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illustration
Broken Symmetries and the Masses of Gauge Bosons
In 1964 Peter Higgs wrote a paper entitled, “Broken Symmetries and the Masses of Gauge Bosons,” which proposed the existence of a new fundamental particle of matter based solely upon mathematical dedu... -
liturgy
Take up your cross and follow Jesus
Take up your cross and follow Jesus the Messiah, who suffered and died that we might share in his resurrection life and have no shame when he comes again in the glory of his Father. Amen. -
illustration
The Cross Set-Apart
Our church has a large open field next to it, with a tall wooden cross in the middle– perhaps 15-feet high or so. I love that cross. I’m always struck by its isolation, abrupt in the midst of land wi... -
illustration
I’m Just Sleeping!
I remember growing up in the ’80s (yes, that dates me) when all kinds of fears and phobias seemed to be in the air—fear of the dark, snakes, scorpions, spiders. Someone in my own close circle was afra... -
illustration
The Cross is Not Tragedy
The cross of Jesus is the world’s supreme example of anguish, suffering and injustice, but it has nothing to do with tragedy as we experience it in Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Shakespeare—trag... -
blog
St. John Chrysostom's Easter Sermon
A Joyful Easter Proclamation John Chrysostom (344-407) was the Bishop of Constantinople and is remembered as a Doctor of the Church. He was a renowned preacher (his name, Chrysostomos means "... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, John 18:1-19:42
The lectionary text from John is an exceedingly long passage, but covers the main events that we commemorate on Good Friday. For that reason, I am going to break up the text into manageable chunks. I ... -
lectionary
Good Friday
Preaching Commentary Introduction The lectionary text from John is an exceedingly long passage, but covers the main events that we commemorate on Good Friday. For that reason, I am going to break u... -
illustration
Case Closed?
During the infamous Dreyfus trial in France, Jewish army officer Captain Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of treason, sparking a national scandal marked by anti-Semitism and injustice. Among Dreyfus... -
lectionary
Good Friday
Preaching Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Israel’s State of Mind The Book of Isaiah is a remarkable accounting of the history of the relationship people o... -
liturgy
Good Friday Tenebrae Worship Service
Preparation Depending on which parts of the service you will incorporate, you will want to gather the following materials. A wooden cross, paper, pen, nails, and a hammer (or pushpins). Eno... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9 (Guide A)
Note: These two passages are typically read together on Good Friday, as they pull together the themes of Jesus as priest and sacrifice. Ancient Lens What's the historical context? The Great... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Israel’s State of Mind The Book of Isaiah is a remarkable accounting of the history of the relationship people of Israel with God. By t... -
illustration
His Stigma became His Glory
Sociologist Erving Goffman wrote in his classic study Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity that the term stigma originated with the ancient Greeks, roughly during Jesus’ tim... -
liturgy
We Need to Linger, a Call to Worship for Holy Week
Before we get to Easter, we need to linger: in the vulnerability of the basin and the towel at the remembrance and promise of the table in the struggle and betrayal of the garden in the shadows and sh... -
liturgy
“It is finished.” With those words, You
“It is finished.” With those words, You declared victory. Sin, death, and evil lost their power. We are the church: Each of us recipients of Your victory. In Jesus, we have won! But often we deny Your... -
liturgy
Devout Remembrance of Christ's Death
Pastor: Almighty and everlasting God, who willed that your Son should bear for us the pains of the cross and thereby remove from us the power of the adversary, help us to remember and give thanks al... -
liturgy
Almighty and everlasting God
Pastor: Almighty and everlasting God, who willed that your Son should bear for us the pains of the cross and thereby remove from us the power of the adversary, help us to remember and give thanks al... -
Quote
Good Friday, and again we are reminded to never lose hope — or at least give it the weekend. -
liturgy
Prayers for Good Friday
Pastor: Almighty and everlasting God, as Isaac once carried the wood of the sacrifice on his back up the mountain, only to be delivered, so You willed Your Son Jesus Christ to carry the wood of the ... -
illustration
The Two Thieves on the Cross
The two thieves appear to be representatives of two opposing directions. One of them founders on the cross; the other is raised up by it. The story of the repentant thief does not teach that every sco... -
liturgy
Obedient Unto Death: Benediction From Philippians 2:8
May Jesus Christ, who for our sake became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, keep you and strengthen you. Amen. -
liturgy
Healed by Christ's Sacrifice
Pastor: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. People: He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; Pastor: and as one from w... -
liturgy
Behold, the life-giving cross on which was hung the salvation of the world.
Pastor: Behold, the life-giving cross on which was hung the salvation of the world. People: O come, let us worship Him. Pastor: Almighty God, graciously behold this Your family for who... -
liturgy
Gracious God, you freely embraced death
Gracious God, you freely embraced death for us. Every day we choose our own will. We choose not to die to ourselves for you. We take the gift you gave us and squander it. Please give us the courage ... -
illustration
And So Was Raised the Cross…
And so he was raised on a cross, and a title was fixed, indicating who it was who was being executed. Painful it is to say, but more terrible not to say. . . . He who suspended the earth is suspended,... -
illustration
He is With us in our Crying Out to God
When the great theologian Jürgen Moltmann was sixteen years old in 1943, he was drafted into the German army and was soon captured by the Allied forces. He wound up in a prisoner of war camp in Scotla... -
lectionary
Good Friday
Preaching Commentary What is “Good” about Friday? For the work-a-day world in the United States of America, Fridays are good. TGIF, “Thank God It’s Friday!” is an interjection we use to convey reli... -
liturgy
Adapted from 2 Corinthians 5:21 & Romans 5:6-8
Leader: For him who knew no sin God made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. People: For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the u... -
illustration
Falling Upward
The other day I took a tumble. Fortunately, there were no witnesses. Now I’m walking with a limp. If ever there was a case of falling down it was Jesus. Some were saying He was the Son of God. They e...
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