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Sermon
Tony Everett
What's the first thing you do when you awaken from a scary dream? Exactly! Most of us reach for the light. Our rational minds tell us that it was nothing but a dream. It wasn't real. However, our bodies aren't convinced. We want to put our pillows over our heads and bury ourselves beneath all the blankets. But, it won't work. Our hearts are pumping and thumping. Arteries are stretched to the limi...
Sermon
Paul E. Robinson
Early in January in northern Canada the sun peeks above the horizon for the first time after six weeks of hiding. An important dawn for Canada. Imagine how the lives of people in the northern latitudes would be different if they got used to the darkness and never even expected that a dawn would ever lighten their horizon again. The people to whom the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah witnessed and prea...
Sermon
Harry N. Huxhold
The Epiphany of our Lord never fails to arouse fascination for the story of the Visit of the Magi. The number, the identification, the homelands, and the occupations of the men from the East are not cited in the biblical account. That has allowed for all kinds of speculation as to who and what the Magi may have been. Some of that has been scholarly, some playful, some artful, some of it educationa...
4. A Thousand Points of Light
Isaiah 60:1-3; 18-22
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
One of my favorite stories goes something like this: An old man was walking the beach one morning when he saw a kid in the distance doing something like a dance. As the old man got closer to the boy he said, “Good morning, what are your doing?" “Saving starfish," replied the kid. “The sun is up, the tide is going out. If I don't throw these starfish back into the ocean they will all die." “Bu...
5. 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 . . ...
6. 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
Just before Christmas one year, I took our three-year-old nursery school class on a tour of the church, to tell them the story of Christmas. The Christmas window with the Three Kings, Mary, and Jesus is a nursery school favorite. I asked the class who the baby was. "Jesus," one little girl replied. "Who is the lady carrying him in her arms?" "That’s his Mother." "What’s her name?" No one knew. Fin...
Sermon
During the 1960-61 academic year I was a first-year seminarian at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut. It snowed that winter the week before Christmas vacation. When we left in mid-March for spring break we had not seen the ground clear of snow since early December. There was a period of two weeks in January-February when the temperature never got above zero. The winter was cold, dark, ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020 Rev. Richard Fairchild tells the harrowing story of an event that occurred on Sunday afternoon, June 1st, 1975. A man named Darrel Dore was on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly the rig wobbled, tipped to one side, and crashed into the sea. Darrel was trapped inside a room on the rig. As the rig sank deeper and deeper into the sea, the lights went ...
10. Where Is He?
Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
One thing is for sure about Christmas. When it’s over, it’s over. Down come the decorations. Away go the songs. Good cheer is bottled up for another year and goodwill is put back in the attic. It’s like all this festivity is good for a little while but we wouldn’t want to risk making it a way of life. But the Church says slow down, you move too fast. Today is the 10th day of Christmas. Epiphany S...
11. Get Up and Go
Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
Mark Trotter
Matthew borrowed heavily from the Old Testament, especially from the prophet, Isaiah. That may come as a word of comfort to writers, and especially to preachers, who borrow heavily from other sources and hope nobody finds out about it. You can get in trouble doing that. In some places it is called "plagiarism." It is at the least embarrassing, and perhaps even expensive, if the material you borrow...
Sermon
Mary S. Lautensleger
Walking in the dark is difficult, even in the familiarity of your own home. Furniture has a way of rearranging itself in the dark so that you can whack your shins a little easier. Small, sharp toys crawl out from their hiding places to park themselves in your path. Your dog or cat is stretched out on the carpet, sleeping blissfully until your foot makes contact with a tail or a paw. At one time o...
Sermon
Tony Everett
All of us have heard various short, sarcastic sayings that describe people and groups who seem to lack plain, old common sense. These folks appear to understand what's happening in their lives. However, when it comes to coping with reality, they just don't seem to get it. Here are some examples: "One brick short of a load." "Just one French fry short of a Happy Meal." "His elevator's stuck on the ...
Sermon
Richard Gribble
In 1950, sportswriters selected him as the greatest athlete of the first half of the twentieth century. He was a star in the National Football League, perfecting the dropkick as an effective scoring weapon, and played professional baseball for seven years. He was a star in basketball, track and field, swimming, and lacrosse. Jim Thorpe, a true All-American athlete, was the best there was. His reco...
Sermon
Derl G. Keefer
One of the most prolific songwriters of the nineteenth century was Fanny Crosby. She was the daughter of John and Mercy Crosby from Putnam County, New York. Fanny was born on March 24, 1820. At age six weeks she became ill with a slight cold, causing inflammation of the eyes. Her concerned parents sent for the doc­tor to come and examine her. The family doctor was out of town and a doctor unfamili...
Sermon
Elizabeth Achtemeier
This serves as the stated text for Epiphany in all three cycles of the lectionary. The preacher may therefore want to look at the expositions in Cycles A and B also. The church has designated this text for the celebration of Epiphany Sunday, that Sunday when it announces the fact that the gospel is intended for all peoples throughout the world. Both accompanying stated texts emphasize that fact. ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Welcome on this first Sunday of a New Year. I trust that one of your resolutions for this year is to be in worship every week. Good for you. That's one resolution you've kept for at least one week. I heard about one poor fellow who decided to make only resolutions this year he could keep. He resolved to gain weight, to stop exercising, to read less and watch more TV, to procrastinate more, to qui...
18. The Flight From Light
Isaiah 60:1-22, Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
Erskine White
"And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way." (Matthew 2:12) The other day I called someone to compliment her on a job she had done exceedingly well. We had worked on a project together which became a great success, in no small part because of the leadership she provided. As I spoke with her, I went on and on about how much her work had b...
19. Come Home!
Isaiah 60:1-22
Sermon
Richard L. Eslinger
The twelve days of Christmas are now at an end. The signs are all about us. The scales tell us the weight we’ve gained. Trash bags have bulged this week too, overfilled with boxes and paper, waiting to be taken away. Christmas trees are lying down, out in the yard, still streaked with some tinsel. The Advent wreathes are packed away with the tree lights, and the remaining Christmas displays seem o...
Sermon
King Duncan
To help us get this New Year off to a good start, I thought you might like to hear one person's resolutions--not for this year but for New Year's past. Resolution #1 1994: I will try to be a better husband to Marge. 1995: I will not leave Marge. 1996: I will try for a reconciliation with Marge. 1997: I will try to be a better husband to Wanda. Resolution #2 1994: I will read at least 20 good b...
Sermon
King Duncan
Most of you are familiar with that apostle of possibility thinking, Dr. Robert Schuller. Schuller is best known for his glittering Crystal Cathedral. On one occasion Schuller invited entertainer Pat Boone to sing for his congregation. He introduced Boone by saying that Pat sometimes gets tired of his all-American-boy image. Once a year, said Schuller, Pat Boone checks into a motel under an assumed...
Sermon
Robert A. Hausman
Doubtless you remember the television commercial in which a man steps up to a bar and says: "Give me a light." After he is blasted with every possible sort of light, from fire to laser beams, he sheepishly corrects himself: "Give me a Bud Lite." This is a modern parable. Like all living beings, we look for light, but often we are willing to settle for lite beer! It is just something to get us thr...
23. A Sign in the Heavens
Isaiah 60:1-6 · Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon
King Duncan & Angela Akers
Perhaps you’ve heard of the passenger sitting relaxed on an airplane. A man appeared with a parachute. The man asked the passenger, “Would you like to join me?” “No, thank you,” said the passenger, “I’m very happy where I am.” The reply came back from the man with the parachute, “Do as you like, but I should tell you, I’m the pilot.” I don’t know about you, but if I saw a man on a plane carryin...
Showing 1 to 23 of 23 results