Americans find it difficult to imagine that we once had a king. We think of kings, queens, princes and princesses as something foreign--not something most of us can relate to. But Pontius Pilate knew what a king was. It was not a far-off, fantasy image for him.
We tell little white lies: “I’d love to come, but I have a prior commitment … Send me more information, and I’ll get back to you … the check’s in the mail.” At best, it’s a way of being courteous; at worse, it’s a way of being dishonest. Truth, pure and simple, is rare.
On this Good Friday, as you seek the truth, look into the faces of those who couldn’t bring themselves to believe in Jesus’ truth. And know, even in our betrayal, there is his grace and forgiveness. And that, my friends, is indeed the truth.
Evidently, Jesus knew how hard it would be for his disciples to be of one heart. That’s certainly been borne out through history, hasn’t it? You got your Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Orthodox. You got your Assemblies and Agapes.
(This sermon was delivered to a group recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.) Bill said that something happened to him INSIDE on the day Ebby showed up in his kitchen. Ebby was 60 days sober and Bill knew that he was every bit as bad an alcoholic as he was – and yet there he sat – telling how he’d gotten sober.
In spite of two thousand years' time, different languages and cultures, people believe in Jesus Christ. Through the Scriptures, through the waters of baptism, the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, through people gathered together in the Lord's Name, we have come to know the Savior.
Graduation is a rite of passage where our young men and women are leaving one world and entering a new one. This new world is quite different than the one they are leaving. Now they will be expected to build a career, find a mate, thus separating themselves from their families.
Jesus dolls - packaged in a box that looked like the Bible - were probably the biggest doll flop in American toy history. Why? Because he is "the Alpha and the Omega, [the one] who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." That is not doll house stuff!
"It is finished." "Woman, behold your son.... Behold, your mother." "I am thirsty." "It is finished." These simple sentences offer us a moral portrait of Jesus. See how he demonstrates compassion, and accepts pain, and crosses the finish line of life triumphant.
As Parents' Weekend approached, tavern near the campus posted a sign that said, "Bring your parents to lunch. We'll pretend we don't know you." One of the local churches countered with a signboard that read, "Bring your parents to church. We'll pretend we do know you."