Fifth Sunday of Easter - A
Peter Andrew Smith
Keith Hewitt
Contents
"Words of Power" by Peter Andrew Smith
"Refuge" by Keith Hewitt
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Words of Power
by Peter Andrew Smith
Acts 7:55-60
The principal looked at the boy holding the cloth up to his nose. His hair was dishevelled, his lip swollen, and his clothes bore the stains of the muddy playground. The nurse examined him but his bleeding nostrils seemed his greatest injury.
The man turned his attention to the three boys sitting on the other side of the room. They looked pretty much untouched by the scuffle which was no surprise as that was the way they usually arrived in his office. He knew they faced challenges in their homes but that was no excuse for bullying and violence. He scowled at them in frustration.
"Words of Power" by Peter Andrew Smith
"Refuge" by Keith Hewitt
* * * * * * * *
Words of Power
by Peter Andrew Smith
Acts 7:55-60
The principal looked at the boy holding the cloth up to his nose. His hair was dishevelled, his lip swollen, and his clothes bore the stains of the muddy playground. The nurse examined him but his bleeding nostrils seemed his greatest injury.
The man turned his attention to the three boys sitting on the other side of the room. They looked pretty much untouched by the scuffle which was no surprise as that was the way they usually arrived in his office. He knew they faced challenges in their homes but that was no excuse for bullying and violence. He scowled at them in frustration.
Keith Hewitt
Scott Dalgarno
John E. Sumwalt
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Encounter in the Darkness" by Keith Hewitt
"Please Don't Forget Me" by Scott Dalgarno
"An Unwanted Gift" by John Sumwalt
What's Up This Week
Death is an inescapable reality in our world of mortality. We will all have to come face-to-face with death sooner or later. How we face death can often speak to how we have faced life. It can also have a great impact on those around us. "Encounter in the Darkness" offers two contrasting reactions to a notable death in the Bible. "Please Don't Forget Me" is a moving illustration of how our death can affect those closest to us. In "An Unwanted Gift," we meet a man who has an unusual connection with death and we discover how that connection ministers to him and those around him.
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Encounter in the Darkness
By Keith Hewitt
Acts 7:55-60
What's Up This Week
"Encounter in the Darkness" by Keith Hewitt
"Please Don't Forget Me" by Scott Dalgarno
"An Unwanted Gift" by John Sumwalt
What's Up This Week
Death is an inescapable reality in our world of mortality. We will all have to come face-to-face with death sooner or later. How we face death can often speak to how we have faced life. It can also have a great impact on those around us. "Encounter in the Darkness" offers two contrasting reactions to a notable death in the Bible. "Please Don't Forget Me" is a moving illustration of how our death can affect those closest to us. In "An Unwanted Gift," we meet a man who has an unusual connection with death and we discover how that connection ministers to him and those around him.
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Encounter in the Darkness
By Keith Hewitt
Acts 7:55-60
John E. Sumwalt
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (v. 9)
Have you been through dark times in your life? Darkness comes into all of our lives at one time or another. Sometimes these painful seasons can be overwhelming.
Consider these words of wisdom from the 139th Psalm. The next time you find yourself drowning in darkness — when it seems your life is falling apart, when all that made sense no longer makes sense, when your joy is gone, when you feel like you have lost the one person or the one thing that gave meaning to your life, when you are tempted to give up hope, when all you can see before you is darkness — pray this prayer of the psalmist:
Have you been through dark times in your life? Darkness comes into all of our lives at one time or another. Sometimes these painful seasons can be overwhelming.
Consider these words of wisdom from the 139th Psalm. The next time you find yourself drowning in darkness — when it seems your life is falling apart, when all that made sense no longer makes sense, when your joy is gone, when you feel like you have lost the one person or the one thing that gave meaning to your life, when you are tempted to give up hope, when all you can see before you is darkness — pray this prayer of the psalmist:
David O. Bales
Contents
"Excavating To The Center" by David O. Bales
"Troubled Hearts" by David O. Bales
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Excavating To The Center
by David O. Bales
1 Peter 2:2-10
“Crummy,” Dwight said. “This is definitely not what I signed up for.”
“The brochure laid it all out pretty well,” Murray said. “Three days in Paris, three on the Rhone to Southern France. Then the more intensive archaeological evaluation of Medieval Christianity.”
“It’s like intensive agriculture in a rocky field,” Dwight said. “I think it’s a joke to call it archaeology. Rocks. That’s all Beecher cares about.”
“It gets three hours credits in the humanities,” Seth said. “That’s what I needed. Convinced my parents I could do this instead of get a summer job and still graduate in four years.”
"Excavating To The Center" by David O. Bales
"Troubled Hearts" by David O. Bales
* * * * * * * *
Excavating To The Center
by David O. Bales
1 Peter 2:2-10
“Crummy,” Dwight said. “This is definitely not what I signed up for.”
“The brochure laid it all out pretty well,” Murray said. “Three days in Paris, three on the Rhone to Southern France. Then the more intensive archaeological evaluation of Medieval Christianity.”
“It’s like intensive agriculture in a rocky field,” Dwight said. “I think it’s a joke to call it archaeology. Rocks. That’s all Beecher cares about.”
“It gets three hours credits in the humanities,” Seth said. “That’s what I needed. Convinced my parents I could do this instead of get a summer job and still graduate in four years.”
Keith Hewitt
Keith Wagner
Contents
"Moment of Inevitability" by Keith Hewitt
"Cornerstone Faith" by Keith Wagner
"The Path for Troubled Hearts" by Keith Wagner
Moment of Inevitability
by Keith Hewitt
Acts 7:55-60
“There’s something wrong with this one.”
I thought it, surprised myself a little by saying it out loud, and glanced quickly to my left and right to see if anyone had heard me -- or was paying attention, at least. No one was -- everyone was too focused on the task at hand. Relieved, for some reason, I counted my blessings and bent over, picked up another rock and hefted it in my hand, waiting for the chance to take my next shot.
"Moment of Inevitability" by Keith Hewitt
"Cornerstone Faith" by Keith Wagner
"The Path for Troubled Hearts" by Keith Wagner
Moment of Inevitability
by Keith Hewitt
Acts 7:55-60
“There’s something wrong with this one.”
I thought it, surprised myself a little by saying it out loud, and glanced quickly to my left and right to see if anyone had heard me -- or was paying attention, at least. No one was -- everyone was too focused on the task at hand. Relieved, for some reason, I counted my blessings and bent over, picked up another rock and hefted it in my hand, waiting for the chance to take my next shot.
Sandra Herrmann
Frank Ramirez
Contents
"The Cornerstone" by Sandra Herrmann
"The Wall" by Sandra Herrmann
"New Math" by Frank Ramirez
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The Cornerstone
by Sandra Herrmann
1 Peter 2:2-10
"Watch your shadow!"
Elise spun around, looking for whomever had shouted the warning. There didn't seem to be anyone else around, look though she might.
"I said, 'Watch your shadow!" This time with more emphasis. She finally looked up, and there, in the tractor of the giant scoop that had been digging a hole alongside the road, was a man leaning out and looking directly at her.
"What's wrong with my shadow?" Elise shouted back. She now, at last, actually looked at her shadow. It was long in the afternoon sun, stretching from where she stood to the fence that had been erected around the new construction site.
"The Cornerstone" by Sandra Herrmann
"The Wall" by Sandra Herrmann
"New Math" by Frank Ramirez
* * * * * * *
The Cornerstone
by Sandra Herrmann
1 Peter 2:2-10
"Watch your shadow!"
Elise spun around, looking for whomever had shouted the warning. There didn't seem to be anyone else around, look though she might.
"I said, 'Watch your shadow!" This time with more emphasis. She finally looked up, and there, in the tractor of the giant scoop that had been digging a hole alongside the road, was a man leaning out and looking directly at her.
"What's wrong with my shadow?" Elise shouted back. She now, at last, actually looked at her shadow. It was long in the afternoon sun, stretching from where she stood to the fence that had been erected around the new construction site.
John E. Sumwalt And Jo Perry-sumwalt
Contents
What's Up This Week
A Story to Live By: "A Good Day to Die?"
Shining Moments: "A Rock of Refuge" by Jody E. Felton
Good Stories: "A Pretty Little Room" by Jo Perry-Sumwalt
Scrap Pile: "Telemachus, the Martyr"
What's Up This Week
What's Up This Week
A Story to Live By: "A Good Day to Die?"
Shining Moments: "A Rock of Refuge" by Jody E. Felton
Good Stories: "A Pretty Little Room" by Jo Perry-Sumwalt
Scrap Pile: "Telemachus, the Martyr"
What's Up This Week
What is StoryShare?
StoryShare is a treasure house with hundreds of good stories to share, stories which relate authentic, life-changing experiences that demonstrate the Lord's power and presence. Many are intensely personal accounts that concern visions, healing, or answers to prayers, but all bear witness to the indescribable joy, comfort and peace that come from a personal encounter with the divine. Our "Good Stories" section includes short fiction, parables much like those Jesus told.
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