tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296665862011-11-05T01:55:20.325-04:00This blog is dedicated to sharing insights from biblical study. The entries here are lessons I teach each Sunday.Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.comBlogger871100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-89162904348168544152008-09-18T14:44:00.003-04:002008-09-18T21:45:44.398-04:00

Click on the title above to hear the sermon "Seek Ye First".To read the transcript with power point slides click here.

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-4919270583799210342008-08-04T13:15:00.003-04:002008-08-04T13:25:44.625-04:00

I have a question for you: If you were to become exactly what God wants you to become—what would be different? How would you look and act? I did a quick “look-through” my Bible and I came across several passages that give us clues. There is the passage in Leviticus 11:44, 45 and again in 19:2; 20:7—Peter quotes it in his first letter. God is speaking and he says: Be holy as I am holy. In the

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-51637751739908288182008-07-07T09:03:00.004-04:002008-07-07T09:25:29.428-04:00

We have friends who live in Tennessee. They were our next door neighbors for several years. Their son was born a few months before Brittany. A couple of years later they had another son. We’ve kept in contact with them throughout the years. A couple of years ago, while traveling through the state, we dropped by their house for a visit. Cynthia was thrilled to see us and quickly ushered us into

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-84402097733482393842008-06-26T13:39:00.003-04:002008-06-30T00:41:28.064-04:00

I don’t even remember his name—and if I did, I wouldn’t reveal it. But he had “Jerk” written all over him. And it wasn’t what he looked like, either; it was how he handled himself. He was tall, good looking, athletic—and arrogant. He worked in a different section of the same department store where I worked while in college. He was always hitting on the girls—you know the kind: thinking he was God

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-46218751224845740642008-06-17T15:07:00.005-04:002008-06-22T23:51:27.525-04:00

This is one of my favorite songs: Why did my Savior come to Earthand to the humble go?Why did he choose a lowly birth?Because, he loved me so!I would like to suggest to you that this does not explain why Jesus died on the cross or what God was doing through the cross. There is no simple explanation for the cross of Christ. We tend to prefer a simple, easy-to-understand explanation to

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-77777146389510159392008-06-16T14:44:00.003-04:002008-06-17T15:54:10.941-04:00

One of the saddest songs which came out in the 70s was Harry Chapin’s Cat’s In The Cradle. It was a critique of fathers who were too busy for their own children. The sad justice of the song was a father who was always too busy to spend time with his son discovered his son as an adult became too busy to spend time with him. Now the typical Fathers’ Day sermon would focus exclusively on failure of

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-32685150682026495492008-06-10T10:17:00.010-04:002008-06-14T14:50:42.222-04:00

The Chronicles of Narnia are getting a lot of screen play. Now that the second movie Prince Caspian is out in theaters people are beginning to take notice of C. S. Lewis’ classic stories. The exciting thing to me is how the Christian message is being advanced “under the radar” as it were. In the first story, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe three children stumble into the magic land of

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-20187981487599181482008-06-03T09:37:00.005-04:002008-06-03T09:59:36.417-04:00

[Opening with a video excerpt from the HBO Film Wit starring Emma Thompson and Christopher Lloyd.] I almost didn’t show this clip. The truth is, it strikes too close to home for me and Terri. It seems recently we’ve been hit with death and scenarios like cancer. The morning after we found about the death of Terri’s brother, a dear friend of ours discovered he had lung cancer.It seems the older we

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-87663623253707332822008-05-20T07:05:00.000-04:002008-05-20T07:06:00.412-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCVcSiUUMhY

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-32775440541408128232008-05-15T16:15:00.004-04:002008-05-20T23:29:04.839-04:00

That almost sounds like the title of a B-grade Western!Well, it is good to be back after six weeks of sabbatical. A big "thank you" to my elders and the congregation for giving me the time off.It will be a little while before I start downloading transcripts from my sermons! I've got to get back in the groove from my sabbatical. Next Sunday's sermon will not be downloaded. It is a presentation

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-43568218853145010592008-03-26T08:34:00.004-04:002008-04-17T22:34:11.301-04:00

During the next six weeks I will be on Sabbatical. My church leadership has been kind enough to allow me six weeks of uninterrupted spiritual exploration. I will be visiting a couple of retreat centers for contemplative retreats, visiting my dad's acreage in East Texas, visiting various churches, engaging people in conversations, and basically listening to God.I solicit everyone's prayers for

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-69573206439501815902008-03-17T14:57:00.004-04:002008-03-24T10:14:15.244-04:00

(Easter Sermon 2008 - Text: Luke 24:13-32)There is a walk I’d like for you to take with me, today. This walk was taken nearly 2000 years ago. It was a walk taken by three men, two of whom are confused and filled with pain, they think they know more than their companion does—but he knows so much more than they.13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-14687782408586160322008-03-17T14:35:00.003-04:002008-03-17T14:56:29.871-04:00

I find it very difficult to teach about prayer. It isn’t because prayer is a mysterious and esoteric practice where only a few spiritual giants live and move. It isn’t because the practice of prayer is impossibly complicated and difficult. I find it very difficult to preach on prayer......but not because the Bible gives us impossible ideals to follow or because we just don’t know enough about

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-84511369915361309032008-03-11T15:42:00.005-04:002008-03-11T16:11:28.945-04:00

Why do we follow Jesus? What is the purpose of the Christian life? Do we become Christian in order to escape hell? Do we involve ourselves in religious activities for the same reason: to escape Hell? What is the ultimate point?What are we ultimately trying to accomplish in the world as followers of Jesus? Is our purpose to convince as many people as possible to agree with us mentally; to join us

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-49466577766629448742008-03-05T10:35:00.003-05:002008-03-10T23:22:43.497-04:00

What leads people to fuss, fight, hate and kill each other? In Rwanda, Burundi, and Zaire we have seen ethnic wars raging since the 1950s between the Hutus and the Tutsis. If you have not seen the movie Hotel Rwanda you owe it to yourself to watch it. It will make you heart sick, but it is a re-enactment of true events which happened in Rwanda in the mid-1990s.But such hatred and atrocities are

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-89364507191339798092008-02-25T14:50:00.002-05:002008-02-25T15:05:25.450-05:00

First Reading: Romans 14:1-6If you were to visit any church in your area, or in the surrounding towns you would discover some amazing similarities. Regardless of the brand name, most every one of them will have a building that’s similar to yours in seating arrangement and structure. Oh, some will be larger or smaller, some will have a center aisle or two or three aisles off centered, or maybe

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-70468869027142673872008-02-19T15:00:00.002-05:002008-02-19T15:11:06.286-05:00

Romans 13:8-14Is it part of the “dad contract” that he has to be the one who wakes up everyone else in the morning? I don’t know how I got the job—well, yeah I do. I get up before everyone else. Every morning ever since our children started school it has fallen to me to wake them up. I used to do it real cutesy like: Daddy’s coming up to your room to wake you up…I'm 10 steps away…four steps…three

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-76055812973218760852008-02-04T18:19:00.000-05:002008-02-04T18:48:30.264-05:00

Several years ago I had an interesting exchange of letters between a columnist of The Tennessean, a newspaper published in Nashville. The young man was Jewish and he took great umbrage at a recent announcement the Southern Baptist Convention would start focusing a lot of attention on evangelizing Jews. We had a cordial discussion in two or three letters in which I felt we both experienced a

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-31613698689267574872008-01-27T15:15:00.000-05:002008-01-27T15:45:47.513-05:00

In April 2002 it was reported in the BBC the followers of a Hindu cult have revived the practice of human sacrifice.[1] They had been using animals but had been heavily attacked by animal rights groups for their use—so they decided to go the traditional route of human sacrifice.I'm glad they drew the line somewhere.As you can imagine, this too had some challenges. After all, as Dr. Sharmah—a

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-4975354336881432742008-01-21T10:41:00.000-05:002008-01-21T11:02:31.256-05:00

Romans 10:1-11:36Have you ever run across something so intricate, so beautiful, so complex that you just had to step back and catch your breath in wonder? For Simon, Danny Glover’s character in the movie, Grand Canyon, it is the canyon itself that makes him step back in wonder—makes him feel small, even insignificant. I love his description of the canyon to Kevin Kline’s character, Mack. He says:

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-38335986117642178692008-01-14T10:45:00.000-05:002008-01-14T10:55:50.767-05:00

She leveled her clear gray-blue eyes into mine. “Darryl, you don't understand: I do hate my dad.” It was one of those moments in my early youth ministry years when I got a picture of what a dysfunctional family looks like. This beautiful girl tells me she hates her father. She was the middle child--a good kid: one you would want to have in your youth group. She was sincere and committed. Her

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-47360013735088768092008-01-06T16:59:00.000-05:002008-01-07T22:58:31.088-05:00

Do you remember the old bumper stickers of the seventies and eighties? One of the most depressing was a take off from the Dwarves’ song from Snow White. Instead of “Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho! It's off to work we go…” it read “I owe, I owe; so off to work I go…” Depressing isn’t it? Especially so soon following Christmas!I'm not going to make you feel any better. According to the last figures I've heard

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-10351647303745328572007-12-26T10:02:00.000-05:002007-12-26T10:13:09.991-05:00

Have you ever been afraid of the dark? It isn’t unusual for people to fear darkness. The landscape changes in darkness. The coat hanging on the chair by your window quits looking like a coat—with a little imagination (sometimes very little) it turns into a figure crawling into your bedroom. Without light you can run into things, you can step in a hole and twist or break an ankle. During darkness

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-22833161825478639182007-12-19T18:05:00.000-05:002007-12-19T18:22:52.623-05:00

My grandfather was a neat old man. He died a month shy of 90 and he was a true cornucopia of experience and knowledge. He was a math teacher, graduating from Potter’s Bible College in 1917—a farmer, an auctioneer, and a horse trader. He wrote poetry and songs. One of his songs about his foreman got him fired from a government job during the depression. He was mentally clear to the day he died. He

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-77420994454861375042007-12-02T08:29:00.000-05:002007-12-03T10:36:08.831-05:00

Last week we examined one of the most encouraging texts in the New Testament: Romans 5. Paul tells the Roman Christians that since they have been proclaimed innocent by God they now have peace with God and unmitigated access to him and his grace. There is now hope (desire and expectation) and incredible joy even in the face of suffering. We are given confidence in God’s grace and love. Since he

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-58366075758821335242007-11-27T16:02:00.000-05:002007-11-29T22:37:43.772-05:00

He slammed the door on his way out of the house: his own angry shouting ringing in his ears. This was it. He was tired of living in this house with that person! He shoved his hand into his jeans pocket to drag out the set of car keys. Jamming the key into the ignition, he turned it and roared down the street. First stop was to the bank to pull out all of the money in his name—which included the

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-50936526248492867912007-11-19T15:56:00.000-05:002007-11-19T20:34:44.859-05:00

During the past few weeks we’ve been examining the book of Romans—we’re going to leave off that discussion for today. However, we have noted in our study how one of the problems faced by the first century Jews was their understanding of the Law. They were not legalists in the sense they thought they were saved by their good works. Instead they saw the Law of Moses as a way of demarcation—of

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-14328387812052155152007-11-12T14:51:00.000-05:002007-11-12T15:30:43.887-05:00

There is something about the words “home” and “family” that strike a wistful chord in us. In the best sense “family” and “home” are synonymous with a relationship based on love. One of my favorite poets, Robert Frost, expressed it in his poem "The Death of a Hired Hand." In the poem, an old farm worker named Silas comes back to a farm he keeps leaving for the promise of a better offer. He is

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-40149056442055988522007-11-05T08:52:00.000-05:002007-11-05T09:42:48.267-05:00

This hasn’t been a great week. My dryer died. We went to Lowe’s Tuesday night to shop for dryers and ran into Larry and Sherry who evidently had the same run of luck with their dryer--come to think of it Larry and Janet--wait, David and Stacey too are having dryer troubles. It looks like there's going to be a run of bad luck on dryers! I'm having a hard time with the dealership who sold us our

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-69373735843839360482007-10-29T09:12:00.000-04:002007-10-29T09:32:57.601-04:00

One of my favorite characters in modern fiction is the hero of a trilogy written by Dean Koontz. His name is Odd Thomas. In the second book Forever Odd, Odd has to deal with some very evil people. Throughout the book he is troubled by seemingly non-connected things and concepts—the existence of predatory animals, poisonous plants, natural calamities, and desert wastelands. At the end of the

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-80587510978947951202007-10-22T09:12:00.000-04:002007-10-27T00:49:12.629-04:00

We like our politics, don’t we? I have to admit, I do enjoy following the competition and wondering who will be competing against whom for President. Will it be Obama vs. Thompson? Or Hillary vs. Giuliani? Will the Republicans take back congress? Will there ever rise up a truly viable Libertarian candidate?And then there are those instances when candidates dress themselves in religious clothing:

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-73735641714067483732007-10-15T13:55:00.000-04:002007-10-15T14:30:16.072-04:00

Have you ever received a letter in the mail that you just didn’t want to read? Maybe you pretty much knew what was in it: an insurance claim denial, a letter from the IRS? Or maybe you weren’t certain what was in it—it could be good, it could be bad—like a letter from a relative or friend from whom you had been estranged.I’ve felt this way regarding the book of Romans for 11 years now! I took an

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-34334901309220741482007-09-27T15:20:00.000-04:002007-10-01T08:23:14.928-04:00

Have you ever wondered why do we do the things we do as a people? Why do we gather together? Why do we meet every Sunday? What are the purposes behind it all?Part of our problem is we are a people caught in the middle. One night you fall into a deep sleep. You wake in the dark—inky blackness all around you and the feeling of floating. You reach out your hand and beneath you is water. Beside you

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-466650511018324752007-09-24T10:31:00.000-04:002007-09-24T10:54:25.115-04:00

Isak Dinesen wrote a delightful story in the middle of the 20th century called Babette’s Feast. The story is set in a small fishing village in Norway called Norre Vosburg. It begins with the description of an aged Luthern minister who had two daughters named Martine and Philippa. He was the founder of an austere sect. The two girls were beautiful young ladies who had to choose between their

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-80835398877957238602007-09-17T09:15:00.000-04:002007-09-21T07:19:26.640-04:00

I recently read a comment by Dr. John Mark Hicks, professor of theology at Lipscomb that really struck a chord in me. Here it is:“God never intended an altar, though he planned for it. Instead, God intended a table to enjoy the communion of his people.[1]” Perhaps it doesn’t hit you the way it hits me, but think about it for a moment: God never intended an altar—he intended a table. The purpose

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-60925374545423162342007-09-17T08:44:00.000-04:002007-10-01T08:24:09.069-04:00

Ever hear of the game “Mousetrap”? It’s a board game where you build this elaborate mouse trap and try to capture the other players, knocking them out of the game. Of course, the entire contraption is so complicated it would never catch a real mouse! No matter how hard you try to build the perfect mouse trap, it really is hard to beat the three tried and true methods: snake, cat, and spring trap!

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-3029903413532605712007-09-02T09:42:00.000-04:002007-09-04T13:55:52.679-04:00

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Have you ever heard that? We know it’s true, especially when we speak of human nature. Folks are folks and while we may differ culture to culture, there is something consistent about our human condition. It’s also true when it comes to American styles, right? I remember when Brittany began to rummage through her grandmother’s closet for clothes

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-24688700695809833872007-08-27T09:10:00.000-04:002007-08-27T09:22:29.715-04:00

Earlier this week I had to get up early to go to church. That’s not unusual in and of itself, I always get up early for church. But most of you know I was out of town. This time I had a much further drive to make. I had to make about a 40 mile drive, and even then I wasn’t certain of the exact location. I knew where the building was--it was a high rise, but I didn't know exactly what floor. I had

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-44912382258248956122007-08-07T15:27:00.000-04:002007-08-15T09:28:52.494-04:00

I am going to say a word which is guaranteed to turn off most people. It is a word that has such a negative reaction in some circles you would think it was a curse word. It is a word some feel is ungodly and represents all that is wrong with the church today. It is something we think we can avoid—but we are only fooling ourselves. Are you ready: change.Change is one of those words no one really

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-81405948581545830972007-08-02T09:21:00.000-04:002007-08-02T09:28:38.266-04:00

One of my favorite songs is based on a stipulation in the Law of Moses found in Exodus 21. It is a provision for the release of slaves. In order to pay off debts a person could sell himself into slavery, but after seven years he had to be released: no one could be forced to be a slave for life. However, if the slave, for whatever reason, freely decided to remain a slave he would go to the

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-69882072101510925962007-07-23T09:24:00.000-04:002007-07-23T09:33:31.343-04:00

We live in a power obsessed society. It seems everything is about power. We want more powerful computers, more powerful cell phones, electronics, more control over our lives. We want energy independence from OPEC. In the global context we are facing some dramatic challenges as America gets nose to nose with Russia over a missile shield—it reminds me of the 70s! Iran and North Korea have been

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-13733049195755038152007-07-18T10:45:00.000-04:002007-07-18T10:57:31.875-04:00

Some memories can be really vivid while others fade into the background. I remember white tile floors, porcelain and steel fixtures, and bright lights. It was in the late 60s. I remember the smell of ammonia and some other chemicals. I remember cushioned chairs covered with vinyl that stuck to your skin if you were sweating. I vaguely remember my dad—who was roughly my age right now, standing

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-51974537278394133082007-07-09T13:10:00.000-04:002007-07-09T13:52:10.721-04:00

I hope you’ve had a happy Independence Day this week! The rain did its best to keep everyone spirit’s dampened…pun intended! The New York City celebration was not to be thwarted. Three million people turned out in the pouring rain to watch the firework spectacular. Philadelphia citizens were disappointed, however. Word got out the fireworks were cancelled due to all of the rain—thousands of

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-14780178649985598982007-06-25T10:09:00.000-04:002007-06-25T10:24:13.511-04:00

2 Samuel 9Remember the phrase: "Acts of Random Kindness?" Someone got tired of hearing the phrase “senseless acts of random violence” that so permeated the news media during the early 90s, they decided to do something about it. Now there’s a website, school curriculum and a national movement.Don’t you love hearing some of the stories generated by kindness? On the acts of kindness website there

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-66169499362464860292007-06-13T14:21:00.000-04:002007-06-18T12:39:11.199-04:00

“I used to tell your mother: this kid is going to be the best kid in the world. This kid is going to be somebody better than I ever knew. And you grew up good and wonderful; it was great just watching you. Every day was like a privilege. And the time came for you to be a man and to take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line you changed. You stopped being you. You let people

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-64246803469190265842007-06-06T15:51:00.000-04:002007-06-10T14:37:45.211-04:00

1 Samuel 28-31It is amazing how, in the middle of war and conflict moments of sheer grace will appear. The Christmas truce of World War 1 was so unbelievable that it has almost been dismissed as a legend. But even the Snopes.com folk concur it actually happened. Stanley Weintraub, author of Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, described it:. . . the Germans set trees on

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-18588526520947741872007-06-04T14:52:00.000-04:002007-06-04T15:07:30.835-04:00

1 Samuel 24, 26, Psalm 57The wild is a dangerous place. In his book Into the Wild journalist Jon Krakauer chronicles the life and tragic death of young Chris McCandless in the wilderness of Alaska. But McCandless wasn't the only wanderer to meet his death in the Alaskan wild. In chapter eight of the book Krakauer points out many more have ventured into Alaska’s wild to meet with tragedy.There was

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-12817509499120617792007-05-29T09:36:00.000-04:002007-05-29T12:57:39.980-04:00

1 Samuel 21 & 22His name was Vincent “the Chin” Gigante. He was a light weight boxing champion, a mafia hit man, consigliore of the Genovese Crime family of New York, and eventually the head of the Genovese syndicate.He was also known as “The Oddfather.”Why? In the late 60’s he was able to beat a conviction by acting crazy. It occurred to him this was a useful ruse. So he began to be seen on the

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-19246919086839211542007-05-14T15:22:00.000-04:002007-05-14T15:39:13.582-04:00

Happy Mothers’ Day! On Mothers’ Day I will respect tradition and offer a Mothers’ Day Message. I offer it to you without apology and with appreciation for that time-honored institution—because if it weren’t for motherhood, none of us would be here!Even so, you always have to be careful about these messages. I have to take care not to get too sentimental or over romanticized about motherhood

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-42383849125125344282007-05-01T15:57:00.000-04:002007-05-08T09:47:08.530-04:00

1 Samuel 18I was fired once. It was in 1990. I remember an elder coming in my office and telling me: "Darryl, I think we’ve the best youth ministry in the city. You’ve done an incredible job. Furthermore, you’ve always responded to our corrections by doing whatever we requested. The issue, we think is that of personality." It seems there were a group of teenagers who didn’t like me. Go figure.He

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-84327334477315024292007-05-01T09:02:00.000-04:002007-05-01T09:28:40.125-04:00

1 Samuel 17Poor little man—so boisterous! But he doesn’t have a clue! Poor little man always trying to convince people of how tough he is! Even believes it himself--but he's only fooling himself. It’s Martin Short swaggering into a room filled with linemen from the Dallas Cowboys trying to pick a fight!My dad tells me about when he was in the Army there was a little guy who had a hulking brute of

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-78818953077685038312007-04-23T15:29:00.000-04:002007-04-24T19:14:14.008-04:00

1 Samuel 16Sam was old and tired. The great kingly experiment was a failure. He was originally opposed to it, but after Saul was chosen, he had developed a relationship with the King. Perhaps he even liked the man. But Saul was no longer the humble servant of God. He had become arrogant and proud—always trying to find excuses for his behavior. Sam was in mourning.But now God calls him on one more

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-64025031872926653342007-04-16T09:42:00.000-04:002007-04-16T10:09:53.848-04:00

1 Samuel 15One of the most interesting images coming out of the Iraqi war was the sight of Iraqis in Bagdad tearing down a huge statue of Saddam Hussein. Whether or not you agree with the war, there is little question Saddam was a megalomaniac who only wanted to be the center of the universe. The monuments and paintings of his images were not the honors given him by a loving populace—they were

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-76210379045119482412007-04-03T12:43:00.000-04:002007-04-08T09:23:39.585-04:00

(Easter Sunday Sermon 2007)The most commonly discussed spiritual discipline is that of prayer. I think I'm pretty safe with this assertion. I suppose in the past five or six years the market has exploded with “how to” books on prayers from The Prayer of Jabez and Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? To Intercessory Prayer: How God can use your prayers to move heaven and earth and even a novel:

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-10247153763128202062007-03-30T11:08:00.001-04:002007-04-04T18:02:53.680-04:00

When you were a kid, who was your hero? I mean, who was the superhero you were fascinated by? Was it comic book heroes like Batman? Superman? Spiderman? X-men? Maybe you were more into science fiction fantasy: Conan the Barbarian, Flash Gordon, or someone like that.If you really want to find the hero prototype: go to the Bible. Especially the Old Testament where the men are really men and the

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-47121981241636353672007-03-21T13:19:00.000-04:002007-03-26T16:01:45.326-04:00

(*Sermon preached for Homecoming Day March 25)Have you ever walked into a house and felt completely comfortable and at home? The room you enter has something to do with whether you feel like a visitor or a family member. A house has several rooms in it: living room, den, bedrooms, and a kitchen. You walk into a formal living room. You feel like a guest—but you don’t necessarily feel like family.

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-49608873818976683572007-03-09T00:12:00.000-05:002007-03-18T09:59:16.625-04:00

How do you deal with people who betray you? How do you deal with people who hurt you? How do you deal with your enemies: those who ignore you, despise you, or wish ill on you? The truth is: it may say more about you than it does about them.The story picks up in 1 Samuel 10:26-11:15. Saul has been proclaimed the first king of Israel. After his appointment, he returns home and a group of warriors

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-8702329846943008282007-03-01T15:03:00.000-05:002007-03-14T17:21:04.077-04:00

Last week several newspapers carried an article entitled: “Letters Reveal Young Castro’s Faith In God.” I found them fascinating on many levels. What also impressed me was the observation by a Washington Post writer who suggested “anyone reading the letters would be convinced that Castro was a committed democrat - determined to hold free and fair elections.” Many people, even in the United States

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-71274472148966828062007-03-01T14:51:00.000-05:002007-03-01T14:59:38.975-05:00

In 1902 W. W. Jacobs published the short story The Monkey’s Paw. It is a horrific little story of three wishes gone awry. An old man and woman receive a mummified little monkey’s paw which is supposed to grant three wishes. They jokingly wish for 200 pounds (roughly $20,000 in today’s currency). Their son, that very day is killed in a horrible machinery accident that rips his body to shreds. The

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-51160967440034283372007-02-20T10:01:00.000-05:002007-02-20T10:28:22.105-05:00

When my daughter, Brittany moved to go to college, we decided to do a very unselfish thing: we didn’t want Brittany to have to carry her luggage upstairs every time she came home, so we took over her much larger bedroom with the bathroom adjacent to it. Understand it was from purely unselfish motives! We moved her full sized bed and mattresses down stairs fairly easily. We moved all of our stuff

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-41386337523441484742007-02-08T13:16:00.000-05:002007-02-08T13:32:48.160-05:00

Have you ever done something really stupid? I mean one of those things when you just reacted without thinking through the actions. When I was a teenager I was in a big argument with my mother. I was not a very respectful young man and she was given to a quick temper: we were really into it. Suddenly she got into my face, and I reared my hand back and closed it into a fist. This little voice in

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-36909986448535965822007-02-05T11:35:00.000-05:002007-02-06T16:23:44.051-05:00

Her life must have been tragic and her death even more so. I don’t even know her name. All I know is her politically well placed husband was a cheat and a crook. They lived in a small third world country at war. It was hard to believe her husband and his conniving brother actually ended up on the battle field. But they were. She was pregnant—almost full term. Then she heard the news. Her husband

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-56398736373146447282007-01-29T10:46:00.000-05:002007-01-29T10:54:55.085-05:00

What do you do when the LORD calls your name? What do you do when he has a message and a mission for you? Will you listen? Will you respond? Will you obey?It was night time. All was quiet in the Tent of Meeting. Lights were burning low, almost out. The High Priest, Eli was sleeping. I don’t know how soundly he slept. I can imagine his sleep wasn’t too restful these days. His sons Hophni and

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-41586016657168025092007-01-08T09:33:00.000-05:002007-01-08T11:58:03.510-05:00

Have you ever felt totally isolated and cut off? Have you ever felt helpless and incapable? Have you ever felt like the odd-man out? When compared to normal and ordinary standards—you didn’t make the cut. Maybe you can understand her story then. In a culture where a woman’s worth was measured in how many children she had—she wasn’t worth much. She was a married woman without children. This is

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-17372134281097869272007-01-03T09:47:00.000-05:002007-01-03T09:53:36.416-05:00

It’s A Wonderful Life is the seasonal favorite when it comes to movies. Jimmy Stewart plays the part of George Baily who is given a frightening gift. In a moment of despair he wishes he were never born. So he is granted the gift to see what life would be like if he were never born. In this nightmarish parallel world the little town of Bedford Falls transforms into a seedy community known as

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-10579985597468513312006-12-26T10:40:00.000-05:002006-12-26T10:43:46.031-05:00

Why did my Savior come to Earthand to the humble go?Why did he choose a lowly birth?Because he loved me so!Christmas is the day when people the world over stop and reflect on the beginning of a story we Christians believe gives meaning, hope and redemption to the world.This story has been told for nearly 2,000 years. And yet, one never gets tired of hearing it. Even the most cynical hearts are

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1874548996790926972006-12-20T08:55:00.000-05:002006-12-20T09:06:40.600-05:00

Sometimes the world is a dark place where it is easy to get lost. In this dark place there exist things with teeth that can bite you anytime they want. This is not a place where you want to be lost.Some say, “It’s not so bad”—but we can’t look honestly at the world without acknowledging the presence of serious evil. Go to Baghdad, Sudan, the families and young children in Africa decimated by AIDS

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-49718247796578632942006-12-10T14:02:00.000-05:002006-12-10T14:22:09.847-05:00

The past two weeks have been really difficult for me. Most of you know about what happened to my dad: the freak accident that has left him in Trauma ICU for two weeks. The fact we are very close, while relieving me of any guilt feelings, makes it all the more difficult to watch him as he struggles to overcome not only his physical trauma, but also the confusion he is experiencing.I have to tell

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1163689199832283372006-11-16T09:48:00.000-05:002006-11-20T12:52:31.483-05:00

There once was a Rabbi who went to preach to his synagogue for Purim. He planned to preach about the obligation to care for the poor and oppressed. When he returned home his wife asked him how his sermon went.“Well,” he replied, “it was 50-50.”“What do you mean?” his wife queried.“It's like this," he replied, "I convinced the poor to receive, but I couldn’t convince the rich to give.”The book of

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1163430097920333242006-11-13T09:38:00.000-05:002006-11-17T13:52:33.390-05:00

Are we living in the last days? Is the coming of Jesus just around the corner? Are we going to be driving to Dallas one day and suddenly see empty cars veering off the road in some Left Behind end times scenario? It seems every other year someone has come out with a new book or documentary or theory about the end of the world. And, true to form, no one ever gets it right.In the 20th Century alone

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1162931431357374172006-11-07T15:20:00.000-05:002006-11-13T10:49:48.640-05:00

Tom Wright in his commentary on Mark offers a hypothetical situation. When your house catches on fire, what do you grab first? Obviously your children, but then what? You can list as many items as you can safely grab and carry in your arms. After you are a safe distance away and see the house totally engulfed in flames, you suddenly realize the significance of your choices. You’ve discovered,

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1162930691634497582006-11-07T14:56:00.000-05:002006-11-07T15:18:11.746-05:00

Have you ever had a hunger for a crisp, juicy, red apple? Especially on a hot day, and the apple has been iced down. You see condensation beading up on the apple and you can just taste the semi-tart coldness in your mouth! Then you finally get your hands on that apple and bite into it only to find you have a mouth full of rotten mush! And it looked so good, too!A similar thing happened to God. "I

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1161270620995497892006-10-19T11:03:00.000-04:002006-10-19T11:10:21.013-04:00

Every Sunday I get up at 5:00 so I can get to the building early to go over my lesson a couple of more times. Last Sunday I got up and tried quietly to locate my cell phone. Terri had used it the night before. She woke and said, “It’s by the lamp beside the chair.” Not wanting to turn on the light I fumbled around and finally sat down on the chair—crack! No it wasn’t the cell phone. It was Terri’

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1160057252492999382006-10-05T09:59:00.000-04:002006-10-09T13:02:59.776-04:00

In Tennessee there is a little town with the motto: Where tradition meets the future. I’ve often joked with friends from Tennessee how there must be a nuclear crater somewhere in the city as a result of that meeting!Tradition is a touchy topic for several reasons: 1) Like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, people view tradition as that which shows us who we are, where we’ve been and where we are going

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1159816599845527072006-10-02T15:04:00.000-04:002006-10-02T15:26:29.556-04:00

Five or six years ago we hosted a 50th wedding anniversary party for my parents. We had food and a wonderful time eating and visiting with family and friends. Could you imagine hosting such an event when suddenly your parents get up and announce they’re getting a divorce (don't worry, they didn't!)? That would dampen the spirit, wouldn’t it? Or how about hosting a dinner to celebrate the

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1159811312904948032006-10-02T13:36:00.000-04:002006-10-04T23:14:50.056-04:00

I like staying on top of the news. So I'm web-surfing news articles and I run across stories about Kimveer Gill, the young 25-year-old who killed a young woman and left 19 wounded in Montreal before he took his own life. He left behind a blog with pictures on vampirefreaks.com. I wouldn't dare print all his postings uncensored. His user name on the site was Fatality666. One of his postings read:

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1158762430114572902006-09-20T10:15:00.000-04:002006-09-20T14:44:37.780-04:00

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1157992825568084932006-09-11T12:23:00.000-04:002006-09-13T14:16:38.876-04:00

A few weeks ago I was fiddling with my glasses. I was attempting to do the very thing they tell you never to do: adjust the ear piece with my bare hands. It doesn't take much imagination to guess what ended up happening! I spent the next several days with a pair of glasses held together by J. B. Weld waiting on a new pair.Have you ever broken something? Some things are irritating. Three hundred

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1157481079906218722006-09-05T14:16:00.000-04:002006-09-05T14:31:19.936-04:00

I’ve been re-reading Mark 1 this week. Some things have been emerging from my reading—nothing terribly surprising—but all the same, things I haven’t noticed before.I mentioned a few weeks ago how Mark, through the Jesus story, is showing his readers what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. We’re presented with a brief prologue introducing themes such as suffering, redemption, proclamation and

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1156773687901440892006-08-28T09:30:00.000-04:002006-08-28T10:27:45.770-04:00

The Time Management Seminar had been going for fifteen minutes when an older gentleman entered the conference room from the back. He was obviously embarrassed and doing his best to be as unobtrusive as possilbe.Unfortunately, the Seminar speaker saw this as an opportunity to make a point. "Sir, you do realize you are fifteen minutes late for this seminar on Time Management?"The gentleman's face

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1156256865031882052006-08-22T10:07:00.000-04:002006-08-22T10:29:20.300-04:00

Have you ever wondered why the New Testament begins with stories about Jesus rather than with a book of sayings by Jesus? For the past two hundred or three hundred years, Western Christian tradition has emphasized knowing propositional truths—and the memorization of individual verses which reflected statements of belief. When I was growing up I memorized scripture. But it was always one or two

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1154977264330224772006-08-07T14:47:00.000-04:002006-08-07T15:01:04.350-04:00

For the past three or four weeks my daughter Brittany and I have been walking together early in the morning. We both wanted to get into shape, but I really think we wanted to spend more time together before she moves to Nashville. I won’t speak for her—but I know that is part of my motivation!It’s interesting how focused our conversation is becoming. Yes, we talk about a wide variety of

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1154354987166687262006-07-31T09:48:00.000-04:002006-07-31T11:55:44.773-04:00

Have you ever wondered what the end of time will be like? It has been mass marketed and given to over speculation, no wonder there is so much confusion over it. Movies like The Omen have been remade. Every tabloid is filled with some new prediction about the end of the world according to Nostradamus or the book of Revelation (usually misspelled as "Revelations"--I have serious issues with

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1152800630105294142006-07-13T10:17:00.000-04:002006-07-16T19:34:49.906-04:00

I know a man who used to stand on the corner of Markham and Kavanaugh Blvd in Little Rock, Arkansas. He looked like a skinny Santa Claus with a cheerful face and a white beard. He would hold up a sign as the rush hour traffic sped by: Love. We always thought he was a little crazy, silly or naïve. Maybe he was. But in a world where soccer stars head butt their opponents down over an insult, where

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1152554408498108382006-07-10T13:58:00.000-04:002006-07-11T00:04:42.416-04:00

Self-fulfillment seems to be the American way of life. Everything in our society pushes us toward self-fulfillment as if it is our God-given right. We find it in the Declaration of Independence, popular psychology, self help strategies, and advertisement. When you begin to investigate it seriously, self-fulfillment in popular terms doesn’t seem too different from self-centeredness. We notice it

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1151438776656092012006-06-27T15:55:00.000-04:002006-06-27T16:06:16.703-04:00

When my oldest daughter was born seventeen years ago, I remember holding her in my arms and wondering: "Now what?" I thought I would have felt more confident since we had purposely waited seven years before having children. I was wrong.How do we raise children? How do we mature them? This has really come home to me since that little baby actually walked across the stage to receive her diploma a

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29666586.post-1151437780161011162006-06-27T15:49:00.000-04:002006-06-27T15:49:40.173-04:00

Thoughts to Ponder: Prayer

Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0