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Old First Reformed 
United Church of Christ
151 N. 4th Street (at Race Street), Philadelphia, PA 19106 · (215) 922-4566
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Faithfulness in the Gray Areas, Sermon 02.13.11
Posted February 15, 2011 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and Matthew 5:21-37. I felt, when I first looked our Scripture passages… what the lectionary was serving up for this Sunday, I felt as if cold water was splashed in my face: how unforgiving they felt. Or, at least, estranged from my experience. I don’t doubt that God sets choice before us. Or [...]
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Promises, Promises, Sermon 02.06.11
Posted February 10, 2011 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Isaiah 55:1-9 and John 4:7-14, a guest sermon preached at Old First by Cody Long. Whenever I’m asked to preach at a church, I often wonder what the point is. I am a firm believer in the value of communal worship and the institutional church, but to have this space, and time set aside, for [...]
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The Vision Beautiful, Sermon 01.30.11
Posted January 31, 2011 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Micah 6:1-8 and Matthew 5:1-12. Who is this Jesus? Who is he calling us to become? Where is he leading? What kind of life will we have if we follow? Twelve of us set out on a journey last Monday night. “Living the Questions” intends to help us understand and to claim the progressive stream [...]
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Where We See God Showing Up to Save; What We Add to God’s Work in our World, Sermon 01.09.11.
Posted January 10, 2011 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
And in that moment, having seen God at work in our lives, having discovered how far and to what incredible places we can go to draw near to God, and understanding how precious and fragile and promising and hopeful each of us and this community are– an Epiphany! Amen.
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There Would Be Peace On Earth, Sermon 01.02.11.
Posted January 2, 2011 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Isaiah 60:1-6 and Ephesians 3:1-12. Preached January 2, 2010 at Old First Reformed United Church of Christ by the Rev. Michael W. Caine. This is the first of two Epiphany sermons on either side of the 6th, the actual day the liturgical calendar assigns for the arrival of the Wise Ones, dreamers really, as I’ve [...]
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When Will You Look In Another’s Eyes?, Sermon 12.26.10
Posted December 27, 2010 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Isaiah 63:7-9 and Luke 2:22-33. Preached at Old First Reformed United Church of Christ on December 26, 2010 by the Rev. Michael W. Caine You can call me, Simeon. I guess, that’d be Simon in modern day America. Not all that popular a name even in that form (though your pastor’s younger son is named [...]
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Welcome In(n), A Christmas Eve Sermon 12.24.10.
Posted December 25, 2010 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Matthew 1:18-24; Luke 1:26- 2:20; Matthew 2:1-12. Preached at Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, December 24, 2010 by the Rev. Michael W. Caine. The United Church of Christ sent out a Christmas Card this year, an e-card I suspect most of you haven’t seen. It begins with a swinging, almost frantic piano rendition [...]
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God’s Preference for the Hard-Pressed, Sermon 12.12.2010
Posted December 13, 2010 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Isaiah 35:1-10 and Luke 1:46b-55. Preached at Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, December 12, 2010 by the Rev. Michael W. Caine. Advent is a time for prophets, because the world isn’t what God means it to be. Anymore than our lives are. And sometimes that difference– between how things are and how we [...]
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Out and In the Way, Sermon 12.05.2010
Posted December 5, 2010 by Suzanne Cole. Filed under Sermons.
Isaiah 11:1- and Matthew 3:1-12. Preached at Old First Reformed United Church of Christ on December 5, 2010 by the Rev. Michael W. Caine. When I got back to church yesterday from my meetings in North Carolina, Joanna Robinson and Beth Walker had gotten the new members class started for me. And Peter Brigham was [...]
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Making Room for What Matters Most, Sermon 11.28.2010
Posted November 29, 2010 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Isaiah 2:1-5 and Romans 13: 11-14. Preached at Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, November 28, 2010. When I worked for New York Conference, all four Regional Conference Ministers knew we were drowning. Each of us working w ith between 90 and 100 local churches. The Alban Institute, sort of the Einstein of Think [...]