Texts: Isaiah 62:1-5; John 2:1-11; I Cor. 12:1-11 Gather us in….the new hymn says. Gather us in…the lost and forsaken, the rich and the haughty, the proud and the strong…Gather us in and hold us forever. It’s one of my
Sermon: Baptized! 1st Sunday after Epiphany 1/13/13
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 43:1-7 and Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; and Luke 3:15-22 The great Disciples of Christ preacher Fred Craddock tells the story of an encounter while vacationing in the Smoky Mountains. I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating,
Sermon: Rejoice! Hope! Act! Advent 3-C
Well beloved, it’s been a tough, tragic week of horrendous happenings. Like every other person in America, nay, across the world, with an ounce of human feeling for others in us, we have been shocked to the core, and our
Sermon: The Welcome Place Homecoming Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012
TEXTS: Psalm 116:12-17; James 3:13-18; Mark 9:30-37 Gracious God, help us in our meditations on your Word to receive you and welcome you in our lives. Amen. Last week, we heard the writer of the Epistle of James admonishing us
Sermon: The Quality of Mercy Sept. 9, 2012
Texts: James 2:1-10, 14-17; Mark 7:24-37 Most of us here are old enough to remember the televised Billy Graham crusades and the lovely, touching song sung by the great booming baritone, Cliff Barrows, “It Is No Secret What God
Sermon: The Superficial and the Real Sept. 2, 2012
Texts: James 1:17-27 and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 A story is told about a young man who once came to a great spiritual leader and asked him to make him a priest. The spiritual leader stood at the window looking
Sermon: Difficult Teaching August 19, 2012
Texts: Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 34:9-14; Ephes. 5:15-20; John 6:51-60 May the Holy Word be a light for our path and a lamp for our feet, and the truth for which our hearts yearn. Amen. Four scripture readings: One from the
Sermon: Grace and Gifts August 5, 2012
Text: Ephesians 4:1-16 Our friend, the Rev. Dr. A. Guy Waldrop, retired general minister of the Christian Church in Kentucky, says that he believes that the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is at the tipping point of irrelevancy. I admonish
Sermon: Far More Than We Ask or Imagine July 29, 2012
Texts: 2 Kings 4:42-44 Ephesians 3:14-21 John 6:1-21 Our first reading, from the saga of the prophet Elisha, heir of the great prophet Elijah, tells of a miraculous feeding, as a great famine is coming to an end.
Sermon: Shepherds, Not the Flock July 22, 2012
Texts: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalm 23; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 If you took the time to read the appointed texts for today, you would perhaps have seen what I saw: there were numerous ideas worthy of exploration and meditation. I want to think