Among the beloved songs of this season is "We three kings of Orient are." This wondrous hymn had a beginning. It was written in 1857 by an Episcopal deacon, John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who taught church music at the General Theological Seminary in New York City.
The first instruction Jesus gave was to GO...not an unusual order for soldiers. There is a battle to be joined. Victory is possible only if the troops will get themselves to the front. Sad to say, the commitment to GO on the part of Christian soldiers has flagged considerably in recent years.
The word, epiphany means, a “showing forth,” or the “revealing of something,” that previously had not been seen. A modern writer described an epiphany as, “an AHA moment,” the moment when the light bulb goes on above our heads.
As Presbyterians, we're temperamentally reserved, socially restrained and theologically grounded in the doctrine of election. No wonder they call us, "the frozen chosen"! While we might be content with that, there's no escaping the fact that Jesus said, "Go, and make disciples of all nations."
Sermon Matthew 28:1-10 Go to Galilee Check out these helpful resources Biblical Commentary Sermons Childern's Sermons Hymn Lists Matthew 28:1-10 Go to Galilee By Dr. Philip W. McLarty Here’s a question most of you should have no trouble answering: Where were the disciples when they first saw the risen Lord? If you said, “Jerusalem,” [...]
Now, sometimes it's easy to be light in the middle of Christmas when all is going well. But it's not always easy to be light and it's not always easy to point to God--who is not always what and where we expect God to be.
As you came into the church this morning you were given a nail. There is nothing special about this nail –an ordinary nail like the ordinary nails that were used on the first Good Friday. This nail is a symbol of our involvement in the death of Jesus.
The first truth is this: Do not be afraid. Have you ever noticed in reading the New Testament that, every time angels show up, they use the same opening line? “Don’t be afraid!” Think about it.
We seem to start a lot of sentences with the word, "Where?" around our house. Where's the paper? Where's the salt? Where's the dog? The other day a video camera disappeared into thin air. It's not a large house. There are only two of us plus dogs living in it. No one can find it. We are always missing something we need. We want to know – where. It is a question of the ages. In Matthew magi come looking for the "child born king of the Jews" and the first word they speak is, "Where?"
There is a wonderful lesson for us in this story. The Wise Men met God in the midst of doing what they were supposed to do: they were at work. God can and does speak to us ANYWHERE and ANYTIME. The lesson is BE ALERT!