I Samuel 17:31-40 Some time ago, a fictitious manual for Peace Corpvolunteers headed for South America contained thefollowing advice on “What to Do If Attacked by anAnaconda”: #1, If you’re attacked by an anaconda, do not run;the snake is faster than you are.#2, Lie flat on the ground.#3, Put your arms tight at your sides…

1 Samuel 17:12-30 On the front porch of his little country store inIllinois, Abraham Lincoln and Berry, his partner,stood. Business was all gone, and Berry asked,“How much longer can we keep this going?”Lincoln answered, “It looks as if our business hasjust about winked out.” Then he continued,“You know, I wouldn’t mind so much if I…

I Samuel 17:1-11 Our brains have chemical reactions to fear. Theamygdala is a part of the brain that activates whenwe sense a threat stimulus and prompts the bodyto have a physical response, like the “release ofstress hormones and sympathetic nervous system.”The hippocampus is closely related to the amygdalaand helps our brains interpret the threat. Forexample,…

I Samuel 16:13-23 “A young man came to visit me with a question onhis mind. He asked, “I prayed to receive Jesus asmy Savior, but why has nothing really changed inmy life?” I asked him, “Who is running your life?”He replied, “I am!” I inquired further, “Has anyoneinformed you that Jesus wants to be your…

I Samuel 16:1-13 A new pastor in a rural area is ready for his firstservice, but only one farmer has shown up. Thepastor asks the farmer, “If you took a load of hayto feed your cows and when you got there, therewas only one cow, what would you do?”.“I’d feed it” said the farmer.So the…

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 I heard a story about a guy who was getting readyto go out of town for the weekend to a formalevent. And as the week went along, he got towardthe end of the week and realized that he hadn’tgotten his formalwear dry-cleaned, and it was in amess, and the cleaners where he normally…