Children’s Sunday Sermon November 6, 2022 Good morning girls and boys! There was a popular television show a few years ago called “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” The game’s object was to answer a question correctly and then move up to the next level to a harder one. If the player made it to …
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP November 6, 2022 Greeting Let us worship the risen and reigning Christ, who alone is worthy of the praise of our lips and of the allegiance of our lives. Penitential Prayer For the times we have forgotten how much You have done for us, Lord, have mercy on us. For the …
A group of friends vacationing together in Maine decided to take an all-day hike. Hoping to avoid the crowds of summer tourists that traversed the popular trails, they decided to take a lesser-known route. After a half day of strenuous climbing, stunning vistas, and their ongoing, lively banter, the pack’s leader suddenly raised an important …
In the 1994 film, “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” the humor present in the first three weddings is absent when death comes to one of the characters in the fourth — a man who loved life. At the funeral service, W.H. Auden’s sad poem, “Funeral Blues,” is read. And the scene is filled with an …
Among the most well-known ancient Greek philosophers is Socrates, who is remembered for his teaching methods that employ probing and thought-provoking questions. But there is another philosopher by the name of Mediocrates you may have seen recently on tee shirts, bumper stickers, and memes. As the joke implies, Mediocrates is the philosopher who tells us, …
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP October 2, 2022 Greeting We have come together aspiring to a faith that will move mountains. Penitential Prayer Forgive us, Lord, for the times we have faltered in our faith: — forgive us Lord, for a faith that was more like a speck of dust than a mustard seed; — forgive us …
Children’s Sunday Sermon October 2, 2022 Good morning boys and girls. Today I want to talk about faith. Of course, faith is one of the most important parts of our relationship with God, and our relationship with all the members of our faith community. But what exactly is faith boys and girls? A famous man …
Robert Murray M’Cheyne is revered in Scotland as one of that nation’s great Christian Preachers. Although he died at an early age, he had already become a household name in his lifetime. He was fond of telling the story of the night he preached on the text from John’s Gospel in which Jesus says, “I …
A recent seminary graduate with an advanced degree in sociology was called on to deliver a speech to a group of seniors in a retirement community. For what seemed like an eternity to some in the audience, the young man lectured the seniors on “The Art of Living.” When the talk was over, an eighty-eight-year-old …
In Eugene O’Neil’s story “Days Without End,” John Loving, a Roman Catholic boy, prays that his parents, who have been injured, might not die. But their lives were not saved by the kind of miracle he had expected, and he loses his faith. Outwardly, at least, he becomes a skeptic and a cynic. Inwardly, however, …
There is a psychological condition known as “compassion fatigue.” Sometimes referred to as the negative cost of caring, it is characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others. Yet, as a community of Christians, we know that exercising our compassion ultimately strengthens us, and expressing …
Comedian Paula Poundstone once quipped, “Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas.” Indeed, life’s journey offers us endless choices. The problem is, as some say, “by the time you know your way around, you don’t feel like going.” Perhaps that is somewhat …
There is a primitive bridge in South America made up of interlocking vines which support a precariously swinging wooden walkway — hundreds of feet above a river. Author Philip Yancey once stood at the edge of the great gulf trying to decide whether to cross over. “I knew the bridge had supported hundreds of people …
There’s an old story about a little Church that was having a homecoming service for members who had moved away. One former member who attended was a man who had become extremely wealthy. He, along with others, was giving testimony on their Faith experience. The rich man spoke of when, as a little boy in …
Two women were interviewed and asked to explain their remarkable longevity. The first, age 100, said she believed she lived such a long life because her diet includes a daily portion of pickled herring. The other, age 114, stated simply, “I’ve lived this long by minding my own business.” Whether you are in the pickled …
A little girl was leafing through a children’s book of Bible Lessons. When she came to the story of the loaves and fishes, she stopped turning the pages — gazing intently at the illustration of Jesus standing before the great crowd, breaking bread. Seeing the child’s fascination with the picture, her mother explained that this …
Children’s Sunday Sermon September 4, 2022 Good morning girls and boys! If you’ve ever been to a championship football or baseball game and your team won, you may have heard people chant, “We’re number one! We’re number one!” Let’s think about being number one. Who would you say is the number one basketball player? How …
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP September 4, 2022 Greeting Come, let us worship God. Let us be awed by His Presence. Let us be shaped by His Standards. Let us be enlightened by His Wisdom. Let us be mobilized by His Spirit. Penitential Prayer We confess, Lord, that we are prone by nature and habit to make …
PRAYERS FOR WORSHIP August 7, 2022 Greeting We turn toward God, We listen to His Word, We bow before His Majesty, We strive to do His Will, We thank Him for His gifts and We worship Him! Penitential Prayer For our lack of hope in God’s promise … turning toward self instead of turning toward …
Children’s Sunday Sermon August 7, 2022 Good morning boys and girls! It’s time to talk about money again! You might be thinking to yourselves, “why money again! We’ve talked about this before.” Well, you know what boys and girls. Some people say that the number one sickness in the world is the love of money. …