Shoe Comic

Special thanks to Hank & Anna for bringing this to my attention by clipping this from the newspaper for me!
"Deja Pew" indeed!
Like the old joke about the child who came home from church one Sunday. When asked about the sermon that day, he said "The preacher talked about sin."
"Well, what did he say about it?"
"He's against it."
Well, I'd hope so, especially since it seems that God is against sin, too. The preacher ought to be on the same page with the Almighty, right? But it can be a challenge some Sundays and some texts to say something new and useful. How many unique approaches can you take with John 3:16, after all? Or most of the book of James, which, like Jesus' parables or the book of Proverbs stands better without commentary or additional application? Is it any wonder that so many preachers steal material from each other?
Indeed, we need to listen to the Lord's leading when possible, but I feel at times like the preacher working on his sermon one evening, writing out his manuscript longhand, when his young daughter approached him with a question.
"Daddy, how do you know what to write in your sermons?"
"God tells me what to write."
"Then why do you keep crossing things out?"

Having got that off my chest, I'll move on to something utterly unrelated. Tomorrow is international Talk Like A Pirate Day! Aaarrrr! Avast, ye scurvy dogs! Shiver me timbers! Buckle me swash! Yo-Ho-Ho, and a bottle of chicken noodle soup! (This last one is an obscure quotation from the short-lived Muppet Babies cartoon, spoken by baby Gonzo.)
Perhaps a viewing of the VeggieTales Silly Song "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" would be in order. They also appear in the VT Jonah movie.