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Lent 5 (A) From Death to Life

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Lent 5 (A) From Death to Life April 5, 1987 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell The lesson from Ezekiel with the wonderful imagery of the valley of dry bones , having life breathed into them by God, concludes with these words. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord. The Israelite ’s besting sin was their careless distancing themselves from God. The more removed they made themselves from God, the more their lives fell apart. Now, in their captivity in a foreign land where they worked as slaves, their lives it would seem were without hope. They were like…. dry bones. Then God raised up Ezekiel to deliver a message to his people. “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall...
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Lent 4 (A) How Blind Are We?

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Lent 4 (A) How Blind Are We? April 3, 2011 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. Everyone was amazed because it was a healing miracle outside of human experience. The man who was healed concluded that the man who performed this miracle must be a prophet of God. So, they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.” Not so fast, say the Pharisees , with their religious prejudices in high gear. THIS man that you say restored your sight can not be a prophet because he did what the law considers WORK on the Sabbath . He made a clay patch to put on the man’s eyes. He is no prophet. He is a sinner.  So, for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” Then the man born blind speaks up. I was taught to believe that God does not listen to sinners. This I know for sure; I was blind and now ...
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Lent 3 (A) True Worship

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Lent 3 (A) True Worship February 24, 2008 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell In the Season of Lent, the assigned lessons reveal more and more of Christ’s being and purpose. This, the third Sunday of lent , we see Jesus traveling with his disciples through the region of Samaria where he meets a lone Samaritan woman at a well. The first thing we notice is Jesus expanding the Jewish boundaries of God’s concern and love. To the Jewish way of thinking, Samaritans were not nice people. Pure Jews were expected to keep them at a distance. Samaritans were Jews that had married outside the Jewish law . Example) A Roman Catholic father told his daughter that if she married the Episcopalian she was in love with, he would never speak to her again. We are talking strong feelings here. Jesus, a Jew, crosses that boundary when he strikes up a conversation with a Samaritan; a Samaritan WOMAN! Jesus crosses another boundary by speaking to a woman in public. By Jewish law, this would have made Jesus, a Rabb...
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Lent 2 (A) What Does it Mean to be Born Again?

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Lent 2 (A) What Does it Mean to be Born Again? March 15, 1981 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell In a recent Gallup poll 84 million people 18 years and older claimed to be born again Christians . That fact alone may explain why all three candidates for the Presidency in the last election laid claim to the experience of being ‘born again in Jesus Christ.’ The term ‘Born Again’ or ‘Born Anew’ or ‘Born from Above’ has its origin in this week’s Gospel. Nicodemus , a member of the Sanhedrin , the highest ruling body in the Jewish community, comes to Jesus by night with a question, “What must I do to experience the kingdom of God ?” (in other words), how can I personally enjoy, the mercy, love, power, and peace of God? how can I have the freedom of knowing that I am truly in God’s favor? How can I rest assured through all the changes and chances of human existence that my life has meaning, purpose, and a Godly destiny? I believe that we must assume that Nicodemus was a good man. He knew God’s law a...
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Lent 1 (A) If We are Saved by Grace…What is the Sin?

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Lent 1 (A) If We are Saved by Grace…What is the Sin? March 8, 1987 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell If we are saved by grace…then what is the sin? This was one of the questions that came out of our clergy Tuesday morning bible study. Darrold Bigger’s logic in asking the question was that what we are saved by should correspond (or have some relationship to) what got us into trouble in the first place. What is our sin if grace is the only thing that can save us? Grace is defined as: God’s free, unearned gift of love. If grace is what saves us, then not accepting God’s gift of love is our sin. When the biblical story of human creation begins, the Genesis Story , we are told that Adam and Eve were blessed with every need for their life and pleasure. They were put in charge as managers of all creation including plants and animals. Their innocence made their nakedness perfectly natural and beautiful. Then, as though their paradise was too good to be true, the serpent enters the story to sugges...
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