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Sermon
Ronald Lavin
See, I am coming soon... -- Revelation 22:12 (NRSV) ____________ Clyde Schmidt was a member of First Lutheran Church. His family had belonged there for four generations. His grandfather was a Lutheran minister. Clyde and his wife, Ida Mae, were pillars at First Lutheran. Clyde's faith was shaken one day when Ida Mae asked him for a divorce. It had been a difficult year. His lumber business wa...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
...He who sat upon the throne said, "Behold! I am making all things new!" -- Revelation 21:5 (NEB) "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." -- Luke 23:34 (RSV) ____________ Revelation 21:5 hardly seems like an appropriate text to mix with the Good Friday words of Jesus about forgiving those who are crucifying him. The Good Friday verse focuses on the death of Christ. Revelation 2...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. --Revelation 1:8 (NRSV) It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. "Peace be with you," he said. After saying this, he showed them his hands and his si...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. Th...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
I am the good shepherd. -- John 10:11 (NRSV) These words of Jesus bring us into contact once again with the great I AM. Who is this good shepherd? The one who made heaven and earth, the one from whom we came and the one to whom we go. The Great I AM The situation seemed out of control. The woman was dying of cancer. She had nowhere else to turn. She had tried all the chemotherapy which had been...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
"I am the light of the world." -- John 8:12 (NRSV) "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." -- John 9:5 (NRSV) "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every barren branch of mine he cuts away; and every fruiting branch he cleans, to make it more fruitful still. You have already been cleansed by the word that I spoke to you. Dwell in me, as I in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, but only if it remains united with the vine; no more can you bear fruit, unless you remain united with me. ...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
...Here am I among you like a servant. -- Luke 22:27 (NEB) ____________ The old Gospel hymn, "I Love To Tell The Story," is a helpful point of departure as we begin looking at Jesus, the Servant. I love to tell the storyOf unseen things above,Of Jesus and his glory,Of Jesus and his love.I love to tell the story,Because I know it's true;It satisfies my longingsAs nothing else would do. I love to te...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly,...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
Simon Peter said, "Lord, we do not know where you are going"...Thomas said, "Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." -- John 13:36--14:6 (J.B.) ____________ Have you ever gotten lost or felt anxious because of the absence of someone on whom you depended? That's what the apostles felt one day, shortly before the d...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
...Though he was in the form of God, (he) did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself,. being born in the likeness of men. -- Philippians 2:6-7 (RSV) Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am." -- John 8:58 (NRSV) ____________ The most crucial question that was ever asked about Jesus is the one the people asked as he came riding triumphan...
12. Sunday's A' Comin'
John 11:1-45
Illustration
Ronald Lavin
Tony Campolo tells the story of a black Baptist preacher in the inner city of Philadelphia who preached a sermon Tony says he'll never forget. Tony preached first. He was "hot," so "hot" he says, that he even stopped and listened to himself. He sat down and said to his pastor: "Now see if you can top that one!" "Son," said the black pastor, "you ain't seen nothin' yet." For an hour and a half the...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancest...
14. The Man Who Died For Me
John 11:1-57
Illustration
Ronald Lavin
A mother living in a tenement house went shopping for groceries. While she was in the store, a fire engine raced by. She wondered, "Is the fire engine going to my home?" She had left her baby asleep at home. Forgetting about the groceries, she ran toward home. Her building had fire hoses aimed at it. It was burning like a matchbox. Rushing to the chief, she cried out, "My baby is up there." He sho...
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