“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:10-13).

How strong do you want to be? Some men have a desire to be able to bench press their body weight. Maybe you just want to be able to lift boxes and move things. Others train to have a heart that is strong enough to run a marathon. My main goal is to be strong enough for as long as possible to walk and play golf and play some basketball.

Many of you have heard the statement used as the title for this article and, if your life is anything like mine, you know how true this statement is.  The google machine suggests that this statement originates from a Yiddish proverb “Der mentsh trakht un got lakht” which is roughly translated into English as “Man plans, God laughs.” This thought is similar to the quote by the boxer Mike Tyson, who is better known for his ear biting than his philosophical statements: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” I believe these principles are close to one found in Proverbs 19:21, which reads, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” In the end, God’s plan always prevails.

A few months ago, I saw Harold Rowlett at the Gibson household (who, by the way, I am very thankful for since they have been so gracious to put up the family minister in their basement for the past 12 months). Harold said “Dave, I got a sermon topic for you. How about ‘If I were arrested for being a Christian, would I be convicted?’” I said that was a great idea, and for the past few weeks, I’ve passed a bulletin board in the building that reminded me of that conversation, so this Sunday morning, that will be our sermon topic. Let’s start with a refresher on how people are convicted in the United States. According to uscourts.gov (the website for the federal courts in the United States), to be convicted of a crime, an individual has to:

One of the privileges and responsibilities of each Christian is the opportunity to worship the Creator of the universe.  Worship is a personal action.  Sure, worship in an assembly of people is a group activity.  But, each person in the group is responsible for his or her own actions in the worship experience.  It is important, therefore, for each of us to grasp fully this personal aspect of worship.

Jealousy is an intense emotional reaction.  It is not passive.  No one experiencing it can remain in neutral.  At its worst, it finds itself placed in the list of the works of the flesh recorded in Galatians 5:20.  And yet, at its best, it finds itself being identified as a trait of God!  How can this be without accusing the Bible of hypocrisy?

We have been told for many years of the extremely high volume of phone calls to mothers on Mothers’ Day.  Maybe you have wondered how that number compares to calls to fathers on Fathers’ Day.  Here are some interesting statistics from a time when landlines were much more commonplace.

Love is not a feeling that you feel when you feel a feeling that you never felt before. Try saying that fast 3 times. That can’t be the definition because what you thought was a feeling of love might just be a feeling of an upset stomach. There is no greater place to look than in the life of Jesus to define true love.  Jesus gave us these words that set the foundation for finding a definition of love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35). If we see what He did, we will learn what love is.

Many little children (and big ones too!) really want attention.  They do all kinds of things to try to get a special someone to notice them.  Sometimes, they even misbehave in order to get what they want.  Even if they are disciplined, they have received what they wanted in the first place—attention.

It is so much fun talking with people about favorite memories.  I was thinking about memories from our time in Richmond and came across an article written 15 years ago.  I began immediately reliving these memories and thinking of new ones.  Walk with me for a few minutes down memory lane.

The children had been led out of Egyptian bondage.  Three months later, they came to the new promised land and the LORD said to go up and take it for He had delivered it into their hands (Numbers 13).  They, however, did not believe that they had to ability to take the land even though the LORD had already given it to them.  So, they refused to go in (Numbers 14).

What is “the law of your mother”? That is the phrase Solomon uses in Proverbs 1:8. As he begins his foray into wisdom and wise sayings, Solomon first reminds his son about his responsibility not to forsake the law of his mother. He does not go on to say specifically what this phrase means, but we can surmise what his intentions were.

God designed only two institutions—the Church and the family.  They are so interrelated that He spoke of them in the same text (Ephesians 5:22-33).  Jesus’ relationship to the Church is described in the family terms of husband and wife.  Elsewhere, we learn that all who are in the Church are in the family of God and are named Christians after God’s Son Jesus (Ephesians 3:15).

Charlie Brown and Lucy were constantly picking at each other.  Lucy was pretty much a bully and Charlie was a wimp.  You probably remember that Charlie tried so many times to kick a football for a field goal only to have Lucy pull the ball away at the last moment and Charlie went flying through the air and landed on his backside.

Robotics is a fascinating field.  I observed robotic firsthand during my recent visit to the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  My very close, good, and wonderful friend picked up his personally built Corvette at the plant upon its completion. (I hope he reads this and someday lets me drive it!)  I met him and his wife for the “birth”. 

Ah, peace…What a beautiful word.  It conjures up different scenes in each individual mind.  For me, I think of a mountain stream rolling toward a spectacular waterfall while I just sit and watch.  Or, I think of a gorgeous golf course with a slight breeze and the sounds of birds while I play a leisurely 18 holes.  There are probably many other scenes I have imagined.

When I get in our Honda Pilot to drive after Rebecca has driven, it does not fit.  I have to readjust the seat for it to fit.  I pulled out a pair of pants hanging in the far corner of my closet.  I was wondering why they were not with the others.  When I tried them on, I found the answer.  They did not fit!  Major adjustments would have to be made.

In the mid 1800s, there was a Hanoverian countess who was a staunch unbeliever.  Her biggest objection was to the resurrection of all the dead at the end of time.  Her opposition led her to make unusual preparations for her impending death that occurred when she was only thirty years old.

When was the last time you were pursued?  Was it by that special person who pursued you into a relationship with them?  Maybe you were pursued by someone who wanted you to come and work with them.  Or, maybe you think of it as a time that you were pursued by something that you didn’t want.  Maybe you think that the devil has been pursuing you for a long time.

For many years, the Roman army occupied the land of Palestine.  The Jews, understandably, could hardly stand it.  They so much hated it that there arose a group of people called the Zealots whose sworn mission was to cause havoc and turmoil with the express purpose of expelling the Romans.  There was one Roman law that especially incensed the Jews.  This law allowed for any Roman soldier to conscript a Jewish male to carry his backpack for him for one mile.  They dreaded this proposition.