"Heal the sick," Jesus commanded (Matthew 10:8). His orders leave our knees knocking and us feeling inadequate. In Edward Albee's play, The Death of Bessie Smith, a character rages, "I'm sick! Sick of everything in this fly-ridden world! I am sick of waking up, I am tired of the truth, I am tired of lying about the truth, tired of my skin! I want out, I want off this world!" Now, that, my friend, is desperate sickness! And perhaps today, as you read this, you find yourself ill. My question is, "Would you ...
Exodus 16:1-36, Matthew 20:1-16, Philippians 1:12-30, Psalm 105:1-45
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Exodus 16:2-15 is the account of how Israel was miraculously fed manna by God in the wilderness. Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 is a hymn that praises God who cares for Israel on the wilderness journey. Exodus 16:2-15 - "Grace Cannot Be Stored Up" Setting. We observe two background features when interpreting the miracle of manna in Exodus 16:2-15. First, it is important to see that the larger literary setting of this story is a journey. The motif of journeying with God links all of the wilderness ...
We’re about two months away from high school and college graduation season. It’s a very exciting and stressful time for students, teachers and parents. Our prayers are with all our young people as they make the move into jobs or college or some new chapter of their lives. There’s an online company called BrandYourself that claims it has the perfect graduation gift for high school and college students. It’s called the “Student Makeover.” It’s not a beauty and grooming service. It’s an online service for ...
“Il a l’air si paisible, endormi dans son couffin.” (He looks so peaceful sleeping in his bassinet.) We all start life grieving death. Or better put…We all go through life grieving the inevitability of death. And fearing when it will arrive. Maybe this is what leaves us so averse to risk. And yet, the people who are most risk-averse are what we might call the emotionally and spiritually “walking dead.” For risk is the fodder of relationships, of beginnings, of growth, and of life. Think about it. We take ...
[Note: 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: Preparing for a Royal Visit New Title: Getting Ready Mark 1:1-8 January 7, 2024 (Baptism of the Lord) A little boy attended his first symphony concert. He was excited by the ...
Everybody who thinks you could have done better than James or John, raise your hands. "If I worked up the nerve to ask Jesus to do anything I ask him to," most of us probably think, "I'd have done a lot better than their lame-brained request. Sitting next to Jesus when he comes into his glory -- what nerve! I'd have asked for something much more worthy -- an end to war, or a cure for cancer, or at least for wisdom. Good grief, what was Jesus thinking when he recruited those two?" Maybe we should call it ...
Chapter 8 of Paul's letter to the Romans is one of the greatest chapters in all of scripture. It has many verses that we know by heart. For instance, verse 18: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us." Or the verse that follows it: "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God." And then there are the powerful closing words of the chapter that are often read at funerals: "For I am convinced ...
The symbol of the descending dove has meant for the Christian community both the coming of the Holy Spirit and the symbol of peace. As we have seen, the community of the Holy Spirit is a creative and diverse community, yet a community where peace prevails characterized by openness and freedom, as well as, togetherness and unity. The words in John 14 tie together the concept of both the coming of the Holy Spirit and Jesus' desire for peace. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my ...
Introductory Note "Thomas the Doubter" is obviously an Easter sermon. However, for Christians every Lord's Day is Easter, because ours is a Resurrection faith. Without the Resurrection, we have nothing distinctive -- for our own comfort and growth or for a world in pain. In "Thomas the Doubter" I hazard a hypothesis about Thomas' life prior to his meeting Jesus. The hypothesis seems fairly plausible. His nickname, Didymus, appears in the biblical record (John 11:16). "Thomas the Doubter" argues for the ...
Psalm 23:1-6, Acts 4:1-22, 1 John 3:11-24, John 10:1-21
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
The One Shepherd The Good Shepherd parable comes on the fourth Sunday of Easter. While it is located in the Gospel before the crucifixion, it interprets the meaning of the events. The message enables the church to see them not as unrelenting tragedy and failure but as signs of victory and hope. The key interpretation is not that the enemies of Jesus were in control by their ability to take his life. Rather it is that Jesus by an act of the will of God could lay down his life for his followers and take it ...
In our text Jesus makes a comparison between two different things: buildings and a person. The buildings he spoke of were of great importance, representing many resources. No doubt the excess wealth of the city or nation was required to build them. Many workers were conscripted to work on them. And, no matter big or small, they were always much larger, more solid, and of greater economic value than any of the persons who helped in their construction. In fact, they gave a feeling of permanence which those ...
God created us to be social beings. Life is not intended to be experienced in total isolation though moments of solitude are therapeutic. We live on the planet earth with other people and so it is essential for every person to develop meaningful relationships with significant others. Each person is introduced into society through a family unit, the most fundamental organism in existence today. Human relationships do not automatically survive and certainly do not thrive without constant nurturing. In other ...
Matthew 28:1-10, John 20:1-18, Acts 10:34-43, Colossians 3:1-4
Bulletin Aid
First Lesson: Acts 10:34-43 Theme: Christ's resurrection is for all people Call to Worship Pastor: For nearly two thousand years, Christians of each generation have thrilled with the celebration of Easter. People: What God has done in Christ benefits all persons who believe in him. Pastor: God raised Jesus from the dead. And we are privileged to proclaim his gospel to our generation. People: Jesus is Lord! May the whole world know of his power to forgive sins, and be raised to new life! Collect Eternal God ...
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another ..." The love which Christians show for one another has always been a compelling, even unanswerable argument for the truth of our faith. Jesus said: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." So well did the early Christians follow Jesus’ prescription that it was said of them: "See how they love each other." St. John Chrysostom, who was made Bishop of Constantinople in A.D. 398, remarked: "If we ...
Over the centuries rank and file church members have grown up in the presence of stained glass saints. Sanctuary windows throughout Europe and America have featured thousands of them -- monumental, brightly colored portraits of men and women whose lives were right with God. Their faces are placid and trusting. Their heads are often enveloped by golden auras or haloes. All of them were heroes of the faith, either from the Bible or from Christian history. They are spectacular representations of spiritual ...
A little third grade boy named Johnny came in from school one day, walked up to his daddy and said, "Daddy, there's something I need to ask you." "What is it son?" "Daddy, where did I come from?" Well, the father very nervously reached over and picked up some diagrams and pictures, because he had been planning for just this moment. He spent the next forty-five minutes explaining the process of birth. With a smug look on his face, inwardly congratulating himself on his great job, he said, "Son, does that ...
A great preacher in our Convention once told the story of skiing in Colorado, and he noticed on the slopes some people wearing red vests. Wondering who they were, he went closer and read these words on them: BLIND SKIER. He was astounded. If you've ever been skiing or just watched other people ski, you know how hard it must be to ski with two good eyes, much less with no eyesight at all. He wondered to himself, "How do they do it?" He went to a ski instructor and asked him how a blind person could ski? The ...
A great preacher in our Convention once told the story of skiing in Colorado, and he noticed on the slopes some people wearing red vests. Wondering whom they were, he went closer and read these words on the vest: BLIND SKIER. He was astounded. If you've ever been skiing or just watched other people ski, you know how hard it must be to ski with two good eyes, much less with no eyesight at all. He wondered to himself, "How do they do it?" He went to a ski instructor and asked him how a blind person could ski ...
One of the most life changing things you can ever do as a believer is to go on a mission trip. Not only do you get to share Jesus with people who are hungry for the gospel, see lives transformed by the power of Christ, you also get to see and experience a lot of things you wouldn’t otherwise. But, there is only one country in the world that I encourage everyone to visit whose very geographical landscape can change your life and that is the land of Israel. To know that you are walking where Jesus walked, to ...
Prejudice and the Poor In chapter 2 James expands upon the theme of worldliness and the care of widows. Worldliness shows up not only as personal ambition but also in a church’s paying regard to someone’s worldly power and position rather than dealing only on the basis of that person’s spiritual position in Christ. This issue, in turn, leads to the statement of the need for generosity and to a warning against a complacent orthodoxy that stops short of gospel obedience (2:14–26). 2:1 My brothers recognizes ...
Oh You Destroyer Who Has Not Been Destroyed: We noted in the Introduction that the major copy of Isaiah from Cave 1 at Qumran leaves a space after chapter 33, and this chapter indeed closes off the first half of the book. It does this quantitatively, because we are fairly precisely half way through the book. It also does it thematically and verbally. At one level chapter 33 is jerky and puzzling. The addressees keep changing, we are not clear who is being talked about, and no train of argument develops ...
Sin Prompts Your Mouth The “second dialogue cycle” begins here as we return to the argument of Eliphaz, from whom we last heard in chapters 4 and 5. There Eliphaz operated from the assumption that humans are “born to trouble” (5:7) and therefore “reap” what they “sow” (4:8). It is impossible for “a mortal to be righteous before God.” Since even God’s servants, the angels, are untrustworthy, “how much more” are humans subject to “error” (4:18–19). As a result, Job must deserve his suffering. His only hope ...
Prejudice and the Poor In chapter 2 James expands upon the theme of worldliness and the care of widows. Worldliness shows up not only as personal ambition but also in a church’s paying regard to someone’s worldly power and position rather than dealing only on the basis of that person’s spiritual position in Christ. This issue, in turn, leads to the statement of the need for generosity and to a warning against a complacent orthodoxy that stops short of gospel obedience (2:14–26). 2:1 My brothers recognizes ...
18:16–17 This is the beginning of the second major section of this chapter (vv. 16–33). Having accomplished their primary purpose in visiting Abraham and Sarah, the three messengers set out on their journey. The reference to their looking down toward Sodom introduces the subject of this section. Continuing to be hospitable, Abraham walked along with them for a while to see them on their way. Yahweh then spoke. Whether he spoke to himself or to the messengers is not clear. Yahweh wondered if he should ...
Covenant Laws III: Property Rights, Capital Offenses, Using Power, Relationship to God: Exodus 22 deals with eleven casuistic laws of the book of the covenant. These case laws protected property in cases of theft or negligent damage and established civility between neighbors by setting limits of liability for another’s property. They continue through verse 17, after which the legal form changes to commandments (apodictic law). The commandments address three more capital offenses, limitation of the use of ...