The bottom line is that our risen Lord manifests himself exclusively to the church. We're the ones who witnessed his life, death, and resurrection, and therefore, we are the ones responsible for declaring it to the world. If people don't know what took place on Easter, it's not Pilate's fault. We can't blame the government for not getting the message out. Christ came to us. This is our story to tell.
(from "Sharing What We Have Been Shown," Epiphany 5 sermon)
In this collection of sixteen inspiring sermons based on New Testament epistle texts, Robert Crilley powerfully proclaims the good news to a modern world that desperately needs to hear the healing message of God's unconditional love. Thoroughly grounded in scripture and chock-full of compelling personal stories and insightful illustrations, these sermons cogently relate the challenges faced by the early church to our contemporary lives -- drawing clear lessons for Christian living. Crilley is a master preacher whose messages are memorable both for their friendly charm and for their potent biblical witness.
Sermon titles include:
Just You Wait (1 Thessalonians 3:9-13)
God's Peace Is on Patrol (Philippians 4:4-7)
The Multitasking Church (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)
Losing that Loving Feeling (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)
A Labor not in Vain (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)
Robert S. Crilley is the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Grapevine, Texas. He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan (1984) and his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary (1987), where he was awarded both the John T. Galloway Prize in Expository Preaching and the Senior Fellowship in Practical Theology. He also won first place (expository division) in the" Best Sermons 7" competition. In 1997, Crilley received a D.Min. degree from McCormick Theological Seminary. He is also the author of" Veiled Glimpses of God's Glory" (CSS).

Wherever you are in your walk with Christ, this anthology offers practical, scripture-based wisdom as well as delightfully serendipitous surprises on every page. Three outstanding preachers from diverse denominations provide a complete set of sermons for each Sunday and major celebration throughout the Christian year based on the Second Reading from Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary. Weaving together illustrations that enlighten the mind and warm the heart with fresh insight into New Testament epistle texts, these creative messages invite you to experience God's presence anew. Each biblically grounded sermon draws on a deep understanding of the human condition, reaffirming the hope that is ours through Jesus Christ and challenging you to a more intense faith relationship with the almighty.
This is an essential resource that's useful for:
- Fresh homiletical approaches to the lectionary texts
- Preaching illustrations
- A clearer understanding of scripture passages
- Adult study and discussion groups
- Personal devotions and Bible study on each Sunday's readings
"Dallas Brauninger has a way with words that makes one's heart sing and be open to learn and hear more. Gentle phrases leap out and make one think and wrestle with God and one's self."
Margaret Slater
Inclusive Ministry Coordinator, Local Church Ministries
United Church of Christ
"Gary Carver's sermons are a delight to read. True to life, often humorous, and filled with insight, they mark points at which the gospel intersects with everyday experience, call us to renewed faith, and show us what it means to live gracefully."
R. Alan Culpepper
Dean and Professor of New Testament
McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University

This volume makes clear why Robert Crilley has won awards and wide acclaim for his preaching. These messages bring the reality of God to contemporary life.
He listens as we sometimes speak of how difficult it is to find God and how we receive only veiled glimpses of His glory. These sermons allow us to discover that the Almighty is actually trying to find us... as the love of One searching for absent sheep, crying aloud through the night in a familiar voice and reaching down steep ravines with his shepherd's crook. It is the love of One waiting wistfully at the gate where the road winds in from a far country, tenderly whispering a name through choked tears and hoping that some day the silhouette of a long lost child will again appear on the horizon.
" These sermons] are marching songs, and it is impossible to hear them without being moved, without picking up your feet and traveling from here to there... They dare us to get our feet wet as we splash across the Jordan River with Joshua... They motion us down the pathway of the past, thick with foliage of memory, and they summon us out to the edge of the future, where the sun of a new and hopeful day of grace is beginning to rise."
Thomas G. Long
Francis Landey Patton Professor of Preaching
Princeton Theological Seminary
Robert Crilley is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Grapevine, Texas. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Princeton Theological Seminary. He received the John T. Galloway Prize in Expository Preaching and the Senior Fellowship in Practical Theology. He recently won first place in the "Best Sermons 7 Competition." He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Ministry degree in Preaching at McCormick Theological Seminary.