Dr. Eugene Boring explains the inspiration of Scripture by comparing it to atomic radiation. When an atomic bomb goes off, we describe the area hardest hit as "Ground Zero." Dr. Boring says that Jesus was Ground Zero of God's breaking into our world. And the Bible is inspired partly because of the nearness to the blast of Jesus' presence.
It may be a little harder to go to Hell this year. You see, the bridge on the main road leading to Hell is badly in need of repair—a project that could close the road for three months. Jim Ley, president of the Hell Chamber of Commerce says, "It'll close the whole town." Oh, I detect some confusion. Of course, I am talking about Hell, Michigan!
How can we make a formal spoken defense of our faith? The first step is to say the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus doesn't just belong within the church walls. The second step in our witness involves telling what a difference Jesus has made in our lives. The third thing we can do to give an effective witness is to use "I statements."
Our Scripture today contains fluid imagery of stones. We are invited to come to Jesus, a living cornerstone. Then we are admonished to be like living stones ourselves and to be built into a spiritual house. Christ is the "living stone" which has become the cornerstone of the church. What does he mean by this phrase "a living stone"?
On any given Sunday this room contains people who are near to giving birth and those who are near to dying. On one side is a young mother who feels her life will never be right after her divorce. And on the other side is a woman, newly engaged, who anticipates that marriage will be the closest thing to heaven.
James says that true wisdom yields a "the fruits of righteousness." In other words, James is arguing that you can talk all you want about being wise, smart, powerful, but unless your life bears witness to good works, you're not too wise.
They picked someone--someone pretty desperate--to be the sin eater. Whenever there was a death, they called the sin eater to the wake to eat the food and take the person's sins into himself so that the dead person could go to heaven clean and free. For fifteen years Blind Benny was the sin eater of that town.
Dustin Hoffman, the Academy Award winning actor, amazed audiences with his incredible characters like Tootsie and Rainman. In an interview, Hoffman revealed his plans for the epitaph on his tombstone. He said it will simply read, "I knew this was going to happen."
Pastor Robin Myers once saw a sign in front of a church that said, "If you're done with sin, come on in." But then he noticed written underneath that in smaller letters printed in lipstick these words, "But if you're not quite through, call 272-3550!"
This is the story of the faith of one nameless, homeless street person. Tapes of this homeless man have been played in homeless shelters all across America. Most of us wouldn't know that because we aren't in shelters very often, are we? What distinguished this old man from other street people was his song.