Do you remember the Etch-A-Sketch? When you made a mistake you could shake it and voila — clean slate — you could start over. We're here this morning to celebrate Easter--God's shaking up the world so that we could start over. All the death and sin that had been written and drawn has been erased and God has begun a new creation.
Eugene Smith never sang much. But one year his daughter persuaded him to sing with the choir on the Hallelujah chorus. Near the end, he was just about to sing a couple more Hallelujahs when the choir stopped. He said, "Since that time I have been going around with a couple of Hallelujahs inside just waiting to get out."
Paul wrote to friends in distress: Back to basics, friends. I give to you what I received, the most important thing, that Christ died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the third day and then appeared to one, to twelve, to many, many more including me, even me. If you believe this, you will receive grace--and become grace for others.
As N.T. Wright puts it, "They knew as well as we do that things like that just don't happen. When people died they stayed dead.... Jesus' followers weren't expecting him to die in the first place; when he did, they certainly weren't expecting him to rise again. Yet they say, loud and clear, that that was what had happened. He had gone through death and out the other side, into a new mode of human existence."
Funeral Homily 1 Corinthians 15 The Spirit's One Persistent Demand A funeral homily for an elderly man who loved mechanical things The Spirit's One Persistent Demand 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 35-38, 42-44, 53-58 By The Rev. Charles Hoffacker My introduction to Glenn Hayner came a dozen years ago. He was one of the first Port [...]
Funeral Homily 1 Corinthians 15 The Man Who Kept Moving A funeral homily for an elderly man who lived an active life The Man Who Kept Moving 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 35-38, 42-44, 53-58 By The Rev. Charles Hoffacker Some of you here have known Paul Wesbrook for a very long time. I have known him [...]
Funeral Homily 1 Corinthians 15 All the Room of Eternity A funeral homily for an elderly man who drank of life deeply All the Room of Eternity 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 35-38, 42-44, 53-58 By The Rev. Charles Hoffacker I would like us this afternoon to take a trip through time and also enjoy a taste [...]
It is hard to go to through life without holding a grudge of some kind? Even for the most kindhearted of us, down deep in the recesses of our souls, there’s a grievance somewhere, a score to settle against somebody. Some of us milk it for all we’re worth.
We love jumping to conclusions. Sometimes that's ALL the exercise some of us get. That's what normal people do, right? But don't forget, we're not normal people. We're abnormal people. We've given our lives to Christ. And through Christ, we're called to live by different standards.
Dorothy Sayers, the English mystery writer says, “In the world it is called tolerance, but in hell it is called despair. It is the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing. There is not a trumpet in our lives to call us to our feet.”