Biblical Literacy in Jeopardy? Googling Genesis 2:24

Quick, what does Genesis 2:24 say? Don’t know off the top of your head? Google it. Turns out everyone had the same problem yesterday. Why? Because even last night’s Jeopardy contestants couldn’t answer what that verse says about marriage and family.

Now granted I had to stop and look up what the verse said (without Google’s help) but I certainly didn’t need a search engine to tell me what Genesis 2 was all about. As far as the overall message of the Bible is concerned this is a key chapter. What this tells me is that as a people our basic grasp of biblical themes is slipping away quickly.

Should we expect people today to know the themes of Scripture or is this no longer a reasonable assumption? If so how and where should these themes be taught? Feel free to comment and don’t worry about answering in the form of a question.

He Doesn’t Like You and I Don’t Like You Either

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I just came across Brian Croft’s blog called Practical Shepherding. He has a recent post there titled “How do I shepherd a church member who doesn’t like me?”

The temptation to allow frustration to lead to bitterness in these situations is hard to avoid. Here are three suggestions he offers to help shepherds to love and care for their sheep:

• Take an interest in what they love and enjoy.
• Seize moments to care for them in their greatest need.
• Take your children when you go and visit them.

I might also add that we shepherds need to keep in mind that sometimes it isn’t so much that we are not liked but that what we say or what we represent isn’t sitting well with that troubled member. It’s not that we are troublemakers, it’s the fact that we are breaking from tradition. It’s not that we are nosy, it’s that we hit a nerve when speaking about sin.

What other advice would you add to this list? Go ahead and comment with your suggestions.

Should Mother’s Day be on the church calendar?

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Next Sunday is Mother’s Day and once again I’ve wrestled with what emphasis to give the holiday as part of the Sunday morning worship service. Specifically the question I’ve been thinking about is what to preach on Sunday. Should there be a Mother’s Day sermon?

Expect the expected?

In truth, I do have my sermon idea picked out already for Sunday, and yes, it will be tied in with Mother’s Day. But is this an unspoken expectation? Is this holiday something we should feel obligated to acknowledge? Will Father’s Day in June get the same attention, or will dad take a backseat?

I’ve heard many opinions on this subject, some suggesting that to ignore the day is to shoot yourself in the foot, others saying the church needs to do nothing more than include mothers in the morning prayer. I suppose I take a middle ground.

Somewhere in between.

My feeling is that culturally Mother’s Day is a significant enough day that ignoring it is unwise. However, I never feel obligated to preach a Mother’s Day sermon. Sometimes the only nod is a point of application (if it’s there in the passage) directed toward mothers or parents in general. Other times it is a more traditional Mother’s Day message. Either way it has to fit in to what I already have planned for the series. I don’t think I would ever break from a series just because it’s Mother’s Day. At the same time I do take care as massage the order of a series so that an overly sensitive topic doesn’t happen to fall on that Sunday.

I know there is other wisdom out there and probably some great experience worked out in the laboratory of the pulpit. I would be curious to hear how others have dealt with this issue so be sure to comment with your two cents. And while you’re here be sure to subscribe to the blog fee in your favorite reader and link to this post on your favorite sharing site.