Tag: laughter

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Are you kidding me?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jonathon Burton: https://www.pexels.com

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 2.

There is always a clash of kingdoms going on in the world.

  • Abram faces an alliance of kings in Genesis 14.
  • Saul faces off against David.
  • David fights off a lot of Philistines.
  • Israel finds itself at odds with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Rome.

The psalmist wonders why the nations rage and the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord. None of this concerns God in the least. It’s one of the few places in the bible when the Lord chuckles and reminds everyone, “I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6).

Jesus said that nations would rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. That’s just the way this world is. Always has been. always will be.

He’s not worried. All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to him (Matthew 28:19). The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of the Lord (Revelation 11:15). Nothing happens outside of his control or permission. Everything is in good hands – his hands.

So we shouldn’t be worried, either. “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (2:12).

Posted in Devotions, laughter, Through the Bible Devotions

There is a time to laugh

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jenna Anderson on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Genesis 18 and 19.

I’m grateful for the gift of laughter. I love “peek-a-boo” toddler giggles. I can’t help but laugh at awful dad jokes. When my dog looks like she’s laughing at me, I can’t help but join in. Bathroom humor never fails to amuse. You’ll hear me laugh out loud as my Instagram feed brings me daily doses of Basil Fawlty, the Three Stooges, Tim Hawkins, and Jim Gaffigan, John Pinette, and a host of others.

The bible tells us that there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). As I read through the bible, it’s pretty serious until Abraham laughs at God’s promise that he and Sarah will have a son (Genesis 17:17). Who knew God had a sense of humor? Abraham chuckles, “You’ve got to be joking, God. We’re going to be parents? That’s a good one! I’m closing in on one hundred and Sarah is ninety!”

Sarah thinks it’s funny, too. When the Lord and two angels show up at Abraham’s tent on their way to Sodom, Sarah overhears the promise, “Next year, you and Sarah will have a son” and laughs (Genesis 18:12). She tries to deny it, but everyone knows she laughed.

What should you do when God makes you laugh? I say just go with it. Don’t be afraid to laugh at a ridiculous promise or an absurd command or an awkward moment in scripture. Communicators know that humor relaxes the crowd and lowers defenses, preparing an audience to listen, learn, and take their message to heart.

God knows that too. That’s why I don’t think he minds if you laugh at something he says, like “love your enemy” or “always forgive” or “don’t be anxious.” You’ll snicker and say, “Right, like I’m going to do that.” But then it will be in your mind. You’ll think about it. You might even try it.

Posted in preaching, speaking

They thought I was kidding

Posted on by William Douthwaite

As I began preaching yesterday, I mentioned that there are some in the congregation who believe I should more confrontational, more aggressive, more direct in my preaching, along the lines of John the Baptist. JTB didn’t pull any punches calling his audience a “brood of vipers” who didn’t take repentance seriously, basically trees bearing nothing but rotten fruit that should be cut down and burned.

I said that maybe I should zero in on our smug self-righteousness, our neglect of the poor, and our failure to witness. Rather than children of God we look more like the descendants of the serpent himself.

After each of those examples, many in the congregation smiled, snickered and audibly chuckled. As I spoke, I felt personally convicted about each of those offenses, but they didn’t. Either they really didn’t take it seriously, or I didn’t preach the law clearly. And if they didn’t get the law, did they get the gospel? Did they think I was kidding about that, too?

Feedback after a sermon is valuable, but rare. It may come in the form of a comment or question after worship or later in the week. But it might also come in the moment, from a look in their eyes or an expression on their faces. The latter was true yesterday, and it was humbling.

I don’t want to get caught in the trap of believing I’ve got this down, that I know how to effectively reach an audience. As soon as I do, I let down my guard, I don’t work as hard as I should, and I’m nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. You can either humble yourself and work hard, or you can let God humble you so you can get back to work.

Either way, by his grace, there’s another Sunday coming up. Another chance. Thank you!

Posted in Confirmation Class, Ministry, youth

Ten for ten

Posted on by William Douthwaite

screen-shot-2017-10-17-at-5-06-39-pm.pngFor the first time this year, I had all ten of my confirmation class students together. Trust me, in a world where there is so much going on in the lives of our children and their families, this is nothing short of a miracle!

The students range in age from twelve to sixteen, from sixth grader to high school junior. They are all involved in other activities during the week, including but not limited to: band (three tubas and two clarinets), orchestra (violin), golf (at the state championship level; one young lady can drive 250 yds!), flag-football, boy scouts (one on the way to eagle), girl scouts, youth group, and future problem solving (with international competition experience). It’s a diverse group with interests that range from fried-chicken to robotics to “The Big Bang Theory” to their various pets.

It is such a dynamic time of life for them. Each is now just discovering their talents, passions and relationships as we learn how our Lord and faith affect every part of our lives. I’m fascinated. Our conversations take totally unexpected and bizarre directions every week. I was watching the video stream of last week’s class as we covered so many ideas about the third commandment and worship.

At one point, I told how some ancient civilizations made human sacrifices to appease their gods. That was their form of worship. One of the students shared that how they probably sacrificed the best looking people to please the gods, so it was better to be ugly and have ugly children. I said, “Imagine if that’s the way they did things in band?” After auditions, we’ll cut the best player from each section. By the end of the year, the band would sound horrible!

Some heard for the fist time that Jesus was Jewish. And that according to Old Testament law you weren’t allowed to eat shellfish. And how shellfish are bottom feeders, which is yukky. We discussed whether or not chickens have vocal chords (if not, how do they say, “bock?”) and whether or not it is OK to have a job that requires you to work seven days a week and words that my dog knows (bark, ruff and woof).

I’ve been teaching confirmation class for over thirty years, and it never gets old. Thank goodness for the catechism, laughter, and the joy of the Lord!