Years ago John Phillip Newell was preaching at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. Standing in the pulpit that hugs one of the massive, thousand-year old pillars of the church, Rev. Newell began his sermon with these words: “There will be a time when this building…will be no more. There will be a time when our Scriptures…will be no more. And there will be a time when Christianity…will be no more.” At this point a woman in the congregation yelled at the top of her lungs, “Heresy!” Ever had a Sunday like that? Amy Starr Redwine, Pastor of Richmond’s First Presbyterian Church, preaches the Palm Sunday text from Matthew 21:1-11 and reflects on how it’s a little too easy to appropriate for ourselves the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory that belong only to God. When we do someone (else) should probably shout “Heresy!” and we should remember the part of the Lord’s Prayer that says, “Thine,” not “Mine.”
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Amy Butler, is a former Senior Minister of the Riverside Church in New York City, Founder of Invested Faith, and a popular preacher, speaker, and writer. Visit her website at www.pastoramy.com
Michael Curry is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (USA), and the author of Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times
Brian McLaren is a speaker, an activist, and bestselling author of We Make the Road by Walking, Faith after Doubt, and his latest, Do I Stay Christian?
Will Willimon is a retired bishop in the United Methodist Church, a powerful preacher, and a prolific author. His most recent books include The Accidental Preacher and Stories by Willimon