One of my first experiences in ministry was teaching a fifth-grade Sunday school class when I was still in high school. On one occasion, I invited the entire class of thirty students to my house for a party. My parents kindly obliged by opening their home for the event. My mother made 80 enchiladas to serve the horde, and then my parents went out for the evening, leaving me in charge. I thought I had enough activities to keep thirty fifth-graders busy for a couple of hours, between games, movies, and food, but apparently, I was wrong. By the end of the evening, they were doing back-flips over the sofa in our living room. When the parents arrived in the middle of this chaos to pick up their children, my parents arrived home as well. Standing in our foyer, looking out over the masses, one of the fifth-grade parents turned to my parents and asked them, “So which one is yours?” My mother replied nonchalantly, “The tall one over there.” Sometimes feeding and entertaining large groups ...
What sells magazines? One only need take a glance at the publications on offer at the checkout counter in the grocery store to answer that question. It seems to me there are three things that sell magazines… Royalty. One can most always see photos of the British royals on display where I shop. Sex. Who was in bed with whom? That is a perennial favorite. Religion. Though this topic is not as popular as the first two, the tabloids do take an interest in the fall of popular preachers, and Jesus makes an appearance in my grocery store at least every Christmas and Easter. Now, if you mix these three topics together (royalty, sex & religion) then you have a bestseller on your hands. And that is precisely what we have in the next story in Mark’s Gospel. Listen for God’s word to you from Mark 6:14-29… King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why mi...