“Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Can you imagine the shock on the disciples faces when Jesus told them that “whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4)? I imagine the disciples were expecting Jesus to point out someone like Moses, or …
Author Archives: Scott Attebery
Power of a Praying Pastor
In Mark 9:14-29, Christ’s disciples encounter a boy who has been plagued with demons. As a result, the boy was blind and mute. He frequently was thrown to the ground in violent fits. He would foam and the mouth and grind down his teeth. The demons would even cause him to fall into water and …
You Don’t Have to Sneak Up On God
The faint sound of little footsteps is followed by a pause, and then the slow opening of the door. It happens the same way every morning. I begin reading my Bible each day in the corner chair of my home office while my son is still in bed. But, without fail, before I finish reading …
Keynote Sermon: 2013 BMAA National Meeting
Saluting Our Soldiers With the Gospel
I have never served in the military. However, I have the utmost respect and gratitude for those who put their lives on the line for our nation’s freedom. We owe a great debt to our veterans and active-duty servicemen and women. Brandon, my best friend growing up, is one example. After the September 11, 2001 …
Lincoln’s Inbox
Travel back in time to 1861. You are a dinner guest of President Abraham Lincoln. After the main course, President Lincoln asks you to describe how people communicate in the future. You decide to tell him about email, but how? He has never seen a computer, clicked a mouse, or opened a web browser. Email …
The Impossible Calling of Love
Remember when the lawyer asked Jesus what was the most important law? After declaring “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” Jesus declares the second part of the Great Commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). The implication …
Upon Me?
In Luke 4, Jesus visits the synagogue. According to tradition, a man in the congregation would read scripture and then explain it. So it came as no surprise when Jesus took out a scroll and read from Isaiah 61. The surprise came after he read. Luke 4:17-21 records it this way: 17 And the scroll …
What is the Age-Requirement For Preaching?
It’s a strange question, isn’t it? In everything else in life, we put age requirements on areas of great responsibility (driving, voting, military service, etc). However, this pattern doesn’t seem to apply in the church. When a seven-year-old professes a “call” to preach in front of his local congregation, nobody questions it -as if a …
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Fake Fruit
I remember walking into my mother’s kitchen, picking up the plush red apple, and taking a bite. The bite marks are still there -in my mother’s plastic apple . To this day, it sits in a bowl on mom’s kitchen counter with other decorative plastic fruit. Looking back, the experience is comical. But it is …