God doesn’t want nice people; he wants new people.

Luke 24:36b-48

A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter

The Gospel text for today is another text about an appearance of Jesus after the resurrection. In order to get at what it’s about I’d like to go through the Nicene Creed with you. The Nicene Creed is the most widely held creed in Christendom, and of course, it is about the resurrection.

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Doubting Thomas

John 20:19-31

Every Year this Sunday we have Doubting Thomas. Everybody likes Doubting Thomas. Thomas the Apostle and the Twin, but it’s that “Doubting” that says he’s my kind of a guy. I understand that because after all, doubting is what it’s about. How do you know? When we ask ourselves: Why, of the apostles and the early church, is Thomas so well known and so favored? What’s happening here? What is this Doubting Thomas about?

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Psalm 23

A sermon for the Season of Lent (Maundy Thursday)

Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the high holy days which are the center of the Christian year. The word “Maundy” comes from the word “mandated,” that is, we are commanded, or called on, to celebrate this because it is the beginning of the Lord’s Supper. It is “three days” from Thursday night to Sunday morning.

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Psalm 46

A sermon for the Season of Pentecost

There has long been a rumor that Psalm 46 contains a secret code, and it goes like this: Using the King James Version of this Psalm, when you count 46 words in, you come to the word “shake.” (It’s toward the end of the third verse.) If you then start at the end of the Psalm and count 46 words in, you come to the word “spear.” When you combine these two words, you have “Shakespeare.” And, as a matter of fact, in 1611 when the King James Version of the Bible was published, Shakespeare was 46 years old. He had just moved back to Stratford. He would have been 46 through the end of April. April 23rd was his birthday.

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