Book
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume VI
Devoted to documenting the life of one of America’s best-known advocates for peace and justice, Advocate of the Social Gospel, Volume VI of The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., breaks the chronology of the planned fourteen-volume edition.
This groundbreaking work provides a unique look at King’s never-before-published early sermons, drawn from a private file of materials King kept in his study and used to prepare his homilies. In 1997, Coretta Scott King granted the King Papers senior editorial staff permission to examine papers stored in the basement of the King family home. A battered cardboard box held a trove of sermon notes, outlines, and full sermon texts from the years up to and including King’s involvement in the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956, a period for which few of King’s religious writings had been available previously.
In this volume, the reader can compare King’s early handwritten sermon notes and sermon texts with later versions of his homilies, including transcriptions of audio recordings of famous King sermons, such as “Paul’s Letter to American Christians” and “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life.” These transcriptions, which contain responses by enthusiastic congregation members, show King at the height of his oratorical power and provide a basis for comparison between his sermon drafts and delivered sermons. The volume also contrasts the manuscripts that King originally submitted for his well-known 1963 book of sermons, Strength to Love, with the published versions, toned down in order to be palatable to a broader audience.
Collectively, these documents shed considerable light on the preaching and theological preparation of one of America’s most prominent religious leaders. They reveal that King’s concern about poverty, human rights, and social justice is clearly present in his earliest handwritten sermons, which convey a message of faith, hope, and love for the dispossessed. His enduring message can be charted through his years as a seminary student, as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, as a leader of the Montgomery bus boycott, and, ultimately, as an internationally renowned proponent of human rights who saw himself fundamentally as an “advocate of the social gospel.”
This volume is dedicated to the memory of Coretta Scott King.
© The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Contents
I: Crozer Years
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 14 Sept–24 Nov 1948 | “Preaching Ministry” |
| 1948 | “The Weaknesses of Liberal Theology” |
| 30 Nov 1948–16 Feb 1949 | Sermon Sketches |
| 1949 | “Civilization’s Great Need” |
| 3 Mar 1949 | “Facing Life’s Inescapables” |
| 22 May 1949 | “A Way Out” |
| 5 June 1949 | “Mastering Our Evil Selves”/ “Mastering Ourselves” |
| 24 July 1949 | “Splinters and Planks” |
| 14 Sept 1948–15 Feb 1950 | Four Papers on Preaching Issues |
| 29 Nov 1949–15 Feb 1950 | “Preaching Problems That I Have Encountered” |
| 28 May 1950 | “Three Levels of Fellowship” |
| Sept 1948–May 1951 | Three Essays on Religion |
| 20 Feb–4 May 1951 | “Science Surpasses the Social Order” |
| 20 Feb–4 May 1951 | Index of Sermon Topics |
| 3 June 1951 | Sincerity Is Not Enough |
II: Boston Years
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 18 July 1952 | To Coretta Scott |
| 31 Aug 1952 | “Loving Your Enemies” |
| 28 Dec 1952 | After Christmas, What? |
| 5 July–19 July 1953 | False Gods We Worship |
| 26 July–6 Sept 1953 | “Radio Sermons” |
| 5 July–6 Sept 1953 | “Prayers” |
| 26 July 1953 | “Accepting Responsibility for Your Actions” |
| 2 Aug 1953 | “First Things First” |
| 9 Aug 1953 | “Communism’s Challenge to Christianity” |
| 24 Jan 1954 | “The Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church |
III: Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
IV: Ebenezer Baptist Church
V: Strength to Love, Drafts
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter I, “A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter II, “Transformed Nonconformist” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter III, “On Being a Good Neighbor” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter IV, “Love in Action” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter VI, “A Knock at Midnight” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter VIII, “The Death of Evil Upon the Seashore” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter X, “Shattered Dreams” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter XIII, “Our God Is Able” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter XIV, “The Mastery of Fear or Antidotes for Fear” |
| July 1962–March 1963 | Draft of Chapter XV, “The Answer to a Perplexing Question” |
VI: Undated Homiletic Material
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 1950–1954 | Sermon Notes and Outlines I |
| 1953–1954 | Sermon Notes and Outlines II |
| 1948–1954 | Wedding Prayer and Marriage Ceremony |
| 1948–1954 | “God’s Relation to the World” |
| 1948–1954 | “All That We Are, We Owe” |
| 1948–1954 | “God the Inescapable” |
| 1948–1954 | “Getting Caught in the Negative”/ “The Peril of Emphasizing a Negative” /“Accentuating the Positive” |
| 1948–1954 | “The Law of Spiritual Accumulation” |
| 1948–1954 | “The Distinctions in God’s Creation” |
| 1948–1954 | “The Meaning of Forgiveness” |
| 1948–1954 | “I Sat Where They Sat” |
| 1948–1954 | “Cooperative Competition” / “Noble Competition” |
| 1948–1954 | “The Danger of Mis Guided Goodness” |
| 1948–1954 | “The Unknown Great” |
| 1948–1954 | “Human Freedom & Divine Grace” |
| 1948–1954 | “The Human Tension” |
| 1948–1954 | “The Misuse of Prayer” |
| 1948–1954 | “What Shall We Do to Be Saved?” |
| 1951–1954 | “O That I Knew Where I Might Find Him!” |
| 1955–1960 | “The Peril of the Sword” |
| 1959–1968 | God in History: Four Proverbs |
Addendum: Messages Following the Stabbing
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 20 Sept 1958 | From Ruth H. and Ralph J. Bunche |
| 22 Sept 1958 | From Richard M. Nixon |
| 23 Sept 1958 | From John Steinbeck |
| 29 Sept 1958 | From Harry Belafonte |
Chronology
1947
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Fall | King preaches a trial sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. |
1948
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 25 Feb | King is ordained and appointed associate pastor at Ebenezer. |
| 25 Apr | “Life is What You Make It” and “The Meaning of Christian Living,” Liberty Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. |
| Summer | King serves as associate pastor of Ebenezer. |
| 1 Aug | "External Versus Internal Religion,” Ebenezer. |
| 8 Aug | “The Tests of Goodness,” Ebenezer. |
| 22 Aug | “God's Kingdom First,” Ebenezer. |
| Fall | King begins his first term at Crozer Theological Seminary. |
1949
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 20 Feb | Youth Day sermon, Ebenezer. |
| 3 Mar | “Facing Life’s Inescapables,” Chester, Pennsylvania. |
| Summer | King serves as associate pastor at Ebenezer. |
| 22 May | “A Way Out,” Ebenezer. |
| 5 June | “Mastering Our Evil Selves”/ “Mastering Ourselves,” Ebenezer. |
| 19 June | Men's Day sermon, Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 3 July | “The Voice of Hope,” Ebenezer. |
| 17 July | “The Supremacy of Hope," Ebenezer. |
| 24 July | “Splinters and Planks,” Ebenezer. |
| 31 July | “Two Challenging Questions,” Ebenezer. |
| 7 Aug | “Worship” and “On Being Converted,” Ebenezer. |
| 14 Aug | Youth Day sermon, Zion Hill Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 21 Aug | “Who is Truly Great,” Ebenezer. |
| 4 Sept | “The Great Paradox” and “The Significance of the Cross,” Ebenezer. |
| 11 Sept | “Modern Baals,” Ebenezer. |
1950
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 Jan | "Impending Mountains," Ebenezer. |
| 19 Feb | "Walking with the Lord," Ebenezer. |
| Summer | King serves as associate pastor at Ebenezer. |
| 28 May | "Three Levels of Fellowship," Ebenezer. |
| 4 June | "I had Fainted Unless. . . !" Ebenezer. |
| 18 June | "The Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth," Ebenezer. |
| 25 June | "Unanswered Prayer," Ebenezer. |
| 2 July | "Propagandizing Christianity" and "Forgiveness," Ebenezer. |
| 16 July | "Two Eternal Truths," Ebenezer. |
| 23 July | "Thou Fool" and "Having the Moral Courage to Speak Out," Ebenezer. |
| 30 July | Youth Day sermon, Liberty Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 6 Aug | "Christ or Shaos" and "What the Cross Means to Me," Ebenezer. |
| 20 Aug | "The Conquest of Fear," Ebenezer. |
| 27 Aug | "Worship," Ebenezer. |
| 24 Dec | "The Light Amid Darkness," Ebenezer. |
| 31 Dec | "A Religion of Doing," Ebenezer. |
1951
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 18 Feb | "Nothing in Particular," Ebenezer. |
| 6-8 May | King graduates from Crozer Theological Seminary. |
| 13 May | "The World Crisis and a Mother's Responsibility," Ebenezer. |
| 27 May | "Beyond Condemnation," Ebenezer. |
| Summer | King serves as associate pastor at Ebenezer. |
| 3 June | "Sincerity Is Not Enough" and "The Courtesy of God," Ebenezer. |
| 17 June | "Where is God Found?" Ebenezer. |
| 24 June | "Procrastination," Ebenezer. |
| 1 July | "Witnessing for Christ," Ebenezer. |
| 8 July | "The Meaning of Faith," Ebenezer. |
| 22 July | "Doing the Best with What You Have," Ebenezer. |
| 5 Aug | "The Necessity of the Second Birth" and "Beyond Good Deeds," Ebenezer. |
| 19 Aug | "God's Kingdom First," Ebenezer. |
| 2 Sept | "What is Man?" and "What Think Ye of Christ," Ebenezer. |
| Fall | King begins his first term as a doctoral student at Boston University School of Theology. |
1952
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 Mar | King is scheduled to preach at Ebenezer’s celebration of its sixty-fifth anniversary and of King, Sr.’s twentieth anniversary as its pastor. |
| 18 May | "Relevance of the Holy Spirit," Ebenezer. |
| 25 May | "The Prevalence of Practical Atheism," Ebenezer. |
| Summer | King serves as associate pastor at Ebenezer. |
| 27 July | "The Divine Shepherd," Ebenezer. |
| 3 Aug | "The Power and Wisdom of the Cross," Ebenezer. |
| 10 Aug | "Communism's Challenge to Christianity," Ebenezer. |
| 17 Aug | "Faith in Man," Ebenezer. |
| 31 Aug | "Loving Your Enemies," Ebenezer; Youth Day sermon, Pilgrim Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 7 Sept | "Mental and Spiritual Slavery" and "The Permanence of Christ," Ebenezer. |
| 26 Oct | “Going Forward by Going Backward,” People’s Baptist Church, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. |
| 28 Dec | After Christmas, What? Ebenezer. |
1953
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 5 Apr | Easter sermon, Metropolitan Baptist Church, Boston, Massachusetts. |
| 12 Apr | "What Does It Mean To Believe in God?" First United Baptist Church, Lowell, Massachusetts. |
| Summer | King serves as associate pastor at Ebenezer. |
| 21 June | "By These Things Men Live" and "Does It Pay To Be Faithful?" Ebenezer |
| 28 June | "Accepting Responsibility for Your Actions," Ebenezer. |
| 5 July | Atlanta’s WERD begins broadcasting from Ebenezer for several months. "The False God of Science," radio station WERD. Atlanta, Georgia; "When God Seems to Deceive Us," Ebenezer. |
| 12 July | "The False God of Nationalism," radio station WERD; "Transformed Non-Conformists," Ebenezer. |
| 19 July | "The False God of Money," radio station WERD. |
| 26 July | "God's Revelation to the World," Ebenezer; "Accepting Responsibility For Your Actions," radio station WERD. |
| 2 Aug | "Dressing Christ in False Robes," Ebenezer; "First Things First" ("God's Kingdom First"), radio station WERD. |
| 9 Aug | "The Tragedy of Almost" and "Communism's Challenge to Christianity," Ebenezer; "A Half Baked Civilization," radio station WERD. |
| 16 Aug | "Lord, Is It I?" and "Going Forward by Going Backward," Ebenezer; "The Challenge of the Book of Jonah," radio station WERD. |
| 23 Aug | "Self-Examination," Ebenezer; "The Prevalence of Practical Atheism," radio station WERD. |
| 30 Aug | "Opportunity, Fidelity, and Reward," Ebenezer; "The Peril of Conformity," radio station WERD. |
| 6 Sept | "The Dimensions of a Complete Life," Ebenezer; "What Is Man?" radio station WERD. |
1954
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 17 Jan | King is scheduled to preach an initial sermon at First Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. |
| 24 Jan | King preaches his initial sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Dexter, Montgomery, Alabama. |
| 28 Feb | Rediscovering Lost Values, Second Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan. |
| 4 Apr | “Going Forward by Going Backward,” Dexter. |
| 14 Apr | King accepts the call to Dexter’s pastorate. |
| May | “Mental and Spiritual Slavery,” Dexter. |
| 2 May | “Accepting Responsibility for Your Actions,” Dexter. In the evening King gives his acceptance address at Dexter. |
| 16 May | “What Is Man?” Thirty-third annual memorial service, Pullman Porters’ Benefit Association of America, Union Baptist Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
| 30 May | “Loving Your Enemies,” Dexter. |
| 4 July | “A Religion of Doing,” Dexter. |
| 11 July | “What Is Man?” Men’s Day sermon, Dexter. |
| 1 Sept | King begins his pastorate at Dexter. |
| 5 Sept | “God’s Love,” Dexter. |
| 9 Sept | “The Vision of a World Made New,” Woman’s Convention Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| 12 Sept | “Propagandizing Christianity,” Dexter. |
| 26 Sept | “Creating the Abundant Life,” Dexter. |
| 17 Oct | “New Wine in New Bottles,” Dexter. |
| Nov | “Transformed Nonconformist,” Dexter. |
| 28 Nov | Men’s Day sermon, Friendship Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. |
1955
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| Jan | On Worshiping False Gods |
| Jan | False God of Pleasure |
| 20 Mar | Sixty-eighth anniversary sermon, Ebenezer. |
| 8 May | “Crisis Facing Present-Day Family Life in America,” Dexter. |
| 15 May | “Other Mountains,” Baccalaureate sermon, Alabama State College, Montgomery, Alabama. |
| 31 May | The faculty of Boston University votes to confer the doctorate on King. |
| 19 June | “Who Is Truly Great,” Dexter. |
| 26 June | “Discerning the Signs of History,” Dexter. |
| 17 July | "Am I My Brother's Keeper?" Dexter. |
| 24 July | “The Death of Evil Upon the Seashore,” Dexter. |
| 28 Aug | Men’s Day sermon, Jackson Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama. |
| 25 Sept | "Pride Versus Humility: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican," Dexter. |
| 2 Oct | “The Impassable Gulf (The Parable of Dires and Lazarus),” Dexter. |
| 16 Oct | “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. |
| 23 Oct | “The Death of Evil Upon the Seashore,” Religious Emphasis Week, Fort Valley State College, Fort Valley, Georgia. |
| 30 Oct | "The Seeking God," Dexter. |
| 20 Nov | “The One-sided Approach of the Good Samaritan,” Dexter. |
| 4 Dec | “Why Does God Hide Himself,” Dexter. |
| 5 Dec | The Montgomery bus boycott begins. |
| 25 Dec | “The Light That Shineth Amid Darkness,” Dexter. |
1956
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 Jan | “Our God Is Able,” Dexter. |
| 8 Jan | “The Death of Evil on the Seashore,” Ebenezer. |
| 15 Jan | “How Believe in a Good God in the Face of Glaring Evil?” Dexter. |
| 22 Jan | “Redirecting Our Missionary Zeal,” Dexter. |
| 29 Jan | YMCA Sunday sermon, Dexter. |
| 5 Feb | “It’s Hard to Be a Christian,” Dexter. |
| 19 Feb | “What Is Man?” Religious Emphasis Week, Fisk Memorial Chapel, Nashville, Tennessee. |
| 20 Feb | “Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Religious Emphasis Week, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee. |
| 21 Feb | “Going Forward by Going Backward,” Religious Emphasis Week, Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee. |
| 26 Feb | “Faith in Man,” Dexter. |
| 18 Mar | “When Peace Becomes Obnoxious,” Dexter. |
| 22 Apr | Youth Day sermon, Good Street Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas. |
| 29 Apr | “Fleeing from God,” Dexter; Men’s Day sermon, Hunters’ Chapel AME Zion Church, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. |
| 13 May | “The Role of the Negro Mother in Preparing Youth for Integration,” Dexter. |
| 17 May | “The Death of Evil Upon the Seashore,” National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, New York. |
| 20 May | Youth Peoples Choir Day sermon, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| 23 May | Youth Emphasis Week sermon, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| 22 July | Men’s Day sermon, New Hope Baptist Church, Niagara Falls, New York. |
| 12 Aug | “Rediscovering Lost Values,” Mount Olivet Baptist Church, New York, New York. |
| 7 Sept | “Paul’s Letter to American Christians,” National Baptist Convention, Denver, Colorado. |
| Oct | “The Prodigal Son,” Dexter. |
| Oct | “The Fellow Who Stayed at Home,” Dexter. |
| 4 Nov | “Paul’s Letter to American Christians,” Dexter. |
| 6 Nov | “The Most Durable Power,” Dexter. |
| 18 Nov | Men’s Day address, Mount Zion First Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. |
| 6 Dec | “Remember Who You Are!!” Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, Howard University, Washington, D.C. |
| 20 Dec | The Montgomery Improvement Association votes to end the bus boycott. |
1957
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 Jan | “Great Expectations,” Dexter. |
| 13 Jan | The Ways of God in the Midst of Glaring Evil,” Dexter. |
| 20 Jan | Paul’s Letter to American Christians, Ebenezer. |
| 21 Jan | “Paul’s Letter to American Christians,” Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Minnesota State Pastors Conference, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota. |
| 27 Jan | At Dexter’s Sunday service, King reveals to the congregation his vision of a year earlier in which a divine voice told him to lead the Montgomery movement without fear. |
| 10 Feb | From pulpits across the nation, pastors read King’s “For All-A Non-Segregated Society,” a message he wrote for Race Relations Sunday sponsored by the National Council of Churches. |
| 27 Feb | “Remember Who You Are,” Annual Week of Prayer, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia. |
| 28 Feb | “Going Forward by Going Backward,” Annual Week of Prayer, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia. |
| 1 Mar | “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Annual Week of Prayer, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia. |
| 7 Apr | “The Birth of a New Nation,” Dexter. |
| 14 Apr | Garden of Gethsemane, Dexter. |
| 21 Apr | Questions That Easter Answers, Dexter. |
| 28 Apr | The Rewards of Worship, Dexter. |
| 3 June | “Paul’s Letter to American Christians,” American Baptist Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
| 14 July | “Overcoming an Inferiority Complex,” Dexter. |
| 21 July | “The Mastery of Fear,” Dexter; “Going Forward by Going Backward,” Woman’s Day sermon, First Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama. |
| 4 Aug | “Factors That Determine Character,” Dexter. |
| 11 Aug | “Conquering Self-Centeredness,” Dexter. |
| 12 Aug | “Propagandizing Christianity,” National Missions Conference, Green Lake, Wisconsin. |
| 18 Aug | “Paul’s Letter to American Christians,” Central Methodist Church, Detroit, Michigan. |
| 22 Sept | Men’s Day sermon, Liberty Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 27 Oct | “The Things That Are God’s," Dexter. |
| 10 Nov | “Love Your Enemies,” Convocation of the School of Religion, Andrew Kankin Memorial Chapel, Howard University, Washington, D.C. |
| 17 Nov | “Loving Your Enemies,” Dexter. |
| 1 Dec | “Structure and Destiny,” Dexter. |
| 3 Dec | The Oneness of Man in American Intergroup Relations, Division of Christian Life and Work Visitors Program of the National Council of Churches, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| 4 Dec | The Christian Way of Life in Human Relations, General Assembly of the National Council of Churches, St. Louis, Missouri. |
1958
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 12 Jan | “Structure and Destiny,” Ebenezer; “What Is Man?” Chicago Sunday Evening Club, Chicago, Illinois. |
| 16 Feb | “Not By Bread Alone,” Dexter. |
| 12 Mar | “The Christian Doctrine of Man,” Detroit Council of Churches’ Noon Lenten Services, Central Methodist Church, Detroit, Michigan. |
| 23 Mar | “I Thirst,” Dexter. |
| 6 Apr | “The Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth,” Dexter. |
| 9 Apr | “What Is Man?” and “The Peril of Conformity,” Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina. |
| 13 Apr | “Is It Un-Christian to Judge Others?” Dexter. |
| 23 Apr | “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Bucknell University Chapel, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. |
| 4 May | “The Unpardonable Sin,” Dexter. |
| 11May | “The Problem of Unanswered Prayer,” Dexter. |
| 25 May | “Did Jesus Believe in Chance?” Dexter. |
| 1 June | “Did Jesus Disapprove of Wealth?” Dexter. |
| 3 June | Paul’s Letter to American Christians, Founding Convention of the United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| 15 June | “Will Christ Visibly Return to Earth?” Dexter. |
| 22 June | “Nature of Heaven,” Dexter. |
| 29 June | “The Nature of Hell,” Dexter. |
| 6 July | “The Mystery of Life,” Dexter. |
| 31 July | “A Knock at Midnight,” Alabama State Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress, Selma University, Selma, Alabama. |
| 3 Aug | “Catching the Wrong Train,” Dexter. |
| 10 Aug | “In Life’s Storms,” Dexter. |
| 17 Aug | “The Greatest Power in the World,” Dexter. |
| 24 Aug | “Going Forward by Going Backwards,” Central Methodist Church, Detroit, Michigan. |
| 31 Aug | “A Knock at Midnight,” Central Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| 7 Sept | “Getting Along With Other People,” Dexter. |
| 14 Sept | “A Knock at Midnight,” Woman’s Convention, National Baptist Convention, Chicago, Illinois. |
| 7 Dec | Eighty-first anniversary sermon, Dexter. |
| 14 Dec | “Worship at Its Best,” Dexter. |
| 21 Dec | “Christ Our Starting Point,” Dexter. |
1959
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4 Jan | “Inner Calm Amid Outer Tension,” Dexter. |
| 18 Jan | “The Blinding Power of Sin,” Dexter. |
| 8 Feb | “Looking Beyond Our Circumstances,” Dexter (sermon delivered by tape recording in King’s absence). |
| 22 Mar | Palm Sunday sermon on Mohandas K Gandhi, Dexter. |
| 29 Mar | A Walk Through the Holy Land, Easter Sunday sermon, Dexter. |
| Apr | King’s The Measure of a Man is published by Christian Education Press. |
| 5 Apr | “Unfulfilled Hopes,” Dexter. |
| 12 Apr | “Making Use of What You Have,” Dexter. |
| 19 Apr | “The Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Chicago Sunday Evening Club, Chicago, Illinois. |
| 20 Apr | “Paul’s Letter to American Christians,” McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois. |
| 26 Apr | “The Art of Getting Along with Others,” Dexter. |
| 3 May | “Sleeping Through a Revolution,” Dexter. |
| 10 May | “A New Challenge for Modern Mothers,” Dexter. |
| 31 May | “The Service of the Church to Mental Health,” Dexter; “The Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Baccalaureate service, Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana. |
| 14 June | “Unconditioned Faith,” Dexter. |
| 21 June | “On Knowing How to Live with Prosperity,” Dexter. |
| 28 June | “On Knowing How to Live with Poverty,” Dexter. |
| 9 Aug | “Man’s Helplessness Without God,” Dexter. |
| 16 Aug | “The Conflict in Human Nature,” Dexter. |
| 23 Aug | “Loving Your Enemies,” Central Methodist Church, Detroit, Michigan. |
| 30 Aug | “A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart,” Dexter. |
| 20 Sept | Youth Day sermon, Second Baptist Church, Los Angeles, California. |
| 27 Sept | “Understanding Life’s Injustices,” Dexter. |
| 25 Oct | “Remember Who You Are,” Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. |
| 2 Nov | In Chester, Pennsylvania, Crozer honors King with its first Alumni Achievement Award. |
| 8 Nov | Men's Day sermon, Zion Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
| 22 Nov | Seventy-first anniversary sermon, Union Grove Baptist Church, Columbus, Ohio. |
| 29 Nov | King resigns from Dexter during Sunday morning services. |
| 20 Dec | “The Significance of the Manger,” Dexter. |
| 27 Dec | “After Christmas, What?” Dexter. |
In this Publication
From Ruth H. and Ralph J. Bunche
Bunche, Ralph J. (United Nations); Bunche, Ruth H.
September 20, 1958
Publisher
University of California Press
Publication Date
2007