Pastor Michael and Luther taught the confirmation class about the final 7 Commandments which relate specifically to our obligations to each other.
The Confirmation class was able to identify all of the 7 Commandments, can you?
Pastor Michael and Luther taught the confirmation class about the final 7 Commandments which relate specifically to our obligations to each other.
The Confirmation class was able to identify all of the 7 Commandments, can you?
01:18 PM in Children & Families, Grow, Hear It. Use It., Pastor Michael, Videos & Links, Youth | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Message Text: Luke 16:1-13
Shrewd adjective
Legal System:
Finding the Loophole!
Instead of charging interest, one could write a contract that says, I’ll give you 450 jars of olive oil that you happen to need now and later you can give me 600 jars of olive oil. Now it isn’t a loan with interest, it’s two friendly people giving each other gifts by contract!
What does this parable have to do with God’s rule on earth?
12:43 PM in Hear It. Use It., Pastor Michael, Pastors' Posts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Message Text: Matthew 18:21-35
Forgiveness: A process to concluded resentment, indignation, or anger after a perceived offense, difference or mistake, took place. One stops demanding punishment or some form of pay back (judgment, eye for an eye). Most importantly forgiveness is a gift of God.
Is this a Parable or Allegory?
What happens when one person doesn’t forgive?
What happens when we practice forgiveness?
Forgiving is not only the duty of a Christian but it brings about abundant life, joy and heals brokenness.
Forgive as you have been forgiven.
11:12 AM in Hear It. Use It., Pastor Michael, Pastors' Posts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Luther (the monkey): Who did you say was coming to church this summer?
Pastor Ryan: Well let’s see, there’s a Surfing dude, Pastor Olson as you’ve never seen him before, Cinderella, Indiana Jones, Luther (the monkey), the Governor of California and a Skunk farmer among many others.
Luther: Wait a minute. Does the staff know this?
Pastor Ryan: Well, I think so. And I hope you come too since you’re on the list too.
Luther: What?! (Luther goes ballistic)
What Luther doesn’t know is that each Sunday starting on June 6, a parable of Christ will be heard in worship. It will be up to the puppets and our children to sort out the lesson. See if you can figure out what parable the puppets will be talking about. Here are a couple samplings:
We only have 13 Sundays in summer to find answers to questions like these. Hear about something helpful and find connections to God each week. Bring the whole family as we hear the Word of God, sing praises and enjoy God’s teachings for life together.
03:32 PM in Children & Families, Pastor Michael, Pastors' Posts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Message Text: John 14:15–20
The sacrifice for something greater is celebrated by our nation on Memorial Day. Sacrifice for freedom is won through Christ.
“Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”Romans 5:7-8 (NRSV)
That power of God is in us.
How can God live in me ...
How do I know the Spirit of God is really in me?
How do I use that Holy Spirit?
12:27 PM in Hear It. Use It., Pastor Michael, Pastors' Posts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Text: John 15:7–17
Through Jesus we find the greatest power of all.
| Beginning | Corresponding Idea |
| 7. When my words are living in you... | 17. Giving you these commands, ... Love one another |
| 7. Ask...it will be done | 16. The Father will give you whatever you ask |
| 8. Bear fruit | 16. Bear fruit |
| 8. Become my disciples | 16. I chose you |
| 9. The Father has loved me | 15. I revealed everything I heard from the Father |
| 9. I have loved you | 15. I have called you my beloved |
| 10. You will remain in my love | 14. You are the ones I love |
| 10. Keep my commandments | 14. Do what I command you |
| 11. I’ve said so that my joy may be yours | 13. I command...Love one another |
| 12. No greater love than to lay down one’s life (Jesus on the cross) | |
Living by the Laws of Moses, which is all of God’s commandments:
Now we have a new law, God’s agape love for one another revealed in Christ.
The greatest power of all that protects us from ourselves is God’s love as known in Christ.
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What forgiveness is:
A process to concluded resentment, indignation, or anger after a perceived offense, difference or mistake, took place (sin). Then, to stop demanding punishment or some form of pay back (judgment, eye for an eye). Most importantly forgiveness is a gift of God.
Jesus taught forgiveness:
How to forgive:
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Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. We will gather in worship, confess our sins, acknowledge our own mortality, and be (once again) marked with the cross of Christ forever. This devotion by Pastor Michael appeared in the bulletin this past Sunday, it is worth reading (or reading again)!
Please remember to join us for worship tomorrow evening at 5:15 or 6:30 pm.
Whether We Like it Or Not – We Are the Lord’s
By Pastor Michael Ryan
In the past two months my family gathered to say goodbye to two important people, my dad and a very good friend of my mother’s. I spend a lot of time walking others through crisis and times of grief—now I am experiencing it personally. We were helpless. We cried together. We prayed for a miracle. We asked God why and received no answer, at least not the one we wanted. And we agreed the whole thing sucks.
This scripture kept coming to mind: “None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live we live to the Lord. If we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14:8
We often interpret this passage to say that we should be okay with death because we’ll have eternal life. That is not what I’ve learned. Most families in crisis don’t care about salvation for eternity. They want salvation now from the threat of death and the resulting pain of separation. We desperately want our loved one to go on living with us. Belief in eternal life is empty in a moment like this.
In our grief this piece of scripture becomes poignant. The truth is, we don’t live to ourselves. Nothing we have is ours. God loaned us a body, a family and all the things we have. We may have them for an hour or a hundred years. We can’t choose the time of our birth nor can we prevent death from happening. The reality is no matter how long we have or what happens, life is a gift. We are the Lord’s whether we like it or not. We don’t have to like death especially the death of people we love.
We don’t like the ones we love having to experience grief. There is nothing we can say or do to take away the pain. But we can live to the Lord. This means we can be together emotionally, physically and spiritually. We can cry with each other and try to understand each other. We can treat others with respect and humility. We can laugh at the irony. We can find that even in death there is still life to live before eternity. It is enough to be the Lord’s. “…whether we live or whether we die, (whether we like it or not) we are the Lord’s.”
Thanks be to God.
11:03 AM in Devotions, Pastor Michael, Pastors' Posts, Prayer | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Text: Mark 3:23-35
Jesus washes us clean of our sins. We are forgiven.
Taking it home, asking each other for accountability and good ideas:
12:32 PM in Hear It. Use It., Pastor Michael, Pastors' Posts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Text: Luke 17:20-24; 34-35
Revelation: Scaring Mark, the paperboy
Apocalypse meaning in GreekHow did revelation go from Godly insights to calamity?
What does the text say?12:58 PM in Hear It. Use It., Pastor Michael, Pastors' Posts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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