Search Results on Frederick Buechner

The Road Goes On

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Frederick Buechner’s sermon on John 14:6 at a seminary commencement reflects on the foolishness, the faith, the grace, the truth, the trust involved in the journey of Christian ministry.

John 14:6

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Faith, God's Grace, Ministry, Truth

Easter Symbols

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

Frederick Buechner reflects on Matthew 28:1-10 and explores ways in which modern culture has distorted Easter. The narrative that the Gospel writers give is as fragmented, shadowy, and incomplete as life itself because something unimaginable happened.

Matthew 28:1-10

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Easter, Tomb, Truth

The Two Battles

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

Frederick Buechner says that humans are engaged in two battles: competition with other people for success; and the struggle "to become whole and at peace inside our skins." The latter is the subject of Ephesians 6:10-18.

Ephesians 6:10-18

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Illustration, War, Armor, Devil

A Preacher with Integrity

Frederick Buechner | Center for Excellence in Preaching

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

Scott Hoezee's sermon starter on 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 considers what makes God's Word different from all of the other words we hear on a daily basis. Includes an illustration from Frederick Buechner's 'Wishful Thinking.'

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

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Paul/saul, Word Of God (god Speaking), Truth, Politics

Prophet

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

This resource pairs Numbers 11:24-29 and an excerpt from Frederick Buechner's "Wishful Thinking," which could be used as a sermon illustration.

Numbers 11:24-29

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Love, Prophecy, Truth

Telling the Truth

Frederick Buechner | In the Meantime

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

David Lose writes about telling the truth in preaching, based on John 1:1-18. He shares a quote from Frederick Buechner on the gospel “fairy tale,” that is more true than our limited sense of reality.

John 1:1-18

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Darkness, Knowledge Of God, Light, Testimony

God's Law as Descriptive

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

Commenting on Psalm 1, Frederick Buechner notes that while God's law can't make us human, it can at least keep us honest. However, failure to keep his law puts us at risk of his judgment.

Psalm 1

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Law, God, Morality, Truth

Bad News and Good News

Frederick Buechner | Center for Excellence in Preaching

Book Quote

A excerpt from a book by Frederick Buechner, who explains how the Gospel runs the gamut from bad news (tragedy) to good news (comedy) and fairy tale (how the good news gets worked out).

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Guilt, Sin, Miracle, Truth

The Magic and Mystery of the Gospel

Frederick Buechner | Center for Excellence in Preaching

Book Quote

This quotation from Frederick Buechner's "Telling the Truth" reminds us not to try to recount the gospel “with the high magic taken out, the deep mystery reduced to a manageable size.”

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Gospel, Truth, Magic, Mystery

The Jailer

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

A sermon illustration based on Acts 16:16-34. Frederick Buechner talks about how we sometimes create a prison for ourselves where we become the jailer and a way to get out of it.

Acts 16:16-34

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Hope, Suffering, Truth, Church

Being Afraid of the Light

Frederick Buechner | Preaching Today

Sermon Preparation or Illustration

Frederick Buechner explains why we fear the light as well as the darkness. The light reveals parts of ourselves we would rather not see nor have be seen (John 3:19-21; Ephesians 5:6-14; 1 John 1:7; 2:8-9).

John 3:19-21; Ephesians 5:6-14; 1 John 1:7, 2:8-9

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Sin, Light, Truth, Confession

Hope

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

This resource pairs Romans 5:1-5 with an excerpt from Frederick Buechner's "Wishful Thinking," which can be used as a sermon illustration.

Romans 5:1-5

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Hope, Resurrection Of Jesus Christ, Truth, Jesus Christ's Work

The Trouble with Prophets

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

In this sermon illustration on Numbers 11:24-29, Frederick Buechner describes the particular hardship of the prophets--speaking on behalf of God and incurring wrath from those against whom the truth was being spoken.

Numbers 11:24-29

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Prophecy, Persecution, Truth

What It Means To Be A Christian

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Scripture Meditation or Sermon

Reflecting on John 14:6, Frederick Buechner suggests that being a Christian is "living, participating in, being caught up by" Jesus' way of life, and that would be possible for someone who had not heard of Christ.

John 14:6

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Way, Jesus Christ, Disciple, Orthodoxy

The Seeing Heart

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Scripture Meditation or Sermon

In this sermon on John 20:19-29, Frederick Buechner explains how the apostle Thomas believed not because of what his eyes had seen but because of what his heart had seen.

John 20:19-29

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Faith, Imagination, Truth, Belief

Humor from One Lost Sheep

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote

This sermon illustration taken from Frederick Buechner's book, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale, presents Jesus' parables in Luke 14:15-24, 15:1-7 as a humorous comedy that indicates "the outlandishness of God."

Luke 15:1-7

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Truth, Humor, Parables

The Truth of Stories

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Sermon Preparation or Illustration, Book Quote

In this book excerpt, Frederick Buechner reflects on the silence of Jesus before Pilate in Mark 15:2-5 and John 18:33-38. No words could contain the truth that Pilate was seeking.

Mark 15:2-5; John 18:33-38

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Pontius Pilate, Silence, Truth

I Am the Truth

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote, Sermon Preparation or Illustration

Pilate asks, “What is truth?” and Jesus answers with silence. When we remember that Jesus is truth, we remember that truth is too large to be contained. Two readings from Frederick Buechner appropriate for John 18:33-38.

John 18:33-38

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Silence, Crucifixion, Truth

The Truth of Stories

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Book Quote

Buechner notes: Whenever Jesus tries to put THE truth into words, he uses a form that itself moves and shifts and beckons us in different ways and comes at us from different directions--he tells stories.

Mark 15:2-5; John 18:33-38

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Silence, Truth, Jesus Christ, Palm Sunday

The Experience of Grace

Frederick Buechner | Day1

Scripture Meditation or Sermon

In this lecture on preaching Frederick Buechner encourages preachers to "draw on your life, not for illustration but draw on it for truth, not for illustrations of grace, let's say, but for the experience of grace."

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Flesh, Grace, Love, Truth