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I have been a United Methodist pastor for 13 years. But only for the past six years have I been in a position that requires me to preach almost every single Sunday. My first appointment out of seminary was as an associate pastor of a large congregation with five clergy; I preached monthly if I was lucky. My next position was an administrative role on our Conference staff. And for the last six years, I have served as the pastor of Skycrest United Methodist Church, a vibrant mid-sized church in beautiful Clearwater, Florida.It is both easier and harder to preach week in and week out. It is easier, in that you don't feel the need to say everything; you know you'll get another opportunity next week. It is harder, in that it feels like every time you turn around, another Sunday is coming, and quickly!

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.Take, Read, and Heed.

Today's passage describes the events of the eighth day of Jesus' life. We see the observance of tradition by His parents, the patience of a devoted servant, and the praise of a godly, elderly woman. Observance, patience, praise - all qualities to emulate in this New Year.

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen, and the Work of the Church proceeds.Take, Read, and Heed.

As the current Pastor of the Old Meeting House, I bid you warmly welcome to our ancient Chapel. It has been my privilege, over the years, to greet hundreds of visitors, and to paint word-pictures of our long history - which is not only enthralling, but also culturally significant. I myself am still learning about it. You, too, may have questions; and I believe the following pages will answer some of them.Question One for most visitors is: "What's this Book of Sports I've heard about?" In this little guide, I will give a short explanation - as well as an overview of the Congregational Church, our beliefs, and significant aspects of our history. It will be a challenge with so few pages at my disposal; but I'm keen to spread the word about why this Chapel is such a cultural landmark - not only for Norwich and England, but for the Christian Church across the Atlantic.I am not the first to point out that the word "history" is really "His-story". The Old Meeting House is a rich spiritual well, wherein many have imbibed the Waters of Life. As you spend time here on your visit, I pray that you may experience God's peace - and, at the same moment, receive a sprinkling of the faith of our Early Fathers, who lovingly built this Chapel during difficult days of our English Nation's history.To find out more about the Independent (or Separatist) Church and its birthplace, Norwich, please visit www.oldmeetinghousechurch.org.uk

The origin of this book has kinship with the merging of two rivers. Two rivers existed side by side. One had flowed longer than the other river. It had received the water and rich deposits of rivers, creeks, and streams. The other river was formed later. The two rivers existed separately, but ultimately they merged. The water from the older river mixed with the younger river. Their waters became intermingled. As they flowed together, their waters blended thoroughly. Other tributaries flowed into the combined river, and this one river was filled with deposits from many sources. As the river flowed, it emptied its waters in a large gulf. If you looked at the river, you could not tell what water be­longed to what river.This analogy fits the formation of this book. James C. Taylor resembles the description of the river which existed longer. He has been a pastor, a navy chaplain, and a seminary professor. He has taught preachers to build sermons for over three decades. Through these decades many streams of homiletical information flowed into his life and ministry -Charles W. Koller, George Buttrick, Andrew W. Blackwood, H. Grady Davis, John A. Broadus, Austin Phelps, Phillips Brooks, Halford Luccock, Ralph Sockman, and others. Students from several generations have learned from this teacher of preaching. They have observed the character of his life, and they have applied his techniques of building a sermon. Also, he has listened to their feedback; thus, he has been able to improve his content and method of teaching continuously.The other river in the analogy is Harold T. Bryson. His system of preaching was influenced by Taylor in an expository preaching class. Bryson listened to Taylor's theory of preaching and applied it in his student pastor­ate and in subsequent pastorates. He sought each week to build sermons with the idea of helping his people, according to the system shared by Taylor. Bryson served as a pastor for nineteen years. The mechanics of "building" a sermon to meet people's needs intrigued both men. Bryson, in the pastorate, and Taylor, in the seminary, shared ideas with each other. They listened to each other. They learned together about one system of building a sermon. They continuously insisted that the system of sermon construction must be subservient to helping people with their needs.

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.

The church is a congregation of likeminded believers, supporting and encouraging one another; a place of forgiveness and healing. On any given Sunday, you will find pastors speaking passionately from the pulpit, people singing and worshiping unashamed of their love for God. Yet mention the word "sex" or "sexuality" and you can hear a pin drop.Why the silence around the topic of sexuality in the church? Where did the passion go? Where did the celebration of lovers, like the teaching on the subject from the Songs of Solomon go?This book is a bold proclamation, from a courageous pastor, willing to break the silence and speak about the joy still found in sexuality and the church. It challenges congregations everywhere to open their platforms and ministries to discuss this important subject; one that deeply affects our households and future generations.Here one will discover a voice for sexuality from a spiritual perspective, filled with love and grace, giving us permission to fully embrace our sexuality as a gift from God.Thank you pastor James for your courage to share.

I call this third volume of poems "The Hum of It All" to indicate a unifying process in my life. We are born into a world of dualisms. It's just the way things are from birth. We hear a limited range of sounds, but we know from science that we are unable to hear or experience so many more sounds, echoes of the Big Bang, that move through us unheard.My Siamese cat Max purrs loudly on my chest to remind me of this bigger concert in the cosmic music hall. My choice of the alpha/omega symbol, linked with my family of origin, signals continuity. Many poems in this and earlier volumes point toward an evolving spirituality of insights from east and west. It's a way of echoing a motto from my Jesuit days of finding God in all things. But my view of God has changed. Now the divine is more beyond knowledge (agnostic), yet as close as my body and within wider nature as an all-pervasive mystery (pantheistic).While unconstrained by the rules and theologies of religion, I've been pulled by them toward justice and charity. My path continues with recent surprises like cancer. This episode has been part of my journey from "sky" to earth religion with my brethren in garden, river, and forest.

Sermons sprout from the fertile soil of life in God's magnificent and messy church. They also grow in the midst of busy and sometimes hectic pastoral ministry. As someone else has said, "Sunday comes every three days." And as I believe Union Presbyterian Seminary President T. Hartley Hall IV once described it, "The relentless return of Sunday."The sermons included here are, with only a few modifications, what I preached to my congregation. I've tried to preach with one eye zeroed in on the Bible with all its complexities, puzzlements, and wonders, and with one eye scanning what's happening in the world, the world that God loves and is involved with, the world God will never abandon, the world that God will finally make whole.

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.

If a pastor could dream up and plant the perfect church, what would it be like? Realistically, a minister accepts the church he gets. John Killinger once said, "The trouble with churches are that they fill up with people." All types of people. I dream about a church that is so loving, where my gifts would be valued, and my passions would flourish. My dream congregation would be full of joy. I would never be embarrassed to call it my spiritual home. The church would be so amazing than any non-Christian who visited would never want to leave.Being an empathic minister and a therapist, I know and understand emotions. Each emotion-fear, anger, anxiety, guilt, and joy according to research-is real and distinct as colors and shades are to an artist.Emphatic skills are not unusual. Everybody has these skills. We are sensitive and intuitive. We feel what some people never acknowledge. We can't figure out what emotions are. For the past five years, I have traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to share in a twelve-million-dollar study of joy funded by the Templeton Foundation.

If the average preacher cited Hezekiah 3:16 in a sermon, the average churchgoer wouldn't blink an eye. The Bible is still the world's best-selling book, but few people have actually bothered to read it. Even those who consider themselves Bible-literate are often surprised to discover new truths from Scripture. Reading through the Bible in a year is highly valuable for the Christian life. Spending fifteen to twenty minutes in dedicated Bible study daily has been shown to have a greater impact on spiritual growth than any other factor. Seriously studying the Bible gives the Christian greater knowledge about what the Bible says (and doesn't say), leads the Christian to ask difficult questions about the nature of God and this life, and helps the Christian to apply the teachings of Scripture to the world around him or her.

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.Take, Read, and Heed.David Russell Tullock, M.Div., D.Min.

I'm really a morning person, if left to my own devices. When I'm involved with someone (when I was married or when I'm dating someone) that schedule gets pushed to the back. For one thing, I seem to pick night owls. But for another, it is hard to find one-on-one time before kids are in bed, which means staying up. But when I am left on my own, I tend to go to bed at the same time as the kids - 9 or 9:30, read for maybe 30 minutes and then crash. That means on the other end, I often wake up at 5 or 5:30, long before there is any movement from the children. I like going to bed at the same time as the kids. There is often a little more conversation than otherwise as I tuck the kids into bed. And I find I love those quiet morning moments. I look out the window and watch the birds and other wildlife. I notice the plants and trees. I think, I pray. Sometimes I eat, sometimes I read. But mostly it is time between me and my Creator to just be. No matter what else is going on, that quiet time centers me, grounds me, reminds me of the big picture. Before the hustle and bustle of the day, it helps me to slow down and take my time. Before being inundated with news and media and the traumas of the world, it helps me to just see the beauty out my window and in whatever corner of the world I am currently sitting. This time helps me to be peaceful and to put that peace into my heart to strengthen me for more chaotic moments. It reminds me to be grateful for each breath and for each day as it comes. No doubt the day will hold challenges. But I am fortified to meet them through this morning routine of peace and quiet. It is one of life's big gifts. And I am grateful.

When we hear "Listen to this," most of us are all ears. It is a good way to capture the attention of folks to whom we want to tell a story. That phrase holds the promise of hearing something interesting, or informative, or funny. As for the words "mostly true" as a part of the book's title, we suspect that is the case with every story that is told. On the question of truth, the words of Susan Estrich ring true: ". . truth is a construct, infected with the biases of the teller. " A story, true or not, comes from a particular point of view from a teller who may concentrate on parts of the story that another teller might leave out. As Bryce Stevens has said, "In the telling, we discover ourselves. And in the listening, we learn that none of us is alone." We hope that will be the case for the people who read this book and hear our stories

I know the importance of James McReynolds' work. If more people noticed all the joys that surround them every day, exploding like fireworks in their dark and glorious skies, there would be fewer wars, fewer crimes, and more sheer excitement about being alive.This book bristles with Jim's thoughts about the joyful life. He talks about it on every page. No one can read the book without coming away thinking about joy and what it means to his or her life. I wish it were required reading for everybody, regardless of age or stage of life. There would be an immediate and noticeable leap in the world's wellness quotient!

The days of building a church, hiring a pastor and staff and finding volunteer Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, and then opening the doors and people come because that's just what people do-those days are over. The so-called "attractional church" approach to following Jesus and growing the Kingdom that I was taught in seminary as little as 20 years ago simply doesn't work anymore. The church has become marginalized in its influence, often represented in the public square by its most extreme members. Among ever-growing numbers of people, the church is not seen merely as irrelevant and benign but as an active force for misogyny, homophobia, nationalism, and social regression. Among those demographics who in any way represent the church's future, the idea of awaking Sunday mornings, piling the kids in the car, and going to Sunday school and worship… well, that isn't even on their radar. A church can build the biggest buildings with the best preaching and teaching and worship and it pretty much won't matter: people aren't going to come, no matter what the voice promised.

A longtime friend of mine, Dr. Arthur Crisco, asked me to do some volunteer writing for a Christian mission organization, for which he is the volunteer editor. Art requested me to write eighty short pieces on what he called The Jesus Story. The outline came from Dr. A.T. Robertson's Harmony of the Gospels. The eighty writings were going to be put into leaflet form. They were to be simple, for persons who may have never heard of Jesus or possess a Bible.When I completed the assignment, Art suggested that I put them in book form for use as a personal devotional or study guide for groups. This book is the result of revising and reducing those writings to two pages each.

Parson's Porch Books is delighted to present to you this series called Sermons Matter.We believe that many of the best writers are pastors who take the role of preacher seriously. Week in, and week out, they exegete scripture, research material, write and deliver sermons in the context of the life of their particular congregation in their given community.We further believe that sermons are extensions of Holy Scripture which need to be published beyond the manuscripts which are written for delivery each Sunday. Books serve as a vehicle for the sermon to continue to proclaim the Good News of the Morning to a broader audience.In this book of sermons, Katina Sharp provides for us a nest of sermons which are imaginative and provocative. Her style and skill as a preacher is evident in the content and structure of each sermon. The book serves as a resource for other preachers and readers alike.We celebrate the wonderful occasion of the preaching event in Christian worship when the Pastor speaks, the People listen and the Work of the Church proceeds.Take, Read, and Heed.

"Holiday" means "holy day", a concept that has its roots in communities where people have lived their lives according to a religious calendar. The Christian Church moves to a different rhythm than does much of society around it. That is what Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost-all the seasons of the Church year-are about. Following the seasons of the Church year, and celebrating the high holy days, is a way we remember who we are and to whom we belong. We are reminded that this world is God's world, despite the way things often look.Of course, Christians know that all days and seasons are holy, even those the Church calls Ordinary Time. At times through the year, the Church's high holy days converge with days that in some ways the culture around us remembers, and in some sense marks as holy. Continually, there are events in our society and the world that demand a faithful word from the pulpit. These sermons follow much of the Christian year, seeking to speak to the ways Jesus and the Scriptures challenge and guide our living of these days.

The sermon in this collection titled "Open Hearts, Willing Spirits" describes a time in Pat's life when she experienced God making a "way open" in her life, when God called her out of her previous life and into this thing she and I call "ministry." I happened to be present when she received this call, as she notes, and I happened to walk alongside her as she responded to it, but the journey is all hers - all her courage, all her openness, all her vulnerability.And now, it seems clear to me from reading the sermons in this collection, she has brought all of those experiences of her life, and all of her gifts as a writer, into her new life as a preacher. I think it was because she was a writer before she became a pastor that she knew how to tell a story, that she could take people with her words from point A to point B, that she was able to communicate important truths.

I am grateful for this opportunity to share some of the work that I have prayed and labored over for more than forty years. Try as I might, I have never completed a sermon manuscript and thought to myself: "There, it's done." Sermons, I believe, are, by the power of the Holy Spirit, more than completed manuscripts or extemporaneous words-eloquent or simple-proclaimed by the preacher, but a means by which God speaks a word that sometimes challenges, frequently comforts, and always communicates the good news of what God has done and is doing through Jesus Christ in our lives and the life of the world.I would be remiss if I did not thank David Russell Tullock for the invitation to submit these sermons for publication, my friend Will Deming for his kind words in the Foreword to this book, and my wife Mary Schutt Weaver, who edited the manuscript and who for almost fifty years has encouraged me, listened to me Sunday after Sunday, and gently offered constructive criticism along the way. Being a preacher's spouse is no easy task, and she has fulfilled her role with grace, humor, and steadfastness. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the late Elizabeth Achtemeier, who taught me and others homiletics at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. Her voice has echoed in my mind many times as I crafted Sunday sermons.

This book is a poetic memoir of the Robert Lewis and Jessie Pearl Cole family. Saint Augustine said that God loves each one of us as though each is the only one to love. My parents never read Augustine's Confessions, but they lived the truth of this faith statement. They daily loved each of their thirteen children as though each was the only one to love. This book is dedicated to them.

This study is about dialogue, exploration, and strengthening faith. The objective is to have people explore the details of their beliefs and feelings about their personal faith, and its application to modern life. The hope is that all participants will grow in understanding and adoration of God.

I believe that God put him in my path at just the right time. We hope that you will enjoy these vignettes, as they are composites of women that Wayne ministered to during his forty-seven years of ministry. He has given us much in these stories that are charming, humorous, and insightful. Thank you, my dear Wayne, for sharing your gifts with the world.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Pals, Pets, Pigs, and Potatoes!Pals, Pets, Pigs, and Potatoes was produced as a service-learning project by Cleveland State Community College English Composition II students in a unique partnership with Taylor Elementary School first grade students. The two groups of talented students wrote and illustrated the amazing stories making up this delightful collection.Literacy and creativity are important aspects of growing up, but we don't always realize how important they are for adult lives. In the same way that reading is necessary, we often need creative thinking to function well in our jobs, homes, and families. As with any skill, practice helps performance. This project was challenging at times for the college students, but they will certainly not forget this exercise in creativity. For the children who participated, we hope they can keep using those creative skills. For our readers, we hope this book of fun short stories will bring grins and giggles. Read on to meet the loveable and zany characters of Pals, Pets, Pigs, and Potatoes!