Ernest F. Campbell Selected Sermons

  Easter 5 (A) My Place May 14, 2017 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell Have you ever noticed how we all seem to gravitate to the same place when we gather for worship? I believe that I have been leading worship at Grace Church for over twenty years and could probably do it with my eyes closed. That’s because when we come together in this sanctuary, we all head for the same places.  I remember a lady, a very particular lady, back at St. Paul’s who would insist on her place even if she had to wait for visitors to move while she stood in the center aisle. Everyone knew Genevieve ’s place.  Why is knowing our place so important? Because having compatible friends is more fun. Because being in positive relationships offers a greater sense of security, and self-confidence. Because if I felt out of place (really out-of-place), I would ask for prayers of reassurance. To me the most important gift of being human is knowing that you BELONG . The thought of being really out of place remi...

Easter 4 (A) It’s About Life! May 7, 2017 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell If someone were to ask you what the Bible is about, what would you say? Wow! Uh, let’s talk about it. One year at Camp Cross we invited the Jr. High campers to express their thoughts on that question with no holds barred. Keep in mind that Jr. High kids can be ruthlessly honest! We wrote down their thoughts on newsprint. We asked, “What do you think the Bible is all about? Afterwards, our daughter Kathy (using their words), created a song which we learned and sang for the rest of the week.              The Bible Song It’s a big, long, complicated, happy, interesting, dull, exciting, hard-to-understand, book.   (sing three times) And maybe, just maybe, it’s the basis of our lives.  That’s what I would say the Bible is all about.  It’s about life! New life, abundant life, eternal life, joyful life, the best life has to offer! In John’s Gospel , the word “l...

Easter 3 (A) God’s Surprises May 3, 1981 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell Despite photographs from space showing our Earth in all of its spherical grandeur, there are those who tenaciously cling to the idea that the Earth is flat. There is even an International Flat Earth Club where those who can’t see the Earth’s curvature can find support for what they can see….  a flat earth.  Fortunately, we tolerate their claims with mild amusement and controlled smiles. We are not moved in the slightest way to condemn them like they did in medieval times by burning them at the stake. But, in the past (when the weight of the visual evidence was the other way around), it was dangerous to even suggest that the Earth wasn’t flat! Those who dared, were labeled Heretics and banished for their beliefs. But history has proved that it was their tormentors who were in fact guilty of heresy .   Heresy is not so simple as most people suppose. It has little to do with believing something that is wron...

Easter 2 (A) 1,000 Answers… 1,001 Questions May 1, 2011 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell If I were to suggest a patron saint for the Clergy Bible Study it would be Thomas . Good old doubting Thomas. What I have come to love about the Episcopal approach to the Christian faith is that you may hear one thousand (1,000) answers, only to discover that there are one thousand and one (1,001) questions. In our study group that one thousand and first question is okay. In fact, we’re glad you asked because in the process of our searching for the answer… we will all learn something. It has been said that the trouble with churches that have all the answers is that they don’t allow any questions. The news letter of St. Thomas Episcopal Church Dallas is called “ The Doubter .” There is no doubt that Thomas loved the Lord, but when he had a question, he was not afraid to ask. When Jesus said to His disciples, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” It was Thomas that spoke up and asked, “Lord,...

Easter Day (A) Believe and be Saved April 11, 1993 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell When I think about the fact that after 40 years in the ministry this could be among the last Easter sermons I am privileged to preach, it makes me want to bear down a little harder. I ask myself, what really needs to be communicated.  The news that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the bedrock truth of Christian doctrine, and the center thrust of apostolic preaching . Paul , writing to the Corinthians (1 Cor: 15:3-4), says it like this: “What I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried and according to the Scriptures, He was raised on the third day.” (1 Cor: 15:14 & 15:17) “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless – your faith is useless and we are still in our sins.”   In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2: 31-32), Peter proclaimed the resurrection of Christ like this, “Jesus was not abandoned to the grave, nor di...