Jesus last two statements or phrases from the cross were “It is finished” and “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Today, we’re going to explore both of these final statements and the Gospel’s record of what happened in the Temple in Jerusalem as Jesus was dying on the cross. It’s very important we understand the significance of that, if we really want to understand what Jesus’ final words were all about… Let’s get to them now as we go to today’s scripture verses—one from the Gospel of John (19:30a,...
Folks, you have a review sheet in your bulletin, as an insert today. I’d like to take a look at that, so we can review just what we need to be about to be a church whom God will bless in the future. Would you look at that with me right now? If we want God’s blessing on all that we’re doing here, we need to be a church that is about… Praying for God’s Power (even though we usually want to do things ourselves)… Using everyone’s language (words matter...
Folks, where have we been during this Season of Lent? Let me refresh your memory. In following The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus, we first went to: The Jordan River near Jericho … where Jesus was baptized… The Judean Wilderness … where Jesus was tempted for 40 days and nights… His home-base of Capernaum … where Jesus healed the sick (amongst other things)… Walked with him (and Gail) up the mountains … where Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God… Sailed with Jesus across the Sea of Galilee...
Since I began my Mother’s Day message this year with a little information about how that special day started, I thought I’d do something similar on this year’s Father’s Day… The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in the year 1909; having been raised by her father—after her mother’s death, Sonora wanted her father to know how special...
Moms are blessed, aren’t they? And, today, we honor our moms … while bringing glory to God through the reading of his word. Listen to today’s scripture, but let me set it up first: As I understand it, this was probably Paul’s last correspondence of his life. He was imprisoned for a second time in Rome, counting on this young pastor—Timothy—to take over leadership of the Christian churches he’d planted by this time, so he encourages him in this way… Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with...
So, what is a ‘herald?’ According to the dictionary, a herald is a ‘bringer of news’—literally, somebody who brings or announces important news. A ‘herald’ can also be a ‘sign of what will happen.’ A good example for us at this time might be … the robin. (I saw my first robin this past week.) The robin is the herald of spring! The robin is one of those signs that let us know that spring is coming… Our OT prophets are ‘heralds.’ And, they were ‘heralds’ with a purpose—excited to...
Sometimes in life, walls are a good thing. But, at other times, they are not. They are those things that hold us back from where God wants us to go. We’re going to touch on a couple of those walls today, as we conclude this series—Wired for Worship. Listen now to our scripture lesson for today (1 John 4:7-21, NLT): “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does...
