The Gift of Christian Marriage — 5/13/12

May 152012
 

Genesis 2:18–24

May 13, 2012
Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church
Roslyn, WA
Dr. James D. Berkley

On this Mother’s Day Sunday, I want to talk about Christian marriage—and weddings in particular. A wedding is a service of worship, in which a couple joins their lives together in the presence of God and witnesses. The Bible says little about weddings, per se. They get mentioned in passing, such as the wedding at Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine. But nowhere is there a passage saying how to do a Christian wedding. I only wish it were so! Continue reading »

The Habit of Weekly Worship — 5/6/12

May 072012
 

John 4:19–26

 

Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church
May 6, 2012
Roslyn, WA
Dr. James D. Berkley

What are you doing here? Is there something wrong with you? This is a weekend. Aren’t you supposed to be taking it easy? Hey, this could be a Bud moment! After all, this is the Northwest. Nobody goes to church out here, right? You’re the oddity in town when someone asks, “What did you do this weekend?” Church? Of all places to be! What were you thinking? Continue reading »

From Dropouts to Disciples 4/22/15

Apr 172012
 

Luke 24:13–35

April 15, 2012
Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church
Roslyn, WA
Dr. James D. Berkley

Heartbroken Cleopas! I feel like I know the guy. Reading through his story, I was struck by his humanity. So I want to take you on a journey into the experiences of Cleopas and his colleague.

Continue reading »

You Can Believe It! 4/15/8

Apr 092012
 

1 Corinthians 15:1–20

Easter, April 8, 2012
Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church
Roslyn, WA
Dr. James D. Berkley

I want you to know something important, right from the start. I believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was really dead and really buried, and Jesus gloriously, magnificently, supernaturally came back to life. Jesus lives and reigns today—really, existentially, concretely, not just as a metaphor or myth, not just because I choose to believe it is true, but because it is really, objectively, historically, absolutely true. Truly true!

Continue reading »

Running on Empty 4/8/12

Apr 092012
 

Running on Empty

Matthew 28:1–10

Easter Sunrise, April 8, 2012
Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church
Roslyn, WA
Dr. James D. Berkley

I figure that you know the experience of running on empty. Every time I cross the pass, I plan to have plenty of gas, because running on empty across a wintry mountain pass is a bad idea. Or there are times when my laptop computer is using its battery. I’m writing away, and I see that my minutes left on my battery are becoming few. Sometimes I get distracted, and right in mid-sentence, my screen goes ping and darkens. The computer has shut itself down, because it was running on empty and finally became empty. Not good.

Continue reading »

A Reason for Hope 4/1/12

Apr 032012
 

Romans 15:1–7, 13

 

April 1, 2012
Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church
Roslyn, WA
Dr. James D. Berkley

A reason for hope. How desperately we humans need a reason for hope! Hope is such a vital commodity! Lose hope, and you might as well lose life. We cling to hope precariously and tena-ciously.

But how can we retain hope? After all, the daily news offers scant reason for hope. Earthquakes killing tens of thousands, people shot in their homes, floods and fires, criminals—of both the white-collar and blue-collar variety—ripping off people, the economy tanking, dis-eases, brutality, and selfishness. If we have our eyes open, how can we hope? Continue reading »

Considerate Christian Community: 3/25/2012

Mar 262012
 

Romans 14:1–3, 13–23

Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church
March 25, 2012
Roslyn, WA
Dr. James D. Berkley

Let’s say you are putting on a nice dinner party. You want it to be a gracious and festive affair. One of your guests is an alcoholic. Okay. Do you serve a little wine with dinner?

Or let’s say there is a highly rated new movie out that you have wanted to see. It is a quality movie and well-reviewed, but it does appear to have some questionable aspects to it that would probably require adult judgment. Do you take along teens?

Continue reading »

God and Government; 3/18/12

Mar 192012
 

Romans 13:1–7

Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church                                                                                       
March 18, 2012
Roslyn, WA                                                                                                                  
Dr. James D. Berkley

I find politics perplexing and sometimes distasteful. When I’ve considered why, I think it is because government so often disappoints me. It must deal with so many gray areas in life. It is such a vast enterprise and so unwieldy, that it seems to defy management. Its dilemmas don’t resolve easily. I like to have logical, evident answers, and thus politics nearly always frustrates me. Continue reading »

Giving Ourselves to Something Greater; 3/11/12

Mar 132012
 

Romans 12:1–8

Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church                                                                                       
March 11, 2012
Roslyn, WA                                                                                                                   
Dr. James D. Berkley

STEWARDSHIP. There, I’ve said it. Stewardship—for some a peculiar word, for others a guilt-inducing word, and for still others the foundation for their Christian life and service. Stewardship is the topic of this sermon—stewardship in its fullest sense.

Continue reading »

We’re Supported by Graft; 3/4/12

Mar 052012
 

Romans 11:16–24

Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church
Roslyn, WA
March 4, 2012
Dr. James D. Berkley

Let me tell you a story. My story is about God’s chosen people, his “olive tree.” Many thousands of years ago, God decided to grow the finest olive tree this world has ever seen. He wanted it to be a productive tree, bearing much fruit rich in oil. God envisioned a truly grand tree, not just a merely good one.

Continue reading »

 Older Entries