Sermons and Talks at Myers Park Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Isaiah 25:1-10“The table is not just a metaphor for life, but for who we are as a people. A table for all is God’s alternative to the fortified city and the ruthless way of life. The ruthless may not be building a beloved community, but God is—and I believe God’s still using the church as her architect. Therefore, the church must always be a place where all the poor and needy of the world find refuge from distress, shade from the heat, shelter from the storm. We gather at this table not simply to be nourished and sustained for the journey ahead, but to become the table—to be transformed into a place where ALL people, all races, all nations, and all faces are welcome—where the song of the ruthless is stilled by the sound of our rejoicing and the good news is shared that nothing is irreparable, and no condemnation is ever final.” “One scholar said the most important word in the Bible is the word ‘with,’ but I think it might be ‘ALL.’ ALL human beings were created in God’s image. YHWH is the God of ALL nations. Christ died for ALL people. The Spirit is poured out on ALL flesh. ‘All,’ is a very powerful word! God is preparing and hosting an extravagant feast for ALL people and ALL nations at the end of the world, wiping away tears from ALL faces, and removing disgrace from ALL the earth. God’s response to the three-fold ‘ruthlessness’ of the city of distress in Isaiah 25 is a five-fold ‘all’ of the community at a table on the mountain. All peoples, all races, all nations, all faces, and all the earth eating together in love and life. God’s alternative to the cruelty and ruthlessness of the world is an all-encompassing table that we come together at on World Communion Sunday.”

Rev. Mia McClain | 1 Corinthians 13| “What, to the refugee, is agape?”

Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell |   Mark 9:30-37“Like Jesus, we do not believe children are less valuable or lower in status than the rest of society. Nor do we believe people should only care for their own children. We believe all children are our children. They are not just our future or our present, but our family & our responsibility. They don’t serve us; we serve them. They are not here to bless us; we bless them. They are not last but first. If we are to usher in the kindom, the most important task we have is to place the last first, make the least greatest, & put all our children on the top & not the bottom.”“We should not only lift up orphans as a symbol of the terror of being alone in a dangerous world, the pain of losing our parents, or the loss of innocence, but as a referendum on who we are as a people, a society, & a church—as a dramatic calling to create a new & better future. But in order to do that, we have to get serious about power & decide if we can truly humble ourselves & strive not to be the greatest by exploiting our power, but using our power to create a better future where orphans are always welcomed & protected.”

Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell |   Luke 15:1-2; 11-32 “The point of the parable is not the prodigal son, the pouting elder, or the pater familias, but the party where all people are welcome, where there is music and dancing, and more than enough to go around, where sinners and Pharisees, tax collectors and scribes, prostitutes and prodigals, newcomers and long-timers, young and old all come together to feast and celebrate in a fiesta called the kindom and the homecoming of God.” “A parable with no conclusion remains open ended, which means the invitation is always open—the doors to the fiesta are never closed to anyone including the elder brother or resentful religious leaders. No matter who you are—this party is for you and we want you here, to dance with you, sing with you, walk with you, talk with you, eat with you, drink with you, learn with you, grow with you, laugh with you, cry with you, work with you, pray with you, love with you. Everyone is eternally invited. All we have to do is come home to ourselves, leave behind our pride and privilege, release our resentment, uncross our arms so we can embrace our neighbors, and come home.” – Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell

Rev. Tara Gibbs | Ecclesiastes 3:1-22“Ask yourself, Is this the time and season For me to reference and learn from the past? Is this the time and season For me to focus on the present? Is this the time and season For me to plan for the future? We cannot control many things in life But we can control how we respond.”

Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 8:1-21  “Bravery is born from the profound conviction that the inclusive community of love God is creating in and among us is so precious and needed in our world we are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect it from any yeast that would spoil the loaf for everyone.” “Even in the midst of this global crisis, we are still making bread; vigorously mixing, folding, proofing, sharing; desperately clinging to the power of life, building a community by welcoming and embracing people the world has demeaned and discarded. We don’t need another sign from heaven! It’s already here! We simply need people with hearts that can feel it, eyes that can see it, and ears that can hear it; people brave enough to stand up and speak up the truth, knowing full well the truth is the only thing that can set us free from the yeast of evil.”

Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 7:24-37 “If Jesus can say something terrible and still be Jesus, that means we are not the worst thing we’ve ever done. We are more than our worst mistakes. Our failures do not ultimately define us. There’s so much grace in that. There’s a heart full of hope in that.” “Grace is a force that liberates and empowers us to cross the boundaries of the world in the pursuit of love, life, justice, and peace. Grace is constantly turning the tables on all of us and beckoning to us to make the circle wider and expand our mission beyond our wildest imaginations.”

Rev. Mia McClain | 2 Kings 4:1-7 “When I’m on my death bed, I want to look around and know I did everything I could, even when it was unpopular—even when it was protested and I got angry emails. I didn’t just do the same ole same ole because of ‘tradition.’ I exhausted every possibility, not for my own glory and gratification—not so I could get a building named after me or a plaque to hang in my office—but for the sake of communal salvation.” – Rev. Mia McClain

Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 7:1-23 “Jesus challenged tradition because it was standing in opposition to the new kind of community he was building where there was no hierarchy of human value and where all people were included and empowered to practice the radical demands of scripture and care for the welfare of the weakest members of society.” “If our mission and vision is to be an inclusive community, then we will all have to make an inventory of or hearts, peer deep inside that perpetual factory of idols and garden of loves, and ask some tough questions, ‘What do we truly love? Are our hearts in the right place? Do we love God or do we love our traditions?'”

Rev. Tara Gibbs | Mark 14:12-25   “When Jesus disrupted the Passover meal, he was not saying discard history, ignore tradition, or that the past does not matter. Instead, he was saying, I know you are focused on this symbol, this specific past event, this traditional meal, but I ALSO need you to focus on the present and the future.” “Examine: What is it about disruption that gets you disturbed? What is it about change that gets you cheeky? What is it about inclusion that gets you indignant? And think for a moment, how you would have reacted to Jesus disrupting Passover.”