... s Witness to Jesus’ Discourse on Adultery and Divorce (5:27-28; 19:3-12) Mark’s Witness to Jesus’ Discourse on Adultery and Divorce (10:1-12) Luke’s Witness to Jesus’ Discourse on Divorce (16:18) The Tablet of the Heart and our Witness Written by the Hand of the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3) John’s Witness to Jesus’ Encounter With a Woman Accused of Adultery On the last day and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood there and cried out: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me! Let ...
... 17) Minor Text The Fourth Sunday in Jesus’ Lenten Journey The Priest of Melchizedek, King of Salem (Genesis 14:14-18) The Priestly Garments of Holiness (Exodus 28) The Ordination of Aaron (Leviticus 8) Aaron’s Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:22 ... Coming Priest (The Testament of Levi) The Priest in the Order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5 and 7) Zechariah’s Vision About His Son John (To Be Called the Baptist) (Luke 1:5-17) Jesus’ Prayer in Gethsemane, His Arrest, and His Confrontation by Caiaphas the High ...
Jeremiah 23:1-8, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 80:1-19, Psalm 23:1-6, John 10:22-42, John 10:1-21
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... Lectionary Major Text Jesus the Good Shepherd and the Infiltrators of God’s Sheep Gate: Jesus’ Disputes with the Pharisees According to John (John 10) Psalm 80: The Shepherd of Israel Psalm 23: The Lord As Shepherd David Son of Jesse, A Herder of Sheep, is ... Will Raise Up a Righteous Shepherd (Jeremiah 23) Minor Text The Role of the Priests and the Prophet Among You (Deuteronomy 18) The Unpopular Prophet Who Speaks God’s Word, Micaiah (1 Kings 22) Psalm 51: A Psalm of Confession and Plea for Absolution ...
Psalm 118:1-29, Isaiah 18:1-7, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23, 1 Peter 2:4-12
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... God’s Spirit Within (Ezekiel 36) The Story of Jesus’ Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36; Mark 9:2-13, 32) The Warnings Against Idols (1 Corinthians 10) Peter Confirms the Disciples’ Witness to Jesus’ Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-18) The Revelation of John and the Church in Pergamum (Revelation 1 and 2:12-17) The Seal of the Multitude Washed White in the Blood of Jesus (Revelation 7) The Light of the Lord’s Eternal City (Revelation 21) Image Exegesis: Living Stones / Gilgal “Thus says ...
... what all of us need--to see Jesus and to know that he is real and that he is with us in life’s trials and turmoil. Pastor John Jewell tells of a man named Charles who was lying in a hospital bed near death. Anyone who knew Charles would tell you he was not a nice ... Outlines) (p. 125). GodSpeed Publishing. Kindle Edition. 5. “18 Words for Sadness that Don’t Exist in English” by JR Thorpe, February 24, 2020. Bustle.com, https://www.bustle.com/p/18-words-for-sadness-depression-that-dont-exist-in- ...
... insert a personal loss here.) I know and you know it. Try to imagine the pain of Mary, Jesus’ mother; Peter, his disciple; John, a faithful follower; or even Mary Magdalene, a wretched soul saved by his loving spirit. Can you feel their horror as the hammer ... him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” (Matthew 20:18-19) They certainly didn’t remember his comments or they would have been aware and hopeful of the third day when he would rise ...
... them, 'Follow me and I will make you fish for people.' And immediately they left their nets and followed him" (Mark 1:18). There are times in our lives when Jesus dramatically beckons us to stop what we are doing for the moment and to ... the road, and the journey has not become any easier. On the road to Emmaus two persons, Cleopas and no doubt his wife Mary (see John 19:25), were rightfully distraught after the dreadful end of Jesus' ministry. The forces of evil had prevailed, and Jesus lay dead in the tomb ...
... home, is that the name Jesus means "God will save" and that, therefore, the grace of God and the grace of Jesus are one and the same! John's version of Jesus' lengthy prayer for the unity of all ends with Jesus saying "that the love with which you have loved me may be in ... negative terms: "Do not unto others what you would not they should do unto you." The Jewish equivalent in Leviticus 19:18 is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no question but that we can take heart from this remarkable ...
"... On this rock I will build ..." - Matthew 16:18 The disciples of Jesus had been with him for quite a long time, a couple of years probably. Then one day he asked ... and spirit and moral quality. Jesus has reason to be concerned as to what we believe about him. "Who do you say that I am?" It is a critical question. He comes. He says, "I am ... truth." (John 14:6) I am realism, he says, I am the way it is. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." This is who I am ...
... ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." - John 8:31-36 (RSV) This short passage of Scripture used to elude me. Being ... to do with power and authority, conflict and liberation. So Jesus’ words in John 8 have to do with the liberty Jesus has won for us at ... of all things. As the Son, he has all the authority of the Father. We read in John 3: "He who God has sent [namely, Jesus] utters the words of God; ... the Father loves the ... John 3:16ff. 8. Cf. John 5:24. 9. John 3:34ff. 10. Revelation 1 ...
... eyesight who had actually beheld the animal. Relating this story to our understanding of God, we humans are blind in our perception of him, and we, therefore, need the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom John 1:18 says: "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him (unto us)." John 14:9 further states (in the words of Philip to Jesus): "... Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and ...
... ; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes." (Luke 22:17-18) "I am the vine and this cup is the fruit of the vine. When you drink of this cup you partake of the fruit of my vine. ... in so doing we give glory to God. "By this my Father is glorified," Jesus says, "that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples" (John 15:8). At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me make it clear one more time. We do not give glory to God by ...
... us that in God’s hand are power and might (1 Chronicles 29:12). Only with God are all things possible (Matthew 19:26). In his Gospel Saint John tells us about a man who wanted with all his heart to be healthy but couldn’t make it happen. In Jerusalem there was a pool called ... almighty power. "All power has been given unto me in heaven and on earth," Jesus said (Matthew 28:18). "He was declared to be the Son of God with power by his Resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4). God has given him power over ...
... renewed. There is power available for life and its demands. "The vast resources of his power open to us who trust him" (Ephesians 1:18). When God calls us to something, he sustains us in it. You can count on that. Read through the New Testament book of Acts ... , his strength, his mission, his joy and his peace, and ultimately his destiny. He had glimpsed the Eternal. The old hymn by John Neale throws out the challenge to all of us who struggle with the limitations of our human-ness. Art thou weary, Art thou ...
... FEAR NOT! I have loved you with an everlasting love! I am Yahweh, the God who makes and keeps His promises! I will be there for you! You can count on me! One of the most powerful verses in the Bible comes from the New Testament letter of John (I John 4:18): "There is no fear in love," he says. "But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment." We’re afraid the future will punish us! We’re afraid others will let us down! We’re afraid of death, and disease, and disaster! But the ...
... owns the Hyatt hotel chain. They also own many other businesses, including cruise lines, railroads, and banks. In 2002, 18-year-old Liesel Pritzker sued her father and other family members, claiming that they drained her trust fund ... then would the dogs stagger to their feet and half-heartedly attempt to pull the sled. The dogs were in really bad shape when they staggered into John Thompson's camp at the mouth of the White River. Thompson told the men that the ice was melting and the bottom was about to drop ...
... book titled, “Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth” in spite of the fact that Jesus said precisely the opposite in Luke 10:18! One can understand how such a state of affairs might come to be, for belief in the devil rises when people feel that ... world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:31-32) We therefore should deal with the devil as the liar he is, as a power whose nerve has been cut, and of whom, we ...
... ." That's the King James version of His words. "I will not leave you desolate." That's the Revised Standard Version. But the New Revised Standard Version finally gets it right. It has Jesus saying, "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you." (John 14:18) The Greek word used in our text is orphanous, from which we get the word, "orphan." That's the word that inspired this sermon. What avenues of thought it opens up for us! The word means, literally, "without a father." It was also used of disciples ...
... wondrous cross...” Singing in the shadow of the cross! George Matheson was a brilliant scholar in his youth. But he started going blind at 18 and was totally blind at age 21. But he wrote the great hymn, “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.” Out of his ... 1935 version! Hymn-changing and tampering with “the original words” is not a new pastime. It has a long and honorable history. John Wesley did not like the line “Thy saints have dwelt secure” in the hymn “Our God, our help in ages past,” ...
... : "For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night." And 2 Peter 3:18 (our second lesson) says: "But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a ... be more appropriate for the first Sunday of a new year. If our New Year celebrations are about finding meaning in the passage of time, John starts his Gospel by taking us back to the beginning of time. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, ...
... not know these things?" It's a question relevant to us -- because it's the question of grace. Let's look at Nicodemus for a moment. John doesn't dwell on him, doesn't tell us much about him. Yet I doubt if there is an any more intriguing person in the gospels ... through the word of God which lives and abides forever..." James speaks of God begetting us with a word of truth (James 1:18). And the letter to Titus speaks of the washing of regeneration (Titus 3: 5). Sometimes -- the idea is spoken of as a death ...
... on their foreheads. A company called Headvertise, a Providence, R.I. firm, sells these ads mostly through websites geared to those 18-24. Live billboards like Johnson & Wales University sophomore Amy Johnson earn up to $200 a week. It’s easy money, she ... of a need to share the burden of her young heart, Amy startled the young pastor by saying, “I just wanted you to know, pastor, John and I are sleeping together. It’s all right. We love each other and when we get out of school, we are going to marry. I ...
... brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Luke 4:18, kjv). The word brings deliverance by pointing to the Deliverer, Jesus Christ. The Word Brings Singing My lips will pour forth praise, for you ... you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). The Word, which brought a world out of nothing, can bring a new life out of an old dead soul. God ...
... lay down my life for you." Jesus responded, "I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows you will disown me three times!" (John 13:38). The truth about ourselves isn't very flattering. The truth about our hearts is hard to face: our hearts are ... in heaven: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). For those who said God could only work in certain ways and through certain people, Jesus told the truth about a God who ...
... of Christ's resurrection, of God's grace and love. And not for just the fifty days of the Easter season, but for the whole church year! After the resurrection the New Testament records that Christ appeared to a number of people. First there were the women at the tomb (John 20:11-18; Matthew 28:1-10). Christ appeared to his disciples in the Upper Room (John 20:19-21a). He walked with Cleopas and others on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). Christ visited the disciples a second time at the water ...