... the good things done by the state. We are to revere the cross, worship the Lord and live out our lives in faith, hope, and love as Christians. 2. Cross orflag: Which takes precedence in the lives of Christians? This much we know: we will be in deep trouble if we ... taxes, obeying the laws of the land, and working for the benefit of others. But hold up the cross by your thankful and loving response to God's goodness in your total stewardship, which builds up the church in the world, even if it, at times, means ...
... could that be one of the reasons that I, at one time, sided in with Rome ... fear? (Looks up at cross) This will be the third day since he hung there. Only three days ... but how I miss him! The best friend I ever had! (Begins to weep) He loved me in spite of my sins. He accepted me! (Weeps quietly for a few moments) Barabbas (Slips in silently; stands looking at Matthew who is sitting beneath the cross, weeping) (A bit sarcastically) You are aware that it is unbecoming for a man to weep? Matthew (Who is ...
... Lord said, "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:11) I love this classic statement by Leonard Small: "Joy is the flag that flies on the battlements of the heart when the King is in residence." If ... but be joyful? And that joy is healthier than vitamins or pushups. So, there you have the four most powerful medications on earth: faith, hope, love, and joy. From time to time I mention our son Aaron who died of a brain tumor at the age of eight. He is in ...
... . But perhaps each day at sundown she brought some food to the old olive tree at the fork of the road to Nazareth. They sat at a distance and talked as he ate his meal. No doubt they wept too. She longed to hold the sick man she loved, but could not. But perhaps she shared with him what she had heard about Jesus, that he was a man sent from God who had powerful healing capacities. The disciples must have been petrified as Jesus started moving toward the leper. Then he reached out and touched him! This was ...
... of those things for me. What bothers me is, what have you done for me lately?" Such is the ingratitude of those who only make a ruse of repentance. The kind of repentance that is only wily subterfuge won’t do! God won’t accept it. God’s love, mercy, and grace are unlimited, but our desire for his grace must at least be honest and sincere. We can’t pass over our sinning so lightly. This attitude is reminiscent of St. Augustine who prayed, "Lord, forgive my sins - but not yet!" It is said that another ...
... the things that matter, and that discovery will bring a kind of joy. Sorrow also helps us discover the meaning of friendship and loving support. No one of us lives totally unto himself or herself. We are social beings. Part of us is made up of other people ... to his friend. "I saw a side of his nature that I had never seen before. I had always taken it for granted that he loved me, but I never knew how much until sister died. He was so tender toward me, so comforting. Though his own heart was breaking with ...
... top of the summit. I thank God each day that he let me live to this age and still let me find him ... It makes me very thankful and humble to know that I was picked even though the hour was late. "My pay - the full measure of God’s love," through Christ. I have had many wonderful experiences and could go on. I just had to tell you. Remember me in your prayers ... This "altered state of consciousness" is coming to a surprising number of people today - both young and old. And it is our hope for a new world ...
... of the whole world. So God came to planet Earth as a man named Jesus. He became the scapegoat for the sins of the world. He took Barabbas’ place on the cross. He took my place on the cross. He took your place on the cross. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish by have eternal life.” (John 3: 16) Let’s try out a metaphor for atonement. In his book, “On Christian Truth,” Harry Blamires suggests that we think of the human race as ...
... that to you? If you do, you have a taste of the kingdom of heaven. It is a kingdom of love, a love that paid the full price of death on a cross. That love of God is our chief treasure. Buy the Best Suppose now that you have found the great pearl of the ... secondary to the riches of the grace of Christ. There are things more valuable than money, things money cannot buy: friendship, love, honor, respect, faith, hope. Money is "sold" to a subordinate position to get the kingdom of heaven. Apply this to the ...
... STEPHANUS begin their exit stage right] LUCIA: Here’s your ring, ma’am. I still think you’re a nice lady. MARY: [Without looking at LUCIA, pats the girl on the head and, absently] You keep the ring, dear. [MARY stares ahead] LUCIA: Oh, thank you, thanks a lot. I love it. [She goes along with STEPHANUS. They talk as they exit] Isn’t that nice? STEPHANUS: Don’t tell Dad where you got it or you’ll be in trouble, and so’ll I. LUCIA: I won’t. That Master friend of that lady sounds like a nice man ...
... who were disdained, hanging upon a cross (a real one, where there was sacrifice and suffering), and then being delivered by God’s power in the Resurrection. God gave us Jesus so that we could see the walking, talking, living evidence of the fullness of the whole gospel of love which he came to preach. Going on to Glory We have a retired preacher in our Conference by the name of Guy Smeltzer. Guy is living out in Colorado. I was with him a few weeks ago. He is seventy-five years of age. Right now he’s ...
... but just the sheer drudgery of living in what seems to be a shrinking world. The young have their problems too, and the rest of us know the problems we have. Everyone has problems, but in the midst of these problems there is hope because the Bible affirms that God loves and cares. It was about this caring God that St. Paul preached to the Athenians. He said, "You have an altar TO THE UNKOWN GOD. I reveal and declare to you that this God, whom you do not know except in part, says that in all things he works ...
... money get me into heaven? Does God put a price on heaven? How much do you think it costs to get into heaven? Would it take $100, $500, or $10,000? Did God make heaven for the rich or the poor? The answer is NO. I have some books. I love to read books and I have learned a lot from the books that I have read. Do you think that I could learn enough about God and heaven that I could get in and be with God? Do you think that God wants smart people in heaven? Do you think ...
... in the movie. As a Harvard grad myself, I realized that Ryan O’Neal little resembled the average Crimson hockey player. And suffice it to say that Ali McGraw has little affinity with the Radcliffe coed! Yet I came; I wept; I was moved. Our world needs a Love Story every so often. As we move about in a country that possesses destructive nuclear forces equal to 35,000 pounds of TNT for every human being alive, we grope for emotional foods. Intimacy is the one thing we crave. We need it to survive; we need ...
... time, and at the proper time to be quiet. The poet Ogden Nash said, "If you want your marriage to sizzle with love in the loving cup; whenever you're wrong, admit it; whenever you're right, shut up." When we reverence Christ, He corrects us. A second ... still the man of my dreams." Either one may say, "I feel the need for more romance and less routine when making love." A German sociologist found after extensive research that couples during their first year of marriage chat with each other for seventy minutes ...
... deals do we deliver? Being just at home is sorely needed today. Is it just if a man takes privileges which he would not allow his wife? Is it just if a man is married more to his job than to his mate and family? The vows specifically state ... to love and to cherish ... We speak of not being able to do justice to a job because of the lack of time. In some areas we have got to take time to do justice. What about family worship? Occasionally a baby snow causes parents to stay home from church since nobody ...
... God! FEMALE 3: Stop it! He’ll hear us! You know those aren’t gods! MALE 3: Of course we know it! We’re just doing what a lot of people do - making gods out of things. FEMALE 1: What things? MALE 3: Money. Power. Ambition. Self-love. Anything that a person loves above God Himself. FEMALE 1: Aren’t you going a little far out? VOICE: You shall not use my name irreverently. Nor shall you use it to swear to a lie. You will be punished. FEMALE 4: [remembering] I already HAVE been punished for using swear ...
... enough healthy hugs. No child ever gets too old for a parent to say at the end of a phone call, "I love you." A synonym for love from parent to child is the word "time," which is perhaps our most precious commodity. Have you heard this rationalization from ... s not that easy. That baby as it grows from childhood through the teen years will require the wisest and most costly love we can provide. THE THIRD ADMONITION FROM SCRIPTURE IS THIS: PARENTS, FEED THOSE LAMBS. When Jesus issued this command to Simon Peter ...
... is to know God personally, to live in the center of his will, to be powered by his Holy Spirit, to be secure in his love, and to be busy in his service. To win an Olympic gold metal causes profound joy for even such a veteran as Carl Lewis. ... judge can overrule. We have an eternal life that no cancer can interrupt. We have a mission that no president can veto. We have a love that no terrorist can destroy. We have an excitement in Christ that not all the "Six Flags" on earth can rival. I heard Bishop Hancock ...
... A really big picture of a valentine style heart and a small picture of a valentine heart. Lesson: Good Morning. (response) Today I want to talk to you about two things: a blessing and a curse. God has commanded us to love Him and serve Him with all our heart and all our soul, right? (response) Right. We should love and serve God with all our heart and all our soul. Well, He also let us know that if we follow this commandment, He will bless us and if we don’t follow this commandment, He will curse us. That ...
... we ask prayerfully for the grace to become aware of our sins, and the grace to grieve for them. (Silence for one minute.) Narrator no. 2 (Representing God the Father): My child, I will reveal to you the areas of your life that need mending, that are barriers to your loving me. Bring them to me as a child would bring a wound to her father to be healed. As your heart repents, I will give you peace. I will heal your pain, your sorrow. I long to embrace you and turn your darkness to light. I want you to return ...
... to enjoy the rest and peace and joy of those who die in the Lord. II. Five minutes after death there will be a reunion with loved ones. The promise of Jesus to the thief on the cross was very clear: "Today, you will be with me in paradise." They were suffering ... one has ever seen an idea ... No one has ever seen the truth ... No one has ever seen a thought ... No one has ever seen love ... We haven’t seen them, but we know they exist. The deepest forces of our lives can’t be seen, but they are real. It ...
... works, you know. Some people have suggested that I was just trying to force Jesus to display his power, and that I betrayed him, expecting that he would overthrow the Romans by his mighty power. But it was another kind of power that led me astray. It was the love of money. I loved the feel of it in my hand, and the weight of it when I carried the bag or purse in which Jesus and the other disciples kept their funds. Every day I lived with the temptation to take some of that money for myself. I can’t even ...
2 Samuel 1:1-16, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34
Bulletin Aid
Paul A. Laughlin
... we all were immortal. Forgive us, we pray. Help us to see death as a part of your plan, as well as the love that survives death, and give us the power to rejoice even in our grief. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen Second Lesson: 2 ... lead, however imperceptibly, to the increase of your gracious reign upon the earth. In Jesus’ we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession God of forgiveness and love, we admit to you that we often lose sight of your Kingdom, even as we pray for its coming in the prayer Christ taught ...
... not far from here, whom I have seen on the street for years. Never has he spoken to me or even looked me in the eyes. He hates Christianity and all who represent our faith in any way. The friendship of Jesus had no motive other than sheer goodness and love. He accepted all people not for what they could do for him, but for what they were and could be. He asked nothing of them personally except to stand by him in his final hour of anguish and decision. His friendship was based upon honesty. He said, "I have ...