Thought for Today

 History: 1548: Charles V orders all Lutherans to return to Catholic practices 1859: Jean Francois Gravelet is the first man to walk a high wire across Niagara Falls 1864: Lincoln signs the Yosemite Grant Act giving California 200,000 acres for America's first state-controlled park 1898: First known automobile ad--"Dispense with the horse"-Winton Motor Car in Scientific American 1908: Tunguska Fireball--80 million trees flattened in Russia 1914: Gandhi's first arrest for civil disobedience 1934: Portsmouth Spartans purchased for $7,952.08, moved to Detroit and renamed the Lions 1936: Gone with the Wind published 1938: First Superman Comic [really published in April, but cover said June 30] 1953: First Corvette manufactured 1955: Johnny Carson becomes host of the Tonight Show 1994: Tonya Harding banned from figure skating for life 2014: Supreme Court rules a family business can reject parts of Obamacare on religious grounds Born: Beatrix Loughran [Olympic Gold 1924, 19...

 History: 1613: Shakespeare's Globe Theater burns 1906: Mesa Verde National Park Created---the first National Park "to preserve the works of man."  1938: Olympic National Park created. Visit the Hoh rain forest or the beautiful north coast. Sit on Hurricane Ridge and see Mounts Baker and Rainier and Vancouver to the North.  1966: First bombing of Hanoi 1972: Supreme Court holds the death penalty as administered then cruel and unusual punishment. Reverses itself 4 years later and Gary Gilmore is executed. 2009: Bernie Madoff sentenced to 150 years. Born: William Mayo [Mayo Clinic], Nelson Eddy, Leroy Anderson [Syncopated Clock, Sleigh Ride], Little Eva [The Locomotion], Gary Busey, Fred Gandy [Gopher] Died: Henry Clay, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Jan Paderewski [pianist and first Premier of Poland], Jayne Mansfield, Lana Turner, Rosemary Clooney, Katherine Hepburn, Carl Reiner, Donald Rumsfeld Thought:  Continuing my reading about Nicodemus in John 3.  Check out ...

History: 1776: Final draft of the Declaration of Independence submitted to the Continental Congress  1846: Adolph Sax patents the saxophone 1870: Congress creates the first federal holidays--Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, New Years 1914: Assassination of Franz Ferdinand leading to WWI 1919: Treaty of Versailles ends WWI 1924: Tornado kills 93 in Sandusky Ohio 1965: LBJ authorizes the first combat ground forces in Viet Nam 1971: Ali's draft evasion conviction overturned by the Supreme Court 2020: Global Covid deaths exceed 500,000 Born: Henry VIII, John Wesley, Richard Rodgers [Rodgers & Hammerstein], Mel Brooks, Junior Johnson [NASCAR], Gilda Radner, Kathy Bates, John Elway, Elon Musk, Kellie Pickler Died: James Madison, Rod Serling [Twilight Zone]. Pat Summitt, Buddy Ryan Thought: Before we get to the healing of the nobleman's son [John's second sign], we encounter Nicodemus, probably one of the most famous conversations recorded about salvation. So this mo...

History: 1864: Battle of Kennesaw Mountain 1922: First Newberry Medal for Children's Literature 1923: First aerial refueling of an airplane 1929: Bell Labs demonstrates first color TV 1950: President Truman orders Navy and Air Force into Korean conflict. 1950: US sends 35 military advisors to South Viet Nam 1955: First automobile seat belt law--Illinois 1967: World's first ATM--Enfield, London 1977: Supreme Court allows lawyers to advertise 2019: Supreme Court rules the census cannot ask about citizenship Born: Hellen Keller, Ross Perot, Tobey Maguire, Bob Keeshan [Captain Kangaroo], Vera Wang,  Died: Joesph Smith [LDS], Lottie Dod [5 times Wimbledon champ and silver medal in Olympic archery], Jack Lemon, Shelby Foote [historian, Civil War] Thought: This morning I am looking at the first of seven signs that John describes in his Gospel [1:19-12:50]. Of course Jesus performed many miraculous signs to confirm His claims that He was God incarnate. These seven are a very small samp...

History : 1630: The fork introduced to American dining 1672: First recorded Quaker meeting in America 1678: Elena Piscopia is first woman to receive a doctorate degree 1867: Barbed wire patented 1876: Battle of the Little Big Horn 1910: Stravinsky’s “Firebird” premiers 1931: Al Capone indicted on 5000 counts 1938: New law requires 25 cents per hour and 44 hour week 1941: Racial discrimination in the defense industry prohibited 1950: North Korea invades South Korea 1951: First color television broadcast 1962: Supreme Court rules school prayer unconstitutional 1975: Barry White releases “Can’t Get Enough of Your love, Baby” 1977: Roy Sullivan is struck by lightning for the 7th time 1978: First use of the gay pride rainbow flag 1982: Bladerunner released 1984: Prince releases “Purple Rain” 1996: Independence Day released 2020: 20 million Americans infected with Covid Born: George Orwell, June Lockhart [Lassie], James Meredith, Willis Reed, Carly Simon, Jimmie Walker, Phyllis George, Antho...

History :  1441: Eton college founded 1509; Henry VIII crowned king of England 1535: Anabaptist commune of Munster captured and its leaders killed. 1664: Colony of New Jersey founded 1717: First Free Mason Grand Lodge founded—London 1748: John and Charles Wesley open Kingswood School 1853: Franklin Pierce signs Gadsden Purchase—Arizona and New Mexico 1861: Tennessee is last state to secede 1880: First performance of O Canada 1902: George Dayton founds Goodfellow Dry Goods in Minneapolis—Target 1922: American Professional Football Association renamed NFL 1949: Hopalong Cassidy is the first network TV western 1979: Ricky Henderson steals his first base 2010: Longest tennis match—11 hours 5 minutes over 3 days—Isner defeats Mahut 2018: Women drive for the first time in Saudi Arabia 2021: Champlain Towers South collapses in Miami Beach—156 missing Born: Henry Ward Beecher, GF Swift [meatpacker], Jack Dempsey, Chuck Taylor [shoes, dies the day after his birthday], Billy Casper, Michelle...

History: 930: World’s oldest parliament established—Iceland 1810: John Jacob Astor founds Pacific Fur Company in Astoria Oregon [location of the Astor Memorial Tower and the school used in Kindergarten Cop] 1863: Battle of Tullahoma 1888: Frederick Douglas nominated for vice-president 1922: Walter Hagen is first American to win British Open 1926: First SAT exam in the U.S. 1949: First 12 women graduate from Harvard Medical School 1960: First contraceptive pill sold in the US 1970: Last Red Skelton Show 1979: Charlie Daniels releases “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” 1980: David Letterman Show premiers 2016: Britain votes for Brexit Born: Alan Turing [computer], Bob Fosse [Cabaret], June Carter Cash, Wilma Rudolph, Clarence Thomas, Frances McDormand Died: Chuck Taylor [Converse shoes], Jonas Salk, Maureen O’Sullivan [Jane to Tarzan], Ed McMahon, Peter Falk, Ralph Stanley [Bluegrass] Thought: Reading the story of the wise men in Luke 2 this morning. We have all heard many sermons preached...

History: 1633: Galileo forced to recant heliocentric theory by the Church—Vatican admits it was wrong in 1992 1675: Greenwich Observatory founded 1874: Lawn Tennis introduced 1932: National League approves players wearing numbers 1940: First Dairy Queen 1944: GI Bill of rights signed into law 1955: Lady and the Tramp released 1990: Florida law prohibits thong bathing suits 2020: Covid deaths in Brazil exceed 50,000 Born: Carl Hubbell [Baseball HOF], John Dillinger, Cicely Saunders [founded the first hospice], Bill Blass, Dianne Feinstein, Ed Bradley [journalist], Pete Maravich, Meryl Streep, Elizabeth Warren, Cyndi Lauper, Erin Brockovich, Clyde Drexler, Dan Brown , Kurt Warner, Dustin Johnson Died: Matthew Henry [Bible Commentary], David Selznick [Gone with the Wind], Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Pat Nixon, George Carlin Thought : Yesterday I was looking at what the Bible says about God and His anger so I could understand how I was supposed to control my own anger. I found these verses...

History : 1607: First Protestant Episcopal parish in America established at Jamestown 1675: Foundation stone laid for St. Paul’s in London  1768: First medical diploma awarded in America—John Archer from the College of Philadelphia 1788: Constitution effective when ratified by New Hampshire [9th State to ratify] 1834: Cyrus McCormick patents reaping machine—provides support for Dwight Moody’s campaigns 1854: First Victoria Cross awarded [Crimean War] 1879: Frank W Woolworth opens his first store—Lancaster PA 1893: First Ferris Wheel—Columbian Exposition Chicago 1904: Theodore Roosevelt nominated for President 1948: 33-1/3 rpm record introduced 1964: Jim Bunning throws a perfect game 1965: Gary Player wins the US Open 1966: Who’s Afraid of Virginia  Woolf premiers 1982: Ronald Reagan shot by John Hinckley 1989: Supreme Court rules it legal to burn US flag 1997: WNBA begins Born: Joseph Rainey [1st African American in the House of Representatives], Reinhold Niebuhr [theologian],...

History: 1214: University of Oxford chartered 1819: SS Savannah is first steamship to cross the Atlantic 1840: Samuel Morse patents telegraph 1895: Caroline Baldwin earns first PHD from an American university by a woman—Cornell 1975: Jaws Released 2020: Highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic Circle—100 degrees F in Siberia Born: Brian Wilson, Lionel Richie, John Goodman, Nicole Kidman Died:  Bugsy Siegel, Howard Johnson [motels], Leroy Neiman, Peter Thomson [5 time British Open champ] Jim Kiick [Dolphins] Thought : Today, I am reading the story of the visit to Jerusalem by Mary, Joseph and Jesus when Jesus was 12. We have almost no information about the childhood of Jesus. Have you ever wondered what kind of kid He was, how He treated His parents, His siblings? We at least know that Joseph was still alive when Jesus attained age 12, so apparently sometime between this event and Jesus beginning His formal ministry 18 or so years later Joseph dies. As the eldest, Joseph was ...

History : 1682: William Penn founds Philadelphia 1781: 18 people, including 3 African Americans, found the first Baptist church in Kentucky at Elizabethtown 1873: Susan B Anthony fined $100 for voting for president 1928: Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across the Atlantic 1940: Churchill gives his “This was their finest hour” speech 1960: Arnold Palmer overcomes 7 shot deficit in the final round to win the US Open 1968: Supreme Court bans racial discrimination in housing 1983: Sally Ride becomes the first US woman in space 2020: Global Covid cases pass 100,000 Born: EG Marshall, Red Adair [fought oil fires in Kuwait], Richard Boone. George Mikan [basketball HOF, his early dominance near the basket resulted in the Mikan Rule or what we know as the 3 second rule], Lou Brock, Paul McCartney, Roger Ebert, Blake Shelton,  Died: Jeanne Mance [founded 1st hospital in North America], Roald Amundsen [South Pole], Jack Buck [announcer] Thought : Reading about Simeon in Luke 2:22-35 ...

History: 1856: First Republican Convention 1863: Traveler’s Insurance founded 1894: First polio epidemic — Rutland VT 1947: Pan Am chartered 1950: First kidney transplant 1956: Jerry Falwell founds Thomas Road Baptist Church 1962: Jack Nicklaus wins first major—US Open 1963: Supreme Court rules against Bible reading/prayer in public schools 1994: The Great Ford Bronco Chase—OJ Simpson 2008: First day for same-sex marriage in California 2015: 9 people shot at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston Born: Igor Stravinsky, Ralph Bellamy, Crazy Legs Hirsch, Newt Gingrich, Barry Manilow, Greg Kinnear, Dan Jansen [won Gold in 3 Olympics], Venus Williams Died: Kate Smith [God Bless America], Rodney King, Gloria Vanderbilt The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775. Abigail Adams and her son, John Quincy Adams, watched the battle from Penn Hill, in Braintree across the harbor. After the battle she returned home and wrote to John Adams who was in Philadelphia. In the letter she quoted scri...

History : 1833: Samuel Mills writes “Lead Kindly Light” on a ship traveling from Italy to France 1858: Lincoln’s House Divided speech—Mark 3:25 1864: Skirmish at Golgotha Georgia—the real battle was won at Golgotha near Jerusalem 1880: Salvation Army formed 1903: Ford Motor and Pepsi Cola  incorporated 1933: FDIC formed 1947: First network news —Dumont network 1960: “Psycho” released 1977: Oracle incorporated 1978: “Grease” released Born: Adam Smith [Wealth of Nations], Geronimo, Stan Laurel, Katherine Graham [Washington Post], Erich Segal [Love Story], Phil Mickelson Died: Crawford Long [ist use of anesthetic in surgery], George Reeves [Superman], Brian Piccolo [Brian’s Song], Werner Von Braun, Stephen Furst [Flounder in Animal House] Thought : While John begins his gospel “In the beginning” describing Jesus as God who has existed from eternity, Matthew and Luke begin their account with genealogies [Matthew 1 and Luke 3]. Matthew begins his genealogy with Abraham, the patriarch of...

History:   1215: King John signs the Magna Carta 1667: First documented blood transfusion—used sheep’s blood 1775: George Washington named commander of the Continental Army 1844: Goodyear patents the vulcanization of rubber process 1851: First ice cream factory 1876: First woman addresses Presidential Convention—Sara Spencer 1877: Henry Flipper is first West Point graduate 1907: Mary Mallon identified as typhoid Mary 1911: IBM incorporated 1916: Boy Scouts of America formed 1934: Great Smokey Mountains National Park dedicated 1965: Bob Dylan records “Like a Rolling Stone” 1967: "Dirty Dozen" released 1974: “All the President’s Men” published 1983: Supreme Court strikes down state restrictions on abortion 2020: Supreme Court rules gay and transgender workers may not be discriminated against in the workplace Born: John Marrant [African American missionary to Native Americans], Rachel Jackson, Eroll Garner [jazz pianist], Waylon Jennings, Mike Holmgren, Wade Boggs, Helen Hunt Di...

History: 1777: Continental Congress adopts Stars & Stripes as our flag 1847: Bunsen Burner invented 1922: Warren G Harding is first president to use the radio 1940: Auschwitz opens 1942: Anne Frank begins her diary 1946: Nat King Cole records the Christmas Song 1954: President Eisenhower signs order adding “under God” to the Pledge of allegiance 1967: “To Sir with Love” released 2020: India reports 12,000 Covid cases per day Born: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Alois Alzheimer, Burl Ives, Pierre Salinger, Che Guevara, John MacArthur, Donald Trump, Pat Summitt, Eric Heiden, Steffi Graf Died: Benedict Arnold, Pierre L’Enfant [designed D.C.], Mary Cassatt [artist], Alan Jay Lerner [My Fair Lady], Henry Mancini, Ruth Graham Thought : Still looking at the first 14 verses of John this morning. Here is a tragedy. Jesus was in the beginning. Jesus created everything. Jesus is the giver of life and the light of the world. Without Jesus there is no life and no light. That tells me that without Jesus...

History: 1525: Martin Luther marries Katharine von Bora in violation of the rules requiring celibacy of priests 1805: Meriwether Lewis reaches the Great Falls of the Missouri River 1922: Longest recorded hiccups attack begins and lasts 68 years—Charles Osborne dies 11 months after the attack stops 1944: First German V-1 bomb hits London 1920: Post Office rules children may not be sent by parcel post 1966: Miranda v. Arizona establishes what we call the Miranda rights for any accused 1967: Thurgood Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court 1971: NY Times publishes the Pentagon Papers Born: Red Grange, William Butler Yeats, Martha Washington, Tim Allen   Died: Alexander the Great, Benny Goodman, Tim Russert, Chuck Noll  Thought : My Sunday School class is completing a study of the chronological life of Christ  combining all the gospel accounts and attempting to place them in a relative sequence. We began this study in early 2020 and except for this Spring when we have coordin...