Sermons
“Always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you.” In my first year of Seminary on the first day of my first preaching class, the professor gave us an assignment to prepare a 5-minute speech, memorized, on the hope that is within you. And for that assignment, I told the story of Jonah.
Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”
I’m acutely aware that what we see is only partly informed by the light waves that strike our eyes which in turn send signals to our brains that register as blue sky, green grass or whatever. The reality is we only see a fraction of what passes before us largely because we tend to see what we expect to see while failing to notice everything else.
Listen to or read Sharon’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”
Poor Thomas. Poor, poor Thomas. We have nicknamed him “Doubting Thomas”, and I think it is a most unfair nickname. He already has one, Didymus, which means “the twin”, but think of other nicknames people have received. Simon Peter—Peter, the Rock. That’s a good, solid, strong nickname. How about “the Beloved Disciple”? I’m pretty sure John gave himself that nickname, but it’s a good one. We still call John the Beloved Disciple today. Mary Magdalene is quite likely a nickname. For many years people thought it was Mary of Magdala, but archaeologists have failed to find a town called Magdala. Scholars have come up with the idea that it is “Mary Magdalena”, meaning “Mary the Tower”. They are all great nicknames, but “Doubting Thomas”?
For my sermon I am going to make an argument, and the argument is this. I am going to defend the proposition that we need to rebrand Thomas. No longer Doubting Thomas, but what can we call him? We’ll try to figure that out together.
Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”
On this day, we celebrate the Good News of that historic moment nearly two thousand years ago that changed the world when Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty and discovered that Jesus had been raised. All four Gospel tell the story a little bit different, but they all agree on two facts: Mary Magdalene was there - sometimes by herself, sometimes with others – and the tomb was empty for Christ was alive. This was an event that showed that that Rome’s brutality – and let’s say it, evil – did not get the final word. It was a moment that showed that death did not get the final word.
Click “Read More” to read Bingham’s full sermon.
At station six we heard a section from Colossians, and this one line in the reading that I have read or heard hundreds of times, stood out to me in this inexplicable way, as if I was hearing it for the first time. The line is this: “Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God.” I have been ruminating on this line all week. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God. Nobody has ever seen God. God is invisible. An annoying fact that opens up so much room for doubt and uncertainty. This invisibility also opens up room for charlatans to try and take advantage of people by offering their own self-serving image of God.
Read Bingham’s full Good Friday sermon by clicking “Read More.”
