(31 minutes) I was invited to deliver the sermon at Downey Avenue Christian Church on July 30, 2023. It is based on the vision and ministry of Clarence Jordan, who in 1942 led in establishing Koinonia Farm, christened with a Greek word meaning “a community that is united by common… Continue reading
Read the Scripture One of the persistent questions plaguing the faithful is this: How do we continue to trust the promises of God when the evidence against those promises is all around us? Genesis 15:1-7 highlights this problem. When Abraham was seventy-five years old, he and Sarah left all the… Continue reading
This sermon was written for the thousands of churches in our culture who are anxious about the future of their dwindling congregations. The sermon assumes that we are in a time of transition regarding the nature of both the church and Christianity. My hope is that what I share may be helpful as congregations contemplate their identity, mission, and future in our changing society. Continue reading
This rich man’s story has been repeated all through recorded history. Whether one is a king or a pauper, a genius or a simpleton, a Republican or a Democrat, a believer or an atheist, everyone leaves this earth with none of the possessions they cherished and valued during their lives. Death is the great equalizer. Continue reading
Read the Scripture “In our midst” is the theme of all the resurrection stories in the Gospel of John. We see that theme in the account of Mary at the tomb when the Risen Christ appears to her and calls her by name and in the story of the disciples… Continue reading
Read the Scripture In this splendid poetry of the Bible the ears of a prophet are opened. He is surrounded by weary people–weary from oppression and injustice–weary from war and enslavement–weary from hopelessness and helplessness–weary from sin and death. All around him are the tear-stained faces of the weary. But… Continue reading
Read the scripture. Our passage is called a “floating pericope” by New Testament scholars. A pericope is a self-contained passage of Scripture. This familiar story of a woman caught in adultery is not found in most ancient manuscripts. In other manuscripts it’s located in John 7:53-8:11, at the end of… Continue reading
The great German preacher Helmut Thielicke, in an Epiphany sermon entitled “The Message of Redeeming Light,” said the following: If we take light seriously, we have also to reckon with the fact that there is a night in which it shines. This is the limit of all Christmas dreams. Light… Continue reading
(This sermon was preached 39 years ago. I was a college professor teaching religion in a Baptist college. Fundamentalists had chosen me as their target in that college with the intention of having me fired. Susan and I decided that we were no longer Baptists. The straw that broke the… Continue reading
(Please read this psalm, printed at the end of the blog entry, before reading the sermon.) In the movie How the West Was Won, there is a memorable scene. A groom rides from the prairie camp to thank God for his bride. While praying he hears a gunshot and returns… Continue reading
