Emphasis Preaching Journal

Contents
“Snake Bit” by C. David McKirachan
“Burned Out” by C. David McKirachan


Snake Bit
by C. David McKirachan
John 3:1-17

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.... (v. 16a)

Good morning children,

How are you this lovely morning? I'm _______ and so delighted to be here with you.

I love sharing God's word. And I love your listening ears. Does everybody have your listening ears on? Open eyes too? Thinking cap on?

For May 27, 2018:

• Religious but not Spiritual by Dean Feldmeyer -- Try as we might, we all have “blind spots” that, if not treated, can block us from being the faithful Christians we aspire to be.

Victor Hugo called his masterpiece Misérables, a religious work. So it is. The story echoes the gospel message at nearly every turn.

The main character, Jean Valjean, has been beaten hard by the cruel twists of fate. He has seen the sham of hypocrisy on all sides. So he casts the name of the Lord to the ground like a curse. What does God know of him, and what does it matter?

Psalm 29
This is a lesson to highlight the glory of God; such glory is associated with the mystery of the Trinity. Modern Reformed theologian Karl Barth well describes this glory:

In view of what has been said so far, this ‘in the highest’ means quite simply that he is the one who stands above us and also above our highest and deepest feelings, strivings, intuitions, above the products, even the most sublime, of the human spirit. (Dogmatics in Outline, p.37)

Great Puritan leader Jonathan Edwards extols God’s majesty this way:

The highlight of the famous Alpha course is the Holy Spirit weekend, although it has to be said that our parishes have not yet managed a weekend. But we have consistently managed a Holy Spirit day. Having started out as something of a skeptic about the Holy Spirit day, I have emerged as a convert, for I have witnessed some amazing transformations through the experience.The Holy Spirit day comes just over half way through the Alpha course, after around 6-7 weeks of discussion and thought about God and Jesus.

In his autobiography, actor Alec Guinness tells a story that might keep every pastor and church school teacher awake at night. He was a teenager and it was the morning of his confirmation. The classes were finished. The students' heads had been filled full of Bible stories and theological doctrines. Guinness says Holy Trinity Church in Eastbourne was crammed with confirmation candidates, their parents, friends, schoolteachers, and sponsors.