Emphasis Preaching Journal

Note: This installment is still being edited, but for purposes of immediacy we are posting it for your use. Please excuse any errors or omissions. We'll have it cleaned up soon.

For June 17, 2018:

• Things Unseen by Mary Austin -- We have a daily calling to see beneath the surface of people’s happy Instagram pictures and peppy Facebook posts to the truth underneath. Like Paul and Samuel, we need learn to see people as God sees them.

“The kingdom of God... is like a mustard seed....” (v.31)

Good morning little ones and big ones too,

Do you know how tall you are? (children answer)

Do you know how much you weigh? (children volunteer answers)

Next to adults are you big or little? (children answer)

Children usually are considered small -- but are growing. Are you growing?

Contents
“Of Prophets And Heifers” by David O. Bales
“Answer!” by David O. Bales
“Old Mrs. Kieselweiss” by Keith Hewitt


Of Prophets And Heifers
by David O. Bales
1 Samuel 15:34--16:13

All the lessons for this Sunday early in the Pentecost Season proclaim the good news that God finds a way out of what seems to be no way for the faithful.

1 Samuel 15:34--16:13

I remember watching a television documentary on BBC 2, on St Paul's Cathedral. The final programme was a look at the choir school, with boys from as young as seven or eight years old until about twelve or thirteen. They had to work immensely hard, with the older boys regularly working something like a 13-hour day before they had any real free time. But they seemed quite happy with their punishing schedule, because for all of them their life and soul was in the choir and the music.

Several years ago, it was the week before Father's Day and the children and I were looking for a gift for their dad. As we strolled through the men's section of a department store our eyes spotted the perfect gift at the same moment. It was a bright, splashy Hawaiian style shirt with matching shorts. We giggled as we purchased it because Dan is a pretty conservative dresser. As I was handing the money to the woman at the cash register, I asked our oldest daughter, "But, do you think he will actually wear it?" She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It's anybody's guess."