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A Defiled Heart Made Clean Sermon Goal: That hearers confess that their hearts produce nothing but evil but that by the Gospel God creates in them new, clean hearts that desire to keep his commandments. “Just follow your heart.” Or, “Their heart was in the right place.” Undoubtedly you’ve heard these…

Call to Worship Gathering for Worship Called to Worship The Might of the Word Prayers of the People Benediction Sent out to live Worship Worth-ship Some shops are a bit lazy with their price tags. Sometimes I’ll spot something I like - or need - and I won’t find the price on it. Then - in my head - I’ll…

False Worship can be characterized as any forms of worship that are not worthy of God, especially worship offered without sincerity and obedience or that is contrary to the commands of God. Contrary Worship Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense…

We need reminders. We do not always get things right the first time. We must continue to be reminded of what we should know and do know in order to live out our faith well. Life can be exhausting. As a church we know this to be true right now. We have had a long 5 weeks hosting 4 funerals. Church we…

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not…

Tradition vs. Transformation: Pursuing a True Encounter with God Primary Scripture Reading 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. Introduction Imagine someone giving you a beautifully wrapped gift. You’re thrilled to…

At the beginning of this series I made reference to Jesus speaking of Jonah as if Jonah is a real person, as a manner to dismiss the idea that Jonah is just a person of myth or legend. Jesus speaks of Jonah as historical figure, as he does Nineveh, and he does the Queen of the South. Bartering with God…

The Purpose Fascination - Discovery - Identity - Authenticity One day, Napoleon was speaking of the Divinity of Christ; when General Bertrand said:— “I can not conceive, sire, how a great man like you can believe that the Supreme Being ever exhibited himself to men under a human form, with a body, a…

Mark 7:31–37 (NIV84) 31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. 33 After he took him aside,…

Belong The 1975 Methodist Liturgy for Baptism & confirmation asks the candidates: - God the father, creator of heaven and Earth? - His Son, Jesus Christ, who redeemed humankind? - the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the people of God? And how our belief in God as Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit gives…

“Fear Not, for The Lord is With You!” 45 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. 47 When it was evening, the boat was in the…

Life’s not fair. We have all heard and probably said this out loud to others. Usually to stop their complaining. And when someone says it to us, usually it sucks. Because no one ever says that when they have just won a prize. Got first place! Lifes not fair! It always comes at a time of pain and suffering.…

It’s always a joy to return to a place that was so formative for me. For those who do not know me, I attended and served here during the majority of my college years and was blessed by the teachings, friendships, mentors, discipleship, and everything else that came as being part of this church. I pray…

We want to be right. No one likes to lose or to be wrong. Failure seems like the worst experience. This goes along with the first point. We do not want to fail and we have started to experience that failure means we are “worthless”. Our culture has become so toxic in this way we have given rise to anxiety…

“Fear Not, for The Lord is With You!” 45 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. 47 When it was evening, the boat was in the…

Who/What gets the last/final word? When determining matters of faith, life, and relationships what gets final say? How do we determine what is right and wrong? How do we determine what is best from good? Everyone has traditions. All of the world has a tradition. Every culture has their own. Every religion.…

10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 22 And they came to Bethsaida.…

Become This is the last sermon in a series that looks at the concepts: Believe Belong Become Reflecting on what it means to be a member of a church. And more specifically - a Methodist Church. Our believing in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit leads us in to a way of life. The Father…

The Right Way We see in verse 24 a way...God beckons us to enter in the straight gate... Not just any old way but the “Straight Gate” Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. We see that many will not be able to enter in... We sometimes…

Pride Defies God We can see lessons on pride from the book of Proverbs. These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, Feet that be swift in running to mischief,…

Introduction Noel Most, if not all, of us just sang The First Noel , which begins with the line The first Noel the angel did say How many of us know what a Noel is? It’s not a word we use commonly, even at Christmas-time, except to reference this song. Noel comes to us from French, which in turn took…

Morning 1 October 2023

The Question 1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the…

3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,…

Connecting the Dots When things are not easy to reconcile in our minds. Read 1 “You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. 2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his…