09/22/2025
Here are some quotes that
didn’t make it into Sunday’s sermon.
(But it doesn’t mean that they don’t offer real insight into the power of risk over the fear of failure. What is true for raising self-reliant and healthy children, just happens to be equally true for those of us who follow Jesus Christ.)
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly
find out how far one can go.”
— T. S. Eliot
“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”
— John A. Shedd
“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see
the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
“Security is mostly a superstition…
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
— Helen Keller
Peter’s walk on water tells us that faith begins where our comfort zone ends.
- You might think of the boat as the promise of security.
- The wind and the waves represent risk and uncertainty.
- And Jesus’ outstretched hand reminds us that even when we falter, the power of God is stronger than the storm.
Archived Posts
Gandhi and the Sugar
I wasn’t preaching Sunday, Reverend Jackie Chandler was. And she talked about the power of influence you get when you practice what you preach. This famous illustration came to mind. It fits Jackie’s points quite well. Enjoy!
Not Just for Parents
Our current sermon series is about How To Talk Parent, but it doesn’t require any of us to be parents to appreciate the bits of wisdom OUR parents shared with us growing up.
If Not Higher
Here’s a story I wanted to use when talking about ‘what you do when no one is looking’ yesterday. It’s a wonderful illustration of what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6:1-6—do what you do because of who you want to be, not so that others will take notice and praise you.
The Perfect Church
There is an old joke about the perfect church. We talked just a little about the perfect pastor, but turnabout is fair play. It goes like this:
The Clothes You Wear
Sunday I talked about Joshua the High Priest having his filthy clothing replaced by a cleaned and beautiful garments. I also used the illustration of a boy becomes a dragon—who ‘wears’ dragon scales—and is stripped of those scales in order to be restored to a boy. In fact, I could have done the whole sermon around all the clothing imagery in scripture.
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...