It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane!
Superman II has not aged well. I don’t believe this is a very controversial statement. If you disagree with me, then I need to ask, “When was the last time you watched Superman II?” If your answer has anything to do with a VHS cassette then I rest my case. It’s funny, though. The special […]
On Missing the Point
There’s two things that jump out at me from the Gospel of John. One is that it insists, very loudly, that Jesus Christ is God. He wasn’t just a good guy, or a great teacher, or a mighty prophet. Jesus was, and is, God, and the Gospel comes out swinging on this point from the first verse. Say […]
Dorcas
First of all, who names their kid Dorcas? I’m only asking the question because everyone that I’ve told “I’m preaching on Dorcas” has snickered. It’s impossible to know how many people were named Dorcas in Peter’s time, but there are only about 22-26 newborns named “Dorcas” each year in the US. Nobody in MD has […]
Convers(at)ions
There is an individual in the Yale Facebook group that, at first glance, I did not believe was a real person. I’ll call him Eli, and he stood out to me because in one of the earliest posts he shared his music taste and it was very similar to mine. However, I soon realized that […]
The Power of Change
You probably don’t know this, but they’re movies that I really, really, really, love. They’re called Star Wars, and I swear to you, it relates to my sermon. In Episode One, Anakin Skywalker has just been freed from slavery, he’s really excited to become a Jedi. However, he is devastated when he realizes, his […]
The Architecture of Doubt
The twentieth chapter of John begins with a locked room. It’s dark outside. The curtains are drawn. The lights are down low. John says they were hiding away from the mob that had demanded Jesus’ death, but of course it was bigger than that. It’s easy to forget that Easter was not a triumphant moment […]
Hints of Resurrection
The first people to disbelieve the resurrection are some of Jesus’ closest followers. The women who go to the tomb, those without official titles, have experienced hope but the rest of Jesus’ followers are still wallowing in their loss. It’s kind of familiar given where the church is today losing members, losing clout, losing its […]
Caught Up
NOTE: This sermon contains extensive discussion of a painting and was originally accompanied by a slide show of images. To read a manuscript of the sermon with images included, read the PDF file linked above. __________________ I’ve been struggling for a while now with a question. It’s a nagging theological question, and Palm Sunday always […]
Lenten Ecumenical Series III – The Rev. Dr. Alvin C. Hathaway
The Rev. Dr. Alvin C. Hathaway delivered the sermon “A Sin-Filled Cross” at the Lenten Ecumenical Series worship hosted this year by Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Uber Grace
It only took the Uber driver two questions to discover that he had just picked up 3 pastors in Atlanta last week. After snidely suggesting that we were probably raising millions of dollars for our own private jet, an allusion to Atlanta-based TV preacher Creflo Dollar, he said, “so since you’re a pastor, you think […]