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Sermon
Sandra Hefter Herrma
Years ago, in a cartoon strip named Tumbleweeds, the captain of the fort sent his trusted scout to find out what was up with the Indians in their area. The scout returned, announcing, "Captain, I have lived with the Indians, eaten their food, taken part in their ceremonies and listened to what they say." The captain replied, "What have you to say?" And the scout responded, "Get off our land." When...
2. From Two To One
Colossians 3:1-17
Sermon
B. David Hostetter
(May be read when the marriage candle is lit from two individual or family candles.) From the duality: male and femaleMade in likeness to God who is one ...From the polarities: father and mother:Individualities: daughter or son ...From the convergence of seeds in the wombBirth brings emergence of our personhood ...From singularity: "I" comes to beIn the plurality of family ...From the possessivene...
3. Our Inclusive Christ
Colossians 3:1-17
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
I recall so well the summer of 1962, which I spent in Managua, Nicaragua. I was part of a group of ten college students on a Peace Corps-type of mission to that beleaguered, poverty-stricken country in Latin America. Often we attended a Baptist church there. We could not have been more different from the members of that little congregation. They were smaller than we. Their skin was darker. They we...
4. Easter People
Colossians 3:1-17
Sermon
T. A. Kantonen
Easter is the greatest of all holidays because it commemorates the greatest event that ever happened, Christ’s triumph over death. The resurrection of Christ is a glorious fact to be known and remembered, and indeed every Sunday is to Christ’s people a reminder that on the first day of the week our Lord brought us life out of death. But the Easter message which the apostle proclaims calls us to do...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
Last week we talked about our lives as Christians being hidden in Christ with God. Today we pick up the theme again, for the larger theme is what it means to live the new life Christ gives us. Baptism is Paul's reference point for talking about life "hidden with Christ in God." A Christian's baptism is not unlike Jewish circumcision, Paul says. In baptism we are marked as Christians. This i...
Sermon
Richard W. Ferris
"If I go down, I'm taking you down with me." We've all heard that line. It's been used in movies and on television shows. We've seen it written in books and even in real-life news articles. Maybe we've even had it said directly to us. Somebody is in big trouble, and they are not going to face the punishment without involving someone else in their suffering. Sometimes there's even a line that follo...
7. The Sin of Being Less
Colossians 3:1-14
Sermon
Mark Trotter
There is a story about a woman who rode the same bus to work every morning. One day an old man got on the bus. He was shabbily dressed, obviously down and out. She thought about what she could do to express Christian love to this poor man. How could she reach out and help him? She got up, took a dollar out of her purse, went over to the man, pressed the dollar into the palm of his hand, and s...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Any of your homes the result of a mixed marriage? Ours is. You know. Southern boy/Western girl. It is a cultural divide that is sometimes as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon itself--an appropriate metaphor since that particular geological formation is located in the south, but is also in the west. Yet while many distinctions of southern life have been unaccountably rejected by the western influe...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The gospel is the word and Word of God, the word that points to the Word. The word of God is the Scriptures. The Word of God is Christ. Discussions about church architecture are not usually among the everyday topics consuming a congregation's attention. When it does come up, it is probably during some new building or renovation project where the focus is on the location of plumbing and power ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
In a culture where even the atheists claim to have a "spirituality," it's time for the church to soul out. Until March of 1997, the approaching Third Millennium sneaked up on us like some great, fun adventure. For intrepid entrepreneurs, the year 2000 promises huge sales in commemorative junk. Party planners have been plotting big New Year's Eve blowouts for years. Except for those nerdy com...
11. Easter Completes
Colossians 3:1-4
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
When Easter happens, our "incompletes" turn into "completes." On Easter Sunday, two time-honored rituals rush headlong into each other. In households that are Christian and filled with small children, there is the generational debate about which comes first attending the early "sunrise service" that celebrates the dawn of Jesus' resurrection, or scampering about the house look- ing for ce...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
The Lion King came roaring into Nashville a few weeks ago. This delightful Broadway musical about the circle of life tells the story of Simba, the shame-based, guilt-ridden, lion cub from Pride Rock who avoids becoming King of the Jungle because he doesn't think he's good enough. When I mention the word leader, what images dance in your head — a military officer barking orders, a politician s...
13. Pillars of the Church
Exodus 17:8-16, Colossians 3:1-17
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
A young woman named Linda was driving alone through the lonely area from Alberta, Canada to the Yukon. She spent one night in one of the rare hotels in the area. The next morning in the breakfast area she was seated near two truckers. They asked where she was going. She said "Whitehorse." "In that little Civic?" they asked. "It's dangerous this time of year in this kind of weather." Linda replied,...
Sermon
John E. Harnish
For those of a certain age, Norman Rockwell was the artist who captured our American way of life. Beginning in 1916, he painted over 300 covers for the Saturday Evening Post which have become classics in American art—everything from childhood adventures in the old swimming hole to moving tributes to war heroes, gentle laughter and deep sentiments. He imaged what we imagined life was, or could be, ...
Sermon
Mary Venema Swierenga
For A Protestant-Catholic Marriage Well. Here you are, finally, __________ and __________, all dressed in your wedding clothes: a lovely, lovely bridal gown and a dashing GQ wedding tuxedo. You are a very attractive couple on this most significant day of your lives, a couple I like very much -- each of you separately, and as a couple. Behind my affection for you is my respect: you each have deep ...
Sermon
Charles L. Aaron
Every pastor has had this experience. It doesn't have to be the husband in a marriage, but let's just say that it's the husband. The man comes to the pastor's study clutching the report from the physician's office: high blood pressure, overweight, danger of heart disease. The physician has ordered the man to lose weight and to stop smoking. Sitting in the pastor's office, the man swears he is goin...
Sermon
Richard Gribble
In ancient times, a king decided to find and honor the greatest person among his subjects. A man of wealth and property was singled out. Another was praised for his healing powers and a third for his wisdom and knowledge of the law. Still another was lauded for his business acumen. Many other successful people were brought to the palace, and it became evident that the task of choosing the greatest...
18. He Is Risen!
Colossians 3:1-17
Sermon
King Duncan
Pastor Stephen Brown's brother Ron died suddenly of a coronary. In his forties, Ron was a popular public servant, a superb district attorney, a good father, and, Stephen's closest friend. Three or four weeks after Ron's death, while visiting their mother, Stephen went to the cemetery in the mountains where they had buried Ron. It was a cold, rainy, late winter afternoonthe kind of weather that ch...
19. LOST? Looking For Peace
Matthew 18:21-22, Colossians 3:8-15, Hebrews 11:1
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
There's an old story, and it's a groaner but I'm going tell it anyway. It's about three flies buzzing around a messy kitchen table where somebody had just made a bologna sandwich. The knife used to slice the bologna was covered with little particles of the meat and so was the cutting board. Two of the flies decided to work on the cutting board, while the third fly went to work on the knife. He sta...
20. Living In The Spirit Of Gentleness and Self Control
Galatians 5:22-25, Colossians 3:12-17
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
It was Christmas, and a little boy was asked to play the role of the innkeeper who turned away Mary and Joseph. "I won't do it!" he exclaimed, "Because the man was mean to Mary and Joseph." But the teacher insisted, and he finally learned his lines. The night of the performance came. Mary and Joseph knocked on the door. The boy, dressed as the innkeeper, opened the door and said, "Sorry, there's n...
21. Living In The Spirit Of Peace
Galatians 5:22-25, Colossians 3:14-15
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
At a church dinner, a mother took her three young children through the food line. As she juggled everyone's plates and drinks, she told the kids to be on their best behavior. When they were finally seated, she let out a sigh of relief and told the kids they were doing great. She was proud of them because that hadn't had any catastrophes yet. When her 3-year-old daughter heard that, she popped up, ...
22. Spiderman: Saved To Serve
Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
Who do you serve? That's a valid question for everybody, don't you think? Now you probably wouldn't think you would have to ask that question in Church, would you? But the truth is we don't all come with pristine purposes. I'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty but we may not even know that we are at cross purposes with God. That was certainly the case in the life of the Apostle Paul. And that'...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
To live above with those we love, Well, that will be glory. To live below with those we know, Well, that’s another story. Wherever two or more people gather in the close quarters of family, church, work, or community, conflict is bound to happen. The Bible affirms that from cover to cover. Jacob did not get along with Esau. King Saul tried to kill David. St. Paul wanted nothing to do with his for...
Sermon
Clayton A. Lord
There is nothing like putting on a new shirt and pair of pants. Just ask any of the children who are getting ready to go back to school. The best part of that first-day experience is showing up in a new set of clothes. Admit it. We all feel better about ourselves when we put on something new. We have more confidence. We have more energy to tackle and complete our assignments. We feel more comforta...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
What does Easter mean to you? I posed that question to a preschooler and he said, “Easter Bunny with lots of candy." I asked a teenager what Easter meant to her, “Fun in the sun; it's Spring Break!" I asked my hairdresser this week what Easter meant to her and she replied, “I'm going to church Sunday for the first time in five years." I asked a person facing death what Easter meant to him; with a ...
Showing 1 to 25 of 36 results