Held For Ransom

“A young couple was visiting a church for the first time.  As the preacher’s sermon dragged on, their little girl became restless.  Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, “Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?”

“From The Big Book of Church Jokes, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.”

The Young Man Who Fell From the Window

Paul is considered to have been one of the great intellectuals of the Western world, even by his detractors.  As brilliant a theologian as he was, he may have been very long-winded and possibly even a boring speaker.

“And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.” Acts 20: 9-11

A fall from a third story window onto to the ground below would, at a minimum, have produced very serious injuries.  Those present thought that Eutychus was dead.

The implication is that Paul brought the young man back from the dead and then diverted the attention of the group.  A confirmed resurrection would have abruptly ended the meeting.  Paul still had much to say.  He talked until dawn.

Bible Printer's Errors: The Unrepentant Ninevites Bible

Not all the errant texts of Bibles occurred in the years 1500 to 1700.  The edition known as the Unrepentant Ninevites Bible was issued in 1989. Luke 11:32 in the God's New Covenant Bible (1989) reads "For when Jonah preached to them, they were not led to repentance." Actually, they were.

Preacher in a Can

"Canned, but never stale." Joel D. Smith of Thomasville, North Carolina, is a Christian Academy school teacher and is the Preacher in a Can. The presentation looks silly but Smith is a legitimate supply preacher primarily in the State of North Carolina. He leads retreats, seminars, revivals, and serves as a guest speaker, interim pastor, vacation replacement, etc. and has available hundreds of previously prepared sermons from which churches can choose. He also can prepare sermons for specific needs.

On his website (http://preacherinacan.com ) Smith lists his employment and educational history and his Top 10 Beliefs; conservative, trinitarian, and evangelical.

Saint Francis of Assisi on Preaching

"Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." Giovanni Francesco Bernardone (aka: St. Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226)