What an Immense Privilege is Ours! Today it is with an especially deep sense of gratitude and humility that I preach the text chosen for this sermon. Think of it - we come together in faith, health, and freedom to worship the living God. He welcomes us. He knows us by name. He invites us to know him by name. These are all wondrous and momentous gifts. Just to be able to know God and to proclaim the truth of his being here among us and his being for us is the first privilege of life. At times we are tempted ...
And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it ...
Object: Some different kinds of hair; like blond, brown, black, red. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever been afraid? Good, we have all been afraid at some time or another. Have you ever been so afraid that you felt like running away? (Let them answer.) I know what that feels like also. You think that if you run fast enough, you will be able to get away from whatever the bad thing is that is making you feel afraid. Let me ask you one more question. Have you ever been afraid of something ...
"There’s no fight like a church fight," someone once told me. Unhappily, that’s proven true time and again. Of all communities, you would think (or hope, at least) that congregations organized around the cross of Christ would be exemplars to the world. We have the promises, the hope, and the forgiveness God gives to his own select community. For heaven’s sake, it ought to make a difference in the way we live, at least within our own redeemed community. But someone else once pointed out to me that Satan isn ...
In the Scripture for this Sunday, Paul reveals an almost violent concern for his people. He is thinking about the Jews who have rejected Christ and the ultimate step in their history of being the people of God. Note Paul’s concern: "I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Paul was not mad at his people. He was heartbroken. He must have felt like Jesus felt when he cried out over ...
"I don’t want to be perfect" - but I do want to be better than am. I do want to be as good as I can be. I will never be mathematically perfect, everything just right, fixed. But as long as I live, I am going to be yearning after something that I have not yet achieved, and I am going to be responding to a pull that ever tugs me to a higher level of life. I don’t want to be a semi-Christian. I don’t want to be a "born again" Christian whose "conversion turns him around ninety degrees instead of one hundred ...
The miracle story of Jesus healing the man born blind is placed against the background of a puzzle that has plagued humankind ever since the first person stubbed his toe on a stone and cried out in pain. It is the question of why there is suffering in the world. Despite the many attempted solutions and suggested answers, people are still not satisfied - only more confused. The stubbed toe still hurts. Is the stone we stumble over placed there by chance or circumstance? Are we somehow engaged in a dangerous ...
The Bible admonishes us to love God, but it also embellishes on the point. It admonishes us to love God with all the heart that we have, all the soul that we have and all the mind that we have. Our intent in these pages is to land on the third dimension of our love for God, our willingness to love God with our minds. That may strike some as a bit unusual - loving someone with our mind (we usually love with our hearts), but then loving God is a different matter than loving our spouses or our children. ...
Pentecost VIII That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil but when the sun rose ...
Pentecost XIII And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And ...
One of the most meaningful experiences of my life took place in the Philippines. In the remote village of Lubuagan, high in the mountain provinces of northern Luzon, is a small mission school of some 250 students. The school and its sister church are on the main highway to Manila, which at this point is a narrow, treacherous dirt road, built on a mountain ledge. This little town literally clings to the mountains. It is half surrounded by graded rice terraces which give the impression of a thousand ...
Life is full of instances when people, for lack of better wording, "rub each other the wrong way." Members of families have conflicts and spats. Neighbors clash over their actions. People who have been friends for years suddenly fall out over an occurrence in which they felt "wronged" by the other. Unfortunately, many of these people walk through life carrying a grudge. Something that has happened long ago, something perhaps small and insignificant when it occurred, remains a chip on their shoulder. They ...
The usher, showing me the way to the pastor’s study, wore a big, bright, round button on his lapel which read: "I love you - Is that O.K.?" I didn’t know him, he only knew that I was the visiting preacher in the pulpit that day, so, after re-reading his button, I said; "Yes, I think it’s O.K." His reaction was immediate: he ducked his head, blushed to his ears, and in a choked voice said: "Ah, oh, uh, well, that’s good." Why would anybody wear a button that said that to everybody? "Easy love" - we say we ...
Hans Lietzmann, noted New Testament scholar, once remarked that no one has correctly understood Jesus except Paul and no one has correctly understood Paul. The attempts to understand Paul are legion. The literature on him is immense and the interpretations of his thought are varied. To Bultmann he is "the founder of Christian theology," while to Morton Enslin he is not a theologian at all but simply a "practical and forthright man" who taught new life in Christ but had little regard for logical consistency ...
What do you consider the most important and revealing fact to know about a person? Is it his antecedents, heritage, background? Certainly that is not to be overlooked. Or would you be most interested in his possessions, the position he occupies, the nature of his reputation? Unquestionably this factor would seem to be of no little practical consequence. Or would it mean most to know his possibilities, his promise, what he might become? That surely is highly significant. But there is something more ...
YET THOU HAST SAID, ‘I KNOW YOU BY NAME.’ How often in Holy Scripture the promise of personhood is carried out by Almighty God. As for instance, when he speaks through Isaiah in the first verse of the 34th Chapter: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, and you are mine." Or as that promise is fulfilled in the New Testament in John 10:3: "He calleth his own sheep by name." Think of the wonder of it that the individual human being is known to Almighty God by name. The deepest desire ...
"HE HAS RISEN" It was a solid, staid, old parish to which I was called just after the war, one that needed a bit of waking up here and there, and on our first Easter, we arranged to have the Sunrise Service begin with a fanfare by a quartet of trumpets sounding forth from the balcony. Well, the trumpeters were quite enthusiastic, and I must admit, quite loud; and, quite frankly, the innovation was not received with unanimous approval. In fact, one elderly lady in the congregation was quite vocal about it. ...
In JAREL’S apartment. There is a table in the room, with a telephone on it. JAREL is seated. SETH is standing, with a deck of cards in his hand. JAREL Look, I never invited you here, I never asked you to come in, and I absolutely do not want to go back to him. And, finally, I don’t want to play any silly game. SETH Don’t knock what you haven’t tried. JAREL I could always try calling the police. You’re not exactly a guest. SETH Go ahead. I’ve got my story ready: FAITHFUL BROTHER-IN-LAW REBUKED IN ...
Is it a commentary on television that nowadays some of the best programs are the commercials? One of my all-time favorites was made by the Aetna Insurance Company. It shows a father going through a goodnight ritual with his young son. First, the father has to look under the bed and then check the closet to make sure no monsters are there. Then, having secured the room, he says goodnight. As he leaves the room, a shaky little voice says, "Dad, would you leave the hall light on?" All of us can relate to that ...
An author by the name of Vardis Fisher has written a novel, which I have not read, but I suspect that the title suggests more than all of the material that might be included in that volume. The name of the book is Forgive Us Our Virtues. Forgive us our virtues - it’s a prayer that we all might offer. It’s quite easy to pray "forgive us our trespasses"; the higher devotion allows us to say "forgive us our virtues." Benjamin Franklin is often quoted for his homely wisdom as a guide for those who search for ...
Paul wrote this appeal under great emotion. Word had come to him of the joyous sacrifices made by the impoverished churches of Macedonia when they learned that their beloved leader Paul was collecting money for the persecuted mother church in Jerusalem. With justifiable paternal pride, Paul overflows with joy at the free initiative of love exhibited by his "children" in the infant churches of Macedonia. A father and mother in an Ohio city recently told their pastor of a "first" in the life of their small ...
Preachers all hope Saint Paul’s description of his ministry describes theirs, too. Surely, though, all Christians should feel this as well. This passage of scripture is like the infrared light used to detect the chemical dye in which a voter’s thumb is dipped at the polls in some countries. The light reveals unmistakedly the special coloration of the dye and is intended to prevent fraudulent repetitive voting. This scripture clearly reveals the validity of Christian ministry. No bogus discipleship can pass ...
He walked rapidly, his long robes flowing behind him to be whipped by the brisk, dry east wind. His two servants occasionally quick-stepped to keep pace, their sandals padding softly on the dust of the deserted streets. As they turned eastward from the upper city, the declining, full moon flung their shadows ahead like long moving fingers pointing toward the white limestone buildings of the temple compound. Nicodemus’ mind was thoughtless, yet filled with many thoughts. He had no plan, no course of action ...
"I am content with persecutions for Christ’s sake ..." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Characters: Lector Announcer Antagonist Protagonist Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn "In the Cross of Christ I Glory." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins. LECTOR: I am most happy ... to be proud of any weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me. I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and ...
It is said that by the year 2000 one-half the population of our nation will be over 50 and one-third over 65 years of age. Those of us who are growing older will have plenty of company. We have a science, gerontology, dedicated to our well-being. We do not even have to surrender to senility: doctors tell us that it is not a normal state of old age; only 8 percent of older people need to fear such a breakdown. It is possible to remain alert and creative right down to the conclusion of our lives. Marie ...