Unassigned Sermons 2006–2010

C.O.P.E.

May 24, 2008 • Ronald L. Dart

The days between Passover and Pentecost were heady days for the first disciples. Jesus had been raised from the dead after they thought he was gone forever. They were joyful beyond belief. Down through the generations all sorts of people have tried to duplicate the excitement of that Pentecost. The problem is it’s all been artificial, contrived, manipulated. But man-made excitement is temporary, and when the excitement is gone it may leave depression behind as a legacy. What the disciples were feeling during this period of time was certainly nothing like man-made excitement. They had a joy that I don’t think we quite can understand. They also had a challenge before them of *enormous* proportions. I want to come today to four ideas that we need to take a look at, instead of just looking for some sort of excitement. They form a neat acronym: “C.O.P.E.”. These ideas, frankly, can transform your life and can also turn your church around in its tracks, if you just understand what is meant by these four words. [Image credits, if any, may be found by visiting the "View Online" link on this page.]

The Value of a Child

October 2, 2009 • Ronald L. Dart

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Living in Hard Times

October 14, 2008 • Ronald L. Dart

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An Appointment with God

April 13, 2006 • Ronald L. Dart

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Passover Service 2007

April 1, 2007 • Ronald L. Dart

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Romans 9–11

October 10, 2009 • Ronald L. Dart

I come today, the Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, to talk about one of the most troubling aspects of God's plan. It is perhaps one of the most troubling aspects of our knowledge of God himself. What in the world is God doing; and what is going to happen at the end of all this, when the time comes to tie up loose ends? God manages to remain—in spite of all of our efforts to explain him—inexplicable, paradoxical; and we so often find ourselves trying to hold two conflicting ideas of God in our mind at the same time. Well, along with Paul, I decided a long time ago I better get used to that; and Paul underlined it in a short statement he made in the Book of Romans. (We'll come to it more than once; I'm just going to read it to you now.) “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if *[And, **oh**, this is a big “if”.]* you continue in his goodness: otherwise you also shall be cut off” (Romans 11:22 AKJV). This sentence has rattled the cages of many an amateur theologian. Why do I say that? Well, because of something else Paul said. “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3 AKJV). God will have all men to be saved, yet some will be cut off? If it is God's will that all men be saved, why do so many end up lost—at least from anything we can see: the fruits of their lives, the scriptures that apply to them. And many of them, perhaps *most* of them, are lost through no fault of their own. What do you do with this? (Image credits, if any, may be found by visiting the "View Online" link above.)

Saving Generation Z

October 7, 2009 • Ronald L. Dart

For some reason that I still find it hard to get my mind around, the Soviet Union was absolutely bound and determined to *wipe out* religion in the Union. Marxism had declared religion to be “the opiate of the masses”, it was of no use, and it had to be gone. And they were not willing to just let it die on the vine; it had to be wiped out in the Union and the lands they controlled. So, in Poland, they arrested and deported all the pastors of churches. They even went so far as to separate men from their wives and send the men to labor camps. (Charles Colson told this story in one of his books.) They confiscated all the Bibles, all the prayer books, all the hymnals, all the religious works; and the Lutheran women were left behind with not a lot besides their children. Over the years, the Polish Lutherans had memorized a lot a scriptures. So they all sat down, shared what they knew, and began to write down everything they could remember—of Scripture, their liturgy, hymns, and so forth. They shared it all. They managed to create an abridged version of the Bible with enough to carry the faith through those hard times. When the Soviet Union fell and the men returned, they found the Lutheran Church had not died in Poland. How is this relevant to us here today?

What Are You Afraid Of?

October 3, 2009 • Ronald L. Dart

What are you afraid of? I'll bet you're afraid of something. Can you put a name on it? When you get some time, try to write it down. Put it on paper. “This is what I am afraid of.” How does the question of fear relate to this festival we are celebrating today? (Image credits, if any, may be found by visiting the "View Online" link above.)

Not Without Blood

September 15, 2008 • Ronald L. Dart

I had a friend once who didn't care much for hymns that had to do with blood. (And there really are some great old hymns about that.) You probably remember “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” *Are you Washed in the Blood?*; *Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed*; *There Is Power in the Blood*... Why does that figure so strongly in Christian thought? You can easily understand why someone who doesn't know about the Bible would consider this off-putting. But at the same time, there is this: “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22 NIV). It may be a strange thing to say, but shed blood is *central* to Christian worship and belief. John, in his gospel, takes great pains to affirm that blood and water flowed from the crucified Christ. Why is that? Perhaps the answer lies in what that earlier passage of Hebrews is referencing—a ceremony that took place once a year on what is called the Day of Atonement.

God Unleavens Us

March 30, 2010 • Ronald L. Dart

The Third Sabbath

May 10, 2008 • Ronald L. Dart

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The Things That Remain

Ronald L. Dart

The Times of Abijah

October 6, 2006 • Ronald L. Dart

The New Naysayers

Ronald L. Dart

The Jigsaw Principle

Ronald L. Dart