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Gospels

Terror and Amazement!

09-Apr-23 Mark 16:1-8 Easter Day The Immediate problem facing the women is the stone that has been rolled against the entrance to the tomb. The women who are coming to the tomb on this first Easter morning are well aware of it’s presence. They watched, earlier, when Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus and sealed the […]

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Gospels

Allowing God to do God’s Work

19-Mar-23 John 9:1-41 Fourth Sunday in Lent Sin is a very popular topic for people to talk about. As long, of course, as it is not our sin that they are talking about. Even though it is OK for us to talk about the sins of others, we do not want anyone to ever talk […]

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Gospels

The Decision

05-Mar-23 Matthew 26:36-56 Second Sunday in Lent One of the great Baptist heresies, and there are many, is that we will not allow Jesus to be human. We give only lip service to his humanity. At Christmastime, we speak of the incarnation, and we talk about God in the flesh, but really, we don’t want […]

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Gospels

Down From Up

19-Feb-23 Matthew 17:1-9 I wonder, sometimes, if we haven’t lost our sense of awe when we gather for worship on Sunday mornings. Worship is pretty serious business. We gather here, Sunday after Sunday, to intentionally put ourselves into the presence of the Living God. And when we do that, there ought to be a sense […]

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Gospels

God Meant it for Good

12-Feb-23 Matthew 25:45-26:3 In the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, there is a line that has always fascinated me. Joseph has been sold in to slavery by his jealous brothers. They really intended to kill him. It was that important for them to get rid of him, and get him out of their […]

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Gospels

The Power of Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16 05-Feb-23 I’ll bet we all know someone who is the salt of the earth. I meet these sorts of folks all the time. Its just that usually they’re already dead by the time I make their acquaintance. Perhaps you have to be dead before you can truly become the salt of the earth. […]

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Gospels

Becoming a True Child of God

08-Jan-23 Matthew 3 Given the opportunity, most of us would say that John the Baptist has about as much to do with Christmas as does Santa Claus. Or, maybe we’d give good ole’ Santa a slight edge over John. They might both wear really strange clothes, but at least Santa’s are red. If Santa had […]

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Gospels

Their Old Familiar Carols Play

01-Jan-23 Luke 2:8-20 “And in despair, I bowed my head, ‘there is no peace on earth’, I said, ‘for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.”‘ And so goes the third verse of the Christmas Carol, “I heard the bells on Christmas Day.” The words to that […]

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Gospels

Joseph Strives for Grace

18-Dec-22 Matthew 1:18-25 Fourth Sunday in Advent It is quite possible that Joseph might have missed Christmas. There is a whole lot of space between his discovery that his intended had been unfaithful, and the angelic visitation that set him on the right path. Much could have happened, and much did happen in that intervening […]

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Gospels

Jesus Told This Parable

23-Oct-22 Luke 18:9-14 Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt. Two things Luke tells us about the people to whom Jesus told this parable: one, these people were self-trusting and self-righteous. And, two, they regarded others with contempt. If we are trusting […]