“Kiss Me Like You Mean It”

May 3, 2013 by 3 Comments
smccaslin-thumb-90x114

A Sermon on Song of Solomon 2:8-13 by Sarah Segal McCaslin: “And while many would say, by way of conclusion or assessment, that way too much time is spent in our denomination talking about what other people do in the bedroom, I think now, truly, that not enough time is spent talking about what goes on in the bedroom. If what goes on behind closed doors has the capacity to be the most faithful and exuberant worship of God that we can imagine, and also one of the places where our bodies are celebrated as God intended, then the church needs to protect against the threat that this beautiful aspect of our God-given humanity might be forced into hiding and become inaccessible to those who might be most in need of a positive word and a grace-filled moment.”

Filed Under: Biblical Interpretation, Sermon Tagged With: ,

“The Gifts of God for the People of God”

May 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Drew Henry

A Sermon on Acts 11:1-18 by Drew M. Henry, La Placitas Presbyterian Church, NM, April 28, 2013: “My home church, the First Presbyterian Church of Selma, Alabama, has been on my heart and mind over recent months. That is the congregation that raised me in the faith and profoundly shaped who I am today. I would like to share with you a letter that I have written to them, and I ask you to join with me in holding them in prayer… I understand that much of the current conflict in the church there is focused on our denomination’s growing acceptance and support of people who are homosexual and their families in the life of the church. Please allow me to share a bit of my story…”

Filed Under: Biblical Interpretation, Personal Testimony, Sermon Tagged With:

“Needing One Another”

April 26, 2013 by 1 Comment
Bartlett

A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 and Isaiah 43:16-21  by David Bartlett, for the Atlanta Regional Conference, April 19, 2013: “… there may be just a little danger as you in your church and I in mine face the possibility of schism and the fights over property and budgets and pensions – there may be just a little danger that we will move beyond what we have every right to say: “I disagree with you entirely” – to what we have no place in Christ’s body to say: “Good riddance; we have no need of you.”
Is there some way that we can stand fast for justice and still work toward reconciliation?”

Filed Under: Biblical Interpretation, Sermon Tagged With: , ,

So Now, What…? And : So, Now What?

April 15, 2013 by 2 Comments

A sermon on Deuteronomy 10:12-22 by Tricia Dykers Koenig for the Northwest Regional Conference: “The question for us is Deuteronomy’s “So now, what does the Lord your God require of you?” And: “So… now what?” Now that “our side” has “won” on ordination standards and, everyone knows, will win on marriage, but while the day-to-day struggle still rages and the justice God has promised is not fully realized, how do we help along the transitions that all can see coming, but some are grieving? How do we speed change, care for those who have suffered exclusion and indignity, and hold out a hand to those feeling run over by the train of progress, those who may be feeling more and more like strangers in a world and a church that are changing in uncomfortable ways? How do we make it easier for the eventual evolvers?”

Filed Under: Biblical Interpretation, Marriage & Civil Unions, Sermon Tagged With: ,

“On Second Thought”

March 25, 2013 by
Randy Bush

A Sermon on I Samuel 1:4-20 by Randy Bush: “I pray that people stop walking past the doorposts of the Church of Eli. I pray that our faith may be modeled after the example of Hannah so that we will belong to a church of justice, a church of inclusion, a church of love, and thereby a church of Jesus Christ. That may require some second and third thoughts on our part; that’s alright – God is patient. Like the father waiting for the prodigal to turn around and come home, God is anxious for our return to the fullness of God’s word and love. What is required of us? It requires listening skills…”

Filed Under: Biblical Interpretation, Marriage & Civil Unions, Sermon Tagged With: ,

“Covenant and Marriage: What Do We Say When a Gay Christian Couple Ask to be Married?”

March 20, 2013 by
bill_hathaway

A Sermon on Genesis 9:8-17 and I Corinthians 13 by Bill Hathaway, First Presbyterian Church, Annapolis, Maryland, February 3, 2013: “When couples meet with me, I say that they can write their own vows and look at different prayers, but to be married in the Presbyterian Church means that we assume the equal status, rights and respect of both men and women in the church, in society and in the language of the wedding service. What does the Bible and our faith have to say about marriage given the radical changes in marriage over the decades? The core values are covenant and kindness or, using other words, promise and love.”

Filed Under: Biblical Interpretation, Marriage & Civil Unions, Sermon Tagged With: ,
«Older Posts