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Follow: Uncommon (Mark 7) June 16, 2013 – Sunday Morning Message

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Last summer a father in Memphis was forgotten by his family.[1]  News Channel 5 carried the story.  The father’s family was traveling from Texas when they stopped at a Memphis gas station.  They were going fill up with gas and switch drivers.  The father had been driving while another driver was sleeping in the back of the van. The plan was for the father to now sleep in the back while the other adult drove.  The father went into the gas station to pay the bill for the cash.  When he came out, his van and his family were gone.  The family thought the dad was already in the back asleep.  So they loaded up and took off.  The distraught dad called his cell phone, which was in the van, but no one answered.  He called the cell numbers for each of the other family members—all six of them—but no one answered.  He finally used a computer at a hotel next to the gas station to use Facebook to contact a friend who then was able to make contact with the family in the van.  The family had driven 100 miles from Memphis before they got word that Dad was not in the back.  The father told reports that he’s sure that the whole was just an accident.Read More »Follow: Uncommon (Mark 7) June 16, 2013 – Sunday Morning Message

Follow: When Are You? (Mark 2) May 12, 2013 – Sunday Morning Message

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An American friend of mine named Dale served as a missionary for twelve years in Australia.  I know Dale to be a sensitive and intelligent minister.  Thus, I have no doubt that he took great steps to understand Australian culture and to avoid saying or doing things that might offend Australians.  But even a careful preacher can make a misstep.  At one Christian gathering Dale was preaching from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matt. 5-7.  There, Jesus addresses our obsession with possessions.  He deals with our fretfulness over finances.  To do this, Jesus points to the birds: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt. 6:26 ESV).  Dale summarized Jesus’ point by saying this: “We need to become birdwatchers.  Those of us who follow Jesus need to be birdwatchers.”  He meant that as we look at the birds, we are reminded of Jesus’ statement that God takes care of birds, and thus God will take care of us.  But upon that statement, Dale’s listeners smirked, giggled, and laughed.  Not the kind of expected laugh you get after telling a great joke.  The kind of laugh that means you just said something you shouldn’t have said.  Afterwards, a member of the gathering took Dale aside and explained: “Here in Australia we have a word for ‘men’—the word ‘bloke.’  And we have another word for ‘women.’  That word is ‘bird.’”  According to this Christian leader, some of the listeners used the word ‘bird’ as a synonym for ‘woman.’”  Thus, when Dale encouraged them to be “birdwatchers” he was actually encouraging them women watchers. Read More »Follow: When Are You? (Mark 2) May 12, 2013 – Sunday Morning Message

Toxic: The Poison of Inactivity (Jas. 1:19-27) Chris Altrock, April 29, Sunday Morning Message

George Zimmerman shoots down Treyvon Martin.  Regardless of your take on the shooting, it’s a tragic situation.  It points to the brokenness of our world.  Syrian forces pillage villages and execute hundreds of their own citizens.  Rarely have we seen such suffering in our world.  As many as a dozen tornados rip through the Dallas/ Fort Worth area destroying homes and businesses.  It is a reminder of the chaos in our world.Read More »Toxic: The Poison of Inactivity (Jas. 1:19-27) Chris Altrock, April 29, Sunday Morning Message

Toxic: The Poison of Partiality (Jas. 2:1-13)

The late Max Cadenhead once shared a confession at the beginning of a sermon:[i] “My message today is on the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Let me start with an illustration.  Remember last year when the Browns came forward to join the church?”  Everyone nodded; the Browns were a very influential family. “Well, the same day a young man came forward and gave his life to Christ.” No one remembered him.  “We worked with the Browns, got them onto committees. They’ve been wonderful folks,” Cadenhead said. “The young man…well, we lost track.  Until yesterday, that is, as I was preparing today’s message on the Good Samaritan. I picked up the paper, and there was that young man’s picture. He had shot and killed an elderly woman.  I never followed up on that young man…”  Cadenhead had eagerly followed up on the influential family of the Browns.  But he had ignored the scraggly and troubled young man who came forward.  The result was deadly.Read More »Toxic: The Poison of Partiality (Jas. 2:1-13)