Bringing the Text to Life
Bad Birthday Party Mark 6:14-29
Whose party do we want to attend?
At a Glance
Birthdays are supposed to be a time of celebration, but occasionally the party is a disaster. This week's text chronicles one of the worst birthday parties in history, but it's also a foreshadowing of the new birth and ultimate party that is to come in the kingdom of God.
Editors' Pick
For material based on today's epistle text, see "Look-Alikes," July 16, 2006, at HomileticsOnline.com.
Who doesn't love a birthday party?
Kids certainly love them, especially if they're the birthday boy or girl. Friends come bearing gifts, there's cake and ice cream, and these days maybe even an outing to a local amusement park or someplace else where kids can run wild. Blowing out the birthday candles is an annual rite of passage in America, though the older we get and the more candles there are the less excited we seem to become.
For parents, birthday parties can often be stressful and full of the kind of intrigue and drama that accompany the lives of wee ones. Mom and Dad want everything...