Presby-Musings

This week I'll be starting a new sermon series entitled, "The Smartest Man in the Room: Lessons from the Life of Solomon."  The series draws it's inspiration from the Emmy award winning television show Mad Men , which is nearing it's sixth and final season.   Mad Men is set in a Madison Avenue advertising agency in 1960's New York City , which might seem like a stretch as the inspiration for a sermon series on an Old Testament character. However, when I was reading and studying about Solomon, my imagination kept bringing me back to Mad Men , and to the lead character in the show, Don Draper .  Here is a video that describes Don, and gives you a hint at what the show is about: Don Draper has everything.  He's handsome, rich, successful and one of the brightest---if not the  brightest "ad man" in the business.  He is literally the smartest man in the room, regardless what the room is.  But none of that is enough for him.  He constantly ...

The photo to the right was taken at the Gates of Hell. This was the ancient name of this massive cave at Caesarea Philippi where the Banias River began as a spring, flowing from its mouth. 3,000 years ago the ancient Canaanites believed this site to be mystical - a doorway into the afterlife.  They worshipped the god Baal here, particularly for fertility rites.  Their worship included depraved, sexual immorality, temple prostitution and child sacrifice.  Babies were laid upon the super-heated outstretched arms of the bronze statues of Baal where they were literally roasted alive.  And all of this was done to ensure a good harvest--the safety and security of the people. In the time of the ancient Greeks this same spot was considered holy and mystical and also a place where fertility was honored and prayed for fervently.  It was also a place that was believed to be the gateway to Hades.  Adherents engaged in sexual depravity, temple prostitution an...