Text Sermons
The Parable of Demas (Philemon 1: 23-24; 2 Timothy 4: 9-11)
Years ago, the writer Ernest Hemmingway came across a newspaper ad that in his opinion formed a perfect, if piercingly sad, six-word short-story. The notice read: “Free baby shoes. Never been used.” There is a similarly sad short story in the New Testament concerning...
The Shaking of the Foundations (Isaiah 24: 17-20; Psalm 102: 25-27)
September 11, 2001 seared the American soul. Images once reserved for big-budget Hollywood epics leaped from disaster film fantasy into horrific reality before our eyes, as commercial jets were misemployed as missiles to smash into twin towers that represented the...
The Shortest Distance Between People (Mark 2: 15-16; Mark 8: 22-25)
Years ago. I received a note from a close friend that said, “When I’ve been around you lately you seem remote, distracted and so weary.” “Of course,” he added, “this could just be my reading of things. I could be wrong. But let’s grab a lunch and talk, so I can check...
In the Depths of Your Being (I Samuel 24:1-7 ; Mark 1: 40-42)
I once was invited to address some of the rising stars of the legal profession in Charlotte, some of the best and brightest young attorneys recognized by their peers as poised for city leadership. I was challenged to identify the quality that would empower these...
Sneaking Up on God (Mark 5: 24-34)
One might entitle this passage, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to a Miracle,” for our Lord’s focus was upon a young girl who was dying, the daughter of a prominent ruler of a synagogue. Jesus moves so resolutely to address the young girl in her extreme need that...