SAMARITANS, LEPERS AND US

Luke 17:11-19 Jeff Davidson When you’re reading something in the Bible and trying to figure out it’s meaning and how that meaning applies in your life, it’s often a good idea to put yourself in different positions in the Bible story. Read through it once as you are, as a Christian in the Washington, DC…

MUSTARD VS. MULBERRY

Luke 17: 5-10 Nate Hosler Our passage includes a mulberry tree. As a preacher it’s good to make some sort of illustrative connection to some part or lesson of the scripture which helps the listeners to better understand, imagine, or remember the story. So the mulberry tree. As a child I grew up on a…

Highway to Hell

1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31 Micah Bales Ever since I first looked over the scripture readings for this morning, I’ve been debating with myself whether we should listen to the song “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC. I think it would be fun, but the fact that I don’t know how the sound system in here…

Strange Fruit

Amos 8; 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Jennifer Hosler (sermon adapted from Brethren Press curriculum written by the author, 2015) Next Saturday, our city and country will celebrate the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture (NMAAHC). It’s been more than 100 years in the making—first lobbied for by African-American veterans of the…

A SERMON IN FOUR SCRIPTURES

Exodus 32:7-14    Psalm 51:1-10     1 Timothy 1:12-17    Luke 15:1-10 Jeff Davidson If you look up a dictionary definition for “preach,” you will find that one of the definitions is “to give religious or moral instruction, particularly in a tedious manner.” One popular form of preaching is “expository preaching.” According to Wikipedia, this is a…

AS IF

  Luke 14:1, 7-14    Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Jeff Davidson The two words “as if” have been standard English for a long time. Used together, they mean “as would be the case if”, for example, “She behaved as if he weren’t there.” For a little while, though, back in 1995 and for a few years after,…

WARNINGS, MOUNTAINS, AND CONSUMING FIRE

Hebrews 12:14-29; Psalm 103:1-8 Jennifer Hosler Nate and I recently spent time in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The landscape is staggeringly beautiful. Expanses of sheer, sharp mountains, turquoise lakes, acres and acres of pine trees, aspen trees, and larch trees. We hiked most days and found ourselves climbing steeply through fields of alpine wildflowers and…

THINGS ABOVE

Colossians 3:1-11    Luke 12:13-21 Jeff Davidson I was here two weeks ago, and at that time I talked about how Christ is in each of us. I spoke from Colossians chapter 1 and said that one of the things that Paul was trying to do was to combat the Gnostic heresy. That’s a heresy that…

LISTENING DIFFERENTLY

Galatians 3:23-29 Christy Crouse Good Morning! My name is Christy Crouse and I’m a rising senior at Truman State University in Missouri and I have been interning with the Office of Public Witness here the past four weeks, and have definitely been interested in its work for quite some time now. If some of you…

Tiger, Sacrament, and Miracle

Don Kraybill Visiting preacher Don Kraybill gave a sermon on forgiveness using the following verses from the Message Bible by Gene Peterson: Matthew 6:9-15 Luke 11:2-4 Matthew 18:21-22 Matthew 18:34-35 Mark 11:25 Luke 6:37-38 Luke 17:3-4 John 20:23 2 Corinthians 2:5-7,10 Colossians 3:13