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Sermon
Richard A. Wing
Three wise men come from the east bringing gifts to the infant Jesus, and in the process receive a gift worth the distance and effort they spent. After depositing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they in turn receive a gift: They are redirected. That is what we all get after kneeling before Jesus: we are redirected. That different direction after kneeling before Jesus means that you...
2. A Matter Of Trust
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
Charles H. Bayer
Who were they -- these travelers from the mysterious East, who sometime after the birth of the baby arrive in Bethlehem with expensive gifts? They appear for a moment and are quickly gone. The text calls them wise men. They are known variously as magi, astrologers, astronomers, philosophers, mystics or scientists whose interests stretched far beyond Israel. Tradition has assigned them names and ra...
3. The Wisemen
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
Jerry Eckert
I hate it when Christmas is over. There's so much good music, such tasty foods, so much color and warmth. And presents! I love presents! I wish we celebrated all twelve days of Christmas. I could be dissuaded from that last enthusiasm if it meant that I would be given all the presents from that funny Christmas carol: 22 turtle doves 30 French hens 36 calling birds 40 gold rings 42 geese a'layin...
Sermon
John Jamison
There is a beautiful old tradition about the star in the East. The story says that when the star had finished its task of directing the wise men to the baby, it fell from the sky and dropped down into the city well of Bethlehem. According to some legend, that star is there to this day, and can sometimes still be seen by those whose hearts are pure and clean. It's a pretty story. It kind of makes y...
Sermon
Daniel G. Mueller
"God so loved the world ..." begins one of our best-known scripture verses. God loved the world! He didn’t love only one small corner of the world. He didn’t love only one little race, one tiny tribe in the world. God loved the world! He loved Jews and Gentiles alike. He loved a man and a woman named Joseph and Mary. He loved some shepherds. He loved some Wise Men living way off in the East somepl...
6. Three Wise Gifts
Matthew 2:13-23
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Three gifts, if given this Christmastide, will do nothing less than heal the world. Two thousand years ago, gold, frankincense and myrrh were worth (in today's equivalents), six hundred, five hundred and four thousand dollars per pound, respectively. A similar gift today (frankincense and myrrh have declined in value, gold has increased) would set a 20th century king back six thousand dollar...
7. Seeing the Light
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
Mike Ripski
Two of the four Gospels tell of Jesus’ birth: Luke and Matthew. The other two begin with Jesus’ adult ministry, around age 30. We read Luke’s version on Christmas Eve. It tells of Mary and Joseph’s trip from Nazareth down to Bethlehem to register for the Roman census. While there, Jesus is born, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and laid in a manger. The heavenly chorus sings and an angel tells some s...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
Like that Santa, some of us have been desperately trying to grasp the allusive feeling of Christmas. The feelings we remember from younger days and simpler days. Like that Santa Ornament, determined to get those cookies, we go through all sorts of gyrations and antics trying to resurrect Christmases Past because in our memories they feel perfect and unencumbered. But the past is the past, and...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
Well, here we are in 2003. The bells have tolled. The balls have dropped and the calendars have turned us toward new responsibilities. Before we get bogged down with the hopes and fears of a brand new year, let us take a few moments on our way to Holy Communion to ponder the deeper meanings of life. Who am I? What do I want? Where am I going? Are not these the essential questions of human exis...
10. The New Road
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets. Among his finest words are these: “I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged into a wood, and I I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Here we are at the threshold of a brand new year. It's not hard to find a seat on the Sunday after Christmas. The crowds have gone home, but like ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
I heard a story recently about this negative barber that had a customer in his chair and he said to him, “I hear you’re going to Europe; you shouldn’t do that. The weather is going to be bad in Rome, there is bombing and there’s strife and strikes in London. You think you’re going to get to see the Pope, but he won’t give you an audience, you just shouldn’t go.” About a month later, the same man ...
Sermon
James L. Killen
There is a humanity that lives within us and among us that is always responsive to the showing forth of God whenever and wherever it happens. It is in the response of our humanity to the showing forth of God that fullness of life emerges. But there is also an inhumanity that lives among us -- and sometimes within us -- that pays no attention to God and that works to stifle real humanity wherever ...
13. A Light for All Nations
Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
King Duncan
As far as our society is concerned, the Christmas season has long been over. The lights and the tinsel have been put away. For most of us Christmas is only a pleasant memory. In the Church year, however, Christmas begins on December 25 and extends for 12 days. You remember the silly little song that starts off, “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree . . ...
14. The Three Kings
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
King Duncan
British pastor Geoff Thomas tells about an amusing event that occurred sometime back at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. A gifted preacher, Al Martin was preaching in the main auditorium of the college for a special conference, and the congregation was completely absorbed by what they were hearing. Then toward the end of the sermon, all the lights in the place went out. Now that’s not too unusu...
Sermon
King Duncan
A young man sitting in church one day made a startling discovery. He was a pre‑med student, only nineteen years of age. The sermon that day was probably a dull one. There are such things I understand, dull sermons. Of course, you wouldn’t know about such things. Anyway, instead of listening to the sermon, this young man’s attention was drawn to the altar lantern swaying back and forth, back and f...
16. Follow That Star
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
King Duncan
Welcome to this celebration of the twelfth day of Christmas. I hope you ladies are enjoying your partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, and particularly your five golden rings.  This, of course, is Epiphany, the day we celebrate the arrival of the three magi offering their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh before the newborn king. You may have heard...
Sermon
King Duncan
John A. Davis mailed a Christmas card to his brother in December 1942. It showed up recently at a post office in Tinley Park, Illinois, nearly 55 years late. Davis had long ago figured the card, sent from Jackson, Miss., to Maryville, Tenn., got lost. The longlost card raised eyebrows at the Tinley Park post office, and Davis' family learned about it through a newspaper account. The supervisor had...
Sermon
King Duncan
Charles Kuralt travels across the United States learning about people. Recently he visited the mountains of North Carolina. Kuralt claims that mountain people know a lot of things the rest of us have forgotten. For example, at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve the mountain people he visited open their windows. That's to let bad luck out and good luck in. On New Year's Day they eat black-eye...
19. In the Light of His Glory
Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
King Duncan
Dr. Les Parrott in his book Shoulda Coulda Woulda tells an old legend about three men. Each man carried two sacks--one sack tied in front of his neck and the other sack resting on his back. When the first man was asked what was in his sacks, he said, “In the sack on my back are all the good things friends and family have done for me. That way they’re hidden from view. In the front sack are all th...
Sermon
As we face a new year, it is customary in America to greet one another with the phrase, "Happy New Year!" But, New Year’s Day may not be that happy for some. On New Year’s morning, many, many people across our land are not happy with their headaches and hangovers because of the previous evening’s excessive dining, drinking, and dancing. And how can we be happy if the new year is just more of the ...
Sermon
Telling the story of Christ's birth was not enough for Matthew! He also told about two reactions to the birth of the Messiah. The first reaction, as Matthew told it, was from the Magi who came from the East to Jerusalem and asked the question, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" Contemporary customs - children dressed in faded bathrobes, tired Christmas pageants, and unsightly stable scenes ...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
One of the venerable old saints of the church jumped up and stomped out of the annual Christmas play being held at the church. The pastor couldn't figure out what was wrong so he hurried after him. When he caught up with the old man in the parking lot and asked what was wrong he was told, "Preacher, I've gone along with a lot of changes through the years, but this thing tonight just went too much,...
23. Led To Follow
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
There is a story soaring across the internet these days suggesting things might have gone better if the three wise men had been three wise women. After all, had women been in charge they would have 1) asked for directions, 2) gotten to the manger on time, 3) assisted with the birth, 4) cleaned up the place, and 5) made a casserole for the Holy Family. Of course, the author of that analogy evident...
24. Another Road
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
I want to start this morning by taking a short poll. First: How many of you still have your Christmas Tree up? Second: What do you have on the top of your Christmas tree, a star or an angel. How many of you have stars on top of your tree? How many of you have angels? The reason I asked the first question is: Christmas, from the Christian perspective isn't truly over until January 6th or Epiphany,...
25. Three Wise Men
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
Have I told you the story of the two men who were sitting together on an airplane? As some are wont to do, when strapped together thirty thousand feet above where they ought to be, they begin to get acquainted. One man was an astronomer, the other a theologian. After a while each began to share his understanding of the other’s discipline. The astronomer said, “I believe that all religion can be su...
Showing 1 to 25 of 71 results