Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:55-58)

The trouble with the ten commandments is that they don't really cover much. And that leaves some terrible gaps for selected readings from The Bible, or an sermons.

For example, The commandments say thou shalt not kill. But we all know there are times when its okay to kill (and when a Canadian chaplain can say, "Our troops are doing a great job."  So we wouldn't ever expect a sermon on that topic.

We can imagine being on a small fragile boat, in stormy waters,- no match for the elements..

Just so, we can imagine ourselves feeling very small  and  fragile when the storms of life threaten to overwhelm us.

The ship, or boat, has always been a common image for the church.

That’s where we get the word “nave” for the area you sit in- it’s from the Latin for ship.

There are cruise ships and ocean liners- and some churches are like that., or used to be.

After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed, “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent. I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.

 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them;  but they were kept from recognizing Him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast.