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Jesus and his disciples were invited to a wedding. Jesus’ mother Mary was helping see that things were taken care of under the master of the banquet. Mary became concerned when during the multi-day event, the wine ran out. That would have been a huge embarrassment and could be seen as a possible sign…

After a couple of weeks of living under the oppression of the pandemic, with statewide lockdown and social distancing, we have a different appreciation of what Palm Sunday was like in the first century Israel. It was a turbulent time in Israel, and they were looking for the Messiah to bring them stability. Jesus had a message for them but he used the greatest art form to deliver the message. We need to learn this art form to make our message impactful. Let's take a look...

Nothing But The Blood Rev. Thomas A. West, Sr April 7, 2024 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 There was story told some years ago about a very wealthy old man who had an elaborate collection of Van Gogh and Monet paintings. His only son shared his father’s interest in…

One does not need too many years in life to see and feel the weight of sin and its curse. Romans 5 paints two distinct, contrasting pictures: one of gloom, doom, and utter despondency; the other of hope, liberation, and restoration. These pictures are of two men, both of which had the power to affect…

Whatever happened to blushing? When hearing words embarrassing or shameful, a person’s cheeks may lighten with color. That is, the circulation of blood in their face intensifies. Blushing is a sign of a lively sensitivity to evil and moral darkness. In our day, it seems people blush less and less. Is…

Introduction: Have you ever tried to cut something for a project and you didn’t check your measurements? You know the old saying is “Measure twice, cut once.” For me, it’s probably better that I measure a couple of times or I will get myself in a mess. I was building a compost sifter the other day and…

There is a guy we know named Jim. Because our world is a broken place, we have people like Jim. Jim is a lawyer that works in the court system as a child advocate. Some children experience great injustices, the death of their parents, or abuse, or neglect, and the court system decides what should be…

There comes a time in every parent’s life. Your darling child is quietly playing in the other room and you quickly perceive that it’s quiet. too quiet . You fly into the adjacent room to discover irreparable damage has been done. Now, rather than give any children bad ideas from church to apply at home,…

It's possible to rent an amazing variety of things. Last month the Men’s Club purchased cans of paint to re-stripe the Parking Lot. And with this purchase we were able to use this small cart that held the can of paint. With the squeeze of the handle the paint would spray from the bottom of the cart onto…

• Today we’re going to jump back into our Old Testament series... After last week having stepped outside of it to address the election.... • Two weeks ago, if you recall, we discussed the response of the Israelites to God...in the wilderness. • And it seemed quite shocking did it not? • At every turn,…

Introduction In a busy world, it has become more and more challenging to have a fulfilling prayer life. Distractions wage war against dedicated prayer. Building a better prayer life. Turning to Scripture to strengthen our prayer lives. Following a simple acronym. A - Adoration C - Confession T - Thanksgiving…

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by…

5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer,…

Righteousness Righteousness, we have been looking at it for weeks, and we will continue to look at it, its need, its provision, its display, its application then and application today. Righteousness Needed ( Rom1:18-3:20 ) All are guilty; all are without excuse Righteousness revealed ( Rom1:17 ) Righteousness…

…Gracious and Loving God, giver of life, Redeemer of our lives, and the one who sustains us through all of life’s tumultuous waves, we come to you this day, the First Sunday of Advent, looking for the words of hope, love, and faith that will get us through this most hectic time of year, all amid a pandemic.…

Keeping In Step Opening This morning we are going to look at what it takes to live out the Christian life, to live a life pleasing to our Lord. As we go through these verses today we are going to paint the picture of a true Christian. If you want to know if someone, or even yourself are saved, ask this…

Peace When you think about peace, what do you think about? What about the Peace of Christmas? What images come to mind when you think about Christmas Peace? What about Bible stories? (the Christmas or Advent stories) Most of us think about Luke 2 … The birth of Jesus… shepherds in the fields… Angels…

Familiar story, differing interpretations Mary good, Martha bad -> we should pray, not work. I’ve seen the fruit of the Spirit at work in kitchens as much as I have in study groups Related to grace vs works. Something else going on? Competition for Jesus’ affection, Jesus chooses Mary. Belittles sisters,…

Intro In 2012, Cecilia Giménez , an 82-year-old widow and amateur painter, attempted to restore Ecce Homo , this is a hundred year old painting of Jesus crowned with thorns in her local church in Borja, Spain. Here is what the painting looked like originally: SHOW PAINTING 1 Moisture on the walls of…

Recap Last week we considered the Bearer of this letter to the Ephesian Church and the instructions he had given Tychicus, the message bearer. This beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord was to pass on information about Paul’s circumstances, how we was doing, so that recipients might know…

Intro First of a 4our part series asking the question: Who are you? We live in a world in which questions of identity are all around us Seemingly the most important thing We try to define our identity in all sorts of ways: Many are benign: The music we listen to The TV shows and media we watch The sports…

During this crazy time, it would be easy to become discouraged about the prospects of job loss or having to do something different. You may think that you can’t do something different or even better because it’s just too late for you. That’s simply not true. God is not done with you even if you feel…