Christ Church Sermons by The Rev. Dr. Richard Miles (Page 5)

Sometimes, a great story can get overlooked, or even forgotten. It can easily happen when the reference material doesn’t even tell much of it. In this case, the reference is Paul’s little letter to Philemon. But the story it refers to is a whole lot bigger than the letter. The following sermon tells that story, and its amazing transformation of a lost life.

We’ve all been instructed in proper table manners at sometime in our lives. Even now, there are copious volumes of books on the subject, should we be interested in learning more. Yet, none of them have Jesus’ table manners mentioned. The reason? His are not about proper behavior; his are about character.

We can learn a lot from sports and athletics; whether we’re athletically inclined or not. The Bible is full of sports metaphors that help us understand how to better live a deeper spiritual life. Those Bible metaphors give us lessons from the locker room to help us better “run” the personal race of our own lives.

What does it take to be heroic in this life? It takes the right ingredients; “The Right Stuff.” Intriguingly, though, when we examine that right stuff, we discover that each of us can have what it takes to be heroic, because real heroes are not born, they’re made.

Do you worry about your prayers being heard; if they’re really getting through Heaven’s door to get God’s attention? In this week’s Gospel lesson, Jesus tells us that we have nothing to worry about in regard to our prayers. Jesus is our friend behind that door, and he is just waiting for us to knock.

Summer is a great time to lighten up. We all have too much stuff, baggage, in our lives that needs sorting. That stuff can be material, or  time-consuming, or emotional. That means it’s time to sort the important things from the baggage. Jesus helps us with that by calling us to travel light, to join his advance team, and let go of the baggage. Luke 10:1-12, Psalm 30