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Sermon
James W. Robinson
It was getting too hot too risky - for Jesus in the Jerusalem area, and he thought it prudent to get away from town for awhile before his enemies could do him harm. The Pharisees had threatened to stone him, and, on another occasion, to arrest him. So he and his disciples hurried to a remote district in TransJordan, "to the place where John at first baptized, and there he remained" (John 10:40). ...
2. All-Out Love
Mark 12:28-34
Sermon
James W. Robinson
Jesus is now in Jerusalem, where the death he has predicted is little more than a breath away. His enemies are closing in, firing salvos of accusations impugning his religious orthodoxy and his loyalty to Caesar. They hope to find blasphemy and treason in his responses. What pastor has not found himself in somewhat the same situation? The telephone rings in the parsonage, manse, or rectory. A cal...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
His name was Bartimaeus. He occupied the lowest rung on society’s ladder, a poor man of Bethany, who eked out a living begging at the side of the road. In his sightlessness, he was forced to depend on others to guide him to his place of business. He had never seen the smile on the lips of a child, the blush on a maiden’s cheeks, the love in his mother’s eyes. His eyes had never feasted on a sea of...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." It was with that abrupt request that disciples James and John one day approached Jesus. I don’t know how that strikes you, but, to me, it smacks of impertinence. How would you have responded? In kind, I suspect, with "Oh, you do, do you!" But Jesus, always the gentleperson, made patient reply: "What do you want me to do for you?" Perhaps ...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
I sat one morning at a table in a fast-food restaurant, facing a window coated with a film of dirt and grease. An employee appeared outside with a bucket of water and sponged the grime away. It was like the raising of a curtain on a stage. Now I could see clearly the scene outside. In the immediate foreground was an asphalt parking lot; beyond that a stretch of winter-browned grass, relieved of mo...
6. For a Cancer Victim
2 Timothy 3:10--4:8
Eulogy
James W. Robinson
Mary at the Party Mary, for thirty years a recovering alcoholic, and afflicted with cancer, "kept on keeping on" with faith, hope, love, and unquenchable cheer, until she crossed life's final finish line. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." So said Paul in his letter to his young friend, Timothy. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul also referr...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
There is something rather appealing in the way the rich young man intercepted Jesus as he journeyed to Jerusalem. He greeted the Master with the enthusiasm of a child throwing himself into the outstretched arms of a father returning home after a long day at work. And, like a child, the words came tumbling out of his mouth. "Good Teacher," he exclaimed, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" In ...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
Events were chasing each other like chips in the churning rapids of a racing river. Jesus was helpless in the raging "current of events." He could scarcely keep his head above water. He was doomed to perish in cascading falls that crashed a short distance downstream. Or so it seemed to both bitter foe and disillusioned friend. The Last Supper, the agony in Gethsemane, the betrayal and arrest, and ...
9. In Control
Mark 13:1-31
Sermon
James W. Robinson
Throughout the Christian era, men and women have looked with alarm at the turbulent conditions of their day and found in them signs of the End and of the Second Coming of Christ. In every instance they have been either disappointed or elated, depending on their state of spiritual preparedness. Many Christians today are convinced that they are living in the Last Days and that the End is just over t...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
Few natural phenomena are as spectacular as the storm clouds that assemble over a mountaintop. One can hear the thunder grumble ominously among them. The tempo increases until its grumble glides into a rumble and an intermittent crash. In the forest below, one feels the quickening fresh-scented breeze turn into a hard-muscled wind that bends the creaking leafy forest giants into submission. The ca...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
How would you like to climb a mountain? Right now. Too tired? Completely exhausted after a week of commuting to the office or working around the house? What if you could take the hike without leaving your seat? Don’t scoff! It can be done. No leg work is required. All you need do is exercise your imagination. So, off we go, up the Sermon on the Mount, crossing the ridge to a lookout that offers u...
12. Persisting over Rebukes
Mark 10:46-52
Illustration
James W. Robinson
The detrimental effects of rebuke cannot be minimized. It can have a stultifying impact. It can severely strain persistence, and drive a person to distraction. Rebuke has silenced many a sensitive soul. A man once allowed himself to be smothered by rebuke at a continuing-education event attended by fifty of his peers. One lecture had been especially stimulating, evoking spirited discussion. This ...
13. Showing Faith
Mark 10:46-52
Illustration
James W. Robinson
A woman showed symptoms of a serious internal disorder. She consulted her family doctor, who referred her to a specialist. The specialist, a hematologist, hinted ominously that she had a dangerous condition. Her condition was so delicate that an ordinary cough, or a sneeze, might trigger irreversible and fatal internal bleeding. Surgery was advised. The woman entered the hospital for a high-risk o...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
Mark is a marvel when it comes to storytelling. He is the O. Henry of the New Testament, a magician with words, who squeezes a novel into a paragraph or two. His skill is nowhere more evident than in his account of the widow with the two coins at the temple treasury. It is a gem of a short story. He makes it so easy for us to visualize the woman as she waits patiently in line to drop her offering ...
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