Psalm 89:19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said:” I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people.It was given as a Christmas gift to President Lincoln. For three grueling months, he had anxiously awaited such a resounding victory. General Sherman had scorched the earth from Atlanta all the way towards the Atlantic coast, and on th
Erick Sermon Interview With ForbezDVD.com
Eric Sermon Introduces Vic Damone and says the funk sound got popularized by other regions because EPMD broke up.
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Today's sermon for Reign of Christ.The Divine ReflectionJohn ShuckFirst Presbyterian ChurchElizabethton, TennesseeNovember 23rd, 2008Thanksgiving/Reign of ChristI have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory
Hey there. Follow the extended link for the sermon. I'm still tweaking it as I post this entry. There are one or two rhetorical turns that I need to smooth out. Still, I think it gets to where I am trying to go. Tithing is sticky business. Preaching two sermons about giving your money to the church over two consecutive weekends is a challenge. We're off to Virginia. I may get a chance to post once
Christ the King Sunday first emerged, as I understand it, as an attempt to counter the outlandish claims of some European dictators in the twentieth century. The real ruler of this age is Christ! - Ralph W. Klein. www.workingpreacher.org This Sunday is Christ the King Sunday for those who follow the Revised Common Lectionary. I am trying to wrap my little mind and overgrown imagination around it.
Follow the extended link to read the entirety of the sermon. It's so very specific to the needs of Community Church it seems almost inappropriate to share it here on the blog. It's intimate and yet somehow still general as sermons often are. We're entering into our budgeting process and today is the "setting the stage" meeting. There's a lot to consider as we do this work together. In th
Redefine abundance Fear nothing. Proclaim Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. - the sermon for Sunday Last night I attended a concert at t he local American Legion post. Some kind people from Community Church invited me to attend and I am glad I did. First the company was lovely. Second, well, the bands were unreal. Mandy and the Bandits were the opening act. They are a local Chicago group making
Sermon: the 26th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A The Community Church of Wilmette November 9, 2008 Trimmed and Burning Did you ever think that you would see the day? Did you ever think that you would see the day? Did you ever think that an African-American man would be elected President of the United States of America in our lifetime? I am not sure that I truly believed it. I still have images of t
Life be in my speech Truth in what I say. The love Christ Jesus gave Be filling every heart for me. The love Christ Jesus gave Be filling me for everyone.Somedays its just hard to get out of bed. Tuesday morning I awoke very early (4:00am). Then we were at Grant Park and did not get home until very early on Wednesday. Wednesday we had our Council Meeting and as we were talking about the budget, th
Lectionary reading: Matthew 22:34-4635,36 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"When I was a boy, our family lived a hundred yards away from some amazing tennis courts and soccer fields. They belonged to the local elementary school and after 4pm, the iron gates at the entrance to them were locked. A bold sign next
"There was a history. There had been trouble before, Hutu and Tutsi trouble. There had been big killing in Burundi. That is part of the story, but in a way it is also another story. When trouble comes, it happens to you alone."Damon GalgutSome years ago, a young man was travelling on the train between Pretoria and Cape Town. He had recently been ordained as a minister in the church, and he was mov
Meet Reverend Rob Hamby, a campus minister at Texas Christian University. Last week, he was the visiting pastor at Fort Worth Presbyterian on Sunday where he would preach on showing others mercy.
While stoically delivering the message mid-homiletics, two fools walked into the church, past anyone noticing, into the pastor’s office, STOLE HAMBY’S BAG and [...]
Victorian Bohemian Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the best-selling novella The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as an indictment of societal hypocrisy. Its success earned his son financial independence. He wrote both drafts in 1886 in six days at 10,000 words a day.
Critics and lay readers differ as to its meaning, but most [...]
If you are not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there. - attr. Martin LutherI am not preaching this Sunday. It is Laity Sunday at CCW and I don't preach. This is how we remember Reformation Sunday. It's the priesthood of all believers, thus more people preach, too. It's a good deal for me. A good friend is to be ordained this Saturday and since I don't have to prepare a sermon, I can
The parable is...unpopular. It's a b-side parable meant for only the most serious fans. Or it's a 300 level class and not a 100 level class. The alegory is ambiguous and where it is not ambiguous it is off-putting. So, what is one to do? All we are left with is our conscience and our imaginations. But isn't that supposed to be enough? Isn't that how were supposed to read all scripture? Sometimes i
Rabbi Simha Bunam of Pzysha once asked his disciples, "how can we tell when a sin we have committed has been pardoned?" His disciples gave various answers but none of them pleased the rabbi. "We can tell," he said, "by the fact that we no longer commit that sin." - Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim: Later MastersThis morning I woke up at 4:30 with the word "aton
Praise God...There's a sermon. Wow. I really wasn't sure this time. You know, some weeks the sermon comes...it just shows up and says "Here I am. And I'm double spaced for your convenience." Other weeks the sermon is a slippery pig or something. It's running. It makes its presence known. And every time I try to grab it I fall down or slip off. Likely, of course, it is I who am running. S
Image via WikipediaI always look forward to Oliver's posts on Mississippi Atheists about visiting various Christian churches in Mississippi. It often seems that he is an anthropologist of sorts entering a very strange environment and emerging to tell us about it. I couldn't do it, but I'm glad he does. For the latest post in his "Nonbeliever in church" series, Oliver accepted an e-mailed invitatio
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. - Matthew 21:43Distractions abound this week. Well, maybe they are not distractions, but the other parts of my job have been making it very hard to work on my sermon as much as I normally have by Friday. Typically, I am done by Friday morning and am rerunning it in my
Eid-ul-Fitr is a unique festival. It has no connection with any historical event nor is it related to the changes of seasons or cycles of agriculture. It is not a festival related in any way to worldly affairs. Its significance is purely spiritual. It is the day when Muslims thank God for having given them the will, the strength and the endurance to observe the fast and obey His commandments durin
The young’un’s in the car swilling a two-liter Dew and mamma’s in the store buying rolling papers. Will somebody in the congregation gimme a WTF?I’ve seen some odd white trash, dysfunctional southern gothic crap before but that was the ultimate.Can I get an amen? This is Springer gone severely awry, folks. The kid is gulping a big Dew, most likely warm, down her chubby gullet and mamma’s
Now really?? Don't you just love the creativity & dramatic touch by manipulating the text to emphasize a more powerful message. Is this really how it works just take one excerpt from one story or message add it or piece it together with another until it means what YOU want it to mean or explain? GODfearers@gmail.com for ?'s or COMMENTSWhere is the outrage from the mainstream Christians with s
Creation in its entirety is a work of God's love and though it is fractured by every sort of strife, it cannot escape the gravity of mercy. - John S. MogabgabIf you have not heard, our revival is this weekend. It's going to be a great time and I hope you can make it. Go to the church website for more information. The Sons of Susan are joining us on Friday night and rumor has it that my mandoguru w
This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Islamic month of Dhul-Hijjah Year 632 A.C (10 A.H.) in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat' in Mecca.After praising and thanking Allah the Prophet (saws) said:"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying very carefully and take these words to those who
Reading the words "best thing you will see on the internet" my heart sinks. But this BooTube clip more than lives up to them. The original version is here but it's this drum 'n' bass one I saw over on do1frood that tickles, especially at 1.30 when the girl in turqoise gets a little carried away and pushes over her fellow Holy Ghoster. There's also a severed link, on the do1frood site to Brandy's n
He who labours as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands. — St. Bernard of Clairvaux Today for some of the church is the feast day of St Bernard of Clairvaux. I have been paging through a book by Merton on Bernard's life. Merton calls him "the last of the church fathers." It's an interesting honor. I find Bernard to be a bit of a mixture for me...but then that's what makes him
He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is you
Well, this is something to think about in reference to The Breakfast Club.“It is quite easy to found a community. There are always plenty of courageous people who want to be heroes…. The problem is not in getting the community started- there’s always enough energy to take-off. The problem comes when we are in orbit and going round and round the same circuit. The problem is in living with bro
For the past few weeks, Rev. Jody Ray has been providing excellent discussion questions to go with each of his sermons. Rev. Diane Parrish did the same thing with her sermon this past Sunday.
The response to that has been huge. Many of you have been downloading the notes and using them in your Life Groups. [...]
This reading is taken from No Death, No Fear, published by Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Putnam
by Thich Nhat Hanh
“If we are mindful of the true nature of...
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Garry: That's not a bad idea. Wyatt: What? Garry: Making a girl. Actually making a girl. Like Frankenstein... except cuter. Wyatt: [stands up] You're serious? [Gary grabs Wyatt by the collar and pulls him towards him] Garry: Look me in the eye. Do I look serious? Wyatt: Gary Wallace, that's-that's gross! That's sick! I am not digging up dead girls! [Gary puts his hand over Wyatt's mouth and sits h
Once again I am preaching without a manuscript. So, I cannot give you a full post. But let me try to sum up what I see in the movie. You could re-title the movie The Land of the Lost and be fine. Then again, there was that show about dinosaurs. Alas... Samantha has been forgotten. It's her sixteenth birthday and because of her sister's wedding and the ensuing chaos, her family has completely forgo
Try to think, act and live as though you were always in God's presence. Keeping close to a Power greater than yourself is the solution to most of the world's problems. Try to practice the presence of God in the things you think and do.- Twenty-Four Hours a Day When I chose the four John Hughes films, I did not have an immediate idea of how I might preach from Sixteen Candles. It's a pretty vapid t
Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. - Ferris Bueller I am not preaching on Sunday. I'll be in worship, but we have a guest preacher. Cate Wallace is going to grace our pulpit for a morning. It's the prelude to a class that she will be teaching in the winter currently entitled "Christianity for the Critical Thinker." I'm optimist
I find this story very enlightening, and applaud the minister for his ingenuity.
Here's a news video on the story, too.
Found at Nothing to Do With Arbroath
Homeless Ministers on Whidbey Island.
A Sermon by the Moderatorof Metropolitan Community ChurchesThe Rev. Nancy L. WilsonMCC ModeratorMC"Shaking The Foundations!"by The Reverend Nancy L. WilsonDelivered at The Fellowship's Annual Conference, Dallas, Texas, on June 25, 2008.INTRODUCTORY NOTE FROM REV. WILSON:I delivered this sermon at the opening service of the Annual Conference of The Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. We were blessed by so
To all of your avid followers of the Church of Despair, Good Sunday Morning to you all. Today's Sermon will be about death. First of all we should discuss how this comes about, either naturally, by...
The amusement of Joe Kerekes and Harlow Cuadra murdering Brian Kocis. In the end they both will pay for their sins.
Today's Sunday Sermon
By Sister Renee
Today's Sermon will be all about Prostitution, lies, and scams. Bless you all for coming to Gluttony's Church of Despair, we welcome all that attend. We...
The amusement of Joe Kerekes and Harlow Cuadra murdering Brian Kocis. In the end they both will pay for their sins.
A man who went to Church with his wife, always had a habit of falling asleep during a sermon. The wife decided to do something about this and on one Sunday, took a long hat pin along to poke him with every time he would doze off. As the preacher got to a part in the sermon where he shouted out "... and who created all there is in 6 days and rested on the 7th .." she poked her husband who came flyi
This is true obedience...to obey even when there is no certainty that God will provide an escape. - Allan Boesak South African ministerAs sometimes happens, there was a "honey do" list waiting for me at church this morning. But the sermon preparation continues anon. I am thinking about obedience...that ever-unpopular notion. I think that the story of the binding/sacrifice of Isaac is abo
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. - Mark TwainI am sitting outside on the parsonage patio. The sky is threatening rain. The breeze blowing through the trees is humid...if breezes can be humid. Birds chirp. Rabbits nibble. And my iced tea is perfect. Trish uses mint from our little garden. Last night's service was lovely. There were only twenty of total...includi
This is what the books tell us. Gen-X is “all about relationship.” Gen-X is all about community. Right? Well … Yes and no. I believe “yes” in the sense that Gen-X really does want to have a heightened sense of community in their lives. I do believe that Gen-X wants community. However, I would also say “no” in the sense that Gen-X doesn’t really seem to want community outside of Gen
Many parents like to have their child take some basic notes during church to help them pay attention, learn and stay out of trouble. Here is a simple page that your child can use, without distractions on the page, to keep notes:
**Sermon notes page**
This is one of my favorite readings.
TWENTY-FOUR BRAND-NEW HOURS
By Thich Nhat Hanh
“Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours [...]
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I went to a local coffee shop to sit with the scripture passage for this Sunday. I am focusing on Matthew. I like this Gospel a great deal. I don't know if it is my favorite, but I dig it. Anyway, Matthew's passage speaks of change and Jesus' ministry. How we hold on to or renew the old while moving into the future with Christ is a worthwhile line of thought. It's about change. That caused me to t
I just came upon this classic, exciting, insightful sermon by the late Rev. Elder Jeri Ann Harvey. [Please see the May 29th post.] Believe me, if you haven't ever heard this sermon before, or even if you did, you will be blessed, encouraged, and emboldened by it and by her.CLICK ON THIS LINK TO HEAR HER SERMON THAT SHE DELIVERED ON AUGUST 12, 1979.
Greetings friends,
This is the very 1st audio post on Sermon Select Online. It’s about a five minute introduction to the site that was crafted to explain what Sermon Select Online is, and what it hopes to be in the future. So, click the “play” button and enjoy. And remember to tell your friends and loved-ones!
Download [...]
The minister was shaking everyone's hand while we were leaving the church. I shook his hand and said, "Reverend, that was the worst sermon I've ever listened to. It was terrible."As the minister stood there dumbfounded, My wife stepped in, trying to help. "Please don't pay any attention to him, pastor. He only repeats what he hears others say."
We are celebrating our 225th anniversary by doing a number of things. One is plugging through the Bible in a year. You can follow along on my Bible and Jive blog. I have been using worship to emphasize a biblical text. We following the order of the TaNaKh and are into the Writings. This Sunday's focus was Ecclesiastes. We opened worship with The Byrds. Here is today's sermon: Eat,
Sermon Select Online is the Audio Sermon Online Ministry of Sermon Select.com.
This site will serve as an audio database collecting sermons and classes from churches all over, and allowing people from the four corners of the world to listen, download, or subscribe as a Podcast option. What a powerful ministry tool this will be!
This site [...]
Have you ever seen a mother wren angrily dive-bomb someone? I'll never forget seeing my father come under such an attack when I was a boy. He had placed a number of wren houses around the yard and was always happy when his tenants returned each year to raise their families. One of his birdhouses was made with a hinged cover so that Dad could lift the top and look into the nest.One day, wanting to
getting slapped in the face every week.This is due largely to the clear meaning of the text brought to light each sermon, and the meaninglessness of many of my primary pursuits.A repeated "on the way home" thought: I'm tired of chasing the wind.Thank you for Subscribing to Say Simpleton.
Following the WindJohn Shuck First Presbyterian ChurchElizabethton, Tennessee Pentecost/Pluralism SundayMay 11th, 2008 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a
The Spirit, Freely Given How do we know how to receive? How do we know what it is to receive love? These are the questions that have been haunting me this week as I have prepared for this sermon. Do we really know how to receive love? How do we learn to do this? The scripture readings this morning are about the Holy Spirit, God’s abiding presence in the Church…and the Church’s responsibility
Sermon: Ascension Sunday, Year AThe Community Church of WilmetteMay 4, 2008 The Great Escape "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1:11 “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” It’s a cry of desperation by a sideshow magician in the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy and her friends have been on a long journey to find the Wizard. He lives in a distant city, far away. He is “great and powerful.” He is to be feared. But he is the only one who can restore them. He is the only one who can give them a heart, a brain, the nerve, and can send them home. So the heroes journey and struggle, obsessed with what lies in Heaven…or Oz…and wonder
Has anyone else given thought to this Sunday's readings? I'm preaching the Ascension text and the Seventh Sunday of Easter gospel. It should be interesting. I have been trying to plan ahead a bit. So, I've had a working title for a couple of weeks now: The Great Escape. I am hoping to enfold a little Miche Quoist in there somewhere. His poetry is unreal.THE SUBWAY The last ones squeeze in. The door rolls shut. The subway rumbles off. I can't move; I am no longer an individual but a crowd, A crowd that moves in one piece like jellied soup in its can. A nameless and indifferent crowd, probably far from you, Lord. I am one with the crowd, and I see why it's sometimes hard for me to rise higher. The crowd is heavy - leaden soles on my feet, my slow feet - a crowd too large for my overburdened
Yesterday, we held an elders’ retreat here at the church. We’re working on a few important ideas about how to strengthen our church’s commitment to Christ, His Kingdom, and His ministry in this part of Knoxville. It was an important start to a series of quarterly meetings which will help us seek God’s path for our congregation in the years to come.It’s crucial that all our elders work together by discovering what God’s will is for our wee church. We have to keep focused on what God wants us to do for Him. Too many churches these days are being swayed by the culture around them. They want to fit in with society and use marketing ploys to bring people into their organization, but not necessarily the Kingdom of God.At the moment there’s a controversy stirring in West Knoxville b
Sermon The Sixth Sunday of Easter The Community Church of Wilmette April 27, 2008 Acts 17:22-31 John 14:15-21 Who Are God's Children? A little more than a week ago I attended the National Workshop on Christian Unity. We spoke about our work together as denominations. We learned about the theological accords and debates that are still ongoing. And Michael Kinnemon, the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, in his keynote address challenged us to recall that any real unity will come through God’s work and not by our own efforts. We cannot make idols of our agreements our Councils or even our shared charitable work. Unity is in God. It was in incredible indictment and the statement rang true to most in attendance. The passage from Acts this morning challenges me to find way
I am preaching a sermon entitled "Who Are God's Children?" One of the things that struck me at the National Workshop was the ever present reconciling tone. I wasn't surprised by it, per se. One might assume that such a tone would be present at a Workshop on Christian Unity. A you-and-the-horse-you-rode-in-on attitude typically does little to promote unity. But the proclamations of reconciliation, the desire to come together in shared expressions of Christianity, were so sincere. I was expecting perfunctory expressions. Instead I witnessed real desire and passion for unity. I drank the kool-ade of the ecumenical movement a long time ago. It was nice to be in the midst of similar insanity. The passage from Acts for this Sunday challenges me to find way sto embody ecumenism in my pe
Nahum vs. JonahJohn ShuckFirst Presbyterian ChurchElizabethton, TennesseeApril 20, 2008An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh. A jealous and avenging God is the Lord, the Lord is avenging and wrathful;the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and rages against his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.--Nahum 1:1-3When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. 42But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beg
(list updated when a new series is completed)
Bearing Fruit
Inner Confliction and the Gospel
Jesus Family
Law and Gospel
No Condemnation in Christ
Suffering and the Glory of God
The Resolved Church is a Church Plant
Walking According to the Spirit
On Friday, April 11th, Hamas Cleric Yunis Al-Astal had some encouraging words for his people:
“We will conquer Rome, and from there continue to conquer the two Americas and Eastern Europe.”
Carl in Jerusalem adds this:
But give them a state reichlet in Judea, Samaria and Gaza the entire State of Israel from the Jordan River to the [...]
Someone broke into a car in our neighborhood last week. It happened during the day when the subdivision was empty and quiet. The thieves broke the lock and stole some important items out of the car. No one heard or saw it happening, but it has left our street feeling vulnerable. People are now wary of leaving their cars on the subdivision roads and everyone is suspicious of strangers coming into the neighborhood. It was a rotten thing to happen to a happy neighborhood. It has left us all feeling insecure and unprotected.Thieves violate the common trust of the neighborhoods and communities that they rob. They disturb the peace of the people and tear up neighbors emotionally. They become a scourge of society and sadly, because of the times we are in, theft and robbery are increasing. It’s
"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. - 1 Peter 2:22-23Good grief but this is a hard passage to preach. So, I keep asking myself why I cannot leave it alone. I keep asking myself, pleading with myself to talk about the Good Shepherd and to let the epistles to the experts. But I am a fool. I cannot let it alone. Or, more accurately to how I feel, this passage won't let me alone. There is no full manuscript this morning. I hope that does not disappoint anyone overly. I will be preaching from an outline this morning. I know I run the risk of rambling, but I am hoping that the more "conversational" style will help
Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It is a gift for the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.- Steven Pressfield, The War of ArtThe pairing of the 1 Peter passage with the Acts passage is interesting. Just because the early church shared all things in common, did good things for people, and were (arguably) kind to their neighbors, does not mean they were treated well. No, sometimes endurance will be called for. Endurance not camouflage....
They take the paper and they read the headlines, so they've heard of unemployment and they've heard of bread lines, and they philanthropically cure them all by getting up a costume charity ball. - Ogden NashI have coffee. It's good to me. I usually drink it black these days, but this morning I have a little cream in my jo. I don't know why. Thursdays are my sermon days. I try to have a draft completed by noon. I've been pretty good about it lately, too. If the sermon is completed by Friday morning, then I can play during the weekend. This is a particularly busy weekend. I'm presiding at a wedding. So, we have a rehearsal on Friday evening and then the wedding the following night. I also have an appointment with my tax accountant on Saturday morning. Yay. So, I need to get something signifi
On Thursday, April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. had retreated to room 306 of the Lorraine Motel, worrying about a sanitation strike in Memphis and working on his sermon for Sunday. Its title: "Why America May Go to Hell." For King, whose focus had shifted from civil rights to antiwar agitation and populist economics, the Dream was turning dark. He had been depressed, sleeping little and suffering from migraines. In Washington, his plans for a massive Poor People's Campaign were in disarray. In Memphis, King's first march with striking garbage men had degenerated into riot when young black radicals--not, as in the glory days, angry state troopers--broke King's nonviolent ranks. By 5 p.m. he was hungry and looked forward to a soul-food supper. Always fastidious-a prince of th
We are covering the Bible in 2008. We are up to Ezekiel. You can follow our progress and join along by following the readings and taking the quizzes on Bible and Jive.The text was Ezekiel 37:1-10--The Valley of the Dry Bones.We played this song for our meditation, Ezekiel Saw a Wheel recorded by Roger McGuinn.Hope to the BoneJohn ShuckApril 6th, 2008 First Presbyterian ChurchElizabethton, Tennessee Ezekiel begins to prophesy just before and during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century. His message is one of judgment first and then hope. Ezekiel is one of the most colorful prophets in Israel’s history in terms of the metaphors he uses and as well his public demonstrations. Ezekiel has inspired the imagination of many apocalyptic prophets who find in Ezekiel’s words
John 20:19-29 Jesus Confronts ThomasIt was just an ordinary day back in Maybole, Scotland. I had been making house calls in the village of Dunure, which was about 9 miles away from the manse. I was heading home and thinking about what Evelyn might be making for my dinner. The sun was shining and the sea looked beautiful as I coasted my way back home.When I got to the manse, I expected Lynsey and Lauren to come out to meet me, but they didn’t. I walked through the back door and met Evelyn in the kitchen. I could see in her eyes that something was wrong.“John, I’ve got some bad news,” she said quietly. “Your Mom is dead.”I was stunned. I knew that my mom was ill and had been for years, but this was sudden and completely unexpected. I obviously couldn’t take it in, so I think Ev
Sermon: Easter Sunday Year A 2008 The Community Church of Wilmette March 23, 2008 Ps. 118:1-2, 14-24 Acts 10:34-43 Mt. 28:1-10 Indeed, No Partiality The theological is in the news once again. If we are going to have to see it in the news, I want you all to know a little something about what theology is behind all of the hubub. Today is Easter Sunday. Today we make the most profound theological statement available to us as Christians. Alleluia! The Lord is Risen! The Lord is Risen, indeed! Alleluia! Once again the theological is in the news. Jeremiah Wright, the now retired pastor of Trinity UCC in Chicago, preached a sermon following the horrific attacks on September 11, 2001 that has come back to haunt him and the presidential candidate he loves so well, Senator Obama. Have you all heard
Sources: Bald Eagle 08 & NY TIMES.
(Bill Clinton & Pastor Jeremiah Wright)Photo from NY Times Blog
This is the part of the sermon in its entirety, which caused the firestorm from the media...
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Here is the text of today's Palm Sunday sermon: Meeting Jesus AgainJohn ShuckPalm SundayMarch 16, 2008 I have been puzzling over donkeys this week. I invite you to take a moment and imagine a donkey. Picture in your mind’s eye a donkey. Think of stories you know about donkeys. Think of images and iconography. Now think of what the donkey as a symbol represents to you. What characteristics are associated with the donkey? What feelings can you identify when you think about a donkey? Now I am going to leave that there. I would be curious of course what images and characteristics came into your mind. You can tell me later if you like. The reason I did that little exercise is that I want to bring to some awareness that symbol.
This is today’s sermon, preached at Barrhead United Reformed Church:
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
For the next few minutes I would like you all to hold the Palm cross you were given as you arrived this morning. Feel it in your [...]
This post has been edited per very helpful comments. This is why I share. Thank you, all. And, yeah, it still needs a little tweaking. Sermon: The Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A 2008 The Community Church of Wilmette March 9, 2008 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 Founded upon Tears The church of God is founded upon tears. This is one of the truest things I can say about the church. It is founded upon the tears of Christ. It is upheld by the tears of the followers of Christ. And how often I forget this truth. I become distracted by other things… Today’s passage from John is fraught with distractions for me. John has chosen to write it in such a way as to force us, to compel us to ask theological questions. He puts theology in the mouths of those around Jesus. Martha says, “I know that [Lazarus
Some of you have requested a copy of the “I am the child” message that Randy shared in his sermon yesterday. Here it is:
I am the child. All the world waits for my coming. All the earth watches with interest to see what I shall become. Civilization hangs in the balance. For what I am, [...]
Sermon: Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A 2008 The Community Church of Wilmette March 2, 2008 Psalm 23 John 9:1-42 Free to See The thing that is most surprising to me is this: The man who had been blind since birth, the same man who had been begging outside their walls for years, their neighbors’ son, is someone that they did not recognize. All this talk about sight, gaining it, healing it, and, for the Pharisees at least, losing it, and it is so easy to miss this simple little point: Before Jesus had come along and healed the man no one knew who he was. And no one cared. I love a trial scene as much as the next guy, and this one in John’s gospel is pretty famous all things being equal. Someone who has received grace is being blamed for it…being blamed for being healed. He was healed on
Experiencing the Reality of Christ in a Spiritually Blind WorldLast night I was watching a program from the History Channel called “The Naked Archaeologist.” It’s hosted by an Israeli-born Canadian Simcha Jacobivichi, who is one of the professors of archaeology at the University of Toronto. Simcha is a bit of a comedian and his off beat approach to the sometimes dreary subject of archaeology is very entertaining. In fact, I think that he is so good at it that we’re going to be discussing a few of his programs at the Monday Night Bible Study group starting tomorrow night. So, if you’d like to come along and be educated and entertained by Biblical Archaeology, then you’re welcome to join us tomorrow in the parlor at 7.15pm.Enough with the church commercials, the reason I started
Sermon: Third Sunday of Lent, Year A The Community Church of Wilmette February 24, 2008 John 4:5-42 Digging Out There is a really deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there, too. But often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then God must be dug out again. – Etty HillesumThere is something about a well. It’s a rich symbol, practical and yet mysterious, frightening and yet life-giving. We dig them. We cover them. We send Jack and Jill up a hill to fetch a pail of water from a well. We fall into them. There is a well on my father’s property. Actually, there are two now. The first one dried up and Daddy had to have another one, a deeper one, dug in the back yard. Out in the country where he lives there are no water mains, no civil infrastructu
There’s a new book coming out, called the “Third Jesus.” It’s written by Deepak Chopra who is this generation’s equivalent of Von Daniken. He writes a lot of best sellers about spirituality, especially of the New Age variety, and I have no doubt that this book will soon reach number one on the Times best sellers list.It’s sad that this kind of junk theology can become so popular and soaked into the precious souls of millions of modern people. They lap up this kind of godless garbage and pore over its contents without opening up the Gospels to find the real Jesus. They would rather read the warped interpretations of a Hindu guru-author whose cosmology makes them feel special. Chopra is a bit like Oprah when it comes to the theological world – it’s all about feeling good abou
