Another Friday Funny

An oldie but a goldie...

An elderly woman was weeping as she bade good-bye to the man who had been pastor of her church for several years.

"My dear lady," consoled the departing pastor, "don't get so upset.  The bishop surely will send a much better pastor to replace me here."

Through her sobs the woman wailed, "That's what they said the last time!"

Pastors, take note!

A good sermon may be long, but rarely is a long sermon good.

Ryan Hugeley

Don't go for all the gusto you can get

We do not try to get everything we can out of this life, lest we forfeit our eternal inheritance to transient gains and pleasures.

Carelton Toppe, "The People's Bible - 1st Corinthians," page 72

The theology of the cross

By about 1515 (Luther) had evolved the essential outlines of his theology.  He termed it "a theology of the cross."  For only at the cross of Christ do we experience God in a manner that stands the test of reality.  God must send us into darkness and into trials and temptations to free us of ourselves and to prepare us for the reception of His grace, which faith, contrary to all expectations, finds solely at the cross.

"Luther's World of Thought"
Heinrich Bornkamm, pages 3-4

What I'm Reading

I am just about to finish "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert" by Rosaria Butterfield.  She is the former college professor who was loved to Christ Jesus by a pastor and his wife.  Butterfield was involved in a lesbian relationship at the time and was highly distrustful of evangelical Christians.  She was simply encouraged to read the Bible and in it she found a God that could be trusted and who loved her through Jesus.  Butterfield has married and is the mother of four adopted children.  This is a "can't put it down" kind of book.  She provides a blue-print for the church on how to witness Christ to those in same-sex relationships.  Definitely worth the time to read.

I received "Because of Bethlehem," the latest from Max Lucado, for my birthday so I'll tackle that one next.  I'm also working through Stephen King's "11-22-63."  It is a book about traveling back in time and is quite fascinating.  I must be one of the few people in America that has not read a book by King but I was hooked by this book within just a few pages.  The book runs over 1000 pages so I'll be at it awhile.  But I think it will be worth the time.

This is the last weekend of our current worship schedule.  Saturday service, as usual, takes place at 5 pm.  Sunday services at 8 and 10:45 am with Bible classes for all ages at 9:20 am.  Some parts of the schedule will change next week but we won't concern ourselves with that until next week.  Hope to see you this weekend at LICL!

Another Friday Funny

It was the new pastor's first Sunday at the church.  While greeting people as they left the service most were very complimentary of his sermon.  But then one man walked up to the new pastor and said, "That was a very dull and boring sermon, Pastor."

The pastor continued to greet worshipers but a minute later the same man appeared in line.  He said, "Pastor, I don't think you did any preparation for your message."

A minute or so later the man walked up to the pastor and told him, "Pastor, you really blew it.  You didn't have a thing to say."

Finally, the pastor could stand it no longer.  He called over one of the elders of the church and asked about this very critical man.

The elder replied, "Oh, don't let that guy bother you.  That's not what he really thinks.  All he does is go around repeating whatever he hears other people say!"

Why is prayer so hard?

Yet, when you understand what God says in His Word, begin to live according to it, and teach it to others, then you'll face many temptations and frequent opposition.  Your corrupt human nature is an enemy of prayer. It quickly becomes bored, careless, and indifferent to what God says and the good life He gives.  For this reason, you will never have as much wisdom, knowledge of God's Word, faith, love, or patience as you should.  Every day your corrupt nature hangs around your neck and drags you away from prayer.  The world is also an enemy of prayer.  It's so envious that you have faith and God's precious Word that it refuses to put up with any of it, no matter how weak you may be.  The world condemns you, tries to take away what you have, and gives you no peace.

These are the two enemies of prayer: our corrupt nature and the world.  On the inside, they try to decrease our desire to pray, and on the outside, they try to chase us away from prayer.  All we can do is to continue crying out to God.  We should pray for strength and better understanding of His Word.

Martin Luther, "By Faith Alone," September 21