Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, September 24, 2017.

Jim Somerville: "None of [this] squares with our understanding of how things work. We have learned that a day's work equals a day's pay, and we have assumed that when God finally pays up, those of us who have worked the hardest will get the most. Not so. If this parable teaches us anything, it teaches us that there's no sense punching the clock in the Kingdom..."

Jim Somerville: "The more I've thought about [injustice], the more I've realized that you could fix every broken thing out there, in the world, without fixing what's broken in here, in the heart. There is an undeniable power in the act of forgiveness. In some ways it is even stronger than the power of justice..."

Dr. Jim Somerville's "Talkback" from Sunday, September 17, 2017. In this visit with the Bethany class, topics include racial justice, reincarnation, purgatory, and the existence of miracles.

Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, September 10, 2017.

Jim Somerville: "I want you to think for a moment about where Jesus did his ministry. He didn't build a church, and put in pews, and hold services on Sunday morning, and take up an offering. He went out there where the people are, and he met them on their own terms. If they were sick, he healed them. If they were hungry, he fed them. If they were hopeless, he shared the good news. And if they were lonely, he assured them of God's love. If we could do that, who knows what the results might be...?"

Jim Somerville: "If you could put a stethoscope on the globe and listen to the cries for help you would hear them coming from everywhere: Houston, Syria, Sierra Leone. You could almost understand why your more desperate prayers aren't answered immediately. But it doesn't mean that God doesn't care. If this story proves anything, it proves that he does..."

Jim Somerville: "The white members [of First Baptist Church] moved into their new building in 1841, just two blocks up the street, and left the old building to their black members, who promptly constituted the First African Baptist Church. I had lunch with its pastor recently and we talked about our shared history. I asked him, 'Why do you think the white members moved out?' He shrugged his shoulders and ventured a guess: 'They were afraid.'"

Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, August 20, 2017.

Jim Somerville: "Imagine having complete power over the people who have hurt you most in this world, and the freedom to do anything to them that you wanted. What would you do?"