Worship/Sermons | Cove Presbyterian Church

Finding the Right Word

Texts: Genesis 11:1-9; John 1:1-5, 14 Finding the Right Word Texts: Genesis 11:1-9; John 1:1-5, 14 (Gary W. Charles, Cove Presbyterian Church, 5-31-2020) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. Then more words came and more words followed after those words and the words are still coming. You and I are awash in words. Often dreaded words, doublespeak words, deadly words. Dirty shades deflect the bright light of the newly risen sun pouring into the room. Clothes are wrinkled and matted from a lost battle for sleep in the ER waiting room. Finally, the doctor stumbles in and says that the pregnancy has miscarried and she cannot explain why. Too many words

Visited by Sabbath

Texts: Exodus 20:1-2, 8-10; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Mark 2:23-28 Oddly enough, during this quarantined time, I have lost sight of Sabbath. How is that possible? In typical times, I am often going in a thousand different directions, but in these Alice in Wonderland days, mostly, I am just going from one room to the next. So, how could I have lost sight of Sabbath? As a child, I knew exactly when and where to find Sabbath. Sabbath meant putting on a dress shirt, a clip-on bow tie, and sitting on wooden pews with no cushions. It was also responsible for long, boring talks by the man in a flowing black robe who wore an upside-down white V from his neck. I never knew why. Sabbath hung around long af

"Doubting" Thomas

Text: John 20:19-31 The main character in John’s story is known by his nickname, “Doubting” Thomas. Read the story again. Read it carefully. Read it not for what you want the story to say, but for what John is trying to say. When you do, you will see that Thomas is many things in this story, but doubting is not one of them. Unfortunately, the story often is translated with Jesus telling Thomas, “Do not doubt but believe.” A much better translation from the Greek is: “Do not be unbelieving but believing.” In John’s tells story, the Risen Jesus pays an unexpected visit to the disciples, but Thomas is not with them. He has gone out. When he returns, his friends are anxious to tell him all that

Touch the Earth Lightly

Texts: Psalm 23; Colossians 1:15-20 Shirley Murray, a Presbyterian hymnwriter from New Zealand, died in January of this year. One of my favorite Murray hymns is based on an old aboriginal saying, “Touch the Earth Lightly.” In stanza one, she writes: “Touch the earth lightly, use the earth gently, nourish the life of the world in our care: gift of great wonder, ours to surrender, trust for the children tomorrow will bear.” Anyone at Cove knows that I should be the last in line to preach a sermon by this title. In fact, since arriving here, almost daily you teach me what it looks like to “touch the earth lightly.” In many of the pictures you sent to illustrate this sermon, I see ways in which

Between Jesus and the Deep Blue Sea

How Does the Story End?

After the Benediction

Finding the Right Word

Visited by Sabbath

"Doubting" Thomas

Touch the Earth Lightly