“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Jesus said it. We just heard it read from the gospel of John. I don’t pick these passages. But I couldn’t have picked a more timely one considering the sad state of truth in the public arena. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Someone once remarked that philosophy seeks the truth, theology finds it, and religion possesses it.” Well, 501 years ago religion didn’t seem to possess the truth. Today is Reformation Sunday, and the 501st anniversary of the time Martin Luther posted 95 thesis which challenged the church’s claim that people could pay money for forgiveness of sins. “That’s true!” the churc
Next Sunday is Commitment Sunday here at Christ the Servant – that Sunday in which we bring our statements of intended giving for the coming year and present them to the altar. That means that today is what I call “Stewardship Sermon Sunday” … that Sunday in which I preach a sermon which is so deeply spiritual, so well presented, and so profoundly inspirational that all of you will want to come back next Sunday bursting with enthusiasm to share the bounty of your blessings with the Lord! Isn’t that the way it happens. Sure! So let’s begin! I’d like to take my sermon from the first verse from today’s Epistle to the Hebrews: “Indeed, the word of God is living and active.” Let me repeat
At my home congregation in Ashland, Ohio, from time to time we used to have female members of the local Brethren church come worship with us for a period of time. They were in church with us because they had recently been divorced and, thus, were not allowed to be in worship with their brethren (and sistren) at the Brethren church. Oh, it wasn’t so much that they had committed the sin of divorce (which was pretty bad in their eyes). Rather, it was that they were not under the control of a man. Once they remarried and were again under male management they were allowed to return to their own church. I think Jesus would have put his head in his hands in despair. I think Jesus put his head
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