Diana Butler Bass, popular speaker and the author of several books including Christianity After Religion: The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, labeled President Obama's second inaugural speech "the first spiritual-but-not-religious inaugural sermon," while recognizing such is "a twenty-first century expression of American civil spirituality, embedded in but not dependent upon the ancient vision of American Protestant theology of and for God’s Read More …
sermon
Life-Giving Wind (#0742)
Earlier today, I had the privilege of preaching a Pentecost sermon based on Acts 2:1-21 at Naples United Church of Christ. Sermon Text Like many of you, I grew up in the church. More specifically, I grew up in one congregation – the First Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Texas. I quickly learned my way around the church – from playground to pew. After attending worship for years, participating in Sunday school, and completing confirmation, I was sure I knew what it meant to be Read More …
In 5 Words or Less (#0502)
Jonah preached what is arguably the shortest sermon in the Bible (Jonah 3:4): just 8 words in the NRSV: Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! just 7 words in the Message: In forty days Nineveh will be smashed just 5 words in the original language (Hebrew) So What? One need not be long-winded to be effective. The results of Jonah's five word sermon were nothing short of amazing. In our sound bite culture where big ideas are often conveyed or Read More …
So What? (#0457)
In the August 9, 2011 edition of the Christian Century the following item appeared, which had previously been printed in the July, 2011 edition of Interpretation: A young woman preaching her first sermon seemed to do everything right: her exegesis was sound; the text and title of the sermon matched well; the sermon was carefully organized and delivered in a clear and understandable manner. But the sermon was wrongheaded, especially in context -- an African-American congregation. Read More …