1.  This is a story that is in the news all the time.  It’s a constant theme in politics and power.  It’s about loyalty, political maneuvering, intrigue, and the normalization of dangerous behavior. “When Ishbosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed.”  So much is packed into that one simple phrase! We know the background.  Saul’s general, Abner, had set up Ishbosheth as King of Israel as Saul and his two sons had been killed in a battle with the Philistines.  While David was anointed, Ishbosheth is merely appointed and we soon see what a difference it makes. Abner had…

We need a bit of context before jumping into the text. At the end of 1st Samuel Israel is at war again with the Philistines. David, thinking the only safe place to escape Saul’s determination to kill him was with the Philistines, left Israel and lived with one of the Philistine tribes. He would have gone into battle with them against Saul and Israel but the Philistines armies did not trust him. During the final battle, three of Saul’s four sons are killed. Saul is wounded but to avoid being abused by the Philistines he kills himself. When the Philistines find his body he is beheaded and stripped of his…

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others,…

1. You may have heard or read Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon for the royal wedding yesterday. So many have commented on the fact that he actually preached a Biblical view of love – not just romantic but redemptive love that changes the world. “We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world. Love is the only way,”. As well, one of his most memorable lines was a reference to the love of Jesus. “Jesus did not get an honorary doctorate for dying. He wasn’t getting anything out of it. He sacrificed his life…

Before we look at the text we need to say that there is a particular context for Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. He did not write this as an overall guide to giving. This is not Paul’s philosophy of giving but his response to a particular gift for the church in Jerusalem. You know there was quite a bit of tension between Paul and the Church fathers over his work with the Gentiles. In fact, early on he had been brought in to explain why he was focusing on the Gentiles and even allowing them to become believers without becoming Jewish converts first. Paul was anxious to show he was…

1.  Where do you find the essentials of the gospel. The early church called it the kerygma or the core of the good news. People often say “if you had only one minute to state your deepest belief about life, what would you say or what would you want most to say to pass on to your family””. That is the kerygma. It is the fundamentals of what Paul and others preached. Doctrines and creeds came later but first there was the essence or the foundation upon which everything else was built. It’s important to get our kerygma right from the very start. Some have made political beliefs and ideologies…

“Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God. If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No,…

Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Ephesians 4:11-13: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:27-31: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the…

I like to think that all of us are living in a gradual revelation of Jesus in our lives of one kind or another. We never get there completely but I think what we experience over time is probably better than getting everything at once. Everything at once would overwhelm us. Emily Dickinson said this: “Too bright for our infirm delight The truth’s superb surprise; The truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind.” That’s what we see when we look at the story of the resurrection from the perspective of Mary this morning. It was a gradual revelation from darkness to being dazzled. Let’s look at the passage…

What do we do when we disagree with some of the fundamentals not only of the faith but of the created order? What do we do when we live in a culture that desires to redefine not only right and wrong but what is true and false? 1.  First, Paul is addressing not simply a particular sin – a man sleeping with his mother or step-mother – but the attitude of the church toward it. They are not only accepting of it but actually proud of their attitude toward it. They have no shame or guilt about the issue. They are completely gone over to the other side and see…