Mark 8:27-38 When I was nine years old, a traveling evangelist – the cowboy evangelist Leonard Eilers – came to town with his “Round Up for God” crusade.  I was “rounded up” and came forward to the altar, where one of the deacons, a farmer who had come straight from the fields, asked, “Do you…

Job 38:4-7; 41:1-11 Many of us become interested in certain topics because of our children or grandchildren.  A few years back my grandchildren became fascinated by sharks – hammerheads, great whites, makos, and the legendary megalodon, the largest creature ever to live on our planet.  We read books, saw movies, followed Shark Week on the…

Psalm 148 I was raised among the Baptists and it was commonplace to hear people shout, “Praise the Lord” in our worship services.  When the pastor hit the right note in the sermon, folks would exclaim “Amen” or when the choir sang an especially lively anthem, the response would be “Hallelujah.”  When people gave witness…