Elbert Lafayette Crawford was my great grandfather, whom I never knew. He was from Mississippi as was his wife. They married in Ft. Smith, Arkansas and moved to central Texas where she died at the age of 38. He was a farmer in Bell County, Texas where he died and was buried in the Wilson…
I confess it is a challenge for me to find many exciting verses in the book of Leviticus. However, one caught my full attention this week. How does God show holiness? There are other answers, but one answer is found in Leviticus 10:3, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near…
The vehicle in front of me had a bumper sticker that read, “If you love God, pray. Anyone can honk.” The humor of it was lost on me since I was having one of those dreaded days when I not only felt bad physically, but everything was going wrong. I actually felt more like honking…
In more than thirty-five years of teaching at the university and seminary levels, I’ve noticed four types of teachers. One type is highly educated, skilled in teaching methodology, polished in presentations, with great teaching EXPERTISE. They may have gone straight from the academic arena as a student to the academic arena as a teacher, bypassing…
In the early days of my ministry there sat on my desk a small note pad with the word, “Memo” on top of each page (short for Memorandum). It was a means of communication. Under the word “Memo” were the words: “To” and “From” and “Date” and “Re:” (short for Regarding). In those days I…
I know it’s not Monday Morning and I know that I’ve already sent the Memo for Monday, but I need some suggestions. I have been asked to be a guest blogger for a Christian online newspaper. Most of the blogs will be repeats out of the Monday Morning Memo archives. I need a title for…
When it comes to God’s will, there are three types of believers: (1) those who know the will of God and try to live it; (2) those who know the will of God and don’t live it; (3) those who don’t know the will of God and therefore do not live it. There are relatively…
Those of us who preach receive a variety of post-sermon responses. One of my most remembered, was a good-intentioned, yet devastating comment from a dear lady who said, “Bro. Dan, every sermon you preach is better than the next one.” Think about it. That’s a comment, not a compliment. We who preach cringe when someone…
From Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina we’ve been hearing how to make America great. Want-a-be-Presidents act as if America is no longer the greatest nation in the world and assure us, if elected, they will exalt us to new levels of greatness. Solomon, considered by his contemporizes as the wisest man of his…
A recent study of a major symphony revealed how orchestra members perceived each other. Percussionists were seen as insensitive, yet fun-loving. String players were perceived as arrogant and stuffy. Brass players were judged as loud. Woodwind players were described as quiet, though a bit egotistical. With this diversity of feeling for each other, members of…