05
Jan 2023
Observing Epiphany Bob Stillerman Sunday of Epiphany, 1/8/2023 Matthew 2:1-12 Observing Epiphany Matthew 2.1-12 1-8-2023 If you flip through the Epiphany section of our hymnal, you’ll hear lots of descriptors for a star that shone bright on an ancient night. O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light! As with gladness sages bold did the guiding star behold; as with joy they hailed its light, onward beaming bright. Brightest and best of the stars of the morning, dawn......
Read More
06
Jan 2019
But if we’ve read attentively, we remember that Matthew’s gospel tells us that Jesus will do what we cannot. Jesus will not avoid Jerusalem and its empire that strikes out against him. Jesus will walk right into its teeth, accepting its wrath in the form of a cross. And that will change everything.
Christ’s example will give us the courage to admit our own hypocrisy, and to pray with genuine resolve that God’s Kingdom will come and God’s will be done. And when we open ourselves to God’s will rather than our own,......
Read More
15
Jan 2017
Come and See John 1.29-42 1-15-2017 Come and See! A Sermon for Sardis Baptist Church Bob Stillerman John 1:29-42 If you flip open your Bible to page one, you’ll read about the creation of the world as described in Genesis. And there in Genesis, we hear about a mysterious God – God is really more of a creative force: a breath, a feeling, a spirit that seeps into the universe and forms order out of darkness and chaos. It’s a beautiful image to be sure, but it’s hard to call......
Read More
08
Jan 2017
the-gift-that-mattered-most-matthew-2-1-12-1-8-2017-website-version Today is a snow day. We’re sorry we can’t gather in person. Attached is today’s homily, as well as a self-guided communion exercise. In the attached PDF, there is also a Sunday School lesson about Epiphany. We hope you will stay safe and warm! Bob The Gift That Mattered Most Bob Stillerman A Sermon for Sardis Baptist Church 1-8-2017 Matthew 2:1-12 It’s fitting that the Advent and Christmas seasons are bookended by expressions of kingship. Real kingship. God’s kingship. Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the liturgical year,......
Read More
24
Jan 2016
1-24-2016 Good News – Luke 4 14-21 Good News A Sermon for Sardis Baptist Church January 24, 2016 Luke 4:14-21 Nazareth. It’s a map dot, too small and too far away to be called a suburb of Jerusalem. Not much happens here. Life is slow. It always has been. It’s just a community of farmers and fisherman and day laborers. Comedian Anthony Clark, a native of a small town called Gladys, Virginia, used to joke that if you only had a year left to live, you should move to Gladys, because every......
Read More
03
Jan 2016
1-3-2016 Epiphany 1 Following the Star Matthew 2 1-12 Following the Star A Sermon for Sardis Baptist Church January 3, 2016 Matthew 2:1-12 The North Star shone brightly in the sky. It was more than a guide. It was the future – it was what God’s world could be. It was that place where freedom was no longer just a dream. For two weeks, Harriet Tubman had followed this star. By day, she hid in the homes of formers slaves, as well as Quakers and abolitionists. By night, she traversed the backwoods......
Read More