Sermons

A Duty to Love?

Bob Cornwall — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:59:30 +0000

When we think of mothers, whether it’s Mother’s Day or not, what comes to mind might be that special intimacy that seems to exist between mother and child, which begins at birth. Or, perhaps it begins even earlier, during that long period when a child begins to take form in the womb. This relationship is often complex but it’s also very powerful.

How Do You Hear the Voice of God? Experience

Bob Cornwall — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:30:59 +0000

How does God speak to us, if burning bushes aren’t a normative experience? In answer to this question, we’ve considered Scripture, Tradition, and Reason, but could God also speak to us through our own experiences and the experiences of others? The idea that God might speak through experience is both an attractive and dangerous idea, but can faith be alive if it’s not experienced?

How Do You Hear the Voice of God? Reason

Bob Cornwall — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:33:46 +0000

I think we’ve established over the past few weeks that even if God doesn’t normally speak to us in an audible voice, we can still hear the voice of God. We just need help. There’s Scripture, of course, which we often call the Word of God, and it is normally our starting point. After all, we read from Scripture every Sunday as part of worship. But as the Gospel of John reminds us, Jesus is the Word of God in the flesh, not the Bible. Although Scripture seems to be a central way in which God speaks to us, is it the only way we hear God speak?

Foxes Have Holes

Bob Cornwall — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:37:42 +0000

Today is also, at least for us, Economic Justice Sunday. It’s not on the liturgical calendar, but it is an emphasis of the Metropolitan Coalition of Congregations. This Coalition, which Luke Allen will talk more about in a moment, had its birth a year ago in our Library. I was among the first group of clergy who met with Luke and Bill O’Brien of the Harriet Tubman Center to talk about building a coalition of suburban congregations that would work together to address important social and economic issues facing the residents of Metro-Detroit. Several congregations have already had their Economic Justice Sunday, raising the consciousness of their congregations to the needs of the community around them. Today is our day to join them.

From Mourning to Dancing --

Bob Cornwall — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:34:10 +0000

There was a time when many churches frowned upon dancing. That’s because they considered it too sensual. This was especially true of mixed dancing, which might lead to promiscuity. That’s why we didn’t have dances at my college. We had “stand up concerts.” Although they looked a lot like dances, we could pretend they weren’t. After I graduated, things loosened up, but there was this concern that people might think these Christian college students were up to no good!

Who Are You in Christ?

Bob Cornwall — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:46:19 +0000

Rene Descartes declared these famous words – in Latin of course – Cogito ergo sum. That is, “I think, therefore I am.” According to this famous philosopher the ability to reason and to think defined human identity. Many people, especially today, would find his definition rather limited, because it seems to exclude a lot that makes us who we are. But who are you? What makes you, you?

What Is Happening?

Bob Cornwall — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:27:29 +0000

Jesus walks into the synagogue at Capernaum, immediately heads to the pulpit, and without so much as asking for permission from the synagogue leaders, starts preaching. After that, the place falls into chaos.

That’s because, no sooner had Jesus started preaching, when suddenly, a man stood up in the sanctuary, and started shouting Jesus. The man, whom Mark says was possessed by an evil spirit, screamed at Jesus, demanding to know what Jesus would do with “us?” Are you going to destroy us? After all, “I know who you are.” Yes, “you are the holy one of God.”

Passing the Torch

Bob Cornwall — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:17:42 +0000

1 Samuel 3:1-10

When Teddy Roosevelt became President in 1901 he was the first President since James Buchanan who hadn’t been directly involved in the Civil War. Though Grover Cleveland did pay a substitute to take his place in the Union Army.

Bill Clinton was the first post-World War II generation President, and since Barack Obama’s election in 2008, it appears that the torch may be in the process of being passed once again.

Passing the torch of responsibility from one generation to the next is inevitable – in politics, in business, in sports, and in the church.

In the Beginning

Bob Cornwall — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:57:16 +0000

“The end of something is better than its beginning.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8 Common English Bible)

I thought you’d want to hear this word from Ecclesiastes, since we’re moving into a new year. Beginnings are important, but endings are even more important. A few years ago the Lions won all their preseason games and everyone expected good things, and then they lost the next sixteen in a row. This year, the Lions had an up and down season, but they ended up in the playoffs – that was a much better conclusion.

Spending the Inheritance

Bob Cornwall — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:50:26 +0000

You may have seen a very large RV traveling down the highway. In the driver’s seat is a senior citizen, and emblazoned on the back of that RV is a bumper sticker declaring that this now retired couple is spending their children’s inheritance. Now, they have every right to spend their money any way they please, and the kids have no legal means of stopping them from doing this, but this declaration seems rather bold, maybe even brazen! They have decided to spend the inheritance before it gets passed on to the next generation.

Warren Buffett, as you may have heard, has decided that the bulk of his fortune won’t go to his children, but rather to charity. It’s not that the kids won’t get anything, but most of the inheritance is going to be shared by a much broader group of people.

Jesus once told a parable about inheritances. In this parable a son demands his share of the inheritance now. Why wait until Dad is dead to enjoy the benefits of the inheritance. Now, this is also a rather brazen demand. The son is basically telling his father to drop dead. There’s another part to this story that we rarely hear. In that day the estate went to the eldest son, who then decided if anyone else would get a share. So, this younger son was asking for something that didn’t belong to him. But the father gives him what he asks for and the son goes out and spends it all on drugs, sex, and rock and roll. Before too long it’s all gone and he finds himself on the streets, eating the left overs from the slopped hogs. You know the rest of the story. He decides to go home and see if Dad will hire him on. He knows he has no claim to sonship or the inheritance, because that’s all gone. In the end, however, there is a word of grace that restores this prodigal back to his place in the family.

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