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Ninety-Nine And A Half Won’t Do! (The Challenge Of Our Ancestors)
Our ancestors demonstrated perseverance under the most brutal conditions. Part of their survival strategy was to take a negative and turn it into a positive. To modify the proverbial saying, “They were given a lot of lemons, and they made a whole lot of good lemonade.” From this brutality, among many good things, came the spirituals. Antonin Dvorak, who composed the symphony From The New World, said with the exception of Native American music, the spiritual was the only authentic American musical genre. The rest of the genres he said, at that time, were transplanted from Europe or England. Many scholars disagreed with him, but the spiritual is one of the many examples of turning lemons into refreshing lemonade.
No Fear In This New Year
This title may be an insult to the super brave individuals, who are not afraid of “man, beasts, or evil spirits.” For the rest of us, it gives divine assurance as we enter the New Year. This Scripture is unique in at least two ways. It is the first use of more than one hundred phrases that says, “Fear not.” (Some say the Bible has the thought of not being afraid in more than three hundred sixty-five times - that’s at least one for each day of the year.)
What If…?
It is often said, “You don’t miss your water until your well runs dry.” This popular proverbial expression states metaphorically that many times, we do not place the correct value on people and things until we lose them. It also implies that we can take blessings and people for granted and do not fully appreciate them until they are gone.
One way to fully appreciate a blessing is to do a mental exercise and speculate what would happen or how things would be, if the converse were true. So, while there is still water in the well, pretend it is dry, so you can fully appreciate it.
Emmanuel: From An End Of The Year Vantage Point
It is always a homiletical challenge to preach on the last Sunday in the year. Should the sermon be a continuation of the Christmas theme? Should the sermon be a recollection of the blessings received in the year that’s about to pass? Should the sermon be about going forward into the New Year? How does the content fit with the Watch Night sermon and the first sermon of the New Year? With God’s help, I think this sermon will be befitting for this last Sunday of 2025. Ok, enough of the homiletical metatalk. Let’s get to the sermon.
Are You Ready For Christmas?
During this time of the year, we often hear the questioning phrase, “Are you ready for Christmas?” It is both a greeting and an icebreaker for further conversation. Getting ready for Christmas traditionally includes, shopping for presents; purchasing, preparing, and mailing Christmas cards; baking desserts; decorating the house; purchasing and decorating a Christmas tree; making travel plans; and getting the house ready for guests. It does not stop there.
Why Bethlehem?
During this time of the year, we in America often sing the Christmas carol, O Little Town Of Bethlehem. In England the children often sing the carol, Once In Royal David’s City. These two carols point to a great theological principle: God’s “sovereign specificity.” (I know that is a tongue twister.) God specifies certain things to happen, at a certain time, at a certain place, with certain people. God the Father specified that Jesus would be born at a certain time, in a certain family, in a certain place, in a certain way. That certain place was Bethlehem of Judea.
The Gospel According To Genesis
The term “original sin,” first used by St. Augustine, the African church scholar, has always provided a lot of theological pondering and debate. So let’s address some of the theological elephants in the room. These elephants always show up when the third chapter of Genesis is studied or discussed in Sunday School, Bible Class, or just in general casual conversations about the Bible.
Daniel: A Praying Prophet
We often hear from the news media the phrase, “Let’s get to the rest of the story’’ or, “We’ve talked about the main event, now, let’s hear the backstory.” Sometimes, the rest of the story comes before the conclusion, and sometimes, the backstory is the reason things had a successful conclusion. Sometimes, when we read familiar Biblical stories, we rush through them to get to the well-known victorious climax – and that is good - but sometimes, we need to go a little slower and see the backstory. Such is the case of Daniel’s deliverance from the lions’ den.
In Every Situation
Good literature reiterates what is expounded in the Bible. The story of Robinson Crusoe is a case in point. The story mimics the teaching of Apostle Paul. When Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked on a lonely island, he listed in two columns what he called the evil and what he called the good. He was cast on a desolate island, but he was still alive. He was separated from the rest of society, but he was not starving. He had no clothes, but he was in a hot climate. He had no means of defense, but there were no hostile animals dwelling in the terrain. So, he concluded that there was not any condition in the world so miserable that one could not find something for which to be grateful.
How Can I Praise God In A Strange Land?
Order Of Service
Psalm 137:3-6
3. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a s...
Guilty, But Not Indicted
The Romans, in their pride of their Imperial city, said that all roads lead to Rome. The apostle Paul, no doubt, concluded that if all roads lead to Rome, then all roads must also lead “from” Rome. The Roman Road system was a technological marvel in its day. Many of its segments are still operable today. It was designed so messengers could keep the emperor abreast of all parts of the empire and also to facilitate the rapid movement of soldiers if unrest or insurrection occurred.
Paul had a brilliant strategic plan. “If I can get to Rome and share the gospel with them, since all roads lead from Rome, the Christian message will spread rapidly and reach the entire world.”
Not Just Another Face In The Crowd
God sees each of us as an individual. He knows our “down sitting and our uprising.” He knows our idiosyncrasies. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses. He has assigned a number to each hair on our heads. He keeps track of each individual sparrow. So, you know He keeps track of us. We can communicate with Him on a personal basis. To God, we are not just another face in the crowd. Each of us is a unique individual whom He loves.
Please, Don’t Whup Yourself
The Apostle Paul used many athletic figures of speech to express spiritual truths. In our Scripture today, he used two: the metaphors of a track star and of a prize fighter.
Evidently, he was a sports enthusiast. He probably became interested in sports when he was in Corinth. The city of Corinth was the seat of the biannual Isthmian games, which were second only to the Greek Olympic games.
A Bet That Satan Lost
There are many ways to approach the book of Job. Some focus on the theme of innocent suffering. Some see it as addressing theodicy, which is the study of the problem of evil. Some see it as a challenge to keep the faith.
As we celebrate the twenty-one years we have worshipped in this beautiful sanctuary, and to be relevant to the children and the youth who are worshiping with the adults today, let’s approach it as a bet or wager the devil made with God.