Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is one of the most portrayed characters in the history of fiction, film, and stage. Doyle’s four novels and fifty-six short stories involving Scotland Yard’s favorite sleuth have multiplied into hundreds of movies, television...
Missing Peace, Week 4 — The “Need To Know Basis” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Had a moment of crisis at the 8:30 service when I brought the WRONG BIBLE into the Worship Center. By "wrong bible" I mean the one without the Scripture printed in TWENTY-TWO point font and taped into it so I can read it easily while...
Missing Peace, Week 4 — “Need To Know Basis”
It's Friday and I'm already pretty keyed up for Sunday. Why? Because we get to look at what is at the same time THE MOST BEAUTIFUL and LEAST FOLLOWED verse in Scripture. Huh? To see what I mean -- and to know the Scripture in question -- it's Sunday. 8:30, 10, 11:30...
A Chance Encounter, A Frustrated Newspaper Career, And UN-Learning As The Key To Wordsmithing
Many moons ago, I had a chance encounter with the late Ben Haden, a Chattanooga-based pastor with the Presbyterian Church of America who enjoyed a measure of fame with the television ministry Changed Lives. Our conversation was on the bucolic grounds of...
What Getting Stuck In The Australian Outback Taught Me About Designing A Sermon. Really!
When I was fourteen, my parents and my older brother Clayton (he is number seven out of eight, and I round it out taking the eighth place) and I spent a semester in Australia. My father was nearing the end of his career as a member of the faculty in the School of Law...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Ways Being The Eighth Of Eight Davises Still Influences Me
A lot of you know this, but here goes: I am the eighth of eight children. No blending. All biological. All Davis, all the time. I am also quite a bit younger than the rest, as #1 was 23 when I was born and #7 was seven. He (#7) went off to college when I was 12, which...
Missing Peace, Week 3 — The “The Peace Dividend” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Included some talk about PTSD; Concluded with a photo of a Scripture sign our daughter had made while in middle school; Involved the testimony of a man who had died just this past week; Landed at this bottom line: You'll only have peace in...
Missing Peace, Week 3 — “The Peace Dividend”
I am loving the "Missing Peace" series. We had a strong start on January 5, and then Devin Tharp took the series to a whole nother level last Sunday. And then this coming Sunday, January 19, includes a section of Scripture I am eager to explore with you and a bottom...
A Quick Way To Avoid Relational Pain
We've all had it: relational pain. Angry words. Intentional oversight. Passive aggression. Triumphant emails. Ended friendships. Whether you are naturally wired to pursue confrontation or avoid it, the end result is the same -- a relationship that had been at the core...
One Pointed Point Or Many Dull Points?
I still remember my first one point sermon. It was in the fall of 2006, during a series called Freedom, in a message on forgiveness involving Jacob, Esau, and Joseph. It landed here: Forgiveness is learned, so teach it well. I tell you of that sermon from days gone...