Source:
Pulpit Helps , November 1996, p. 8.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
A Little Jam on the Bread
The teacher asked the pupils to tell the meaning of
loving-kindness. A little boy jumped up and said, "Well, if
I was hungry and someone gave me a piece of bread that would
be kindness. But it they put a little jam on it, that would
be loving kindness."
Source:
Pulpit Helps , November 1996, p. 8.
Source:
Pulpit Helps , November 1996, p. 8.
An Unforgettable Fragrance
By Randy Fenter
"But Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphant procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. for we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. "For to one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life." II Corinthians 2:14-16
When a Roman conqueror returned to the city, the Senate would arrange for him a triumphal procession. Swelling throngs would engulf the procession, cheering the conqueror as he rode by. Marching before the conqueror's chariot were captives bearing smoking pots of incense and wearing garlands of flowers. These prisoners would be allowed to return to their native country and serve as Rome's emissaries.
Behind the chariot marched other captives; these men and women were joined together with heavy chains that clattered over the rough cobblestones. For them, the procession was a cruel gauntlet ending in death.
To the first group the sweet smell of garlands and incense was "the fragrance of life." To the second group it was "the smell of death." That is precisely the effect we have on others as God, through us, "spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowledge of Him." We do not leave the world the same. As God spreads the fragrance of Jesus over the world through us, we affect people in one of two ways; they either become bitter or better. Either way, they go away differently. To those who refuse the King of Kings we are "the smell of death." They know the demands of the conqueror and they refuse him. To those who freely give up their citizenship to accept citizenship in His Kingdom, we are the "fragrance of life."
To both groups we are an unforgettable fragrance. We leave no one the same.
Source:
"Come Unto Me," the weekly bulletin of the Richfield Church of Christ, Richfield, MN, June 18, 1996, p. 2.
"But Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphant procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. for we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. "For to one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life." II Corinthians 2:14-16
When a Roman conqueror returned to the city, the Senate would arrange for him a triumphal procession. Swelling throngs would engulf the procession, cheering the conqueror as he rode by. Marching before the conqueror's chariot were captives bearing smoking pots of incense and wearing garlands of flowers. These prisoners would be allowed to return to their native country and serve as Rome's emissaries.
Behind the chariot marched other captives; these men and women were joined together with heavy chains that clattered over the rough cobblestones. For them, the procession was a cruel gauntlet ending in death.
To the first group the sweet smell of garlands and incense was "the fragrance of life." To the second group it was "the smell of death." That is precisely the effect we have on others as God, through us, "spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowledge of Him." We do not leave the world the same. As God spreads the fragrance of Jesus over the world through us, we affect people in one of two ways; they either become bitter or better. Either way, they go away differently. To those who refuse the King of Kings we are "the smell of death." They know the demands of the conqueror and they refuse him. To those who freely give up their citizenship to accept citizenship in His Kingdom, we are the "fragrance of life."
To both groups we are an unforgettable fragrance. We leave no one the same.
Source:
"Come Unto Me," the weekly bulletin of the Richfield Church of Christ, Richfield, MN, June 18, 1996, p. 2.
And There They Crucified Him
By Dwaine Powell
Everywhere you turn, the cross of Jesus Christ was there in Paul's life. It was central in his teachings and it was the core of his life. Nothing mattered more than the cross. When the Christians would gather together, the cross of Jesus was there. And when they left, the cross would follow them. Paul made us aware of the "beauty" of that cross. What better way could you describe the love of God demonstrated, he would tell the Christians in Rome. He also made us aware of the challenge the cross brings to our lives. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and have himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) This was the essence of his life, and the essence fo life for all who cherish the old rugged cross.
However, it is alarming at how the cross of Jesus is not central to our lives. I am not talking about our assembly. Our songs, our prayers, our reflection around the Lord's Table, the messages that are brought, all have the cross of Jesus in plain view. I'm talking about afterwards when we leave and go our separate ways. Does the cross of Jesus follow you home? Does it impact your marriage, your family, your relationship with your roommates? Is the cross of Jesus present at your workplace? Is it next to you in the classroom? How about on the lake, the golf course, or the battlefield? Is the cross of Jesus central in your every day life? Does it govern your thoughts? Does it shape your behavior? Are you crucified with Christ? Like Paul, is the cross of Jesus Christ the central core of your life?
If the cross is not present outside of our assembly, it is we who have hauled it out of sight. It is we who must restore it to the central place it deserves. The following piece by George MacLeod conveys a firm conviction that, hopefully, you possess.
I simply argue that the cross be raised again
at the center of the market place
as well as on the steeple of the church,
I am recovering the claim that
Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral
between two candles,
But on a cross between two thieves;
on a town garbage heap;
at a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan
that they had to write His title
in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek ...
And at the kind of place where cynics talk smut,
and thieves curse and soldiers gamble.
Because that is where He died,
and that is what He died about.
And that is where Christ's men ought to be,
and what church people ought to be about.
Source:
The Friendly Visitor , the weekly bulletin of the Auburn Church of Christ, Auburn, AL; June 5, 1997, p. 1.
Everywhere you turn, the cross of Jesus Christ was there in Paul's life. It was central in his teachings and it was the core of his life. Nothing mattered more than the cross. When the Christians would gather together, the cross of Jesus was there. And when they left, the cross would follow them. Paul made us aware of the "beauty" of that cross. What better way could you describe the love of God demonstrated, he would tell the Christians in Rome. He also made us aware of the challenge the cross brings to our lives. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and have himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) This was the essence of his life, and the essence fo life for all who cherish the old rugged cross.
However, it is alarming at how the cross of Jesus is not central to our lives. I am not talking about our assembly. Our songs, our prayers, our reflection around the Lord's Table, the messages that are brought, all have the cross of Jesus in plain view. I'm talking about afterwards when we leave and go our separate ways. Does the cross of Jesus follow you home? Does it impact your marriage, your family, your relationship with your roommates? Is the cross of Jesus present at your workplace? Is it next to you in the classroom? How about on the lake, the golf course, or the battlefield? Is the cross of Jesus central in your every day life? Does it govern your thoughts? Does it shape your behavior? Are you crucified with Christ? Like Paul, is the cross of Jesus Christ the central core of your life?
If the cross is not present outside of our assembly, it is we who have hauled it out of sight. It is we who must restore it to the central place it deserves. The following piece by George MacLeod conveys a firm conviction that, hopefully, you possess.
I simply argue that the cross be raised again
at the center of the market place
as well as on the steeple of the church,
I am recovering the claim that
Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral
between two candles,
But on a cross between two thieves;
on a town garbage heap;
at a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan
that they had to write His title
in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek ...
And at the kind of place where cynics talk smut,
and thieves curse and soldiers gamble.
Because that is where He died,
and that is what He died about.
And that is where Christ's men ought to be,
and what church people ought to be about.
Source:
The Friendly Visitor , the weekly bulletin of the Auburn Church of Christ, Auburn, AL; June 5, 1997, p. 1.
Aware Too Late
By Victor Knowles
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) loved his wife. She loved to help her husband in his writing career. But she became ill with cancer and was confined to bed. Though he loved her dearly, Carlyle was so busy writing that he rarely found time to stay at her bedside.
The day of her burial it rained and the mud was deep. After the funeral, Carlyle returned home, deeply shaken. He went into his wife's bedroom, sat down on a chair beside her bed, realizing he had not spent enough time with her in her illness.
From the bedside table he picked up her diary and began to read. One line smote his heart: "Yesterday he spent an hour with me and it was like being in heaven. I love his so." He turned the page and this time his heart was broken, for she had written, "I have listened all day to hear his steps in the hall, but now it is late and I guess he won't come today."
Carlyle threw the diary to the floor and rushed back to the cemetery in the rain. Friends found him face down in the mud at the newly made grace. He was weeping, saying over and over, "If I had only known! If I had only known!"
Source:
Pulpit Helps , date unknown.
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) loved his wife. She loved to help her husband in his writing career. But she became ill with cancer and was confined to bed. Though he loved her dearly, Carlyle was so busy writing that he rarely found time to stay at her bedside.
The day of her burial it rained and the mud was deep. After the funeral, Carlyle returned home, deeply shaken. He went into his wife's bedroom, sat down on a chair beside her bed, realizing he had not spent enough time with her in her illness.
From the bedside table he picked up her diary and began to read. One line smote his heart: "Yesterday he spent an hour with me and it was like being in heaven. I love his so." He turned the page and this time his heart was broken, for she had written, "I have listened all day to hear his steps in the hall, but now it is late and I guess he won't come today."
Carlyle threw the diary to the floor and rushed back to the cemetery in the rain. Friends found him face down in the mud at the newly made grace. He was weeping, saying over and over, "If I had only known! If I had only known!"
Source:
Pulpit Helps , date unknown.
Blunders Can Have Great Value
By Rubel Shelly
The March 13 issue of Coin World carries exciting news for coin collectors. The Philadelphia mint struck a number of 1995 pennies with a faulty die. What's so exciting about a "boo-boo" at the mind? It makes those coins with the out-of-focus words "Liberty" and "In God" valuable items for collectors.
Early estimates are that the penny could be worth somewhere between $175 and $225. That amounts to quite a return on a paltry one-cent investment!
Source:
Pulpit Helps , April 1996, p. 8.
The March 13 issue of Coin World carries exciting news for coin collectors. The Philadelphia mint struck a number of 1995 pennies with a faulty die. What's so exciting about a "boo-boo" at the mind? It makes those coins with the out-of-focus words "Liberty" and "In God" valuable items for collectors.
Early estimates are that the penny could be worth somewhere between $175 and $225. That amounts to quite a return on a paltry one-cent investment!
Source:
Pulpit Helps , April 1996, p. 8.
Customer Slashed For Too Many Items in Express Lane
MILWAUKEE (Associated Press) — A supermarket customer was
charged Saturday with cutting off part of a woman’s nose
after that woman went to an express checkout lane with too
many items.
Etharine Pettigrew, 41, was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, which carries a maximum sentence of a $10,000 fine and two years in prison.
The victim, 27-year-old Vickie Lemons, was slashed with a pocket knife in a parking lot Wednesday, police Capt. Joseph Purpero said.
She lost about half her nose and had to undergo surgery, said her fiance, James Powell.
A counter clerk whose lane was free motioned to Lemons even though she had more than the 10 items allowed at that cash register.
Source:
Southeast Missourian , April 12, 1998, p. 6A.
Etharine Pettigrew, 41, was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, which carries a maximum sentence of a $10,000 fine and two years in prison.
The victim, 27-year-old Vickie Lemons, was slashed with a pocket knife in a parking lot Wednesday, police Capt. Joseph Purpero said.
She lost about half her nose and had to undergo surgery, said her fiance, James Powell.
A counter clerk whose lane was free motioned to Lemons even though she had more than the 10 items allowed at that cash register.
Source:
Southeast Missourian , April 12, 1998, p. 6A.
Forgetting Our Purpose
By John Gipson
Most people have a more rounded education than mine. They read the comics - something I haven't done since Dick Tracy, Dagwood and Blondie, Smilin' Jack and Li'l Abner. I guess I just got out of the habit.
However, a few years ago Allen Isbell sent me a comic strip entitled Kudzu by Doug Marlette. Since that time I can proudly say that I read one comic strip each day.
A recent offering shows the preacher, holding his Bible, standing in front of the church house door. A rather large and aggressive lady has him cornered, and she is giving him what for. "What - No tanning salon?!... No juice bar!... No food court!... No fitness center!... No jacuzzi!... No sauna!... No skating rink!... AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A HOUSE OF WORSHIP!"
This brought to mind a time when Jesus went in the temple and found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, along with the money-changers at their business. You can imagine the noise, odor, and general commotion. The atmosphere must have been somewhat like a county fair, or carnival. Was Jesus pleased? Hardly! He cleaned them out - lock, stock and barrel.
God's intention was that the house which was called by His name should "be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isaiah 56:7). but in time the original purpose had been largely forgotten. God's house had become a house of trade occupied by a den of robbers.
And if we are not careful, we will repeat the same mistake and forget what God's house (the church) is all about today.
Source:
Keynoter , the weekly bulletin of the Sixth and Izard Church of Christ, Little Rock, AR; March 6, 1997, p. 1.
Most people have a more rounded education than mine. They read the comics - something I haven't done since Dick Tracy, Dagwood and Blondie, Smilin' Jack and Li'l Abner. I guess I just got out of the habit.
However, a few years ago Allen Isbell sent me a comic strip entitled Kudzu by Doug Marlette. Since that time I can proudly say that I read one comic strip each day.
A recent offering shows the preacher, holding his Bible, standing in front of the church house door. A rather large and aggressive lady has him cornered, and she is giving him what for. "What - No tanning salon?!... No juice bar!... No food court!... No fitness center!... No jacuzzi!... No sauna!... No skating rink!... AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A HOUSE OF WORSHIP!"
This brought to mind a time when Jesus went in the temple and found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, along with the money-changers at their business. You can imagine the noise, odor, and general commotion. The atmosphere must have been somewhat like a county fair, or carnival. Was Jesus pleased? Hardly! He cleaned them out - lock, stock and barrel.
God's intention was that the house which was called by His name should "be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isaiah 56:7). but in time the original purpose had been largely forgotten. God's house had become a house of trade occupied by a den of robbers.
And if we are not careful, we will repeat the same mistake and forget what God's house (the church) is all about today.
Source:
Keynoter , the weekly bulletin of the Sixth and Izard Church of Christ, Little Rock, AR; March 6, 1997, p. 1.
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