On multiple occasions, Paul requested that churches pray for him and for his labors.  In one of the shortest verses in the Bible, Paul instructed the church in Thessalonica, “Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thess. 5:25).  He repeated the imperative in the last chapter of his second letter to this church, giving them a motivation for his request–“Finally, brethren, pray for us,…

Ok, so how would you finish this sentence, “Happy are the people who _____”?  Now, how would your neighbor finish it?  If you asked someone at work, how would they finish it?  Of the hundreds of friends you have on Facebook, how would they finish it?  Take the sentence down to the casino, how would they finish it?  How would a man…

Attention spans are funny things.  No two are alike.  Everyone has their own; in fact, everyone has a sack full of varied spans that they can pull out at will.  Interestingly, attention spans are something that can be taught and can be learned and something we personally control.  On the other hand, they often bear considerable blame for one’s lack of focus…

A teenage girl made some poor decisions and engaged in some immoral and illegal activities.  She was young and “still had her entire life ahead of her” (as many were prone to say).  The prosecutor gave her a choice: take a deal and serve two years probation or go to court and face seven-to-ten years in prison.  She had a difficult time…

Many a sermon has been preached in which the question was asked, “Are you among the few or among the many?” (based upon Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:13-14).  “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and…

Each day is filled with unexpected events — an emergency trip out of town, the death of a loved one, a hard drive crashing, an ink pen leaking in a shirt pocket, the Bengals thrashing the Bears, a flat tire on the way to work, an extra project assigned to you, etc., etc.  Each day when we wake, there are those activities…

A telephone surveyor called the office this week and one of his questions was, “Are you single, married or cohabiting?”  Beyond the fact that such a question to a preacher is amusing (or maybe it’s not these days) is the reality that our society is in full acceptance of “cohabiting” as a conventional living arrangement (whether temporary or permanent).  Much is implied…

Jesus sat down next to a well in Samaria one day around noon, and a woman came to draw water.  Much to her surprise, Jesus began to speak to the woman.  “How isit that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (John 4:9).  I’m not sure if her emphasis was on the word “Samaritan,” on the word…