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"THE WORLD is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed." -- "God's Grandeur" by Gerard Manley HopkinsCharged With Grandeur: Sermons and Practices for Delighting in God's Creation is a collection of sermons that encourage congregations to improve their stewardship of the environment by delighting in God's creation. Each sermon is paired with questions for reflection that could be used in follow up discussions, as well as "take action" suggestions for congregational participation.Author Christopher Keating wrote this book with the purpose to assist preachers as they prepare sermons about the environment. Bogged down by the "data of despair," and by the political nature of environmental concerns, many pastors avoid speaking about environmental issues. Yet the Bible is filled with ecological references that point to God's concern with the natural world. Charged With Grandeur provides resources that help congregations celebrate creation while also discovering ways of improving our stewardship. This is an excellent resource for pastors, church members, as well as congregational Earth Care teams and seminary students.Included in this book: Questions for reflection and action Ideas for ways individuals can "take action" Sermons that incorporate creation care elements Ways to discover connecting environmentally oriented scriptures into worship and preachingSermon titles included:Visiting Our StuffCasting Out into the DeepListening to the Song of CreationPaths of Danger Christopher Keating is pastor of Woodlawn Chapel Presbyterian Church in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. He is the graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Saint Paul School of Theology, and writes regularly for The Immediate Word on SermonSuite.com. He is a regular contributor to the St. Louis' Post-Dispatch's Belief St. Louis blog and has written for the Church of the Brethren's Messenger magazine.

The Hebrew prophets were truth-tellers, called to proclaim God's word to the people of their own generations. In this book of sermons Alex Gondola is a truth-teller, carrying on the prophetic tradition by bringing the penetrating message of the Minor Prophets to bear on our twenty-first-century American context. Through the author's use of paraphrase, the telling of stories and his own pastoral interpretation, God's judging and redeeming word spoken by the prophets comes alive in these sermons and challenges us to be bearers of justice and righteousness in our own time and culture. I highly recommend this book of sermons for reading and reflection.Rev. Dr. Steve RettenmayerFaculty Member of the Jerusalem Center for Biblical StudiesA student and teacher of the word for nearly four decades, Alex Gondola provides a rare glimpse into the lives of the minor prophets, reminding us of God's consistent commands of love, justice, and repentance. As Gondola uncovers the words of the minor prophets, he carefully shows us how to connect their prophetic ministries to our modern lives. "If God measured our home life against the plumb line of God's word, would God find us wanting -- wanting more of the acceptance, tolerance, and patience we are supposed to give?" This is the question Gondola comes back to again and again throughout his examination of the minor prophets, and as we travel back in time with him throughout this lectionary, we begin to understand that the words of the minor prophets hold profound influence toward shaping us as Christ-followers.God's Plumb Line: Preaching from the Not-So-Minor-Prophets is a portal filled with insight and challenge, reminding us to "drink so deeply at the well of worship that justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Also included for each chapter are hymn suggestions, children's lesson suggestions, discussion questions, and an Annotated Bibliography.Alex A. Gondola Jr. served as an Associate Pastor, Pastor, and Senior Pastor in United Church of Christ congregations since 1975. He retired in 2011 and currently is Interim Pastor at the First Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in Milford, New Hampshire. A graduate of Allegheny College (B.A.), Andover Newton Theological School (M.Div.), and Colgate Rochester Divinity School (D.Min.), Gondola also has studied at Hartford Seminary and The New College of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). He is the author of Come As You Are, Don't Forget The Child, Holidays Are Holy Days, Pray Like This... (CSS), and numerous articles. He also contributed seven stewardship sermons to the CSS anthology From Every Angle.

Lent holds a central place in the worship of many Christians. After the joyful celebrations of Christmas and Epiphany, it is vital for Christians to set aside time to repent, meditate, and reflect on the fact that Jesus' life was a buildup to the ultimate sacrifice of himself on the Cross for our sins.In The Word Has Come Down, Huener guides participants through the ashes of repentance of Ash Wednesday, journeying through the Last Supper of Maundy Thursday and the crucifixion of Good Friday, culminating in the revelation of the risen Jesus at Easter. Along the way, Huener stops to look at each of the main characters in these events, people like Caiaphas, Peter, Judas, Pontius Pilate, and the women at the tomb, allowing each one to tell their side of the story. Huener explores each character in detail, allowing each one to flesh out this central event in Christian history.Whether used for congregational worship, small group study, or personal Lenten devotions, The Word Has Come Down will draw its readers into the beauty, agony, and triumph of Lent and Easter.Beth Huener is the pastor of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Oregon, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo. She has also served at other Lutheran parishes in Ohio and West Virginia.