Consider this

               When Henry Harrod opened a restaurant in the little town of Otorohanga, New Zealand, he had no idea that he was about to start an international incident.                 In 1986, he received a letter from the owner of Harrod’s department store in London, England stating that he was being sued for copyright infringement.   Specifically, he was informed he could not use the name “Harrod’s” and that the lettering on his sign was too similar to that of the larger corporation.   Henry would have to change the name of his restaurant, or risk being shut down.                   When the people in town heard about this, they did something remarkable.   Every business in town changed its name to Harrod’s.   In fact, town council went one step further and changed the name of the town to Harrodsville.                 Eventually, the British tabloids got

                  “Casavant Brothers”, located in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, is one of the oldest pipe organ manufactures in Canada.   They have been in operation since 1879 and their process has changed very little since the beginning.                 Every pipe organ is unique and built for the specific place that it will occupy.   Therefore, before anything else happens, the company sends a representative to look at the building, measure the room and examine the building materials.   That person then takes measurements, tests the acoustics and asks questions about the size of the audience and the type of music that will be played so the organ can be tuned to exact specifications.                   When the builder returns to the factory, he creates and shapes each pipe by hand.   Then he tests the pipe’s sound quality, making minor changes until it sound

                When I was a teenager, I had a job that did not have a clear job description.   I did not know what I was supposed to do and neither did my employer.   It was frustrating!                   After reading the first part of 2 Timothy, I was beginning to get that same feeling again.                   In this section, Timothy is told to do his work by God’s power (2 Timothy 1:7).   He is reminded to be strong in Jesus’ grace (2:1) and to guard the gift he had been given “…with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in [him]” (1:14).                   If God’s work is to be accomplished by God’s grace and power, what is Timothy supposed to do?   Is he is supposed to just sit back and watch?                   Not at all!    Timothy has a role.   One that is illustrated in three ways.                 “No o

                I grew up valuing toughness.   I blew out my knee playing football in high school. Though it was black and blue for three months and I could not bend it in the morning, I did not go to the doctor.   Several times, I have had to teach on Sunday morning with deep gashes on my face after being cut with a stick or a puck while playing hockey.      My only regret is that they did not leave better scars.   In the thirty years that I have worked for the church, I have used eight sick days.   To me, being tough is a good thing.                 Imagine my joy, then, when I decided to preach through 2 Timothy!   This letter is full of words like, “guard” (2 Timothy 1:14), “Be strong” (2:1) and “endure” (2:3).   In fact, those three words were going to form my sermon this past week, until I read the verses more closely.                 “You the