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SERMONS |
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SERMONS FOR 2009
Sermons printed are not always the sermon delivered, but I hope that God will use these words to encourage, challenge, and nurture your faith.
Grace and Peace,
Bruce |
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A Tale on the High Seas
The Apostle Paul encourges us to trust Jesus when our life storms threaten to over take us. When our life is a shipwreck, Jesus brings us safely into the harbor of the Christian church. |
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Out of Jail Free
In Monopoly, the ?Get out of Jail Free? card cancels the debt we can not pay. Jesus came into the world to get us out of jail. Jesus cancels our debt of sin and restores us in the presence of God. Jesus cancels the debt of death and offers us eternal life. Jesus walks beside us and visits us in our prison whether our prison is physical, emotional, or spiritual. Jesus visits us where we are and walks with us out into fresh air. Let us be disciples of Christ who welcome and continue the journey. Amen |
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Go Out Fearlessly
From Janesville, we can witness to the world when we receive the power of the Holy Spirit. I challenge you to make a commitment for Christ. I invite you to the Table to be blessed for the unknown journey that we take because we have faith in the Triune God. Go out into the world fearlessly and serve the Lord our God. |
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God's Management
In our generosity will bless our community as we honor our Lord. Generosity means giving more than expected, more than a minimum. How well do you tip a server at a restaurant, 15-20% more or less depending on the service? I also believe we will see God?s blessings in our personal and corporate life, when we honor Lord with our commitments, pledges, and offerings to God?s glory. |
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Investing in our Future
When we learn to trust Jesus as our Lord, we can invest in our future through our support of the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. |
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Facing Fear
We live in fearful times. We learn to trust God, who promises to be with us even through those times. We can trust God and reduce our anxiety, fear, and worry. We can trust God even with our finances. |
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A Labor of Love - Labor Day Weekend
James encourages Christians to live their faith in very practical ways. We respond to God's grace by good works. We demonstrate our love for God by serving others. |
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Doers: A Generous Act
Christian faith requires actions. When we do the work of God, we are practicing the faith. Specators listen, while Christians act. |
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Armed and Secure
Christians are safe and secure in Jesus. The whole armor of God protects us and sends us out into battle with temptation and challenges. As we seek divine power for living we will survive and suceed. |
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Equipping the Saints
Our task, if we accept Christ as Lord and Savior is to equipping the sainst, other believers in being more Christ like. The equipping is not reserved for pastors and leaders, but for the church to work together in growing in Christian maturity, together. |
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Powerful Prayer - July 26
Jesus invites us to prayer. The Apostle Paul points to a powerful prayer for the Ephesians to claim their faith and inspire the world. |
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Grace to You, Saints of God - July 12th
As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birthday, we rejoice in God's gift of grace. Foundational to our Christian faith is our understanding that we are accepted by God and receive an eternal inheritance graciously given to us form God. |
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Sending Authority - July 5th
Jesus and his message was rejected in his home town. He moved on and then called the 12 disciples. Jesus sent the disciples out as apostles with authority to teach, preach, and heal. We, the modern disciples of Christ, are sent out with authority to teach, preach, and heal others with God's grace and forgiveness.
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How Does Your Garden Grow?
How does your spiritual garden grow? We nurture our faith through worship, Bible Study, and service. Let's have a good growing season. |
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Family Ties
We all live in a family. Some family relationships are health while others do not connect us to God. Jesus invites us to be part of God's family to find forgiveness and wholeness. |
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Finding Sabbath
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. We need a rest which is good for our souls. As we gather for worship, we remember God's gracious gift of rest that gives us energy for life. |
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Night School
Nicodemus comes to Jesus for a lesson at night regarding eternal life and discovers a spiritual rebirth. We can experience a spiritual rebirth when we encounter Jesus in Scripture through study. |
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Truth Telling
We learn to lie to save other people's feelings and then find it difficult to be truthful with ourselves. Jesus came that we can be honest to God, ourselves and others. |
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Take the Oath
Peter denied Jesus. When we do not serve Christ, we deny Jesus. Jesus forgives us all and uses fallible human beings to witness to God's grace. |
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Stay Awake and Pray
Jesus asked the disciples to stay awake, to watch, and to pray. We sometimes find it difficult to stay awake and give the Lord our full attention, to pray, and to be aware of the needs in our world. |
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The Basin and the Towel - April 26th
Reflecting on Michael Card's song, "The Basin and the Towel" Jesus gives the disciples a symbol for community. We are to care for the simplest needs of our friends. |
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The Easter Parade
Jesus appeared to a parade of people; from the women to the disciples to many faithful witnesses. Jesus continues to walk before us and calls us to continue celebrating His Resurrection. We share our witness to a parade of people in our lives.
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Consider Your Options - Palm Sunday
Consider your options for how you live your life. Jesus consider the options and choose to die that we might have sin. Jesus consider you important enough to die for your sins.
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Finale
As we reflect on the final words of Christ, we hear that "It is Finished." Christ's work is finished on the cross, but not really until the resurrection. Then, Christ continues to work through us. |
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Abundant Blessing
We are abundantly blessed. We may not realize in our little acts of service and worship we share God's blessings with others. |
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Power of Life
Jesus restores the life of the little girl and the hemorragging woman. Jesus restores our lives too. |
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Power of Faith
The official returns home and he prayed that Jesus was right, that his son would live. I think he wrestled with his doubts and frustrations. I invite you to reflect on your encounters with Christ. Remember the times in your life, when God shed light on your darkness. This is the power of faith which Jesus invites us to share with others. |
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The Power of Friends
I wonder who would be my friends to bring me to Jesus. I wonder who I might bring to Jesus. In Luke's Gospel, the paralytic had friends willing to go out of their way for a friend. Jesus rewards our faithful friendships. |
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Feeling Abandoned
Furing our Lenten Series on the Last Seven Words of Christ, I shared the power of Christ's and our feeling of abandonment from the foot of the cross. But the Good News remains; "That nothing in life, or death can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ!" Even when we feel isolated and alone. |
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A Foreign Concept - March 8th
Only the foreigner, a Samaritan, returns to thank Jesus and praise God for his healing. We look at the world differently when we praise the Lord our God and give thanks for our daily blessings. I encourage you this Lent to give thanks for the gift of faith and the promises for a blessed life and the hope for eternity. I pray that during Lent you will return to Jesus giving thanks and praising the God. I realize this is all a foreign concept. |
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Child's Play
Jesus welcomed the children and invites us to interrupt our lives with a joyful faith. We can return to our childhood faith and enter the Kingdom of God. |
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Where is Your Tarshish?
God called Jonah to serve in Nineveh, but he attempt to escape to Tarshish, an imaginary, idealized refuge. We sometimes seek to avoid the challenging tasks of God. Yet, God wants to use us to bring a message of love and forgiveness to those wicked sinners around us. |
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The Great Pretenders
We sometimes pretend to be great Christians. We don't worship a pretend god, and our God does not seek pretend followers. When we imitate Christ, we express our love for God and neighbor.
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Winners and Whiners
As we watch Olympic winners and hear other whiners, let us think about how we whine when God calls us to be winners. |
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One Who Struggles with God - Aug 3
What I adore on the basketball floor,
is WRESTLING mats door to door!
As a wrestler and coach, I've find Jacob wrestling at the Jabbok a fascinating text. Israel means: "One who struggles with God." One who struggles with God will be changed. Unforunately, many struggle with God and ignore God's decrees, leaving God to limp away. |
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God's Kingdom is Like - July 27
Jesus tells a series of parables on God's Kingdom. Our task is to understand the joy of being a Child of God in the Kingdom. |
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The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Weeds grow everywhere, even in church. While we can root out the weeds in our own life, Jesus waits until the end of time to burn the weeds that are growing around us. |
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Havest Work - June 28
Jesus invites us all to assist in the heavenly harvest. We begin small so that we are not overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. |
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No Easy Job - June 22
Understanding the Apostle Paul is no easy task. Accepting God's grace is not easy either. When we walk with Jesus, we can live the Christian life. |
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A Bundle of Joy - Father's Day
Sarah declared Isaac to be a joy when she produced God's promised son with Abraham. God still brings miracles of joy to our life, let us find God's joyful gift each day.
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Steadily Making Our Way
Throughout history, the Lord our God leads us through uncertian times. God called Abram and Sarai to leave their comfortable and familiar setting to go out into the unknown. Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple when he could not possibly understand what that meant. Today, we live in uncertain times and God walks with us and calls us to trust the Lord Jesus Christ for all things. |
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Serving One God - Trinity Sunday
The Triune God revealed in Scripture balances our free will and the inflexible rules of faith. The Triune God whom we worship and serve empowers us with a freedom from sin and a set of holy guidelines for living. |
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Small Gifts - Pentecost Sunday
Our mother's nurtured us with small gifts of advice. Our Lord sends the Holy Spirit to nurture us with spiritual gifts for the building up of the Christian community. |
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The Harder They Fall - April 27
When we don?t reach out to others in Christ's name, because we fear what others think, Goliath wins. When we fear the unknown, we fail to trust God. The Lord of Hosts will fortify our strength to face the giant task ahead of us. The Spirit of God will empower us to win battles that seem impossible. Our faith will strengthen each time we trust the Lord of all, in all circumstances. |
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Follow Closely - April 13
We praise God for the blessings of our faith: the gift of forgiveness and the hope of resurrection as weserve together in the name of Christ. As we positively pressure one another to live faithfully and to follow the Risen Lord joyfully, I do believe God will add to our number as our neighbors see the awesome work of God. |
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Can You Hear Me Now?
We can walk through life without being aware of God?s call to reach out to God?s children. Samuel first delivered a message of correction then a message of hope in the Lord?s continued interest in personal lives. The disciples immediately began to proclaim a message of joy in God?s wonderful grace. We too have a message to share of the Risen Lord?s activity in our life |
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Show and Tell - Easter
God will show and tell us to witness to the resurrection. We encounter Jesus when we go out on a mission to tell others of our experience of Christ. As a disciple, we can experience the love of God and the power of the resurrection. We encounter the unbelievable work of God, when we least expect it. |
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Blessed by God - March 16
God blesses us; let us bless our family, friends, and strangers by retelling the story of Jesus who came into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, to fulfill God?s eternal plan. The Lord will bless us as we walk with Jesus through the Garden of Gethsemane to the Cross of Calvary, and eventually stand at Easter?s empty tomb. Embrace the blessings this Holy week and every day with Christ brings to you and yours. |
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We Don?t Go Alone - March 9
In our grief at the death of someone whom we love, we too focus on the absence of the person. We feel alone. We feel abandoned. When we feel alone, Jesus comes to us. In the resurrection, Jesus, knows our grief and walks through our sorrow and gives us life. Jesus Christ came into the world that we will never be alone |
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Transparent Walls Fall - March 2nd
Jesus sees beyond the facade walls we create to penetrate our deepest need for healing. Jesus builds bridges over barriers so that we can be in relationship with all of God's children.
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Who Is This Jesus? - Lenten Feb. 13
A disciple of Jesus encourages us to examine the work of Jesus and hear his message so we may experience the love of God and know the peace of complete forgiveness of your sins. |
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Faith: Risky Business - Feb 10
A character portrayal, as Nicodemus, inviting the congregation to take a risk in claiming the name of Jesus Christ. Faith is risky, we are completely known by God and loved. Following Jesus is a risky business. Others may not understand the transformation which God patiently, but persistently achieves. |
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Gifts from Heaven - February 3rd
Christians receive a gift from heaven in God?s son whom came that we may live in God?s glory. Christ dwelt in our company walking with us in the wilderness and guiding us through life?s challenges. |
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Set for Freedom - January 27th
Today, our Christian community again feels the pressure of a self-centered world. God set us free to follow Christ and then empowers us with the Holy Spirit to express our love in service to our neighbors. Christ transforms us to be a loving community. |
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Set to Go - January 20th
The Apostle Paul encourages us to grow in the fellowship of Jesus Christ to strengthen our faith that God is still moving. We will receive the spiritual gifts to accomplish the Lord?s ministry in our generation. The Lord has prepared us, we are set to go out to the unknown where Almighty God walks with us. |
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Set for Service - January 13th
The elders and deacons are not the only one God is calling to serve. You are set to serve right now, because the Holy Spirit will enable a faithful servant to know the success of ministry. |
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Set Aside - January 6th
God sets aside servants for ministry. As we ordain and install officers, they've been set aside for a particular service. God can use us all. |
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The Journey of Wonder
John the Baptist wondered if Jesus was truly the Messiah and sent his diciples to uncover the truth. As Christians, we may wonder too. Jesus urges us to witness to what we see and hear, so that we may go tell the world of God's work. |
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The Journey for All People
Jesus came for all people. Let us share the good news with one and all, not just those who are like us and whom we like. |
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The Journey of Alteration
As we commence our Advent journey, Jesus invites us to reflect on our lives and our need for a Savior. The Christian life becomes alters as we live in and share the love of God with our neighbors, being concerned for their well being. |
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Remembering God's Promises
On Christ the King Sunday, we remember that our God promises to be with us. God's promises are fulfilled, but usually not on our impatient time table. God grace blesses us with hope for eternity and help for living each day. |
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Remembering God's Blessings
We celebrate Thanksgiving and recall God's blessings in our lives. We respond with our stewardship of our time, talents, and treasures. |
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Remembering God's Faithfulness
The Lord is faithful even if we are not. We are broken and yet the Lord of Love still uses us for a purpose. Let us respond with faithfulness to the truth remembering that God is faithful to us. |
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Remembering God's Guidance
We gather to remember who we are and those who shaped our lives. We remember that Jesus Christ offers us hope for eternal life and to guide us each day. |
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Walking with God
When we walk with God, the Lord challenges us to be in mission and minsitry. Every one is called to serve our Risen Lord in some way to bring our faith to others. |
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After the Flood
Noah, worshipped the Lord after the flood. One leper out of ten, returned to worship the source of Divine Grace. In our worship, we the source of our peace and joy. |
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Knowing God is Good
God is Good...All the time! All the time....God is God!
God's love endures forever, bringing grace to our sin filled lives. There is nothing that God will not forgive us, if we only repent of our sins. As far as the east is from the west, so far does the Lord remove our sins. |
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Growing the Good Life
God created us to enjoy the good life. False prophets claim the good life is gaining riches. Jesus teaches that the good life, reclaims our godly life. |
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The Lord's Laborers
The Lord invites us to labor in God's fields ripe for a harvest of souls. Jesus sent ordinary men and women to prepare for the message of peace and grace. |
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Well Said
We gather to joyfully worship God. We respond to God's grace in our lives with enthusiasm and enjoyment of the Lord's redemption of our lives. We worship with great thanksgiving for grace. |
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Well Built
God built this house. God entrusts us to manage this property for ministry and mission. The Lord has greatly blessed us in our renovations over the past 10 years. There is more to do, and always will be. |
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Face Time at First
Face time is a type of fellowship getting to know one another. Jesus invites us to live with one another in a way beyond the simple superficial face time of the world. |
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Wanted:Kingdom Workers
We are called to share with others...Our service to others is led by our love for Christ. To be involved in mission, allows us an opportunity to encounter those in need with Christ's compassion. |
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Sharing Jesus
Some think the job of the pastor is to evangelize, or at least increase the worship attendance. Jesus commissioned all disciples/members to evangelize (tell the good news) that is why it's called the Great Commission. We all can tell of God's love revealed by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. |
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Increase Our Faith
Jesus calls us to strengthen our faith. Our faith develops through our education in God's Holy Word. When we open our lives to God's Word, we are transformed. |
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Caring for Our Own
God calls us to care for our own church family. God calls us to support and encourage active participation of all members in the work and worship of our church. |
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First in Line
Jesus Christ is the first in line. Do we follow Christ's leadership? Do we practice our faith with fervent integrity? |
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Moving Forward
Following a sabbatical, we look to our future shared ministry together. We move forward as we look back at the ministry accomplished in Christ's name rejoicing. We move forward as we seek God's divine guidance to how we can be more faithful. |
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Standing in the Need of Prayer
We are in need of prayer, but we begin prayer with praise. One model of prayer even places our prayers of intercession before we petition for our own needs. |
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The Foundation of Prayer
In times of tragedy, we turn to God in prayer. Prayer begins in a quiet place where we praise God for being God. |
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I Can See Clearly
I can see clearly now the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way. The song by Johnny Nash helps opens our eyes to the distance between our baptism and a life of committed faith illustrate by Johnny Hart's faith. |
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We are Witnesses
We witness to the Risen Christ by our actions, what we do and what we leave left undone in Christ's name. We give positive testimony when we witness to God's transforming love in our life. We offer negative testimony when we allow bitterness and apathy to reign. |
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Long Live the King
In the long line of Davidic Kings, King Jesus comes. We sing praise and glorify King Jesus when we submit to God's authority in our life. |
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Following to Safety
Jesus tells a parable of the lost sheep. God will search for us diligently until we follow Jesus safely home. |
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Following the Unexpected
We follow the unexpected love of Jesus Christ. Many events in life are unexpected, Christian faith gives us hope as Jesus walks with us and calls us to get up and live. |
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Following Little Footsteps
Jesus blessed the little children and invites us to follow them into the kingdom of God. When we welcome children in worship, support their parents, we are blessing God's kingdom.
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How to Risk Everything in Faith
Our Lenten journey of faith continiues with the woman who annointed Jesus at Bethany. She risked everything while others risked little to honor God's annointed Son. We have opportunities to share our faith in our family, our church, and our community. |
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Going Straight
What does it take to get us moving straight as God would like us to?
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My Way, God's Highway
It's my way or the highway, echoes throughout the land. God's way transforms our way so that we may find peace and joy. |
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Saints from Sinners
Jesus spent time with sinners to convert them through repentence. The church, a hospital for sinners, reaches out to sinners of all sorts to show them God's love. |
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What Are You Thinking Lord?
We wonder what God is thinking, when we are called to service. Jesus calls us then empowers us to do ministry. |
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Lovely Loyalty
Loyalty is a character issue. Our loyalty to God permeates our lives and brings others into an understanding of faith. |
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Lonely Love
Being a Christian sometimes invites to a very lonely place, different than the world around us. Jesus promises to be there with us, and encourages us to speak the truth in love to our community. |
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Lively Leading
Christ calls us all to be living for our Risen Lord with our service. We all have a ministry in the name of Christ. |
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