Serve by Design

Last Sunday, Monique and I were guests in another church. I preached at a pastor friend’s retirement celebration service. We also attended a small group study for seniors before worship. It was a blessing to look around the table during that Sunday School class and see so many open Bibles and even a few digital tablets placed in front of those participants. While they used a denominational booklet as the curriculum, the Bible was still their primary focus during the lesson. "By your words I can see where I'm going." Clip Art: stock.adobe.com The Message: Psalm 119:105a I have heard two good sermons lately where the subject of the Bible has come up. One was at our church recently during the Iron Sharpens Iron conference. It looked to me that the crowd was at full capacity on the ground floor and balcony that accommodates well over a thousand people not counting the platform musicians. There were ninety churches represented, and forty-eight of those churches brought ten ...

Have you ever been “gifted” with a very ripe banana? I used to wilt (another related pun idea!) when during my college days, my pastor and future father-in-law, would reach up to the top of his refrigerator and offer me an undesirable banana that had been languishing for days. I wanted him to like me for several reasons. So, when he’d say, “Here Mike, take this home with you!” What was I to say? I’d tuck the little booger in my pocket and say with an insincere mumble, “Sure. Thanks.” Ripening Bananas! freepikcom I’m a little cautious about eating anything labeled as a “genetically modified organism” or GMO for short. But a recent article about what some British scientists are doing with bananas has caught my attention. Now I’m thinking, “Maybe?!” I love bananas on my breakfast cereal, but like many of us, I have trouble managing the basket of bananas before they become so ripe that the only alternative is to make banana bread or pancakes. And I’d rather not add more carbs to my diet! ...

Did you hear about the little boy who comforted his mother? She was having an emotional day as her twin boys headed off for their first day of school. Their four-year-old brother, Andrew, along with the mother, had walked them from the house to the corner where the bus would stop. When it arrived, the twins jumped up the steps into the bus and waved goodbye through the window. It was then that the mom broke out in tears! The younger brother comforted her with these words, “Mommy, don’t cry! Maybe one day you’ll get to ride the bus, too!” 😊 This funny story caught my attention for two reasons. One is that we have twin daughters, and the other reason is because of the subject of tears. I can remember what it was like to send those little red-haired charmers off to their first day of school. I couldn’t fight back my tears while they charged off hand in hand down the sidewalk and into Houston’s Ed White Elementary! They were ready for kindergarten, but I was not ready to let them go! Te...