One of the most helpful books of recent years has been Rabbi Harold Kushner’s When Bad Things Happen to Good People. In the opening pages he writes, “Like most people, my wife and I had grown up with an image of God as an all-wise, all-powerful parent figure who would treat us as our earthly parents did, or even better. If we were obedient and deserving, he would reward us. If we got out of line, he would discipline us, reluctantly, but firmly. (God) would see that we got what we deserved in life.” (New ...
Some children wrote letters to their pastor: Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody but He never met my sister. Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8, Nashville. Dear Pastor, Please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson. Sincerely, Pete. Age 9, Phoenix Dear Pastor, My father should be a minister. Every day he gives us a sermon about something. Robert Anderson, age 11 Dear Pastor, I''m sorry I can''t leave more money in the plate, but my father didn''t give me a ...
One of the most significant books I read in seminary was titled THE MEANING OF REVELATION by Dr. H. Richard Niebuhr. Dr. Niebuhr probes the difference between history as lived and experienced, and history as observed by an external spectator. History is constantly being made each and every day of our lives. The Christian Church exists in a real world, but how do we discern between the external reality of the world and the inner revelation that the faithful community needs to follow as God’s covenant people ...
As we embark on another Advent Adventure we pause to remind ourselves that this sacred season holds a twofold emphasis. Not only do we journey towards Christ's nativity but also we project our thoughts towards his second advent when the final curtain will be lowered on the world as we now know it. This twofold emphasis is underscored in Saint Paul's greeting to his friends in today's text. In Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot, we are introduced to Vladimir and Estragon who are waiting for the ...
A number of years ago some Christians placed bumper stickers on their vehicles stating, "Christ is the answer." After some time a wiseacre started displaying a sticker that read, "If Christ is the answer, what is the question?" Of course this made a hilarious impression on those who seem to have "three sneers for everything and three cheers for nothing." As we consider our text for today we discover God telling us that "Christ is the answer"; he is the eternal "yes" to all the promises of God, and the ...
Let’s pray together. Come Holy Spirit, Heavenly dove, with all your quickening powers. Come shed abroad a Savior’s love, and that will quicken ours. I believe that preaching is not so much the preparing and the delivering of sermons, as it is the preparing and the delivering of oneself. I hope you know by now that there is nothing I take more seriously than my call to preach. And there is nothing I invest more time, energy, and spirit power in than the task of preaching from Sunday to Sunday. When I ...
Carl Joseph is a young black athlete who comes from a little one-horse town down in Florida. It’s a very poor town. There’s one road in and one road out, one old hotel, one fairly decent restaurant, one high school, one dilapidated theatre that shows ten year old movies, one grocery store, just one of everything. From that town, Carl Joseph entered the University of Pittsburgh on a four-year football scholarship. Strangely enough, he will never play in a single game for the Panthers. But then Jackie ...
In the "Better-Half" cartoon series, Bob Barnes pictured a husband and wife in their bedroom. The wife is combing her hair and "fixing" her face across the room from the husband who is struggling to get out of bed. He sits wearily on the side of the bed, bedraggled, and moans, "I hope in my next reincarnation I come back as something easier to be than a human being." When I read that I remembered the word of Jules Pfieffer. "Getting out of bed in the morning is an act of false confidence." It's not easy to ...
Last words are important. There is a little country Baptist church down in Perry County, Mississippi. It’s called the Eastside Baptist Church. It is the church in which I was converted. Behind it is a cemetery where I’ll be buried someday. It’s about two hundred yards up the hill from our old home place. Mom and Dad – whom in my adult life I affectionately called “Mutt” and “Co-bell” (his name was Murdock; hers, Cora) -- are buried there. Co-Bell died seven years ago and Mutt five years ago, and I still ...
A couple of years ago I was smitten in my heart by a word I heard in the ordination service of the Free Methodist Church. It was verses 4 and 5 of Ezekiel 2. Listen to it: “The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them. ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’ And whether they listen – for they are a rebellious house – they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (NIV) Get the setting in mind. Ezekiel is sharing his personal story of God coming to him in a vision, and ...
"One day last spring, something memorable happened at Carleton University (in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, not to be confused with Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota). Thirty-one students in the same class turned in identical research papers. It was determined that the students had all accessed the same Internet website. If only one student had done it, the ruse might not have caught the professor's attention. But here's what else opened the instructor's eyes: the research paper's topic was ‘ethics.' ...
Let's pretend! Let's pretend that you've been invited by the Queen of England to attend a banquet at Buckingham Palace. Close your eyes for a moment and think. What would you wear? What would you talk about at the dinner table? Should you arrive ten minutes early, take a taxi, or will you be nervous? Better still, would you turn down the invitation? When John Kennedy was president of the United States, he invited a number of accomplished artists to a White House banquet. Among those invited was the then ...
[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] Original Title: Changed Lives – Nicodemus New Title: What Does “Born Again” Mean? If you have ever been around a child who is mentally challenged and has difficulty with speech, you may appreciate a ...
We are a “celebrity culture,” fixated and fascinated by the rich and famous because everything they do seems so much larger than life. They are over the top gorgeous. (Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt, anyone?) They are outrageously rich. (Julie Roberts gets $20 million per movie). They are hysterically funny (one of my favorite comedians, Bill Murray, has a sister who is a Sister: Nancy Murray, a member of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, a flourishing Congregation of the Order of Preachers, which has a motherhouse ...
Probably the mother of all misprints in any book, came in the misprint of a Bible. In 1631 someone discovered a word that was missing in a newly published version of the Bible, called The King James Version. The missing word was "not" in the seventh commandment which then made the Authorized Version to read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." From then on, this 1631 addition of the Bible became known as the "Wicked Bible."[1] Well, this seems to be the Bible the world is wanting to read today. Without question ...
If there is anything that is true about our society it is this: We have become an excuse-filled society. It used to be that to say, "Excuse me," was a gesture of courtesy. It is now a method of getting around personal responsibility. One of the most respected authors in America made this observation: Our culture has declared war on guilt…Perhaps the most prevalent means of escaping blame is by classifying every human failing as some kind of disease. Drunkards and drug addicts can check into clinics for ...
Pentecost and Peter and the first great sermon of the new era. Andrew and Barnabas, and yes, Ananias and Saphria in their greed. Philip and the Ethiopian. We have tracked the early days of the early church in these first eight chapters of the book of Acts to try to catch a glimpse from the first century of what God might have in mind for us in the twenty-first century; to discover what it means to be a model New Testament Church for today. Now fast-forward… I realize we are skipping over the greatest ...
So much seems to press upon us in our daily living that "taking the long view" may not only be remote but considered impractical and therefore shelved. A thousand years equals one day and one day equals 1,000 years. It all sounds so mystical and unscientific! Do you mean we have to rethink being captains of our own ships? That is so basic to the American way and you are suggesting we give it up? After all, we can accomplish anything we set out to do — that is if we just try hard enough. Planning is done ...
When we find ourselves shrinking, shirking, shivering and sniveling in fear and doubt, God breaks through to say: "Hello!?" A Harris survey commissioned by United Airlines found that 38 percent of passengers never use the lavatory during a flight, 60 percent do, and another 2 percent aren't sure. "Hello!?" I'm fascinated by that 2 percent. But I sure hope I never sit next to one of them on a flight! "Hello!?!" Did you read about Julee Sharik, from Orem, Utah. She gave birth to a 7-pound, 5-ounce son, just ...
Mark 12:28-34, Psalm 146:1-10, Ruth 1:1-22, Hebrews 9:11-28
Bulletin Aid
B. David Hostetter
READINGS Psalter—Psalm 146 First Lesson—This is the beginning of the story of a Moabite woman who became an ancestor of King David and Jesus of Nazareth. Ruth 1:1-18 Second Lesson—When Christ came as a high priest he entered the eternal Holy Place and offered himself not any animal sacrifice. Hebrews 9:11-14 Gospel—Jesus reemphasizes the two great commandments. Mark 12:28-34 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. Leader: Fix your eyes on God’s ...
Psalm 30:1-12, John 21:1-19, Acts 9:1-19a, Revelation 5:1-14
Bulletin Aid
B. David Hostetter
READINGS Psalter—Psalm 30 First Lesson—The remarkable conversion of Saul will create the Paul who becomes a great emissary of the gospel. Acts 9:1-6 (7-20) Second Lesson—The Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world is here envisioned as triumphant in glory. Revelation 5:11-14 Gospel—Peter, who has three times denied his connection with Jesus under duress, now is admonished three times in the duties of his apostolate. John 21:1-19 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all ...
Here's a question for you: In considering your life to this point, what things, if anything, do you regret? Regret, of course, is a feeling of disappointment or distress about something you wish could be different, and in reality, not many of us get through life without a few regrets. As Frank Sinatra crooned in his song "My Way": "Regrets? I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention." And that's likely how it is with many of our regrets — we might wish that a certain thing had turned out ...
Mary Magdalene may very well be the most enigmatic and controversial figure in the resurrection story. In a way the holy scriptures give us just enough information to excite our curiosity in regard to her personal relationship with the man she adored, Jesus of Nazareth. We still wonder what kind of person she was. Fiction writers have had a field day, especially in recent years. Was she really married to Jesus and did they have children? Did they establish a bloodline that is with us today? Such inquiries ...
The provoking incident for Jesus teaching his followers what to pray and how to pray is that the apostles watched Jesus and listened to his prayers. Nobody had ever prayed like this. His prayers were uniquely personal and profoundly humble. The apostles wanted to know more about prayer. So do we. "Lord, teach us to pray," they said (Luke 11:1). We have the same plea today. There is a vague sense that we don't pray enough, nor with as much focus as we should have. There is a longing among Christians today ...
A young boy used to describe foods like spinach by saying, "I hate it." His wise mother responded, "Don't say you hate it. Just say, ‘I'm not very fond of it.' " She also taught her son that when he really liked some food to say, "I'm really fond of this." The boy said, he was "really fond" of cookies, candy, and cake. His mother told him, "Too many cookies, too much candy, and cake can be bad for you. You can be very fond of the wrong things." Something like that is going on underneath the story of the ...