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Luke 9:1-6 Mr. Johnson was something of a legend at the high school I graduated from.  For instance I never had him as a teacher, but I knew a lot about him.  All the students did.   Mr. Johnson was the favorite teacher of many, and he was best known for the way that he would … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Mark 6:30-44 Growing up, I disliked playing basketball.  I still did it because I was a kid growing up in Indiana, which means it was the primary activity of middle school gym.   I’ve never been among the tallest of fastest though so I started at a distinct disadvantage in the game.   One of the … [Read more…]

Scripture: Mark 9:33-37 Henry Ford, the man who made cars a way of life, once famously said, “Auto racing began five minutes after the second car was built.”  It is a bit of hyperbole, but it is not far off.  The first successful gasoline powered automobile designed in the United States was made by brothers … [Read more…]

There are two proposed sites in Jerusalem for where Jesus was crucified and buried.   The first site which has tradition dating all the way back to the second century is the church of Holy Sepulcher.    The massive church building is shared by a very complex arrangement of Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic, Syrian, Armenian, and Ethiopian, Christians.    … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Mark 4:35-41 February 24th, 2007 has got to be somewhere in like the top three scariest days of my life.  At the time I was the youth minister at Epworth UMC in Indianapolis, and that youth group had a tradition of an annual ski trip.  Now, I think it was on that particular trip … [Read more…]

Scripture:  2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Tomorrow, I turn forty.   While I realize in the grand scheme of things that is not really that old, approaching this age has caused me to be more aware that I am not as young as I used to be.  One of the examples that really sticks out to me are … [Read more…]

Scripture: Mark 1:29-37 The way we understand fame has changed.  It used to be that fame was only for a small elite group, that it seemed that everyone knew.  At one point in time long ago, the way to tell if someone had made it to fame was if they were invited to appear on … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Mark 1:21-28 Even though it is the end of January, I am beginning to think of warmer times.  It is about this time every year that I begin to plan for church camp.   Obviously that did not happen last year, but we are cautiously optimistic that this summer camp might still happen.  I have … [Read more…]

In 2012 a group of historians erected a monument to honor Abraham Lincoln for President’s Day.  There is nothing unusual about this, because there are all kinds of monuments to Lincoln all over the place.  What made this particular structure unusual was the building material used.  They built a tower constructed entirely of biographies written … [Read more…]

Scripture: Mark 1:14-20 In a couple of months, I am going to need some help from a few of you.  My son really wants to go fishing.  Up to this point he has only been fishing at some Cub Scout events and at private ponds.  However, all winter he has been watching fishing related TV … [Read more…]