Sermons & Worship (Page 49)

I Corinthians 13-14:1 No matter how biblically illiterate a person might be, they have probably heard these words of Paul’s at some point in their lives, at least they have if they have attended enough weddings.  I Corinthians 13 is the passage of choice both for couples who honestly want to create a faith based ceremony, and also for couples who are including a scripture reading only because Great-Aunt Bertha will have a heart attack if there is no mention…

I Corinthians 1:10-31 I’d like to begin my sermon with an apology to all of the little people. Last week, I preached on a scripture passage that I referred to as coming from “Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians.” I was using biblical scholarly convention, but even as I used the phrase, “Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians,” I was aware that I was giving short shrift to two other men in the room at the time of the writing…

Acts 17:1-10; I Thessalonians 1:1-8 The apostle Paul was a contemporary of the disciples but he didn’t know Jesus personally. He was, in fact, initially opposed to the Christian movement and as a zealous Pharisee, he abhorred the message of the disciples and persecuted the young church. We don’t know exactly what Paul disliked about the gospel but since after his conversion, he writes about the scandal of the cross, we can assume that his objection was the same as…

Acts 1:6-14; Galatians 4:8-11, 19-20 Even in the sparse words of the gospel writers who were more interested in telling the story of Jesus than describing to us the psychological state of the disciples, we can still feel the terrible grief and confusion of the ones who were left behind after Jesus is gone. In Luke’s description of the ascension, Jesus is lifted into heaven to reign in glory, yet the triumph of Jesus doesn’t alter the fact that he…

Luke 24:13-35 It can happen as early as March 23 and it can occur as late as April 23 though usually it falls somewhere in between those two dates, but no matter how late or how early, we can be assured that year after year Easter will come. Year after year the horror of the crucifixion is followed by the announcement of the resurrection and we cry out with gladness, “He is risen. Jesus Christ is risen indeed!” If you’re…

Mark 16:1-8 A few years ago, a group of ministers and church-goers toured Jerusalem and when they came to the hill outside of the city that archaeologists have identified as the possible site of the crucifixion, their guide said to them, “This may be the hill called Golgotha where Jesus died.”  He then stopped for a moment and added, “I’m wondering if I have said that properly.  In my faith, if I were talking about Abraham I would say, Abraham…

Mark 11:15-19 Jesus entered Jerusalem. He had been heading for Jerusalem for weeks now and finally he had arrived with palm branches and cheering crowds (mostly cheering because they just loved a parade and not because they really knew what was going on) and the first place that Jesus went to that first day after entering the city was to the Temple. Now, that wasn’t so unusual for a good Jewish boy. There was, after all, only one Temple for…

Mark 10:46-52 In case you hadn’t noticed, our country is in the middle of a presidential campaign and over the course of a long campaign it’s easy for candidates to begin to lose their focus. The NY Times last week tallied 49 subjects that have been brought up at least once during the candidates’ debates, topics ranging from income inequality and immigration to hand size.(1) Some of you may remember back in 1992, Bill Clinton’s campaign director James Carville hung…

Mark 10:13-16 The first year my daughter Stacy started track practice, she told me that when I came to pick her up at the school, I should text her when I arrived and she would come out to the parking lot to find me.  Dutifully, that first afternoon I pulled up to the school and typed into my phone, “I am here,” and then I added, “I am here, I am here, I am here! Yopp!”  When Stacy emerged from…

Mark 9:14-29 One of the youth group’s favorite games is a card game called “Scruples.”  In this game, a player is presented with an ethical dilemma and asked how he or she would respond to it.  For example, a card might read, “The clerk at a store gives you too much change.  Do you pocket the extra money without saying anything?”  After the player answers the question, the rest of the group can either accept their answer or challenge it,…