Covenant Faith Expressed in Covenant Life
A reflection on James 2:1-13 offered by Brian Ellison at the closing worship service of the Milwaukee Regional Conference of the Covenant Network, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, November 17, 2012: "And how better to express this scripture’s call than through a group that has taken as its name and as its starting place a rich theological concept: Covenant—an expression of the relationship between God and humanity, and among the people God has created and called—and said that our theology demands of us not mere belief, not mere correctness, but action: Lives lived out in faithful service and compassion and intentionality and justice."
Every Fear Silenced
A Sermon by Meg Peery McLaughlin at the Kansas City Area Regional Conference: "But the truth is: there are some words that bear repeating. Some words that we simply need, desperately need, to hear over and over and over again... Do not be afraid."
The Redemption of Our Bodies
At the Kansas City Regional Conference, Dr. Mark Achtemeier continued his exploration of biblical insights into marriage: "...We have now come to the end of our experiment in reading the Scripture like the faithful scribe in Jesus’ teaching. We have taken what is old – the testimony about God’s purposes for love and marriage and sexuality that comes to us from the broad sweep of the Bible’s story. We have brought out this old, time-tested wisdom and combined it with what is new: the recently emerging opportunity for gay and lesbian people to openly makes vows and commitments to one another in the covenant of marriage.The result of this combination of old and new is not the abolition of biblical sexual morality or the abandonment of Scripture’s teaching. The result is the right and proper extension of the Bible’s time-honored teachings on love and sex and marriage into these new relationships where it manifestly belongs..."
There's No Place Like Home
A Sermon on Mark 6:1-6a by Meg Peery McLaughlin, for the Installation of Pen Peery at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte on November 4, 2012: "...Because Jesus is always reminding us that contrary to how we think about it, home... where we really belong, is not something behind us, something return to.. home is always ahead of us. Something we are always living toward..."
Smudged Lenses
The Rev. Laurie Kraus celebrates the faith and the gifts of new Inquirer Danny Morales, and his first sermon: "...Since wearing glasses for a few months now, I’ve learned we don’t always see the smudges on them. Instead we get so accustomed to those smudges, that foggy vision, that we create or even become our own impediments to clarity, impediments to the voices that like Bartimaeus are still screaming..."
“A Reformed Understanding of Marriage”
Sermon on Romans 8:22-30 by David D. Colby, Central Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, MN, October 28, 2012: "So let’s be clear. The Bible does not talk about marriage as only between a man and a woman. If we are honest the Bible has a shifting definition of marriage within its pages. Because we believe in “a church reformed, always reforming according to the Word of God”[2] we are not beholden simply to tradition. The church is not supposed to do things the way we have always done them simply because. No, we are called to question, to be critical; as creation unfolds, we can see more clearly the blind spots in our culture or the culture in which the Bible was written and pull out the gospel good news from the cultural expectations."
The Plan-B God
Dr. Mark Achtemeier addressed the Twin Cities Regional Conference on same-gender marriage: "...The vocation of groups like the Covenant Network will be critically important in the months and years ahead. It is not within our power to turn back the rising tide of cultural and historical forces that are sweeping our church into a period of decline. But we are confident that the day will come when God will purge the poisonous legacy of exclusion and hatefulness from our culture’s image of Christianity. Until that time it falls to you and me to keep the lights of a gracious witness burning in the midst of the surrounding darkness.To carry out that task, to make that positive Christian witness, you and I must be absolutely clear that our affirmation and celebration of gay marriage is a consequence of the Bible’s testimony and not its contradiction..."
A Life of Service
A Sermon on Mark 9:30-37 by the Rev. Ken Kovacs: When Jesus embraces the child it’s a symbolic action that demonstrates what Jesus is all about, what matters most in the kingdom of God; he shows us the kinds of values and questions that matter to God.[5] We should not be arguing who is the greatest. Instead, we are called to question the moral structure of society if that structure does not allow for the care of the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40). What is more, we have to work against that structure if society is not willing to care for the “least of these.”
Welcome Home
A Sermon on Acts 8:26-39 by the Rev. Chris Henry: "...All the preventative barriers and exclusive restrictions are no match for the Spirit’s radical acceptance. Who are we to say no when it is so clear that God has already said yes? Can we ever overestimate the love of God?..."
God vs. Gay?
God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality, by Jay Michaelson. Beacon Press, 2011.A Book Recommendation from Tricia Dykers Koenig
O Church, What Does the Lord Require of You
A sermon on Micah 6:6-8 by Randy Bush: "Once the evangelical commotion of the modern church is turned down for a moment, the wisdom of other people of faith can be heard again. Mahatma Gandhi once said: I told the missionaries to refrain from telling India about Christ and merely live the life set before them by the Sermon on the Mount. India then, instead of suspecting them, would have appreciated and directly profited from their presence. Malcolm X once said: Don’t condemn a person who has a dirty glass of water. Just show them the clean glass of water that you have. When they inspect it, you won’t have to say that yours is better."
On Churches Disaffiliating from the PCUSA
A Sermon on Acts 10:9-16, 15:1-11, by Thomas C. Willadsen: "Peter had to give up his concept of what God wanted from him. He gave that up when he saw what the Holy Spirit was doing among different people. I do not think this was easy for Peter to do. The Holy Spirit pushed Peter to broaden his understanding of religion, faith and tradition, the very things that had told him who he was and who God was. I don’t think it was easy for Peter to do this."
Build Up the Body of Christ in Love
A sermon by the Rev. Sara Hayden: "So, they recalled his way of life. How Jesus went to the margins and borders of the cities, lakes and called to people who were hungry, outcast, forgotten, and otherwise lost. His ears and eyes were attentive as people called to him. Sometimes for healing, sometimes for money, sometimes for attention. Jesus went to them. He learned their needs. He developed their gifts. He recognized the spiritual gifts of exceptional people – many, like Martha and Mary – who had never been encouraged before to use them. Not merely for themselves, but for the world."
Rethinking Morality
A sermon on Mark 7:1-23 by the Rev. Dr. Dan Anderson-Little: "Yes, actually I do think we have Jesus to blame for this ongoing rethinking of morality—for that is exactly what he is doing in this story."
The Trouble with the Church
A Sermon by Dr. Mark Achtemeier: "The trouble with inviting Jesus into your home is you don’t just get Jesus, you get the friends who show up with him."
Absolutely Everyone
A sermon by Baron Mullis to Morningside Church, Atlanta: "... I love standing up here and telling our visitors that when we say welcome, we mean it. And what I want you to know, and to be able to share is this: we don’t say it in spite of scripture, we say it because of Scripture!..."
A Biblical Perspective on Homosexuality
A Sermon by Louise Westfall to Central Presbyterian Church, Denver, Colorado, on July 17, 2011.
Philip's Conversion
A sermon preached by Jon M. Walton to the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, May 6, 2012.
"You Can't Handle the Truth"
A Sermon on John 15:26-27 and John 16:7-15, by Meg Peery McLaughlin, Village Church, Prairie Village, Kansas.