Jesus

If you were to meet Jesus while shopping at Wal-Mart or walking down the street, would you recognize Him? When He lived on the earth 2,000 years ago, many of his own people did not know who He was. They had waited and waited for the Messiah and there He was, standing in front of them and the Bible tells us, "They knew Him not. " Jesus was not what they expected. They had an idea, an image, of Him set in their minds. He was God's son, so surely He would be majestic. But, He didn't look like a king.

STANFORD - Faith can call to a man at any age, and James Thomas Summers heard that calling the day he was born. As a kindergartener at Hustonville Elementary and a devout Baptist, J.T.'s rousing sermons show a dedication to God's word that grown men are hard-pressed to match. J.T., son of Krystal and David Summers of Lincoln County, is spreading God's messages with the timber and convictions of a seasoned pastor. J.T. looks like an average 5-year-old. He eats gummy worms as he watches "Veggie Tales.

My preacher taught a sermon this month that made me want to run up to the alter and swat him up beside the head with my bulletin and then kick him in the shins. I know this sounds extreme, especially since I profess to be an "unclosetted" Christian. But every now and then being called to accountability makes me want to react like I did when I was a religious person - a person versed in the laws of the church but a novice when it came to faith and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This is my personal take on the sermon.

I would like to thank the more than 40 people who were at the Boyle County Courthouse when prayer was restored to Fiscal Court. Of course, those with control said the prayer could not be in the name of Jesus. I wonder if they will tell Jesus that when he comes back and says, "depart from me I never knew you.” If you deny Jesus now, he will deny you then. Even if you do run the courthouse. To the many Christians who showed up, I would like to say thank you. I have read the book and we win!

"All the little girls get dressed up in new white dresses," Mike said. With a few laughs, he also described the 7-year old boys in exuberance-restraining suit coats and neck ties. I had asked Mike, "What does first communion mean to you?" Over the weekend he had attended his granddaughter's first communion ceremony. I actually was probing for a more meaningful answer. So, I refocused my question: "What's the spiritual significance?" Recently I had been replaying the memories of my first communion.

Dear Editor: I, along with many members from my church, Fairview Baptist in Lincoln County, recently went to the Danville theater to see "The Passion of The Christ. " It was not a movie that I really wanted to see, but rather, a movie that I felt, as a Christian, I should see. How does one say a movie like this was good? How does one say a movie like this is one a person enjoys? While I was literally drained after watching "The Passion," I was impressed with the production and the biblical authenticity.

Greetings from South Fork Baptist Church! I begin by saying that our church is saddened by the loss of one of our church members. Bro. Rod Burton passed away on Tuesday morning at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center after a valiant fight with cancer. Rod was my friend, my neighbor and church member. Please be sure to say a prayer for his family as they grieve his passing. Our Sunday school attendance is holding steady. We had 39 for Bible study this past Sunday morning. 64 were in attendance for our morning worship service.

Dear Editor, In a front page story on Feb. 22 I, was shocked how the reporter was treated as a homeless man. Jesus said: I was hungry and thirsty and you gave me food and water. I was homeless and naked and you gave me a place to stay and clothed me. Homeless people are not bad people, and we need to remember what Jesus said in his word because you never know who that person might be. Darrell KendallHustonville

Since my teen years, I have read and contemplated, as a part of the observance of the season, the significance of the recorded events of Easter. Through the years, one question has arisen in my mind, and it continues to be with me: Why did Judas, one of the apostles, betray Jesus? After years of contemplating that troubling question, I have arrived at an answer: I do not know why Judas did what he did. Many scholars have contemplated that question, and not all of them have arrived at the same answer.