Submitted by Tim Perkins

Across the Preacher's Desk - Don't Boil Over

December 17, 2020 - I was cooking my oatmeal the other morning, and before you could say, "how did it happen," it had! I didn't turn the heat down on the stove and my oatmeal boiled over. Now, let's be honest, any good cook turns the heat down when the pot begins to boil. There is nothing good accomplished by uncontrolled boiling. The food in the pot sticks to the pan and burns or bubbles over the side and is lost. 

Across the Preacher’s Desk: God Is Near

December 10, 2020 - We had our young grandson Mason who is a little over 2 years old, staying with us for a few days during Thanksgiving. As you go from our den into our dining room, you go up some stairs or steps, about 5 of them to be exact. Well, Mason already has an independent streak. So, we would start up those steps and he would say, “all on my own” and hold the rail and walk up without my assistance.

Across the Preacher’s Desk: Wear A Smile!

December 3, 2020 - It’s been raining today (Wednesday), the sky is overcast and perhaps that is what made me think of this. I remember as a small boy (pretty good memory eh?) watching a country music show on television called “Jones Junction”. They always closed the program with the same song. While I do not remember all the words, I do remember it said, “Let a smile be your umbrella on a rainy, rainy day.” Perhaps something akin to that is what the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote the words, “Rejoice evermore” in I Thessalonians 5:16.

Across the Preacher's Desk: My Cup Overflows

November 27, 2020 - The imagery that David presents for us in Psalm 23 is one of abundance.  In writing of the gracious provisions of God as our Shepherd, he writes, “my cup runneth over”.  Have you ever done that?  Have you ever filled a cup to overflowing where it ran over the sides of the cup into the saucer or on to the table?  Can you actually picture a more adequate description of the abundant blessings that we enjoy as the children of God?

Across the Preacher’s Desk: Red Clay Pots

November 12, 2020 - I can remember as a boy, watching the potter at work at the wheel at the old Marshall Pottery. I would stand mesmerized by the skill with which he would throw a lump of clay on the wheel and mold it into a work of art. They made many beautiful pieces of pottery in those days. They made pitchers, butter churns, strawberry pots, pickling crocks among other items. But they also made just plain, red clay flower pots.

Across the Preacher's Desk: How Are Your Batteries?

November 5, 2020 - It was only a couple of months ago that Hurricane Laura blew into our world. Trees were blown down around us, we were without power, some for several days, and life was generally disrupted. I remember that morning when the power went off. I immediately went to the cabinet for a flashlight, and the very first one I picked up had no light. The batteries were dead.

Across the Preacher’s Desk: Words

October 29, 2020 - Words are wonderful things. They have a beauty all their own. They have associations in our minds that give them reputation. Some are bores and some shine brilliantly. 

Yet, there is an eloquence without words. “Silence is golden” someone has said. Silence can be eloquent also. Jesus was a master at using the eloquence of silence. He used it many times.

Across the Preacher’s Desk: Blessed are the Peacemakers

October 22, 2020 - It was in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:9 that Jesus said, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” For more than 20 centuries this great word has been knocking at the closed door of the hearts of men and women, largely in vain. We have said yes with our lips. Yet, in our hearts, we have said, “blessed are the sowers of discord.” Blessed are the war makers and blessed are the fomenters of strife. We see it every day in our land.

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