tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63606092012-01-06T16:27:51.021-05:00Sermons, commentary on current events, and devotional thoughts from an evangelical Wesleyan perspective.Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.comBlogger6161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-86341033284221752602011-12-18T10:38:00.000-05:002011-12-18T10:40:48.516-05:00

28 August 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Ruth 1:19-22 19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” 20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought

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21 August 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Ruth 1:1-5 1 In the days when the judges ruled,[a] there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from

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14 August 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 37:1-5 1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel

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Today, as I type this, is an extraordinary day. I have been a pastor for over 10 years now, and this is the first Sunday that the church I was pastoring at the time didn't had a worship service. Now, I have personally missed Sunday worship services before for various reasons -- participation in weekend spiritual retreats, vacations, etc. -- but, always, our church gathered for worship without me,

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WHAT CAN I DO?7 August 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Judges 6:1-16 1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites,

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BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE31 July 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 4:1-3 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. -- around the time that I was graduating high

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TRUSTING JESUS24 July 2011I. Introduction-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 14:22-33 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land,

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THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN -- PERSECUTION(The Beatitude Series)17 July 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:10-1210 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is

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THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: PEACE-MAKING(The Beatitude Series)10 July 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be

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THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART(The Beatitude Series)3 July 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:8 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. -- as part of my ongoing midlife crisis, I have come up with the idea that I’m going to hike the Appalachian Trail, all 2,181 miles of it -- when I announced this exciting quest to Kim, she did just

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THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL(The Beatitude Series)26 June 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:7 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. -- There is a story told about a mother who came to Napoleon on behalf of her son who was about to be executed -- The mother asked the ruler to pardon her son for his crimes -- when Napoleon heard her

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THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS(The Beatitude Series)19 June 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed

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THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: BLESSED ARE THE MEEK(The Beatitude Series)12 June 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they

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THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: THOSE WHO MOURN(The Beatitude Series)5 June 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5 -- this morning, we are going to be continuing in our sermon series on the Beatitudes that I have titled, “The Measure of a Christian” -- as we said last time, the Beatitudes are a list of eight things that Jesus gave us in this passage in Matthew that we consider the

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THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: POOR IN SPIRIT(THE BEATITUDE SERIES)15 May 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:1-12 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will

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29 May 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Revelation 2:8-11 8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you

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22 May 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 24:3-8 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive

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1 May 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -- in Brennan Manning’s devotional, “Souvenirs of Solitude,” he tells the story of

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24 April 2011 (Easter Sunday)I. Introduction -- turn in your Bibles to Genesis 6:9-22 9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become,

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"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." Matthew 23:13 Last night we drove down to Jacksonville to see the Petra Reunion concert. For those who have never heard of Petra, they were one of the first, if not the first, contemporary Christian rock

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17 April 2011 (Palm Sunday) I. Introduction -- turn in your Bibles to John 12:12-19 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young

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3 April 2011 I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to John 1:35-42 35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where

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THE MEANING OF BAPTISM27 March 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 23:37 37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. -- before God sent the rain to us yesterday, you were probably aware that we had gotten really dry and

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LIVING IN A TSUNAMI WORLD20 March 2011I. Introduction -- turn in your Bibles to Psalm 1211 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. -- as I’m sure everyone in here knows, on March 11th at 2:46 pm the nation of Japan was rocked by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit off its northeast coast -- the fourth

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-74173905733993303592011-06-18T12:34:00.003-04:002011-06-18T12:49:15.130-04:00

Lately, we've been discussing "the church" and what the church is and what the church should be in our Bible Studies and Sunday night services. The church is not a building. The church is not an idea. The church is not a denomination or a sign out front. The church is God empowering His people to love others and to share with them the awesome power of the resurrected Christ. I have been trying to

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13 March 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Luke 4:1-2 1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. -- I want you to think for a moment about gifts -- everybody loves gifts, don’t they? -- we love to give them -- and

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6 March 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 30:15-22 15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be

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27 February 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Colossians 1:21-23 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move

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22 May 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 24:3-8 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-62447940220406591882011-05-15T10:32:00.001-04:002011-05-15T10:34:07.892-04:00

20 February 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Job 1:13-19 13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to

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For those who might be interested, I just started a new blog called, "The Christian Kindle." My plans are to post links to free and discount Christian books, and to provide short reviews of books that I have recently read.I hope that others will join in and post in the comments with their own reviews and links to Christian books.You can get to it by clicking on the name above, or by copying and

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A recent note from a friend passed my way that read, "Why do evil people always seem to win?" and it got me thinking. Yeah, why? Why do good things happen to bad people and, conversely, why does it seem like bad things happen to good people?Just this past week we were studying the Book of James in our Wednesday night Bible study, and James was trying to make the point to the first century

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13 February 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Acts 13:1-3 1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

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6 February 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Colossians 1:9-12 9. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every

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30 January 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 2 Timothy 3:14-17 14. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15. and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for

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23 January 2011I. Introduction -- if you have your Bibles, turn to 1 Samuel 3:1-10 1. The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. 2. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down

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9 January 2011I. Introduction -- The Epiphany -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12 1. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2. and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." 3. When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem

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2 January 2011I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Luke 24:13-32 13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing

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Finally, after waiting for two weeks, I was able to view the latest in the Chronicles of Narnia movies, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." With a new production company and a new director, I was curious to see whether this movie would compare favorably with C.S. Lewis' original manuscript or not. When compared to the other two movies, the Dawn Treader is certainly better than Prince Caspian, but

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12 December 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Luke 2 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town

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       In an African church led by missionary James King, a lady came to every service with an old dog who sat beside her on the outside aisle. When the invitation was given for people to pray, the dog took his place beside her at the altar.       One day, the woman’s husband beat her so severely that she died. Later, the man noticed the dog disappeared for about two hours on Wednesday nights

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        “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” -- Romans 12:1

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“And the angels filled the sky, all of heaven wondered why. Why their King would choose to be a baby born to die. And all fell silent, for the cry of an infant, the voice of God, was dividing history. For those with eyes to see, the Son would shine from earth that night. To break the chains of guilt and sin, to find us here, to pull us in. So that we can join in Heaven’s song

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Preached at Koinonia14 November 2010I. Introduction -- turn in your Bibles to John 21 John 21:1-17 -- Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said

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Last week, the entire world held their breath as the capsule designed to rescue the 33 trapped Chilean miners made its initial descent into the 24-inch shaft drilled through hard rock to the chamber where the miners had survived for 69 days underground. As I watched with the rest of the world and followed the updates throughout the day, I wondered to myself what these miners must have

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1 Kings 18:36-39 "At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

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               FINALLY, A TECHNOLOGY I CAN FULLY EMBRACE!!!

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A couple of years ago, I realized that I was in a rut in my reading habits. I had gotten consumed with reading Christian fiction, and that was pretty much all I read. And while I still like Christian fiction, the truth is that most of it is pretty flimsy stuff -- not a lot of meat and quite predictable plots. Every now and then a book or an author would surprise me, but for the most part, you

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Since I left the Methodist Church in June and started Koinonia Ministries, my family and I have had the opportunity to visit several different congregations in our local community for worship, trying to find a church that we could join while we waited for God's leading in our own ministry. We had the opportunity to visit mainline denominational churches and nondenominational churches. We

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Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV): 25 Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to

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Ran across this excerpt from "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel. Really spoke to me and about my life as a bivocational pastor. This is something that has to be guarded against, especially for those who are trying to minister full-time and work full-time in secular jobs. "As if on cue, when I was twenty-three, God opened a door for me to work at a historic downtown church. My

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have separated from the United Methodist Church to follow a call of God and start a non-denominational ministry called "Koinonia." As part of this ministry, we have started an outreach that we have been calling "Woof and Worship," and which has caused no end of concern for Christians in our city. "Church for dogs?" they ask incredulously. "You are starting a

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Juliet: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2), William Shakespeare.In this quote from Shakespeare's famous play, he makes the point that a name is just a thing. It doesn't matter what you call it -- the object itself is the important thing. A rose is still a rose and still smells just as sweet if you were to

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As many of you know, I resigned as a pastor in the United Methodist Church effective June 16th of this year. While I absolutely loved being a pastor and I loved the churches that I served, I felt a calling from God to leave to pursue other interests. Specifically, I felt a calling for intentional evangelism, outreach, and teaching to the unchurched persons in our hometown who were not being

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13 June 2010I. Introduction -- if you have your Bibles with you, I would invite you to turn with me to Luke 24:13-3513. Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked

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6 June 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 10. I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12. What I mean

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30 May 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Numbers 27:15-2315. Moses said to the LORD, 16. "May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community 17. to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD's people will not be like sheep without a shepherd." 18. So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of Nun, a

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23 May 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to John 14:16-2616. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17. the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19. Before long, the

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16 May 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Ezekiel 16 49. "`Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. -- Hudson Taylor is a name that few of us are familiar with these days -- but

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9 May 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 49:14-1614. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." 15. "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. -- have you ever been

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2 May 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 4 12. When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. 13. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali-- 14. to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15. "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan,

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25 April 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 17 1. After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4.

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18 April 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 2 Chronicles 7 11. When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12. the LORD appeared to him at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 13.

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11 April 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Acts 4:23-31 23. On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25. You spoke

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Easter Sunday Worship4 April 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Romans 3 Romans 3:23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, -- one of the most popular series of books over the past several years has been the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" -- this story has just been made into a movie that is currently playing at theaters in town -- the various stories in the "Diary of a Wimpy

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Easter Sunrise Service4 April 2010I. Introduction -- this morning, as we gather here at the foot of these three crosses and watch the sun rise on the horizon, we can't help but think of Charles Dickens' great quote that opened his book, "A Tale of Two Cities" -- "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times -- it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness-- it was the epoch of

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28 March 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 2 Timothy 1 6. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 8. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in

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21 March 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Numbers 214. They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5. they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" 6. Then the

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7 March 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Nehemiah 2 11. I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12. I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. 13. By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate

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To quote Zig Ziglar, every day I read my Bible and the newspaper so I can see what both sides are up to. And, right now, I have no idea what is going on in this world. I am baffled at the lack of attention internationally to the Iranian nuclear threat. Even if you remove the direct threats to Israel, why isn't the world going ballistic over an avowed enemy nation seeking nuclear weapons? Why

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28 February 2010I. Introduction -- turn in your Bibles to Luke 9 57. As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58. Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59. He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60

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14 February 2010I. Introduction -- turn in your Bibles to the Book of Ruth, Chapter 3 -- while you are doing that, since it is Valentine's Day today, I want to share with you some humorous quotes from kids on the subject of love and marriage that I got off the internet -- these were all in answer to questions that the interviewer asked -- How Do You Decide Who To Marry? -- Alan, age 10, said:

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7 February 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 21 28. "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, `Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' 29. "`I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, `I will, sir,' but he did not go. 31. "

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31 January 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians 78. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while-- 9. yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way

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24 January 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 58 1. "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just

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17 January 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Luke 13 1. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

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10 January 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to John 31. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." 3. In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no

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THE WAYWARD BUS3 January 2010I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 2 Peter 1 1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3. His divine power has given us everything we

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A humorous tidbit that made it's way to me via e-mail -- author unknown:You Might Be A Preacher If...You've evern waded into a creek wearing a necktie.You've ever dreamed you were preaching only to awaken and discover that you were.You'd rather negotiate with terrorists than with the church organist.You've ever worn a suit to a church picnic.A church picnic is no picnic.You've ever worn wing-tips

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CHRIST WAS LOVE21 December 2009I -- Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 1 John 3 16. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18. Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue

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A CHRISTMAS I.Q. TEST [Posted by The Daily Encourager [dlangerfeld@HarrisburgBaptist.org]]1. Joseph was originally from... (Luke 2:3) A. Bethlehem B. Nazareth C. Hebron D. Jerusalem E. None of the above 2. What does the Bible say that the Innkeeper said to Mary and Joseph? (Luke 2:7) A. "There is no room in the inn." B. "I have a stable you can use." C. "Come back later and I should have some

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PEACE ON EARTH6 December 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 32 22. That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25. When the man saw that he

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HOPE IS KINDLED29 November 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Jeremiah 33 1. While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: 2. "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it--the LORD is his name: 3. `Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable

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JOY IN THE SUFFERING 22 November 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Hebrews 12 1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set

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MAKING DISCIPLES15 NOVEMBER 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 1 Samuel 171. Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 2. Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3. The Philistines occupied one hill and

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THE WAY OF THE MASTER1 November 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 28 16. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-71134830149201380262009-12-12T02:00:00.000-05:002009-12-12T12:15:34.176-05:00

STAIN REMOVER18 October 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Psalm 51 1. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your

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HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL PEOPLE11 October 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Psalm 1161. I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. 3. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. 4. Then I called on the name

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-45137165462490129262009-12-12T01:00:00.000-05:002009-12-12T12:09:12.126-05:00

THE PORTRAIT OF A CHRISTIAN4 October 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Colossians 47. Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-33607538332872048362009-10-03T11:19:00.000-04:002009-10-03T11:20:46.135-04:00

THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL:FIRST-PERSON NARRATIVE OF THE PRODIGAL SONNAYLOR UMC HOMECOMING27 September 2009I. Introduction (Luke 15:11-32) 11. Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12. The younger one said to his father, `Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-28364389180031903742009-10-03T11:15:00.000-04:002009-10-03T11:16:45.421-04:00

WHAT ABOUT HIM?13 September 2009I. Introduction - turn in Bibles to John 21 18. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-92227801551257287452009-10-03T11:09:00.000-04:002009-10-03T11:10:24.541-04:00

THE SALT OF THE EARTH6 September 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5 13. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-41774538856426175432009-08-30T07:38:00.001-04:002009-08-30T07:38:53.443-04:00

MIRACLES30 August 2009 (Naylor UMC Only)I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians 1 8. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-70575142176544609062009-08-29T21:57:00.001-04:002009-08-29T21:57:51.293-04:00

BE PREPARED -- THE END IS NEAR23 August 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Luke 16 1. Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2. So he called him in and asked him, `What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.' 3. "The manager said to himself, `What shall I do

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-26652969694117779092009-08-29T16:45:00.002-04:002009-08-29T16:51:29.106-04:00

I just finished reading one of the most inspiring books on evangelism and missions I have ever read -- "God's Smuggler" by Brother Andrew. It shames me to think how small my faith really is and how little I do to make a difference in my world today. How many dead people do I walk past every day without noticing? How many people do I pass who are on their way to Hell simply because I don't say

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-7658935094152146872009-08-20T11:58:00.001-04:002009-08-20T11:58:29.271-04:00

PURSUING HOLINESS: SELF-CONTROL16 August 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Titus 211. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13. while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior,

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-46331463099002947192009-08-20T11:56:00.000-04:002009-08-20T11:57:00.824-04:00

PURSUING HOLINESS: GENTLENESS9 August 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 2 1. You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. 3. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-20100775447553886312009-08-20T11:39:00.000-04:002009-08-20T11:40:18.797-04:00

PURSUING HOLINESS: FAITHFULNESS2 August 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 4 1. So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-39829300737954570442009-08-20T11:38:00.001-04:002009-08-20T11:38:42.689-04:00

PURSUING HOLINESS: GOODNESS26 July 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to 1 Samuel 12 1. Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. 2. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3. Here I stand. Testify against me in the

Gregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714779828548152665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360609.post-81800785517208544392009-08-20T11:33:00.000-04:002009-08-20T11:35:58.189-04:00

PURSUING HOLINESS: KINDNESS19 July 2009I. Introduction -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 7 7. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10. Or if he asks for a fish,

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