VISION Well, we've made it to the last letter of my VISION for the Antrim Church of Christ. First, a quick review of the first five letters: V — Values — My vision for the Antrim Church of Christ is that we will only get our values from the Bible and that we will value…
Year: 2011
Going Gaga Over Christmas
(I wrote this in a particularly snarky frame of mind, so if you aren’t in a good mood or are a Yankees fan, please back away from the computer and save reading this for another time. :-)) I know I spend way too much money at Amazon MP3…but I’ve been addicted to music since I…
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Virgin Mary
Pregnancy Tests I still fondly remember the night, about five years ago, when I went to brush my teeth for bed and Michelle said to me, "What would you say if I told you I thought I might be pregnant?" I responded, "I'd say, ‘Why do you think that?'" Without the forcing you to hear…
Christmas Album “Must Haves” (2011 Version)
Okay…I really should be working on my sermon, but I figured I’d list my “must have” Christmas albums and songs (almost all available on Amazon Music)…in no specific order: “Christmastime” by Michael W. Smith “Christmas Portrait” by The Carpenters “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole “Christmas Classics” by Bing Crosby (includes “Peace on Earth/Little…
One Is the Loneliest Number
Two series This is another sermon in two series…one series that is intentional…and one that, as I prepared for this talk, I realized I have been implicitly doing. VISION This is the second to last talk in the first series…my VISION for the Antrim Church of Christ. Today we'll be discussing the letter O…which follows:…
Too Big for Our Britches
Although having newer Nissans (under warranty) means Michelle and I generally take our cars to the dealer for service, I have a mechanic friend, Paul, who I trust completely when it comes to what should or shouldn't be done with our vehicles. If Paul were ever to suggest something that didn't make sense to me,…
I Dreamt I Died Last Night
Nightmares How many here have had a nightmare? [ Wait for people to respond…and assuming nobody says no… ] I kind of figured, short of a newborn baby, everyone present for this sermon would confirm they have had bad dreams. What are they about? Being chased? Being attacked by some evil power? Falling? A bad…
Disappointment
(Thoughts from Friday, October 7, 2011.) I'm not a very emotional person. If anything, sometimes I feel guilty because I don't have the same strong reaction to negative occurrences as many in the same (or similar) situations. While others can be devastated by an event, I can seem emotionally oblivious. This works out well in…
Don’t Bring Your Sadness Down on Me, Peace Is Free
Peace. Isn't there is a universal longing for that elusive condition? Yes, there are those who relish constant turmoil, but I like to think that they are the minority. As a whole, don't we all want peace, whether it be between nations, between individuals, or in our own hearts? This talk will focus on the…
“After We Had Torn Ourselves Away From Them…”
VISION Keeping to my promise of sharing one letter a month, we are now at the second "I" in my VISION for the Antrim Church of Christ. Yes, I do realize that technically I've broken that promise, but I don't think you can blame me for the unseasonably-early pre-Halloween snow that cancelled church last week….
Occupy Sadness
A New Character One of the blogs that I check out daily is "The Corner" at the National Reivew Online. It has multiple contributors, but I'll admit I've never been really good, even with books, about remembering who the authors are (assuming I even check with a shared blog like "The Corner"). However, this past…
Of Witches and Goblins and Big Black Cats
As many of you know, I avoid creating sermons for holidays—they seem so perfunctory and repetitive. That, and I'm rebellious and stubborn at heart, so having the calendar implicitly tell me I must do something makes me want to do it all the less. Now Halloween, which is a couple weeks away, isn't a holiday…
Luther Plays “Amen” & “This Little Light of Mine”
Nothin' better than an awesome artist (and great human being) singing a Christian song. I take that back, singing two Christian songs is better! 🙂 This is Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson playing at the Antrim Home & Harvest Festival. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzfW31DvenA&rel=0&w=512] A bonus non-Christian song by Luther:
“Too often we underestimate…”
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. –Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love (as quoted by Barbara Oakley in Cold-Blooded Kindness).
Atheist Elementary School
One of the RSS feeds I follow is for a web site called Religion Dispatches. I will admit that I generally just read the short blurbs in the feed instead of going to the site—as a whole their pieces are on the liberal end of the spectrum and my traditional Christian hairline doesn't have much…