""The Jesus we meet in the Gospels, Jim White rightly says, is ""confounding, puzzling, distressing, challenging, confusing."" His sermons respond to this Jesus, the real Jesus, with deep, personal honesty, and in doing so they bear witness to the power of a robust Christian faith, hope, and love to illuminate our lives."" --H. Jefferson Powell Frederic Cleaveland Professor of Law and Divinity, Duke University. ""In this fascinating collection, Jim White comes to Scripture as a lay person, remembering well his initial confusion and even embarrassment at finding himself in church, and now speaking to others situated as he once was. What do the ancient biblical texts that we hear on Sunday say to the world today? What do they have to do with the challenges and quandaries of our lives? How might they respond to the needs and questions that brought us to this strange place this morning? Could they help us understand and connect with this mystery called God? White brings to the task professional skills honed in an illustrious career as teacher and author in law, classics, and English literature. He also brings an unusually deep and open human soul, determined always to be clear and honest. Through his sermons speaks a person we'd like to know, discovering a faith we'd like to share. The result is a book both fresh and refreshing for lay people and clergy alike, those who preach and those who listen to preaching, those new to the church or just thinking about going to church, and those who've been in the pews a lifetime."" --The Reverend John McCausland Holy Cross Episcopal Church, Weare, New Hampshire.