Posts by John Staiger (Page 110)

Snake Oil Peddlers The Old Wild West movies would sometimes feature a Medicine Show. The Medicine Man was your consummate salesman. Proclaiming loudly from his soapbox the miraculous virtues of his latest cure-all elixir. Amongst the gathering townsfolk he often employed the services of a man (a shill) to swear to the efficacy of his Snake Oil product. These Medicine Shows existed. Ointments and potions claiming to contain snake oil were very popular. Of course, when tested, they were found…

Is it Personal? This is a story about 3 men. The first being an old preacher who went on a well-deserved holiday with his lovely wife; the second being a young preacher who came to house-sit; and the third, a man who was having an awfully bad day. The phone rang and our house-sitting preacher-boy answered it with his characteristically bright, cheery voice. It was our third man, and yes, his day was bad, and yes, he was about to…

“Youth is wasted on the young!” Who wants to sit around and talk about getting old? Not me! But the problem is that there was a price to be paid for those wonderful years spent raising kids from babyhood to adulthood—your youth. No, not your 16 and bulletproof years, the ones after that. When you had enough sense to negotiate people and problems without your mother sitting at home wondering if you are still alive (I guess, I’m talking like…

“When in Rome…” Have you ever been to Rome? I am told that it is worth visiting. The city that gave its name to the expression, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” was once the epicentre of civilization. Being Roman was to have made it. And, as they say, ‘If you could make it there, you could make it anywhere!’ The smart person was the person who learned the language, appreciated the music, donned the fashion, loved the…

Bringing hope – whether the people knew it, or not! I attended a funeral a few years ago. My preacher friend’s mother had died and he felt honoured to conduct the service. His siblings had specifically asked that no religious references be made during the service ‘whatsoever.’ He dutifully carried out his family’s wishes, but for one deviation into a ‘grey area.’ He said, “I would like to read the lyrics of a famous song from 1965 by a group…

Wedding Invitations (Part 2.) ‘Look who’s not coming to Dinner, too!’ Everybody was slaughtered by the end of the first half of Jesus’ wedding banquet story (Matthew 22). The second half starts very well for all the ‘last-minute fresh-list’ invitees, but turns violet in the middle for one inappropriately dressed man, and ends with a generic warning designed to leave everyone worried – that’s if they haven’t been listening. Today’s cries for soft soap doesn’t wash in Jesus’ story sermons.…

Wedding Invitations (Part 1.) ‘Look who’s not coming to Dinner.’ Jesus told a story about a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son (Matthew 22). Palace couriers hand-delivered invitations to those on the guest list, but they refused to attend. To make sure that everyone on the list knew that everything was cooked and ready, he dispatched a second wave of messengers. Again, the guests ignored the invitation and went about their business; some taking the time to…

What’s there to be thankful about? A lot of work goes into those church Family Games Nights. The final game at some of ours consisted of a ‘present-pick-and-exchange’ game. On one such night the best wrapped present was the last to be chosen—a late entry. Lots of voices rose as the last guy went to get his prize. Most waving their opened gifts, hoping he would swap his ‘box of hope’ for their unwanted wares. Over the din, and since…

“If you preached like that…” “Chris Miller gives a good sermon” is one of the many compliments I have heard about Chris’ preaching over the years. He has preached at Morningside on a number of occasions, and has always been well received. About 13 years ago he came to preach for us and, as usual, he did a good job. In the van, on the way home from church, my kids were giving their weekly commentary on the Sunday morning’s…