You Are Entering a No Prayer Zone

If anyone showed up at my church last night thinking that there might be a little “praying and praising” going inside, they received a rude awakening when they were greeted by this sign. Who needs a funny church sign generator when you have the real thing right there in front of you?

OK, by way of explanation, “Praise and Prayer” is the name of our upbeat Wednesday night “Peak of the Week” style devotional designed to recharge our spiritual batteries so that we can run (not walk or crawl) past “Hump Day” and on through the rest of the work week. This week, area schools are on Spring Break and many folks are out of town, ergo, no quorum for “praising and praying.” Still, you have to admit that this is at least as funny as some of these “Bulletin Bloopers.”

I bet some of you have some stories to tell when it comes to inadvertantly funny church signs, bulletin blunders, and sermon slips-of-the-tongue. Let’s stir up a little “holy laughter”–after all, it is “good for the soul.”

“A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
–Proverbs 17:22

9 Comments

  1. Hoots Musings

    A friend of mine went to a conservative church and clapped her hands. Afterwards, a lady came up to her and told her, “We don’t praise the Lord in this church!”

    Double meaning, in my opinion!

  2. mike the eyeguy

    Hoots–

    Heh, that’s funny. We’ve got standing during “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus” down pat, but let’s make sure all hands are firmly in pockets anytime a song prompts us to “lift holy hands!”

    Here’s another of my favorite sermon slips-of-the-tongue based on a maladroit misquoting of Hebrews 13:4:
    “Let not the marriage bed be undefiled!” (oops…)

  3. Carol Cool

    It’s not a blooper, per se, but I laugh to myself every time our church sings “I will sing of your love forever,” when we get to the second verse that says “when the world has seen the light, they will dance with joy, like we’re dancing now.” It’s a stretch to even have us standing at that point, and dancing?!? Most of us, and especially me, couldn’t dance if our lives depended on it!! So I hope it’s not how others will be dancing with joy. Wouldn’t want to make them suffer.

  4. mike the eyeguy

    Carol–

    Maybe not a blooper but still funny. You’re obviously not using a Church of Christ hymnal–we don’t even say (or sing) the word dance, much less do it.

  5. Ed

    I caught our baby raising hands during a song recently. I quickly hid him and fixed the problem before the G-men noticed. He has a mind of his own sometimes. 😮

  6. mike the eyeguy

    I think I saw that–I believe the lady in front of us starting levitating a little in her pew when he did that.

    That’s what you get for naming the kid after a biblical prophet. Next thing you know, he’ll be dressing in itchy clothes and eating locusts and wild honey.

    I’ve got my eye on that one…

  7. Hoots Musings

    One more thing…my granddaughter is almost a year old. Her mom plays Praise Baby DVD for her almost every day. She raises her hands and claps. I love it that an innocent child finds the joy of the Lord and freely expresses herself. I told her mom not to squelch those moments of praise.

  8. mike the eyeguy

    Hoots–

    That’s amazing (and encouraging). Did you read Ed’s comment above?

    Too bad we all to often train that kind of natural enthusiasm and intuition right out of our children. We could use a few more “Hand Raisers” in our midst.

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