Sermon Blog

Mary announced that she was going to start a diet to lose some pounds she had put on recently. "Great," Sue exclaimed. "I'm ready to start a diet too. We can be dieting buddies and help each other out. And when I feel the urge to drive out and get a burger and fries, I'll call you first." "Wonderful," Mary replied. "I'll go with you." In 2009, a Gallup poll revealed that over 63% of the Americans were revealed to be either obese or, at least, overweight.  Prior to that finding, but especially since, there has been a great emphasis on getting the population to cure their problem with “dun-laps” disease.  With that effort has come one diet right after another, each one promising to help folks reduce the bulge.  Earlier this month, U.S. News and World Report released its article detailing the top ten diets for 2012…while there were multiple categories, here are the top ten in the overall best diets. [i] Number 10.  The “Vegetarian Diet...

“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts Go...

At the North Carolina Zoo it includes free admission to the zoo for twelve consecutive months; a subscription to the zoo’s quarterly magazine, Alive ; free or half-price admission to assorted zoos and aquariums around the country; a ten percent discount on purchase in the zoo’s gift shop; a membership decal; access to a member’s only picnic deck; and, invitations to special events and previews. At the YMCA it includes access to:  five gymnasiums, an indoor swimming pool, five racquetball courts, an indoor walking/running track, the Cardio Theatre, free weight training, the nautilus room, exercise and fitness classes, lockers, towel services, and child care for a small fee. At BJ’s it includes an extra household card; in-club and online shopping deals; special in-club values; access to discounted services; and a 100% money-back guarantee. With these and other clubs and organizations, from the country club to the Boy Scouts to the Book-of-the-Month Club and others we have an underst...

There was a business man driving down this country road when he spotted a little boy that had a lemonade stand.  It was hot and he was thirsty, so he decided to stop. Once he got up to the little boy's stand, he noticed a sign that said “All you can drink 10 cent,” and a single, very small glass.  Well, he thought that it was an awful small glass, but since it was only 10 cents for all you can drink, he decided to get some anyway.  He gave the boy a dime, and shot down the whole glass in one swig.  He slapped the glass back onto the table and said, “fill 'er up.” The kid replied, “Sure thing, that'll be 10 cents.” To this the business man said, “But your sign says all you can drink for a dime.” “It is,” the little boy replies, “that's all you can drink for a dime.” In our reading this morning, the Gospel of Luke relays Jesus’ words in this way, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forg...

In a small Southern town there was a “Nativity Scene” that showed great skill and talent had gone into creating it. A gentleman from out of state stopped by and was admiring it.  One small feature bothered him. The three wise men were wearing firemen's helmets. Totally unable to come up with a reason or explanation, he left.  At a “Quik Stop” on the edge of town, he asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. She exploded into a rage, yelling at him, “You darn Yankees never do read the Bible!” The man assured her that he did, but simply couldn't recall anything about firemen in the Bible. She jerked her Bible from behind the counter and ruffled thru some pages, and finally jabbed her finger at a passage. Sticking it in his face she said “See, it says right here, ‘The three wise men came from afar.’” Last Sunday when my family and I left church, we left with the purpose of joining my parents and my sister and her family in Williamsburg, Virginia.  After finishing...