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Thom Rainer:

I like to laugh. In fact, I sometimes think some of us Christians take life with such a somber attitude that we forget how to smile.

Most everyone has seen church bulletin bloopers. They are typically corny, but my sons tell me that corniness is one of my spiritual gifts. I have saved dozens of them over the years. They simply make me laugh. I thought it might be good to take a brief break from the seriousness of life and share with you my top ten favorite bloopers. Enjoy!

10. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What is Hell?” Come early and listen to our choir practice.

9. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.

8. The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, “Break Forth Into Joy.”

7. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

6. Announcement in the church bulletin for a National Prayer and Fasting Conference: “The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer Conference includes meals.”

5. Charlene Mason sang “I Will Not Pass This Way Again,” giving obvious pleasure to the congregation. . .

The rest here.

You may find Tim Keller’s thoughts encouraging.

Tim Keller – Interview Session #3 from Vintage21 Church on Vimeo.

James Hamilton rightly points out that Paul modeled how the Gospel can be applied to a wide variety of situations.

As I often stress, Titus 2:1 does not say that we we should teach sound doctrine.  Rather, we are to preach and teach what accords with or is consistent with sound doctrine.  Of course, sound doctrine is basic to this task, but we must go a step further and show how sound doctrine works out in life.

James Hamilton, Jr. stresses that Paul practiced what he preached; he preached to his listeners what was consistent with the truth.  (The below words are Hamilton’s, though I have broken the paragraph into bullet points).

One of the most remarkable features of the thirteen letters of Paul in the New Testament is the stability of Paul’s theological positions, which are so flexibly applied to a wide variety of circumstances.

• In Romans Paul proclaims his gospel to a church he has not visited, and it is perhaps his most important theoretical theological statement . . .
• In 1 Corinthians he applies the same gospel he proclaims in Romans to specific problems in the Corinthian church’s life, answering direct questions they have posed.
• In 2 Corinthians the power of God in weakness is heralded against an ongoing problem with a worldly perspective in the Corinthian church,
• and in Galatians Paul shows how the gospel cannot be mixed with works of the law.
• Ephesians celebrates the glory of God in the church.
• Philippians celebrates life as Christ and death as gain, in conformity to the one who made himself nothing and obeyed unto death.
• Colossians holds up the glory of Jesus to woo the church from human traditions, philosophy, and empty deceit.
• Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians features the way Christians imitate Jesus in joyful reception of the word of God in much affliction.
• In 2 Thessalonians Paul assures the church that Jesus will come in glory to save them and judge their enemies.
• Paul’s first letter to Timothy calls him to silence false teaching and preach the true gospel that produces orderly, God-honoring relationships.
• In his second letter to Timothy Paul encourages Timothy to join him in suffering for the gospel in the strength of grace given before the ages began.
• Paul encourages Titus to appoint elders who will teach sound doctrine and refute false teachers,
• and he calls Philemon to live out the gospel by receiving Onesimus as a brother.” James M. Hamilton, Jr., God’s Goory in Salvation Through Judgment, page 448.

I noticed a robin when I arrived at church this morning and was reminded of this that I posted previously.

What season is it in your life? Are you living in July? Or, is it late February full of slush?

I remember an Easter morning when I must have been about 10 years old. We were waiting upstairs in our farm house for the Easter Bunny to finish hiding candy when my sister Shelley spotted a robin in the back yard. The Brauns crew erupted. We yelled down to my parents, “We saw a robin.”

Why the excitement over a common bird? It wasn’t like we were great nature lovers. To be honest, if my brothers and I had been outside with a 410 we might have even take a shot at it.

For that matter, a robin isn’t a particularly incredible bird. A pheasant is bigger and brighter. A cardinal is more vivid, bald eagles are more spectacular. But, you know why we were excited. A robin in the Upper Midwest is one of the first signs of Spring.

I still smile when I see the first robin of the year. I know if Spring doesn’t show up with the robins, it won’t be far behind.

No robins yet. In fact, they’re a few weeks out and it’s about an ugly a time of year as we have in the Midwest. The snow that remains is gray slush. But, it will only be a few weeks and the first brave robins will fly north and freeze for their tail feathers off for a few days before the warm spring rains arrive.

Life is seasons. There are warm summer days in July, and, flaming maples in October. There are tulips and geraniums. But, there is also late February and early March. And, on those gray days, spring seems decades away.

It may be that your life is in the month of February. If you look out the window of your circumstances, all you see is gray slush and icy rain. But, be assured of this. If you know Christ, Spring is not far away.

Go to your window right now. Open up your Bible and read the Psalms. Listen to Christian music. You may be surprised to see a robin. And, even though Spring may not come at exactly the same time as the robin, it won’t be far behind.

Look to Christ for Spring.

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul (Psalm 143:8).”