"Descended from David ... designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness ..." so Paul writes of the One who is to come; the One we are expecting (Romans 1:3, 4); the designated Son of a designated God come to a designated people. God reveals himself in power; we humbly and imperfectly place names on what we see and feel. God designates a Son and the Son designates a people. Designating/Naming What we know of our world and of God is as human as life itself. From the beginning of time we ...
What do Richard Nixon and Shirley Temple have in common? While they may have shared many common interests and traits, isn't it true that neither one ever outlived their pasts? When Richard Nixon was buried behind the house that his father built, he went to his grave as the president that was forced to resign in the face of humiliation and scandal. Even amid his remarkable rehabilitation which included significant contributions to the world's conversation about public policy, Nixon may as well have had " ...
Our sermon consumers are used to VCRs and Super Nintendo Ÿ strong visual images Ÿ they watch and then rewind. For our preaching, that certainly means it is a different generation of people out there listening. It has definite implications for what we say and how we say it.11 -- Jerry L. Schmalenberger I talk with many laypeople about sermons, and the comment I hear most often is: "Sermons are bo-o-o-oring!" This comment is of course not new in church history. Perhaps Eutychus thought the same thing about ...
Texts: Luke 24:1-12; 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and all your faith is in vain.(1 Corinthians 15:14) When Jesus was asked to heal a boy who had suffered seizures since his birth, our Lord said to the boy's father, "All things are possible to those who believe." And the boy's father said to Jesus, "I believe; help Thou my unbelief" (Mark 9:23-24). I wonder how many of us want to say those words as we come to the empty tomb this Easter morning: "Lord, ...
Strong in the Lord Preached on the occasion of the death of a twenty-nine-year-old man whose death came as the result of a brief and unexpected illness. Until that time he had been a model of good health, an active athlete, and dedicated to taking good care of himself. Dearly beloved in the Lord, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are gathered here today because a husband, son, brother, friend, and father has died. It was completely unexpected. The ...
This ritual of Thanksgiving is a ritual of identification. A traditional American parade ritualizes the sacredness and centeredness of money in American life. This Deuteronomic ritual identifies God as the center of thanksgiving and is our way of saying so. One does not thank anybody if self is the center. Thanks, then, may be little more than the oil of social facilitation. The thanksgiving of this text expresses a relationship of debt. It calls forth one’s history - not of one’s lifetime alone, but that ...
COMMENTARY Exodus 3:1-15 (C), Exodus 3:1-8b, 10-15 (L). Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 (RC) Moses is called to deliver God's people from bondage in Egypt. While tending his father-in-law's sheep, Moses is called by Yahweh to return to Egypt to lead out his oppressed people. First Yahweh must get Moses' attention by having a bush burn without burning up. Because God is present, Moses is ordered to remove his sandals, for he is on holy ground. Wherever God exists, the place becomes sacred. Yahweh tells Moses that he is ...
I went to see him at the hospital where he was recuperating from a scary illness. While I visited with him, his wife made arrangements to check him out of the hospital. It took much longer than both of us had expected, so he and I had an unanticipated, but very important, conversation. He worships every Sunday. He never misses Sunday school. He reads my sermons, and those of other ministers, that are mailed to his house. For a lay person, he is theologically well informed. In fact, from time to time, he ...
The motto of the Apollo II flight was "We came in peace for all mankind." This phrase was upon the plaque deposited on the surface of the moon. The flight had landed on what is known as the "Sea of Tranquility." Armstrong and Aldrin found a tranquil and peaceful scene on the moon because there had never been any humans there prior to them. No one before them had had a chance to disturb the moon. As I was preparing this message I asked my teenage daughter what the word "peace" meant to her. She replied ...
THEOLOGICAL CLUE Although the church year eschatological framework remains in place on this Sunday, it would continue to be almost imperceptible without the influence of the readings for the day. In particular, it is the Gospel for the Day, the parable of the "householder," who goes out to the market place again and again to hire day-laborers to work in his vineyard, that casts the eschatological note of the gospel, as well as the church year, in sharp focus over against the unmerited grace of God, who ...
"... This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ." A conductor said to the Lt. Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, as he was boarding a train, "Go right up the steps, sir, turn left, and take a seat." But the Lt. Governor turned right instead of left and found himself in an empty car. He had just settled himself down when some twenty people, all dressed exactly alike, came in the car. The conductor said, "Sir, I think you’ll want to move into the other car. You see, these people are all from the ...
This week two thoughts were foremost in my mind. One thought was quite normal for a preacher as well as a basic necessity. What shall I emphasize Sunday morning when I am using for my text the words of Jesus which he spoke on his last night upon earth to his disciples? "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you ..." The other thought was quite different. I remembered that 31 years ago last Wednesday I was ordained into the ministry at the fiftieth anniversary of Trinity Church. After my father gave ...
When I was a boy, our church had a summer camp. For one week every summer, we had the opportunity to get out of the heat of Baltimore, to play, to swim, to enjoy good friends, and to learn more about the Lord. After all, it was a church camp. Prior to the experience each year, all those who were registered to participate were given instructions about what to bring, what not to bring, and so on. And one of the items that was listed as absolutely to be included was a blank postcard. You see, the second ...
Visitors to Michigan never fail to be amused when they discover that our state contains both a Hell and a Paradise, Michigan. Paradise is in the Upper Peninsula, and Hell is not too far from Ann Arbor. I have no idea what that means. The first week I arrived in Ann Arbor, I recall reading a startling headline in the Ann Arbor News. I kid you not, this is what it said: “Dam water recedes; Hell out of danger.” In this sermon I would suggest that, Biblically speaking, Hell is never out of danger as long as ...
There is a parable of three kings searching for truth. When asked how far they will go to discover what they seek, how deep they want to immerse themselves in its meaning, one of the answers, “Not too far, just far enough so we can say we’ve been there.” That’s the tourist attitude about life which prevails too often today. We say we want happiness in our home, health in our bodies, successes in our work. We say we want a peaceful world, less crime and violence in our streets. We say we want a higher moral ...
"You know what I don't understand?" asked Lucy of Charlie Brown in my favorite comic strip -- "PEANUTS" by Charles Schultz. "I don't understand love!" Charlie Brown replies, "Who does!" Lucy says, "Explain love to me, Charlie Brown", Charlie says. "You can't explain love. I can recommend a book or a poem or a painting, but I can't explain love." Lucy comes back, "Well, try, Charlie Brown, try." As is always the case, Charlie can't say no to Lucy. He can't resist doing what Lucy tells him to do, so he says ...
I normally don't tell blonde jokes. Some of my best friends are blondes. And there is a sexist element to such jokes, I will admit. But sometimes one comes a long that's really funny. A certain young lady calls her boyfriend and says, "Please come over here and help me . . . I have a jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get it started." Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?" The young lady says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a tiger." Her boyfriend decides ...
A young man who had made it big had been away from home a long time traveling to exotic places all over the world. He had not been very attentive to his widowed mother. His conscience began to bother him and he decided to do something about it. He sent her a unique gift, a rare South American parrot for which he'd paid $1200. Well, time went by. Two weeks, three weeks, and he heard nothing. And the fourth week he called. When he got his mom on the phone he said, "Did you get the bird I sent you?" "Oh yes ...
Father's Day sermon This is the third Sunday in June. I am usually not here on this Sunday, because it is during this week that the sessions of the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in this region are held. They are continuing today at the University of Redlands. But I have been away for several weeks on vacation prior to this week, so I thought it would be prudent for me to show up here. Besides that, as you have heard, this is Choir Recognition Sunday, and I wanted to be here also for that ...
The Letter of James has been problematic right from the very beginning. In the first place it's not really a letter, it's a sermon. It was circulated around the Church the end of the first century, because it was thought to be worthy for instruction. Indeed it is. It has some notable epigrams, such as, "Be doers of the word, not hearers only," worthy of being embroidered into a sampler and put on your wall. The main criticism of the letter from the beginning was that it is not like Paul's letters. Paul's ...
This is Super Bowl Sunday, and some of you, I know, have chosen to ignore that. In some years you can do that, but when it is held in San Diego, just a few hundred yards down the street, it is hard to ignore it. In 1995, the Super Bowl was in Miami. We couldn't ignore that one either, because the Chargers were playing the 49ers in Miami. On Super Bowl Sunday in 1995, we gathered here in church, offered up prayers for the Chargers. That night we gathered for a memorial service. Today the Broncos and the ...
A hotel in Budapest was having problems with its elevator. Since most of the guests spoke at least some English, the owner put up a sign. However, either he had a sense of humor or he was not very adept at English. The sign read like this: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.” I’ve known some unbearable people, haven’t you? Lloyd John Ogilvie wrote a book some years ago titled, Falling into Greatness. In it he tells about an old friend who ...
On a Christmas card we received this year, we discovered these powerful words: When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the Kings and Princes are back home, When the Shepherds have returned to new flocks, The work of Christmas begins: - To find the lost, - To heal the broken - To feed the hungry, - To release the prisoners, - To rebuild the nations, - To bring peace among people, - To make music in the heart. Or, in other words, to do the work of Christ. These words ...
If God had a website on salvation, and you were to pull up that page to find what the God, who will decide who gets into heaven and who does not, says about salvation, what do you think you would find? (Incidentally, there is such a website, because I found it in preparing this message—what they had on several pages I believe God probably could condense down to one paragraph, which is the text we are preaching from today. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is ...
When I was asked to speak on the topic "Power of the Pulpit" I could not help but think about a term that originated with Theodore Roosevelt when he was President of the United States. He referred to the White House as a "Bully Pulpit," meaning a terrific platform from which one could persuasively advocate the truth. In a real sense I believe that every church pulpit should be a "Bully Pulpit." I am reminded of the story of a little boy who was talking to his mom, and he said, "Mother, may I be a preacher ...