A Big Role With Few Lines

Matthew 1:18-25 The adult characters of the Christmas story are worth some attention, especially Joseph and Mary. They were called to perceive this strange thing that God was doing in history and then to participate at no small cost to themselves in the...

“A Real Homecoming”

Isaiah 35:1-10 During the time of the prophecy of Isaiah, as most Christians know, Babylon deported Israel to a far away land. Of course, scholars tell us that at most those whom the Babylonians deported numbered no more than 10% of the population. Nonetheless, the...

“We Give Thanks For More Than Presents”

Philippians 1:3-11 Christmas cheer is in the air although we are barely into the season of Advent. For many of in our culture today the Christmas season begins at Thanksgiving. For some, however, Christmas festivities begin even prior to Thanksgiving Day. Yet, in order to...

The King Is Coming

Romans 13:11-14 "The King is coming, the King is coming," we shout and sing during this season of Advent. "The King is here," we proclaim. "The King died on a cross," we remember. The King calls us to do the same. The cross is a vivid picture of dying to self and living a...

A New Perspective

Luke 23:33-43 Jesus, who was proclaimed "King of the Jews" upon his crucifixion, was the antithesis of popular notions regarding a king. What kind of king is born to die? What kind of king is mocked, persecuted and hung on a cross? Surely the inscription, "This is...

Living In The Light Of His Coming

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 "You didn't come here to walk." The only negative comment I've heard in a dozen marathons came in my first; Los Angeles, 1989. Mile 23 and I was trudging. The voice of "encouragement" came from the curb - I looked to see a large...

It’s Sunday, But Friday’s Coming

Luke 20:27-38 Tony Campolo's sermon, "It's Friday, but Sunday's Coming," captures the essence of so much of life. Life is full of Fridays. Fridays when friends die, when jobs are lost, when parents divorce, when businesses fail, when romances fizzle, when...

Cooperation

It has been well said that the man who holds the ladder at the bottom is about as important as the man at the top. Everybody wants to be the man on the top, but he would not be there very long without the assistance he receives from the man at the...

Conversion

There was a young convert in Haiti whose family believed in voodoo. They urged him not to forsake the family faith for this new Christian religion. But he ignored the family pressures and came for baptism. He walked into the water, stopped, and ...