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Sermon
Robert Salzgeber
The Pharisees came up "to trap Jesus" and they asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" Jesus in response asked them what Moses had taught, and they replied correctly that Moses had said a man could simply give his wife a certificate of divorce and that was all there was to it. (Deuteronomy 24:1-4, was designed originally to protect the wife and guarantee her a certain amount of fr...
Sermon
Stephen M. Crotts
A fifth grade teacher asked the children in her art class to draw pictures of what they want to be when they grow up. Sally drew an astronaut, Sue a doctor, Bruce a missionary. But Karen turned in a blank sheet of paper. "Isn't there something you want to be?" the teacher inquired. The child replied, "I want to be married, but I didn't know how to draw it."  Sad, but isn't that true of our society...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
Almost everything began in the Garden of Eden. As Adam and Eve were leaving that paradise, driven from it because of their disobedience, Adam’s assessment of the situation was, honey, we live in a time of change. Prior to that, non-scriptural tradition has it that as Eve was coaxing Adam to eat of the apple, she asked, “Adam, do you love me?” His response was, “Who else?” The rest of you’ll get th...
Sermon
Steven E. Albertin
Probably one of the most frustrating responsibilities I have as a parish pastor is officiating at weddings. I would rather do a funeral than perform a wedding. It's not because I am filled with a great sense of morbidity. It's not that I delight in other people's suffering. Rather, it has to do with how receptive people are to ministry. At the time of death, people are much more receptive to facin...
Sermon
King Duncan
I enjoy humor about married couples. Comedian Brian Kiley said recently, “I love being married. When I was single, I got so sick of finishing my own sentences.” A pastor was teaching on Proverbs 16:24 which reads like this: “Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” The minister then added, “In other words, you can catch more flies with honey than with vine...
Sermon
King Duncan
A young woman named Sally was driving home from a business trip in Northern Arizona. She saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Nav...
Sermon
King Duncan
Rev. Neil Parker of Burnaby, British Columbia says he insists on only two things when he performs a wedding: He must meet with the bride and groom before the ceremony, and he doesn't do weddings in unusual places, like parachuting or underwater, for example. But he broke both rules once. He'd agreed to do this wedding on two days' notice when the minister who was to officiate was unavailable due t...
Sermon
King Duncan
A man laid his purchases on the check-out counter. Among those purchases was a large birthday card. On it was printed, “To my wonderful wife.” The clerk said, “You’ve chosen our biggest and prettiest card.” The man nodded sadly and replied, “Yep, but one day late.” Oops, somebody’s in trouble. But every married person knows that a good marriage takes work. “Marriages don’t last,” comedian Rita...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
107 million married persons in the United States are asking the question, "How can I make my marriage last?" The answer is in the details. Here's my favorite "Go Figure!" for 1997: A major status symbol in this greedy-get-more consumer culture of ours is something that no amount of money can buy. You can't inherit it; you can't discover it; you can't even own it. What is it? What is this remarka...
Sermon
David E. Leininger
Tough text. In generations past, this would have provided no problem for the preacher — Jesus says, "No divorce," the church says, "Amen" (along with most polite society); case closed. But these days, things are different. Jesus still says, "No divorce," but only part of the church says, "Amen," while other parts say, "We are not so sure" (and polite society says, "Mind your own business"); case n...
Sermon
Rick McCracken-Bennett
This is a story I tell from time to time at weddings. It's based on a Moroccan folktale.[1] Once upon a time there was a much beloved king who was so rich that he measured his wealth in bushel baskets. Sadly, his wealth did not prevent him from contracting a fatal illness and in time the man lay on his deathbed. He called his only son to his side and said, "Son, you are all I have left. Your moth...
Sermon
King Duncan
A young couple decided to wed. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other. The groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. “Dad,” he said, “I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage. I love my fiancée very much, but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I’m afraid that...
Sermon
David E. Leininger
Jesus and Divorce. Tough text. In generations past, this would have provided no problem for the preacher - Jesus says No Divorce, the church says Amen (along with most polite society); case closed. Easy sermon. But these days, things are different. Jesus still says No divorce, but only part of the church says Amen while other parts say we are not so sure (and polite society says mind your own busi...
Sermon
William G. Carter
We have a problem today. Here we are, gathered at worship as the household of God. Through baptism we belong to a worldwide community of faith. Each time we gather, we have an opportunity to pray together and recommit ourselves to peace. Now that we are here, we have to deal with a troublesome and potentially divisive text from the Gospel of Mark. Some Pharisees put Jesus to the test by asking him...
Sermon
Donald Macleod
And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away." But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 'For this r...
Sermon
Donald B. Strobe
An interesting article appeared awhile back in the Clinton SC Chronicle titled “When The Editor Left Town.” It said: “Mr. Jim Galeway and Miss Georgianne Bentlow were married Monday at the home of the bride’s parents. Mr. and Mrs. Alex Bentlow, the Rev. A.A. Deckett officiating. The groom is a popular young bum who hasn’t done a lick of work since he got expelled his junior year in college. He man...
Sermon
Frank Lyman
The head of a large real estate company kept a small sign above his desk that read, "I'm the Boss." One of his salesman taped a note to the sign that read, "Your wife called, she wants her sign back!" Old shoes tied to the back bumper of a car signify that the couple inside have just gotten married. Where did this custom come from? In days of yore, historians tell us, the bride's father gave the ...
Sermon
Michael B. Brown
A friend who is a surgeon stopped by a clothing store in a local mall. He had just returned from a hunting trip and was still attired in cap, plaid jacket and muddy boots. Looking through the showroom for a Christmas gift for this wife, he noticed that each available clerk was obviously ignoring him. None asked if they could help. None even acknowledged his presence. Soon he left, went home, showe...
19. Public Sex
Mark 10:2-16
Sermon
Will Willimon
''Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.'' While you were away over the summer, the Presbyterians (P.C.U.S.A ) discovered sex. They issued a big report on sex at their General Assembly, voted it down by a margin of 95 to 5, the report that is. But not before Presbyterians captured many headlines, so shocked was the media to see staid...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Tests. You’ve all taken them, in school, at university, or maybe even on the internet! While most of us grew up dreading the school or workplace kind, we’ve grown to love the kinds that showcase our unique personalities: the MBTI/16 Personalities, the Myers-Briggs, the SAPA, or the new, hugely popular Enneagram test. Each kind of test is designed to reveal or highlight certain characteristics abo...
21. For Men Only?
Mark 10:2-16
Sermon
Frank Ramirez
In the year 311 BC a marriage contract in Egypt was drawn up for Heraclides and Demetria, both from the town of Koan. The contract specified that the bride was bringing into the marriage clothing and bling worth a thousand drachmas. Heraclides, meanwhile, agreed to support Demetria according to what was fitting for a freeborn woman. As to where the two of them would live, that would be whatever t...
22. What's In a Name?
Mark 10:2-16 · Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 · Psalm 8
Sermon
Thomas C. Willadsen
What do you think when you hear the name “Jesus?” What thoughts, images, metaphors come to your mind when you hear that name? We know a lot about Jesus’ life; we have stories about what happened before he was born, when he was born, one in Luke’s gospel about Jesus at age twelve, when he was a man, starting with his baptism and ending with how he died. We even have four stories about what happened...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
This month, our lectionary readings have detailed Jesus’ leadership lessons for his often “hard-headed” disciples. Why hard-headed? Because they are deeply entrenched in the laws, traditions, cultural assumptions, and mores of their current society –Jewish and Greek/Roman. It’s significant to note that throughout these lessons, Jesus has a child on his lap or by his side. Now in today’s passage, p...
Sermon
Charley Reeb
A group of theologians and scholars once cornered C.S. Lewis and asked him, “What is the most important theological discovery you have ever made?” Lewis smiled and responded, “I exist to enjoy God’s enjoyment of me.” Did you know that? God enjoys you! God wants you to enjoy him, to enjoy life, to enjoy the world he has created, and to enjoy the people he has put in your life. Scripture backs up Go...
Sermon
Brett Blair
One day Jesus was in Judea, when a great crowd came to hear him preach. The children came also in great numbers. The disciples, perhaps caught up in their own self-importance, saw them as a nuisance and an annoyance and ordered them away. There position doubtless was: This is serious business; we don't have time for this; don't bother the man. It is hard to imagine the disciples taking such a pos...
Showing 1 to 25 of 36 results