Acts 19:1-7: Continuing Education – Day1 series: Faith and Science, part 8
We can learn something new every day. This became crystal clear to me during one academic year at Duke University. A senior Duke student was one of the scripture readers for the Sunday morning service in Duke Chapel. His job was to read the gospel lesson. On that morning, he was assigned to read a…
Psalm 90:1-6,10, 12-17: Numbering Our Days – Day1 series: Faith and Science, part 7
“Teach us to number our days,” prays the psalmist, “that we may gain a wise heart.” But what does it mean “to number our days”? A good friend of mine has recently been reading the New York Times bestselling book called Being Mortal. The author of this book is a surgeon and a professor at…
Revelation 5:11-14: Hear the Animals Singing: The Bible and Genetics – Day1 series: Faith and Science, part 6
There is an astonishing array of animals mentioned in the Bible. Some of them readily come to mind: sheep, goats, camels, and perhaps the most beloved animal–the donkey–one that carried Jesus to his place of birth and another that carried him closer to his death. And then there is, of course, the infamous serpent. But…
Genesis 1:26-27: The Image of God and the Secret Life – Day1 series: Faith and Science, part 5
Last summer I was in Cambridge, England, for a conference. I had a free afternoon and I set out to find the Eagle Pub. The Eagle is just a short walk from the Old Cavendish Laboratory–the laboratory where some of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in the 20th Century have taken place. Breakthroughs in physics, chemistry,…
Mark 10:35-45: Quantum Physics and the Nature of Eternity – Day1 series: Faith and Science, part 4
In Mark’s Gospel the two brothers, James and John, ask Jesus to give them the seats of honor in the fulfilled kingdom of God. It’s not a huge surprise that it should be these two who ask such a thing. They’re known as the Sons of Thunder, a nickname that Jesus himself gave them, most…
Mark 10:17-31: What Matters Eternally – Day1 series: Faith and Science, part 3
When you woke up today, what did you notice about the natural world around you? What’s the weather like? What animals and plants have you seen? What has changed since yesterday? Many of us likely start with the “news” about disasters, wars, and violence around the world. Even the weather tends to be reported with…
Psalm 8:1-9: God and Cosmos – Day1 series: Faith and Science, part 2
Imagine that you’re lying on a beach. You’re lying on your back and your eyes sweep upward. What do you see? The mighty luminescence of the sun. A few cloud tufts wisping in the breeze. And then you look beyond. You strain your eyes as your vision sinks into the distance, the impenetrable distance that…
Isaiah 40:21-31: What Can You Reasonably Expect from God?: Epiphany 5B
I received a phone call the other day from a modern-day daughter of Job, whom I will call Mary. At one time Mary had been a pastor’s wife with 2 young children and a nice home, but her husband was extremely abusive and she had to get out of the marriage. The church did not…
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b: How Many Are Your Works?: Pentecost C
You wouldn’t think a wasp could do so much damage. Unless you are allergic to bee and wasp stings, getting stung by these bugs, though briefly painful and annoying, does not generally create any lasting effect or damage. However, about 150 years ago there was one particular kind of wasp that appears to have created…
Sermon Manuscripts
Here at the Center for Excellence in Preaching we strive to be very ecumenical in both the resources we offer and the audience in the wider Church that we seek to reach. But our Center is a part of Calvin Theological Seminary where—like any number of other seminaries—we have for many years been using Paul Scott Wilson’s The Four Pages of the Sermon as our homiletical teaching method.
Many of our alumni seek to utilize the deep structure and the “grammar” of Four Pages in their weekly preaching. But some of those same pastors have asked for help in the form of sample sermons that try to wield Wilson’s model well. The manuscripts labeled Four Pages: (sermon title) are demonstrations of this model of sermon-writing. There are also sample sermons for seasonal enrichment. These are labeled with the liturgical season and sermon title.
We hope these sermons are both instructive and inspirational!