These are most or all of the quotes I used in Sunday’s sermon.  The entire (although atypically short) sermon can be found on the church website here: firstfreebrooklyn.org/sermons)

“People have an idea that the preacher is an actor on a stage and they are the critics, blaming or praising him. What they don’t know is that they are the actors on the stage; he (the preacher) is merely the prompter standing in the wings, reminding them of their lost lines.” ― Søren Kierkegaard

…when finally the string him up, they do it for the wrong reasons and string him up as a nationalist revolutionary when the only revolution he is after is a revolution of the human heart and his concern is ultimately for all nations. – F. Buechner

You tried to drown your sorrows
You shouldn’t have taught them how to swim
And now you are right back where you began
– John Craigie

The deepest motive for mission is simply the desire to be with Jesus where he is, on the frontier between the reign of God and the usurped dominion of the devil.” – Lesslie Newbigin

Why did it come about that the cinema really is often more interesting, more exciting, more human and gripping than the church? – D.Bonhoeffer

Jesus, our only hope, appeared from obscurity, poverty, occupation. His crown was suffering. His royal courts were roadside leper colonies and lake-side hungry-peasant gatherings. He created pulsars, black holes, molecules of mater, and holds together the fabric of time, AND he gave himself to buy what he refused to demand.  Your affection, your filial devotion, your heart.  He woos your will from hurt, pain, and selfishness.   He stands with you in each decision to step toward God, to step away from wickedness, to be eager to do what is good.  Jesus, our only hope, will appear soon and grant us the completion of what he’s begun in us. – C. Hooper