John E. Sumwalt

Out with the old, and in with the new. That’s easily said, but not so easily done. Yet though we think of ourselves as simple people, we can end up with a lot of clutter. Change is necessary, but that’s not always a comfortable transition to make. It’s hard enough to clean out our closets. But how about our spiritual lives?

“My parents raised me in the church.” Charlene leaned against the desk in their residence room. “So to answer your question, I guess I’ve always had faith.”

“Really?” Jody flopped on the bed in the other side of the room. “You can’t ever remember a time when you didn’t believe?”

Charlene thought for a moment. “I’ve certainly had doubts but those are the things that actually confirmed my faith. Like when Nan died in the car accident.”

Jody sat up against the wall and considered her friend. “You kept your faith because your grandmother died unexpectedly?”

Object: A packet of mustard seeds, or a packet of the smallest seeds you can find.

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

One day Jesus was talking with his friends and he wanted to tell them something really, really important. So, this is what he told them. He said:

Among the greatest political speeches ever written is Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. His brief Gettysburg Address is more famous, but those who take the time to read the Second Inaugural Address will come away impressed not only by Lincoln's rhetorical skills, but also with his probing philosophical mind and deep piety.

I don't know about you but when I was growing up I always loved hearing the story of Cinderella. There was always something magical about it. It was more than Walter Mitty or Lee Iacocca -- small-town boy made good. It was more than Prince Charles and Princess Diana in all their regal splendor long before Diana's untimely death.

The kingdom of God is described in many different ways in the Bible. In Mark 4, the kingdom of God is described in terms of small seeds quietly planted by a farmer. The seeds can grow to great size, like a mustard plant which in ancient Israel became one of the largest of bushes. Small beginnings can have great endings.

In his book Making Life Work, Chicago area pastor Bill Hybels cites a study that was published under an intriguing title: 178 Seconds to Live. The study concerned twenty pilots, all seasoned veterans in the cockpits of their small planes, but none of whom had ever taken instrument training. One by one they were placed in a flight simulator and told to do whatever they could to keep their planes level and under control. The simulator generated the conditions of a storm, including impenetrable, dark clouds.