
“What’s wrong with it?” we might ask.
“Has the wine soured?” “Does it taste like vinegar?” “Has the milk curdled”?
There is no such thing as a free lunch – and you get what you pay for.
And yet – here is God offering the very best — and offering it for free. In fact — God says that what we are working for — what we might be able to pay for — will never satisfy us. Only what God offers for free us will.
It makes no sense at all.
It goes against our better judgment.
We know we get what we pay for — don’t we?
And yet – this is God’s offer!

You can read the entire sermon here.

Based on Genesis 15:1-12 and Luke 13:31-35, it is my sermon on the texts for the Second Sunday in Lent for this year and entitled “Who’s Afraid?”.

Here’s a portion of it:

My Dad tells a story of an incident in World War II.
The best German fighter plane was the Focke Wulf . It was a terror in the skies for Allied planes. Dad was a Bomber pilot in Europe — and tells this story of how one day in the Mess Hall of his home field in southern Italy there was a sign sporting a picture of the Focke Wulf with this caption:
WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG FOCKE WULF?
Without much of a thought Dad took out his pen and wrote under the picture and caption:
I am
Billy D. Hayes
Before long, most of the other pilots at his home field had done the same.
Who’s Afraid?
Fear may be good at times — it at least keeps us from being too rash or too foolish or overconfident. But — at other times — fear is not so good!
Who’s Afraid?
Aren’t there times in our lives when we let the circumstances of our lives scare us?
Aren’t there times when the things happening in our lives strike fear in us?
Aren’t there times in our lives the “big, bad wolves” of our lives intimidate us?
Aren’t there times when the circumstances of our lives cause us to doubt God’s plan for us?

You can read the entire sermon here.

For many Christians, Lent is seen as a time for reflection on the sacrifice Christ made for us and a time to recommit to Christ and His will for our lives. This is done in a variety of ways, but committing yourself to a renewed emphasis on prayer, worship, study, and service to others in your personal life can be one of the best ways to renew your commitment to Christ and His will.

However you choose to observe the Season of Lent, may it be a blessing to you.

A lot of people think of Mardi Gras ( “Fat Tuesday”) when they think of this day — and others think of pancakes. The reason for the Mardi Gras emphasis is that this is the last day before Lent — so the tradition is that you need one more more party before the solemn days of Lent begin. The reason for pancakes is that folks used to feel they needed to get rid of the flour, butter, syrup, and other things that make pancakes so good — but were considered off limits during Lent.

Honestly, it seems to be more of a concession to the general public than a religious celebration — giving everyone one more chance to gorge themselves before the season of solemnity. But — the pancakes and parades are fun.Let’s just remember that the real religious season begins tomorrow!

Here’s a portion of it:

Clarence Jordan was the son of a successful businessman in Talbotton, Georgia. As he grew up in Talbotton he became distressed over the poverty that so may people lived in – especially the white share croppers and the blacks. After graduating from the University of Georgia Clarence felt that he was being called into the ministry, and enrolled in Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Upon his graduation from Seminary he felt the call to go back to Georgia – but not to serve a Church as everyone expected him to do. He and his family moved to a rural area outside of Americus, Georgia and established Koinonia Farms — a community where the poor – both white and black – could come, work, and earn a living. Folks in the area called him a communist because everyone at Koinonia Farms shared everything equally. Folks also called him a lot of other names and some refused to buy the products raised on the farm because the whites and blacks lived side by side and fellowshipped and worked together – not the most popular way for folks in southern Georgia to live in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Many people tried to intimidate him and his farm and house were firebombed on many occasions, but Clarence and his family continued to work the farm and work for justice in many other ways.
Clarence was once asked if he ever regretted his decision to work for justice for the poor and begin Koinonia Farms. He replied:
“I have never regretted it. It might be good that I didn’t know what God’s call was going to mean for me – but I have never regretted following.”

You can read the sermon here.

Here they are:

#1 – Why is the church so content with being normal when God has promised the supernatural?
#2 – Why are some in the church obsessed with obtaining information but have no desire to live out the transformation that Jesus brings?
#3 – Why do some in the church excuse non excellent standards by saying phrases such as, “well, after all…it’s just church?” Our standards of doing things should not be lower than the worlds…they should be higher; after all, what the church does matters!
#4 – Why do we claim to follow a God who changes things…and yet often times we refuse to change things?
#5 – Why do we set our expectations on the lives that Jesus wants us to live so low when Scripture sets them so high?
#6 – Why does the church always try to control people when Jesus died so that we could be unleashed?
#7 – Why is it that so many church leaders would rather lead through imitation (becoming just like someone else) rather than revelation (listening to God and then doing what He says?)

Great questions — and ones I need to wrestle with myself!

You can read Perry’s post here.

Here are a few of them:

Bibull: Sermon that takes Scripture out of context.

Bored Meeting: (No definition required!)

Byelines: Third verse of hymns skipped over in congregational singing.

Carnal nurture: Replacing sermons with motivational talks

Church growth: Side effect of too many carry-in dinners.

Commviction: Psychological technique used to coerce parishioners to serve on church committees.

Deafline: Point pastors pass when their message goes over twenty minutes.

‘damentalist: Believer who has lost the “fun” in his/her faith.

Geek Orthodox: A member of an online church.

Ground Zero: youth pastor’s office

Guessin’: Sunday school lesson that leaves students wondering, “Now what was the teacher trying to say?”

Guestimony: Message of a former drug-crazed hippie, former female impersonator, former multi-level marketer, etc. Especially popular in churches where there are no “sinners.”

Heaven’s Gate: Senior Bible class.

Helloship: Shallow conversation in church foyers often mislabeled as “fellowship.”

Justavacation: Excuses for skipping church

Lite sin: Antonym of “deep sin;” having one-third less disapproval than other leading sins.

McMessage: Entertaining sermon with little nutritional value.

Meology: Self-centered doctrine.

Messchatology: Deriving theology from “last days” novels

Ministry: Suffix, which applied to any activity immediately spiritualizes it (ie., beach ministry, mall ministry, softball ministry, etc.).

Non-prophet organization: Politically-correct church that doesn’t want to offend anyone.

Pastornoia: Overwhelming fear that the minister will: a) visit your home while you’re watching Swingtown, b) see you on your way to the lake on Sunday morning, c) ask you to serve on a committee.

Pew mold: a) globs of gum stuck to the bottom of church seats, or b) person who has been sitting in the same seat, reciting the same testimony, and praying the same prayer for six months or more.

Preloud, postloud: Opening and closing music performed by deaf organists.

Prophits: People in ministry for the money.

Sinspiration: Motivation to do something right for the wrong reason.

Tele-Vision: Special revelation given to a TV evangelist when contributions fall behind budget projections.

Two-timers: Parishioners who only attend at Christmas and Easter.

Read all of these new definitions for new terms here.

Life’s Extras

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Here’s a portion of the sermon:

Rutledge writes that God’s gifts to us can be put into two categories – the things that are necessary and the extras. Under the things that are necessary Rutledge lists sunlight, air, water, food and shelter – what he calls the bare necessities for living. Under the things that are extras he lists music, the perfumes, and flowers. He then writes that the wind might be necessary, but – as he writes –“the song that it croons through the morning pines is a different thing”.
What truth is in these words!
God has blessed us with things that we need for living – the things that are necessary – but God has also blessed us with “extras” – things that may not be necessary but without which life would be dull and without much joy.
Rutledge’s book made me start thinking about the “extras” God has blessed me with.
What are some of the “extras” – some of the things not necessary but that fill your life with joy?

You can read the sermon here.

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