Sermons (Page 155)
Fifth Sunday in Lent
It’s a cold November night in 1959 and Roger is just one of hundreds of people exiting the Music Box movie theatre on N. Southport Ave. He had gone to the movies by himself this time, he couldn’t quite convince his friends to go see all three and a half hours of Ben-Hur again, for the fifth time. Roger enjoyed the fact that his ticket purchases had contributed to Ben-Hur being the fastest grossing movie of all time, heck it even made him in a crazy way, and he knew it was crazy, feel proud, as if he was a part of something bigger than himself. Ben-Hur was like no other movie he had ever seen. Its 15 million dollar budget far surpassed any other movies. I mean the chariot race alone cost 1 million dollars to make and the life size 18 acre track, which was historically accurate to the 1st century, was the largest film set ever built. Roger couldn’t fathom a movie experience to top this one. Well until he saw it…
Fourth Sunday in Lent
“Humans are a risk-taking species,” says psychologist Dr. Marvin Zuckerman. “The hunting of large and dangerous game by men required a type of thrill- and adventure-seeking that also contributes to the success of the human race. Over the millennia, men also found in combat and war and outlet for their need for adventure…This does not mean that individuals don’t differ in the degree in which they have that trait.” Too little risk-taking brings about stagnation, and too much risk-taking, after all, leads to an early death. We might call that consistent, routine-based person on one end of the scale boring, while we could call the daredevil, jobless person on the other end of the scale reckless…
Third Sunday In Lent
Trust is crucial in any relationship. One of the ways that we establish trust in relationships is consistency. We do what we say we’re going to do. We make promises. And by keeping those promises, we build trust in our relationships. I’m a big fan promises. More specifically, I like to make promises. I’m great at verbalizing the things that I want to do or that I’m going to do. But, my track record of keeping those promises…? Ehhh……it could be better…