"There is an air of unpredictability about William G. Carter's sermons... Improbable characters... turn up all over the place: a nursing home resident abandoning her walker to dance the polka... cows listlessly chewing their cuds beneath a Jesus-is-coming sign along the highway. This volume is an attic full of eccentric treasures ready for a rainy day's exploring... Enjoy their humor, their joyful interplay of the biblical and the contemporary, their delightful poetic cadences.
"Thomas G. Long
Princeton Theological Seminary
This book contains twelve sermons, mostly based on the...

Drawing upon a number of scripture texts from the gospel of Mark, this collection of sermons speaks about many challenges on the road to Christian maturity. The call of the gospel is given to all who find themselves in sticky human circumstances, whether they are troubled by relationships, tainted by affluence, tired of the career ladder, traumatized by persecution, or threatened by death.
When people enter into a community of faith it may take a while for them to grow into mature membership within God's family. They may need to be weaned from selfish actions, stingy habits, and resentful...

An outstanding writer and preacher shares with readers a different approach to the season: four verse sermons on characters from the Christmas narrative (Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men), each accompanied by a chapter providing relevant background material on the featured character. It's an intriguing combination that lends itself equally well to preaching or to Bible studies -- for example, you can build a four-week Advent program around the poems. And there are four suggested orders of service provided that emphasize the message of the sermons. In a "lessons and carols"...

"A history professor told me that the earliest Protestants in America discouraged the celebration of Christmas. "It's too much fun," the Puritans reasoned, "and the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires our utmost seriousness.""
-- from the Introduction
At a time of year which is often as stressful and exhausting as it is exhilarating, William Carter reminds us that while holiday celebrations will fade into winter gloom, Jesus Christ, the light that casts no shadow, remains at the center of our faith and lives. This collection of seventeen sermons based on the Revised Common Lectionary is...