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Sermon
Carl Jech
I made known to them your name, and I will make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26) Over the last couple decades we have heard critics decry what has been variously described as "civil religion," "religion in general," or "the religion of the American way of life." Recently, Dr. Robert Jenson, a professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary...
Sermon
Allan J. Weenink
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 t...
3. Unum Humanum
John 17:20-26
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Oned in Christ is the work of the Spirit in this wonder-ful time and this one-derful world. In the last few years, through the technology of instantaneous satellite transfer, television has brought some of the most remarkable images from around the world directly into our living rooms. We have wept over Tiananmen Square, rejoiced over the dismantled Berlin Wall, bitten our fingernails and pr...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
One of the side effects of building renovation has been frequent false fire alarms. I can't tell you how many times in the last month that I've had appointments interrupted and meetings delayed while the Brentwood Fire Department responded to a fire alarm in our building. Fortunately none have occurred during worship. One fire fighter who is a member of this congregation said to me recently, “Look...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Fingerprints are nothing new. The delicate swirls, ridges, and patterns that lie at the tips of our fingers have long been recognized as a form of personal identification. The ancients might not have realized the extreme uniqueness of every person’s fingerprints. But as far back as the reign of the Babylonian King Hammurapi (1792-1750 BCE), convicts were fingerprinted. In China as early as 246 BC...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
There is an old story about Noah Webster, who wrote the famous dictionary that bears his name. As you can imagine, he was a stickler for the precise use of language.  He was also something of a womanizer.  One day he was in the pantry kissing the maid when Mrs.   Webster walked in on them.  Mrs. Webster said, "Why, Noah, I'm surprised."  Noah said, "No, my dear.  We're surprised.  You're amazed."...
7. Next Man Up
John 17:20-26
Sermon
King Duncan
In May 2001 journalist Giles Brandeth interviewed South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu. As you know, Desmond Tutu has dedicated his life to bringing justice, peace and equality to the people of South Africa. There were a million questions Brandeth wanted to ask Tutu. But the Archbishop had been diagnosed recently with prostate cancer, and Brandeth realized that this interview might be th...
Sermon
King Duncan
In Yakima, Washington, sometime back a dying man made a strange request. On his deathbed, Grant Flory said to his family: "Get me to the Mustangs' playoffs. No matter what." He was referring to his old high school team, The Prosser Mustangs. So in early December, when the Mustangs played in Seattle's Kingdome, Flory's cremated remains were in attendance. His son Dwight approached the stadium gate ...
Sermon
King Duncan
"I wanted more than mere fortune," a young Italian wrote in his diary. "I wanted fame. I wanted love. I wanted my name to ring around the world. I shall never go home until I can go home somebody." And he did go home somebodybut not where it counted the most. Only 18 years of age this young Italian immigrated to America and changed his name. At first he worked as a gardener and cabaret dancer bef...
Sermon
King Duncan
A few years ago, authors Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz drove more than 10,000 miles across the United States. All along the way they interviewed people about the meaning of life.  They said that in their travels they may have discovered the most emotionally significant piece of real estate in the country.  It is the few square feet right outside the gate of each airport terminal.  On this patch of c...
Sermon
Glenn E. Ludwig
We have a wonderful mystery to contemplate this morning, and it is summarized in a strange formula. It's not really all that complicated, but it is worthy of reflection for it has implications for our lives together. Here is the formula, an equation, really: 1 + 1 + 1 = One. Rather strange math, isn't it? Well, it's God's math, so let's see how it works. That strange formula really comes from th...
Sermon
King Duncan
Now that baseball is in full swing, I thought you might enjoy a story I was reading recently concerning former Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller and Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span. It seems these two players from different eras have something rather odd in common: Both men during baseball games hit their mothers in the stands with a foul ball. Feller hit his mom in 1939 (he broke her co...
Sermon
R. Robert Cueni
On the church’s calendar, today is called the “Seventh Sunday of Easter.” Actually it is not a particularly familiar holy day. It is simply the Sunday that comes between the Ascension of our Lord and Pentecost, the birthday of Christ’s church. In other words, today is one of those “between the times Sunday.” It falls between Jesus leaving his followers by ascending into heaven and the coming of t...
Sermon
Frank Ramirez
In the nineteenth century, most American denominations felt pretty smug that theirs was the real faith. Some might have grudg­ingly admitted that not everyone would be cast into outer darkness for the sin of worshiping in the wrong building. But overall it was a time when theological differences as well as points of practice separated people. Having said that, some denominations had a lot in comm...
Sermon
John M. Braaten
There's a story which many of you have heard and it is a fitting introduction for our text. A group of new arrivals in heaven met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. He began to show them around, pointing out areas of interest and filling them in on the rules of the kingdom. There were many "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd, and they were obviously enjoying themselves immensely. Suddenly Saint Peter s...
Sermon
King Duncan
One of the songs that has fallen into disfavor with many Christians--especially since the Vietnam War--is the grand old hymn, Onward Christian Soldiers. It is too militaristic say some. And perhaps it is. We need to be reminded that early Christians refused to bear arms. They trusted in God, not the weapons of war. Christians must always regard war as a drastic action reserved for the most despera...
17. Call to Oneness
John 17:20-26
Sermon
Donald Charles Lacy
When, dear God, shall Christians all be one? It is a first-century inquiry. It is a here-and-now recurring question. Countless programs have been launched. Numerous proposals have been given. Only God knows how many problems have risen in our quest for Christian unity. We live and minister in the twenty-first century in ways not that different from what our spiritual ancestors experienced. Have s...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
In one of his writings, Thomas Carlyle told of a country boy who went to a fancy dinner. In the midst of the meal, he got a piece of hot potato in his mouth. Much to the embarrassment of all those dignified ladies and gentlemen there at the table, he spit the piece of potato out and put it back on his plate. Then he looked around at the shocked faces of all those gentled people and said, “You know...
19. Good-Bye
John 17:20-26
Sermon
Will Willimon
My wife and I have this running argument - discussion. We differ on how to say good bye, how to bid farewell after say, an evening at someone's home. I decide when it's time to go. I say, "Well, this has all been wonderful, and we wish we could stay, but it's late and we should be going." I then rise and move toward the door. She sits there. She knows it's late, that it's time to go. She also wan...
Sermon
Schuyler Rhodes
Today I am thinking about what it means to be partners. For me, the first person that comes to mind when I think about this is my spouse. I am beyond blessed to have someone who is, in every way, a partner in life. We share the joys and the sorrows, the struggles and the laughter, and we take responsibility for our own behavior while making sure we “have each other’s back.” This is a partnership w...
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