Zechariah 8:20-23 {Prayer} “First secure your own oxygen mask.” This directive is familiar to anyone who has traveled on commercial airplanes. In the event of an emergency, like a sudden loss of cabin pressure, we’re told by the flight attendant that an oxygen mask for each person will drop from the overhead compartment. In…
Matthew 23:1-12 {Prayer} Deception … to some, it’s a game, to others … well, whether they mean it to be or not … it’s a way of life. Either way … it is something which every single one of us is good at. During the Prohibition Era a California product was being sold…
Zechariah 5:5-11 {Prayer} Who will take the garbage out? That is a question which has been asked in households for years. Obviously if your single that question doesn’t apply simply because you are the only trash-taker-outer there is. But for married couples and those with kids … now that’s a whole different story. …
Zechariah 3:1-10 {Prayer} Dr. Reed Lessing, the author of our series on the book of Zechariah, tells the story of a time when he was stuck in the Atlanta airport. His flight to St. Louis for whatever reason was canceled. The next flight was jam-packed and he knew that if he didn’t get on…
Mark 12:28-34 {Prayer} In high school but mainly in college, if I had to ride with someone and there was a group of us going, there was always a race to the car. It didn’t matter if we were driving two blocks to the local convenient store or if we were going 20 minutes…
Mark 11:15-19 {Prayer} On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a little hut with only one boat and a few devoted members who kept a constant watch over the sea. With no thought for themselves, they went out day and…
Zechariah 1:18-21 {Prayer} One of my favorite TV shows growing up was Home Improvement staring Tim Allen. In each episode, Tim hosted his own home improvement show with his trusty, mild-mannered assistant Al. They were introduced with the question, “Does everybody know what time it is?” And the response was always what? “It’s Tool…
Zechariah 1:1-6 {Prayer} This painting titled The Tower of Babel was painted in 1563 by Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel. The painting depicts the story in Genesis 11 where the people say, “Come, let us build a tower and let us make a name for ourselves” (11:4). What lies at the heart of The Tower…
{Prayer} Even though I know we are middle of winter, I want us to skip ahead and think about a popular and interesting little creature of summer … the grasshopper. Grasshoppers are interesting in that even though one would think by their name that they just hop, they don’t really. Grasshoppers have wings and…
Mark 1:21-28 {Prayer} Hymnals or screens. Liturgy out of hymnals or Creative Worship printed out in bulletins. Organ or piano or praise teams. Robes or suits or jeans and a polo or sweater. Children’s message or not. Traditional worship or Contemporary worship. Stage and auditorium or gym or an altar area and sanctuary. These…