Topic(s): Christian Life

Take this quiz:

• Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
• Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
• Name the last five “Miss Americas.”
• Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.
• Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
• Name the last decade’s World Series winners.

How did you do? Remember these are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. Few remember yesterday’s headliners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one: 

• List three teachers who aided your journey through school.

• Name five friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

• Name two people who have taught you something worthwhile.

• Think of ten people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

• Think of ten people with whom you enjoy spending time.

• Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier? Those who make a difference in our lives are not those with the most credentials, money, or  awards. They are the ones who care the most.

“...when he saw him, he had compassion on him…” —Luke 10:33

Woodrow Wilson’s Bible

Topic(s): Christian Life, Faith

“The opinion of the Bible bred in me not only by the teaching of my home when I was a boy, but also by every turn and experience of my life, is that it is the supreme source of revelation, the revelation of the meaning of life, the nature of God, and the spiritual nature and needs of man.  It is the only guide of life which leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.”   —Woodrow Wilson

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible!

What is the Church?

Topic(s): Church

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto…” —Matthew 22:2

• A fellowship against loneliness.
• A hospital for healing souls.
• A time-out corner.
• A resting place.
• A bath for washing guilt away.
• A reflecting pool.
• A kneeling bench.
• A classroom of truth.
• A laboratory of life.
• A hospitable door.
• A school instructing those who would fear God.
• A track for walkers in the Way of Christ.
• A practice field for patience and compassion.
• An internship for minister-members.
• A herald of Good News, joyful news, hopeful news, helpful news.
• A cafeteria where God feeds us.
• A garden where God comes looking for us.

• A rescue mission where God finds us.

Why Go to Church?

Topic(s): Church

Is it a waste of time? A church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for thirty years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and preachers are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: “I’ve been married for thirty years now. In that time my wife has cooked 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not cooked these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” —Acts 20:32 

Wrong Song

Topic(s): Humor

A preacher was winding up his temperance sermon with great fervor, “If I had all the beer in the world, I’d take it and throw it into the river.” And the congregation cried, “Amen!”

  “And if I had all the whiskey and demon rum in the world, I’d take it all and throw it in the river.” And the congregation cried, “Hallelujah!”

  The preacher sat down. The song leader stood up and announced, “For our closing song, let us sing hymn #365, ‘Shall We Gather at the River?’”