Remote Control

In a culture of control, it's not surprising that the most popular tool to stay in control is a device that allows us to do it at a distance — remotely. In this prayerful psalm, we are reminded that prayer cannot be offered remotely and at a distance. It is not a power pulse for us to use when we desperately want something. Instead, it is most effective when we get up close to the poor, the needy and outcasts, and our neighbors who most need our intercession.

[INTERACTIVE IDEA:
Bring as many remote control devices as you can and lay them like surgical instruments on a cloth on a small table in front of the audience. Be ready to show the audience how they work. If your television monitor is large enough for your congregation to see easily, prerecord quick, rapid-fire sound bite interviews with children and adults using the question, "What is prayer?"]

Have you been hearing the "dumb men" jokes going around lately?

For example: What do men consider housecleaning? Lifting their feet so you can vacuum under them. Or this: How do you get a man to do situps? Put the remote control between his toes.

Okay, enough. Let's stay with the remote control for a minute. Fact is, we're not relating to our appliances the way we used to. When was the last time you dialed a phone? What ... five, 10 years ago? Everything is touch-tone now, and most kids think that dial phones went out with the dinosaurs.

When was the last time you typed a letter? True...