Stanford
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
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.

Download the Introduction to Volume 6 (pdf)

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

Date Title
4 Apr 1954 “Going Forward by Going Backward,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
2 May 1954 Acceptance Address at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
May 1954 “Mental and Spiritual Slavery,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
4 July 1954 “A Religion of Doing,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
11 July 1954 “What Is Man?” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
5 Sept 1954 “God’s Love,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
9 Sept 1954 “The Vision of a World Made New”
12 Sept 1954 “Propagandizing Christianity,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
26 Sept 1954

“Creating the Abundant Life,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
17 Oct 1954 “New Wine in New Bottles,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Nov 1954 “Transformed Nonconformist”
Nov 1954 “Beyond Condemnation,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
1953–1955 “Christ, The Center of Our Faith”
Jan 1955 On Worshiping False Gods
Jan 1955 “Opportunity, Fidelity, and Reward,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
8 May 1955 “The Crisis in the Modern Family,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
15 May 1955 “Other Mountains,” Baccalaureate Sermon at Alabama State College
19 June 1955 “The Peril of Superficial Optimism in the Area of Race Relations”
26 June 1955 “Discerning the Signs of History”
28 June–3 July 1955 “The Task of Christian Leadership Training for Education in the Local Community”
7 Aug 1955 “Worship,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
18 Sept 1955 “Looking Beyond Your Circumstances,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
25 Sept 1955 “Pride Versus Humility: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
2 Oct 1955 “The Impassable Gulf (The Parable of Dives and Lazarus),” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
20 Nov 1955 “The One-Sided Approach of the Good Samaritan”
4 Dec 1955 “Why Does God Hide Himself”
1 Jan 1956 “Our God Is Able”
15 Jan 1956 “How Believe in a Good God in the Midst of Glaring Evil”
22 Jan 1956 “Redirecting Our Missionary Zeal”
5 Feb 1956 “It’s Hard to Be a Christian”
26 Feb 1956 “Faith in Man”
18 Mar 1956 “When Peace Becomes Obnoxious”
29 Apr 1956 “Fleeing from God”
Sept 1956 “Living Under the Tensions of Modern Life,” Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Oct 1956 The Prodigal Son
Oct 1956 “The Fellow Who Stayed at Home”
14 Apr 1957 Garden of Gethsemane, Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
21 Apr 1957 Questions That Easter Answers, Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
28 Apr 1957 The Rewards of Worship, Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
5 June 1957 “The Most Durable Power,” Excerpt from Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on 6 November 1956
14 July 1957 “Overcoming an Inferiority Complex,” Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
21 July 1957 The Mastery of Fear
4 Dec 1957 The Christian Way of Life in Human Relations, Address Delivered at the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches
12 Mar 1958 “The Christian Doctrine of Man,” Sermon Delivered at the Detroit Council of Churches’ Noon Lenten Services
3 June 1958 Paul’s Letter to American Christians, Sermon Delivered to the Commission on Ecumenical Missions and Relations, United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.
14 Sept 1958 “A Knock at Midnight”
14 Dec 1958 “Worship at Its Best,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
21 Dec 1958 “Christ Our Starting Point,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
1959 When Your A String Breaks
1959 I’m Going To: Procrastination
5 Apr 1959 Unfulfilled Hopes
7 Aug 1959 My Call to the Ministry
9 Aug 1959 “Divine and Human Mutuality”/ “Man’s Helplessness Without God”
16 Aug 1959 “The Conflict in Human Nature,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
30 Aug 1959 “A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart”
20 Oct 1959 To William E. Newgent
27 Nov 1959 To Samuel McCrea Cavert
1954–1960 Man's Sin and God's Grace

IV: Ebenezer Baptist Church

Date Title
28 Feb 1960 “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Sermon Delivered at Friendship Baptist Church
3 Apr 1960 “Love in Action” I
2 Oct 1960 “The Seeking God”
Jan 1961 “What Happened to Hell?”
6 Mar 1961 The Man Who Was a Fool, Sermon Delivered at the Detroit Council of Churches’ Noon Lenten Services
7 Mar 1961 Loving Your Enemies, Sermon Delivered at the Detroit Council of Churches’ Noon Lenten Services
19 Nov 1961–2 Dec 1961 Sermons on Secrets
1962 “Without a Preacher”
16 Sept 1962  “Levels of Love,” Sermon Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church
30 Sept 1962 “Can a Christian Be a Communist?” Sermon Delivered at 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

Three Essays on Religion

King, Martin Luther, Jr.
September 01, 1948 to May 31, 1951

How do we determine conjectured information?

Author(s)
Clayborne Carson
Susan Carson
Susan Englander
Troy Jackson
Gerald L. Smith, eds.
Publisher
University of California Press
Publication Date
2007

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