With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3) My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13) Props: a fountain of water (you can find small fountains at most greenhouses or online) running; large pot made of pottery or clay; bottle of spring water; baptismal font or other large bowl of water with nearby towel; fishbowl; glasses of water that look ...
…Watch —and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. (Habakkuk 5) I am he who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me. (John 8:18) Animation: show/roll photos of Hubbel photos on screen; show model of brain; show markings on bone The Hubbel space telescope has been seeking out and examining unknown universes with its multiple lenses for over 25 years now. First launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery ...
Matthew 27:1-26 · Luke 22:66--23:25 · John 18:28-40; 19:1-16 · Mark 15:1-15
Sermon
Lori Wagner
[Optional beginning: Search Mateo Cupcakes on Youtube. Three-year old Mateo has just tied an end around his “No Cupcakes” with his Gramma, and is making his case as to why he should have his cupcakes. Normally, he calls his mother “Momma.” But when he’s arguing, his mother is “Linda, honey.” Wonder where he got that from? This video got so many hits in such a short time that Ellen DeGeneres brought Linda and Mateo to her show and sat down with them. Am I the only one who sees him or herself in little Mateo ...
“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent...” Most people think that it was Don Draper, the main character in the TV series, Mad Men, who first introduced and spoke of the idea of an indifferent universe, and he did, in fact, use that phrase. But he wasn’t the first. Others believe that the first was Carl Sagan, and he did say that “the universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.” But he was only paraphrasing another great thinker. ...
And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” — Matthew 22:19 Recent DNA tests reveal that a software engineer from South Carolina shared an exact match to the maternal mitochondrial DNA of King Richard III of England. As you may know, the King’s bones were discovered in 2012 under a parking lot in England on land that was once a friary. The bones showed signs of a spinal deformity the king was known to have had. The skull showed wounds consistent with ...
“When Christ calls a person, he bids that one to come and die.” These words were written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a well-known Lutheran pastor and theologian, in a book influential to many, The Cost of Discipleship, first published in 1937. Bonhoeffer lived his Christian call to holiness without counting the cost. He did what God asked of him; he was obedient to the call of God and the teachings of Christ. He followed Christ without qualification, reservation or question. He did not look over his shoulder ...
In my thirty years of ordained ministry and 50 years of church membership, I have discovered that there are five kinds of Christian: Free Riders, Fans, Friends, Followers and Fanatics. FREE RIDERS are Christians in name only. If you ask them, they will tell you that they believe in God and Jesus. They know how to answer the questions correctly. God is the creator of the universe. Jesus is the son of God, blah, blah, blah. They aren’t sure what any of that means. They don’t really think about it. Most of ...
If you were to make a list of jobs that require the ability to think on your feet and handle extreme levels of stress, which jobs would make your list? Fighter pilots, police officers, kindergarten teachers, perhaps? They’d belong on that list, right? What about wedding planners? Surely not, you say, but think about it. Wedding planners juggle hundreds of tiny details while also managing the emotions of the wedding party. Their job is to create the perfect day for the bride and groom. That’s a huge ...
Early in his ministry, critics came to Jesus saying, "The disciples of John fast often, but yours eat and drink." Jesus replied, "can the wedding guest fast when the bridegroom arrives?" Do you find it interesting that one of the earliest charges against Jesus' people is that they had too much fun? "Why don't your disciples go around fasting, wearing sad faces and mournful looks -- like the disciples of John the Baptist? We can tell that John's disciples are religious -- they're miserable!" Would the same ...
In 2015, Maximillian Potter wrote a book called Shadows in the Vineyard. The author told of the true story of the vines of La Romance-Conti, the most famous, finest, and most expensive Burgundy in France. One day, the owner received an anonymous note threatening the destruction of his world-class vineyard if he did not pay a one million Euro ransom. The owner thought it was a joke. Sadly, it was not. The crime shocked the entire region of France. Such is the power of greed, envy, jealousy, and anger. Jesus ...
I have here a ruler. It’s the way we measure nearly everything in life. If you are old enough, you remember having one of these in your desk at school, so that you could use it during math class. These wooden rulers now are nearly obsolete. At least in the form we see here. But they haven’t been vanquished from our minds and the way we think about measurement, behavior, and life. Our word ruler comes from the Latin word "regula,” derived from the verb "rego," meaning "to keep straight, direct, govern, or ...
With some things, once you get started, it’s hard to stop. Things like eating salted peanuts and reading a good murder mystery and doing a challenging crossword puzzle. Or, in my own case, preaching sermons in a series entitled “God is like…” In that first sermon of the series I said: My purpose is simply to help all of us appreciate and understand more about God and to discover appropriate responses to this Holy One. I hope our exploration will provide both comfort and challenge. And I expect some ...
Cast: Two women, Eeodia and Syntyche, and one man, Clement Length: 10 minutes (The two women are seated on their stools with an empty stool between them. CLEMENT enters excitedly, waving a letter.) CLEMENT: Euodia! Syntyche! Paul has sent us another letter! Epaphroditus just brought it. SYNTYCHE: Oh, Clement! That's so wonderful. I just don't know what we would do without Paul's advice. EUODIA: Yes. It's hard starting a new church as part of a new religion. Harder than I ever expected. CLEMENT: (Taking his ...
Cast: Two women, Euodia and Syntyche one man, Clement Length: 10 minutes The two women are seated on their stools with an empty stool between them. CLEMENT enters excitedly, waving a letter. CLEMENT: Euodia! Syntyche! Paul has sent us another letter! Epaphroditus just brought it. SYNTYCHE: Oh, Clement! That's so wonderful. I just don't know what we would do without Paul's advice. EUODIA: Yes. It's hard starting a new church as part of a new religion. Harder than I ever expected. CLEMENT: (Taking his seat) ...
[People] of Galilee, why do you stand looking at heaven? (Acts 1:11) When people are confused or afraid, when they feel that things are out of control, or when they feel helpless to overcome the problems which confront them, they often resort to "pie in the sky" religion. They look for Jesus to come and fix what they can't fix for themselves. They figure that one day, as if by magic, Jesus will make everything right for them in the "sweet bye and bye." That's a bit like what the disciples are doing in our ...
Galatians 2:17-21 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) Have you ever noticed how some people go through life full of confidence and vigor, no matter what happens to them? When disaster strikes, they survive. When obstacles are placed in their path, they persevere. In the tumult of life's arena they are knocked down but never out, and they always have the internal fortitude to get up and get going again. Have you ever noticed how such people are at their best when things ...
H. A. Williams, one of the leading preachers and theologians of the Church of England, titled his autobiography, Someday I’ll Find You. That may seem like an unusual title for an autobiography, but if you read the book, as I did when I was a seminary student, it begins to make sense. You see, there was a period in Dr. Williams’ life when he was almost totally incapacitated by phobic anxieties. He was afraid to into the streets and marketplaces, afraid of elevators and escalators, afraid to ride on trains ...
At the beginning of each new semester, teachers and professors frequently distribute to their students a sheet of paper called a synopsis. This synopsis contains a list of things the teacher plans to cover during the semester, along with other pertinent information, such as a list of books the student will be expected to read (which always gave me a headache), the schedule of examinations (ditto), and a list of papers to be written and what length they should be. I argued unsuccessfully with my professors ...
Cast: Two women, EUODIA and SYNTYCHE, and one man, CLEMENT Length: 10 minutes The two women are seated on their stools with an empty stool between them. CLEMENT enters excitedly, waving a letter. CLEMENT: Euodia! Syntyche! Paul has sent us another letter! Epaphroditus just brought it. SYNTYCHE: Oh, Clement! That's so wonderful. I just don't know what we would do without Paul's advice. EUODIA: Yes. It's hard starting a new church as part of a new religion. Harder than I ever expected. CLEMENT: (Taking his ...
[Note: During this Lenten season, we're trying to look at the happenings in Jesus' passion and death as several people in the story might have seen them. What would have been Peter's reaction to the portion of the story that we have today? Here's what I think it might have been.] Dramatic Monologue: Simon Peter I don't know why I couldn't have seen it at the time, but there wasn't anything in Jesus' life that didn't matter. Everything had some kind of kingdom meaning. Take that little scripture you heard ...
Text: Isaiah 6:1-5 - In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. ...
Object: a bottle of perfume. Good morning, boys and girls, and how are you today? Isn't this a wonderful way to start out a new week? I like to be together with you in God's house. Today we are going to talk about a very special word - confidence. How many of you have ever heard of the word confidence? Some of you have. What do you think the word confidence means? [Wait for some of their definitions.] Those are pretty good. Let me show you one way to explain the word confidence. Let's suppose that your ...
When this narrative begins, it is about as lacking in optimism and hope as the story my brother, B. J., tells about a farmer in southern Missouri who hired a man to split some post oak for his farm. Post oak is notoriously hard to work with, but it makes excellent fence posts and rail fences. It is so tough, that it's like trying to split rock. The farmer hired a man who was not too fast at thinking, and told him he'd pay him three dollars a dozen for the posts. After two or three days the farmer came to ...
A Worship Drama Characters In order of appearance The Woman The Man Average Man Bible Lady Liberal Lady Child Beggar Scientist Woman of Means First Teenager Second Teenager Politician Properties At one point during the drama, all characters except the Woman and the Man will pick up large stones to hurl at the Woman. These are prominently marked with labels such as: Ingratitude, Expediency, Envy, Pride, Scorn, Apathy, Gluttony. The Return (Scene: on a park bench is seated a good-looking, modest but sexily ...
I am especially excited today! While preaching is almost always a joy, sometimes it is an absolute delight, especially when I am declaring the heart of the Gospel, the good news of the cross. Why, I could hardly sleep last night. I feel like a bird-dog on Thanksgiving morning or a racehorse in the starting blocks at Churchill Downs. I love to talk about the cross! The Gospel is so simple that even a child can grasp it. It's so profound that no Ph.D. can fully plumb its depths. Here is the heart of it: ...