By Dr. Barry Thornton One of my favorite reality TV series is “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Ty Pennington and his crew select a family whose home has been determined to be unfit or inadequate for occupation. To the family’s surprise, they are told that in one week their home is going to be transformed […]
The Lesson and Life — for April 14, 2013
By Dr. Barry Thornton “God is more interested in our availability than our ability.” The wisdom in this statement is illustrated over and over again in Scripture as God often chose average individuals to fulfill his extraordinary purposes. “Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?’” (Acts 2:7). Incredulous, the crowd […]
The Lesson and Life — for April 7, 2013
By Dr. Barry Thornton Former Illinois basketball player and Portland Trailblazer rookie Meyers Leonard got a special surprise last March when his brother Bailey walked onto the practice court before a game scheduled against Michigan to greet Meyers for the first time in two years. Bailey had been serving in the Marine Corps in […]
The Lesson and Life — for March 31, 2013
By Dr. Barry Thornton I was ministering to a church in northwest Indiana in the late 1980s. One afternoon, just before Easter, I received a call informing me that my good friend Hank Gora had received a muffled message from his sister that his mother had died. I quickly made my way to Hank’s […]
The Lesson and Life — for March 24, 2013
By Dr. Barry Thornton I carry a laminated picture of my wife in my wallet. It’s been there more than 34 years, the full extent of our married lives. When I pull the picture out of my wallet, sacred memories of 34 years of marriage rush to my mind and heart. It is among […]