The Beatitudes of Advertising
The average American watches TV for nearly 30 hours per week. That's 65 days of nonstop TV watching every year. By the time they graduate from high school, students will have viewed 360,000 commercials. The average 65-year-old will have watched two million commercials.
It is common for me to come across a wonderful sermon illustration, but run out of time to use it. In talking about the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel I would have loved to work the following in. Unfortunately, I’d already said enough and I wasn’t quite sure where and how to work it in. Nevertheless, it’s worth taking a look at and reflecting on.
There are many wonderful creeds that have guided God’s people over the centuries, but I like this one which was written relatively recently as a summary of our beliefs. It was put together by Pastor and author Brian McLaren and is included in his book (which I recommend) entitled, The Story We Find Ourselves In.
Starting this Sunday, I’m going to add a blog to our church web page each week. Though it’s not a novel idea, it is something that’s been tickling my brain for some time now.
Archived Posts
What just missed the cut for Sunday’s Sermon
Naaman’s servants may actually become one of the hidden gems of the sermon. They say, essentially: “If the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it.”
One of the Longest Benedictions I Ran Out of Time to Share
Maybe you know the story of how Joseph and Mary accidentally left Jesus at the gas station on their way home from Jerusalem. Well, not the gas station bathroom in Jesus’ case. Joe and Mary are far down the road before they realize Jesus isn’t with them...
So many quips and quotes...
So little time to preach
I wonder what Mary and Martha’s phones might look like:
* Martha = the open browser with 27 tabs
* Mary = the single window that matters
* Psalm 46 = God saying, “Close the tabs.”
Quotable Outtakes That Didn’t Make the Sermon This Week
“When you try to control everything, you don’t just exhaust yourself—you quietly replace trust in God with trust in you.” & more
There is a challenge when it comes to preaching the Word of God.
Preachers are called to open up and interpret the word—inspired and written down thousands of years ago—and make it relevant to a very different world. On top of that there’s a degree of persuasion that goes along with the process.