by Dr. Richard S. Kirby

Texts: Isaiah 42:1-9 John 16:1-15

Place Written: Thessoloniki, Greece

Sermon Title: A New Thing

Sermon Theme: God’s Social Creativity

Sermon Purpose: To show how the Bible shows God’s continuing Creation

Sermon Experimental Hypothesis #1 A sermon can be broadcast without knowing the audience

The prophet Isaiah reports that God is doing something new. God, the Creator, the Supreme Being, is doing more creativity. In John’s Gospel we learn that the divine Spirit ---- the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Spirit of Jesus ----- will lead us into the truth. God’s creative will those who allow, to new truth, new scenes, new creation, art and business.

Dearly beloved, it is both exhilaratory and frightening to be a bearer of some New Thing. But it is very natural, and very human! Not only do artists do it every time they create a song or dance or picture or photo or quilt, every mother, every father does it! As parents they share in making a New Human, a new Citizen and a new Family. And we read newspapers. To seek the new, to propagate, to entertain it, is natural.

The local church---- the congregation---- is also, or can be, a community of the New. I would like to call, quite humbly and hopefully, on all congregations to re-imagine the action of corporate worship as a kind of cauldron of creativity, a holy fire cleansing mind and body and soul and leading to fresh inspiration.

Sermon word total: 300

For further reading, study and prayer

Meditation seed thought: God is leading me (us) to permit novelty in my (our) social life.

Worship Outline: Create a sacred song celebrating creativity and novelty.

Prayers: God, teach us the new things our society needs to make a world of love now.