Sermons

William Walsham How

For all the saints who from their labors rest,

Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,

Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.  Alleluia!

Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;

Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;

            In the grand cycle of life, only four or five generations of humanity are accessible to our experience at any one moment in history. Those earlier men and women we must remember, and so we set aside this day to reflect on their contribution to our welfare.

            The saying goes, “The future of an event belongs to the event.” Let me explain. When something happens, it does not just happen disconnected from what is around it. Out of it flows what it leads to. That fact opens up a way to measure the importance of the occurrence. How long do its effects last? How many people does it impact? How much capacity does it have for its consequences to grow as time goes on?

May 28, 2007

Morrison, Salem Lutheran, Lillis Catholic, Vermillion Cemeteries

Virgil Warren, Minister

Vermillion Christian Church

            Surprised at sunrise were two women,

                                                     two women making their way to the tomb of a friend,

                                                                                                the tomb of a revered teacher,

                                                     two women who came to perform an unwelcome task

THE LEGACY OF DORCAS

Acts 9:35-42

What We Learn from Experience

            When Peter came to Joppa that day, they began showing him the garments and coats Dorcas had made. I venture to say, they did not do that because the garments were nicely made, although no doubt they were. I venture to say, they did not do that because she was a good seamstress, although she probably was. I venture to say, they did not do that because the garments were expensive, although she may have used the best material she could find.

(Luke 8:49-55)

Introduction

            Her name is not given, but she was twelve. The father, a ruler of the synagogue, did what desperate fathers do: he went to find the only help he knew, because she was ill and very weak. At the earnest urging of Jairus, our Lord turned that day from present labors and walked beside a worried man toward the object of his care.

Lord, today we consider our place in the larger scheme of things, and so acknowledge you, first of all, as the beginning of all else besides you, the sustainer of all you have made, and the basis for the hope that stretches out before us. Amen