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26. Ascension Day
Luke 24:36-49
Sermon
Kendall McCabe
For forty days we have been celebrating the marvel and the mystery of the Easter event. Some of our number spent Lent as a time of special preparation for baptism and confirmation, while the rest of us prepared to remember our baptisms and renew our baptismal vows. We all participated in the death and resurrection of Christ through our baptism. Since then we have been exploring some of the meaning...
Sermon
Dean Lueking
Then he said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness ...
Sermon
Harry N. Huxhold
The inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president of the Republic of South Africa goes down in the annals of history as a most memorable moment. Imagine historians a hundred years from now trying to recreate the excitement and the significance of what took place in Pretoria and Capetown in 1994. Three centuries of bitter and harsh white rule were brought to a close as Mandela was elected the first b...
Sermon
George Bass
If they had been conducting a seance, they might have been ready for Jesus’ appearance in that secret and secured room. If they had been sitting around a table, hands joined together as one of them (perhaps Peter) mouthed incantations: "Speak to us, Lord! Come to us as you promised that you would," they wouldn’t have been scared out of their wits. But all of a sudden, there he was, standing right ...
Sermon
Richard A. Jensen
"Can I please, Mommy? Just this once? Let me open my birthday present today. I’ll never ask this favor again. Pretty please?!" Fran was always like that at birthday time. She just could not wait for the day to arrive. She wanted to open her presents as soon as she saw them, birthday or not. Fran’s mother was prepared for this annual tug of war. "No, Fran," she said. "How many times do I have to t...
31. The Final Farewell
Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49
Sermon
George Bass
The Ascension of our Lord used to be celebrated universally and dramatically. Some churches had special holes in their roofs that were used on Ascension Day; when the words were read - "While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven" - a likeness of the risen Lord would be hauled up from the floor of the nave to and through the roof and out of sight of the people worshi...
32. You Are What You Wear
Luke 24:1-12, Luke 24:36-49
Sermon
Lori Wagner
“You remove my sackcloth and clothe me with joy.” (Psalm 30) “The Lord is clothed with splendor.” (Psalm 104) “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) The fashion industry is one of the largest money makers in the world. From jeans to Cartier pearls, your fashion is your statement. Your dress is ...
33. Higher Ground
Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53
Sermon
Lori Wagner
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7) A 2016 film called “Everest” re-captured the fascination and fear of our highest mountains. Based on the true story of a double expedition up the Himalayan slopes in 1996, the film chronicles the deaths of a...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
…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 un...
35. She Waits
Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49
Sermon
Lori Wagner
“In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everyt...
36. Dressed for Success?
Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-11
Sermon
Lori Wagner
“Judaism is the story of how the love we feel for another person leads to the love of G-d, and robes us in garments of light.” (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks) Prop: a white tie and white baptismal shawl / wear a clergy collar or robe that day How many here work in a business? In a school? In a hospital? Any other kinds of workplaces? [Give people time to answer.] No matter where you work, I’m guessing ...
37. Stop Talking and Start Walking
Luke 24:13-35, Luke 24:36-49
Sermon
Lori Wagner
It’s late. You’re driving in unknown territory. It’s dark, and visibility is limited. You have no idea where you’re going, but you are following the directions of your navigator, trusting that Waze knows the “ways” you should go and will get you there safe and sound. All you need to do is “pay attention.” Stop listening, and you may end up in farmer Brown’s cornfield or worse on a dead-end road ...
38. What's Your Superpower?
Luke 24:36-49, Acts 1:1-11
Sermon
Lori Wagner
What’s your superpower? That’s a question you hear often in today’s pop culture.You’ll find jokes about it on Facebook or the internet, such as “I can make coffee disappear. What’s your superpower?” Or quips such as, “I’m a librarian. What’s your superpower?” In fact, maybe cracking jokes or the ability to make clever quips IS your superpower! But this is in fact a pressing question for today’s yo...
Sermon
King Duncan
I read a story recently about a man named Fred Karger who has earned the unofficial title of the “World’s Greatest Party Crasher.” Over the years, Karger has crashed hundreds of high-profile parties and celebrity events. He even ended up several years ago on the stage at the Academy Awards and at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for President Obama. He had crashed these as well. Karger claim...
Sermon
Brett Blair
Many years ago a teacher was asking the kids in her fourth grade class to name the person whom they considered the greatest human being alive in the world today and the responses were quick in forthcoming and also quite varied too. A little boy spoke up and said, "I think it's Tiger Woods.  He’s the greatest golfer in the world, ever" A little girl said, "I think it's the Pope because he cares for...
41. Written In Stone
Luke 24:36b-48
Sermon
Lori Wagner
We often think of writing in stone as being an ancient form of writing, and it is. The first evidence of writing goes back to Mesopotamia when people etched cuneiform shapes into clay tablets. History of writing tells us that eventually the Egyptians created papyrus (made from plant fiber), and after that, scribes preferred the more durable pergament or parchment (animal skin). Since about 100 AD ...
42. The Power to Witness
Luke 24:44-53 · Acts 1:1-11
Sermon
Lori Wagner
To witness to the truth! This is a fairly commonplace statement and one that sounds to us to be a quite right and accurate way to determine whether or not something is “true,” or worthy of our believing it. Think about it. We may disagree on a lot of things as people, but we trust each other as human beings enough to ask each other if we can say we have witnessed something, meaning that we have de...
43. Unbound
Luke 24:44-53
Sermon
Lori Wagner
In our culture, to be “open minded” means to be receptive to novel thoughts and ideas beyond our current ken, to be flexible and adaptable to new experiences, to be open to information that challenges our current beliefs.[1] Open minded people are curious and open to ambiguity rather than embracing dogma. They are willing to be uncomfortable and explore unknown realms of the mind. They are essenti...
Sermon
Mary Austin
Repetition is the key to success. Whether it’s learning a new soccer move, or a tennis swing, memorizing a poem, or learning a new language, we have to do it over and over again. We have to get the golf swing or the yoga move into our muscle memory. We have to learn just the right touch for sanding wood or kneading bread dough. We have to remember how to edit a video or play a song. It works with ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
The beauty of the scriptures is indisputable. But their revelatory substance, vast and deep in nature, contains a potency that is hard to describe. Every word is pregnant, every word infused with deep meaning, fascinating connections, but most of all, every word wields the power to point toward God and God’s truth in deeply powerful, transfiguring ways. Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances express...
Sermon
Mary Austin
As you all know, one of the pleasures of being part of a group — a family, a sorority or fraternity, or a church — is the ability to share memories with each other. We get to live through our experiences again through the memories, and other people fill in details we missed at the time. You know this happens with friends, or civic groups, or church friends. “Remember when…?” someone starts, and th...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
In our contemporary society in which information lies immediately at our fingertips or even at our voice command and we can instantly communicate our wishes in a variety of ways, we humans have become more and more…impatient. This quickly leads to frustration that our needs and desires are not being met. Impatience then causes stress, often making us feel more…impatient. How do we break this unhea...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
He lived in a shack on the edge of town. He wore overalls to church before casual dress was cool. He didn't own a car; he didn't have job. As a sixteen-year-old kid, fresh from the courthouse with my driver's license, it became my privilege to drive Porter home from church on Sunday. I would pull into Porter's driveway. He would get out of the car and then as if it were an afterthought, although h...
Sermon
Donald Charles Lacy
Those bidding good-bye are around us all of our lives. Sometimes there are almost unbearable feelings and other times merely a shrug of the shoulders. We may sense terrible lostness. Occasionally, it may be a matter of saying under our breaths that it is good riddance. Perhaps most of us have been there and done all of that. In the case of our dear Lord's ascension, we discover quickly that this ...
Sermon
John Smylie
For several years, I had the privilege of serving a congregation in upstate New York. There were many wonderful, faithful people who were part of that congregation. Before I arrived, the membership had decided to build a columbarium. Unlike many churches that create niches inside the church for burial, this group decided to create a rather elaborate and visually attractive outdoor columbarium. The...
Showing 26 to 50 of 68 results