Acts of Kindness and Encouragement

Can Be Momentous

         One of the themes of Sunday’s sermon flows right out of a quote by Mother Theresa: “Not all of us can do great things.  But we can do small things with great love.”

          National Public Radio has a feature on its broadcasts called “Unsung Hero.”  A listener relates an experience in which someone stepped in and made a difference in their life. 

A Few Quotes From The Cutting Room Floor

    One of the books I found helpful in preparing for this series, Ten Words by Jen Wilkin, had several quotes that Carol Outland typed up for me, but I ran out of time and space to use.  I really think they raise interesting points about stealing and coveting.  Let me share them with you.

Archived Posts

What I wanted to say

but ran out of time this Sunday

Here is the benediction I was going to use before discovering the excellent MLK Jr. video. 

The Storm that Comes To Us as Helplessness

I want to share with you a small portion of my conversation with Artificial Intelligence online.  Some of you know, I use Chat-GPT as a thoughtful sounding board for the questions and insights I’m working with on whatever scriptures I’m studying each week.  What follows is an example of those discussions...

One Final Scene About Scrooge

There was one more scene in Dickens’s novel that reveals something of what has happened to Scrooge over the years.  I did not have time to share it on Sunday, but I believe it reveals a great deal about the regrets in Scrooge’s life....

 

What Jacob Marley Would Do,

If He Could Do It…

         I thought about using the following for a benediction—since Jacob Marley was warning Scrooge about the danger of loving money and what it could buy.  Ends up with the Cantata and everything else going on, I didn’t have the time.  So here is what you might have heard if the sermon itself was 5 minutes shorter!

A Confirming Word on Old King Herod

          I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23).  Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician.  When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2.  That’s one paranoid dude.