Feet of Clay

Several years ago, I wrote a children's sermon entitled "A Miraculous Turn Around."  The lesson was based on Luke 7:11-16 where Jesus encountered a large crowd that was mourning a young man's death.  Jesus approached the boy's mother and said, "Don't Cry." Then he said to the dead boy, "Get up!"  The young man rose and returned to his mother.

At the time I wrote this lesson, Lance Armstrong was at the pinnacle of his cycling career.  He had overcome cancer and had won the Tour de France a record seven times.  That is a record that is not likely to ever be broken.  He was certainly a prime example of "A Miraculous Turn Around."

Even if you don't follow bicycle racing, you know what has happened since that time.  He has been accused by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of cheating through the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.  Armstrong denies cheating, but refuses to fight the charge stating that he has cleared hundreds of tests and has never tested positive for any banned substance.  He has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and has been banned from professional cycling.

To many people Lance Armstrong is still a hero, but to many he is a disgraced cheater.  I don't know which is correct, but I do know that his story teaches us that it we must avoid the worship of idols.  It has been demonstrated time and time again that the idols we worship tend to have "Feet of Clay."  (Daniel 2:31-33)

A New Direction

I don't remember when I started this Blog.  It was really just an experiment to see what it was like.  Of course the fact that it was free made that more appealing.  Not having anything creative to say, I began posting sermons that were already appearing on our Sermons4Kids web site.  I only updated it about once or twice a year!  Not much of an incentive for anyone to follow our blog.  Well, I still don't know what direction we will take, but we either need to change what we are doing or abandon ship, so if you have any ideas, let me know.  You can offer feedback through the contact page on the sermons4kids.com web site.

Social media is all the rage these days.  Sermons4Kids has a Facebook page, a Twitter page, and a YouTube page, but I'm not too sure I do much better with those than I do with this Blog.  I had a meeting last week with the College Minister at my church and enlisted his help in finding an intern. We are looking for someone with technical savvy and a heart for ministry to help us in managing our Social Media.  I pray that the Lord will send just the right person to fill that job just like he sent someone to translate our lessons into Spanish and someone to create group activities to enhance our Sermons4Kids lessons.  God is good at finding people!

Stay tuned and we will see where this Blog takes us.

Breakfast on the Beach

I have heard some people say that they enjoy fishing even if they never catch a fish. They say that they just enjoy the peace and relaxation of fishing. I will have to confess, it doesn't sound like much fun to sit in a boat holding a fishing pole without ever catching any fish. How about you?

Imagine that you have been sitting in a boat fishing all night without catching a single fish. As the sun begins to come up you can see someone standing at the edge of the water.

"Hi!" he calls out. "Have you had any luck?"

"I haven't caught a thing," you answer.

"Well, if you would put your fishing pole on the right-hand side of the boat, you would catch a lot of fish."

Would you try it, or would you say to yourself, "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard. What difference does it make which side of the boat I am fishing from?"

Well, that is almost exactly what happened one day to Jesus' disciples.  Several of them were gathered beside the Sea of Galilee. The group included Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, and James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

Suddenly, Peter said, "I'm going fishing."

"We'll come too," the others said. So they got in the boat and they fished all night, but caught nothing."

As the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't make out who it was. Jesus called out to them, "Have you caught any fish?"

"Not a thing," the disciples called back.

"Throw your nets on the right-hand side of the boat and you'll catch some!"

Did they do it? Yes they did! Did they catch any fish? They caught so many fish that they couldn't even pull the net into the boat!

Then the disciple that Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Lord!" When Peter heard that, he jumped into the water and headed for shore. The others stayed with the boat and dragged the loaded net to the shore. When they got there, they found Jesus cooking breakfast -- fish over a charcoal fire and some bread.

"Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. Peter dragged the net to the shore and there were 153 large fish. "Now, come and have some breakfast," Jesus said. Then Jesus served them fish and bread.

Oh my! It just doesn't get any better than that. Breakfast on the beach with the risen Lord! What would have happened if the disciples had refused to throw their nets on the right-hand side of the boat? They would have missed out on a wonderful breakfast on the beach with Jesus. What happens when you and I refuse to do the things Jesus has called us to do? We miss out on the wonderful blessings that he wants for us!

Father, we know that you have wonderful blessings in store for us when we faithfully follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our prayer is that we will always be obedient disciples. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.