“Of all scholarly communities, the Christian academy should be marked by the cooperative principle, with its connotations of charity, fellowship, and mutuality. But particularly as I read what we say on the Web and our readiness to ridicule others, I wonder how far our scholarly communities are realty distinguishable from the world’s. We want truthful, …
The richness of God’s grace
A sermon by Rod Benson Five hundred years ago – 500 years last Tuesday, to be precise – the Protestant Reformation began, and the world was changed. Baptists rightly praise the great Reformers, such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli and others, for their faith and courage, their zeal for truth and passion for …
What is the church? Part 2: Its purpose
A sermon by Rod Benson What is the purpose of the church? What is its reason for being? Paul says in Ephesians 3:10-11, “[God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that …
Praying when church is boring
A sermon by Rod Benson Matthew 6:9-13 What do you do when church is boring? What do you do when participating in worship with others no longer satisfies? There are times when each of us grows bored or dissatisfied with the way things are. We may yearn for the good old days, and those old …
Being single, being Christian
A sermon by Rod Benson Twelve days ago, I stepped off a subway train at 15th Street in central Philadelphia, in search of the Clothespin, a large public sculpture created by Claes Oldenburg in 1976. I ascended the subway stairs to street level, and emerged in the sunlight, facing the magnificent City Hall, and looked …
iDigress 