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GOD'S WORD AWAKENS - from January 27, 2019

1/27/2019

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Do the words of the Bible become God's Word, are they God's Word, or just words? Mere words don't cause weeping, like we hear about in Nehemiah 8. Jesus reaches into God's Word to define his servant mission for the Kingdom in Luke 4. What is happening here? 

We know that questions of biblical authority are very thorny and provoke lots of conflict among Christians. It stems from the question of whether there are words versus Word - capital W. In an age of reason, people are less likely to accept the "passive writers" thesis that God dictated directly to the writers. But we aren't willing to accept that scripture is mere words either.

A look at our two readings can be helpful.

Nehemiah 8 relates the occasion of scripture reading and preaching to the beleaguered people of Jerusalem who are finally starting to make some progress in rebuilding the city while under Persian rule. Six hours of reading and teaching results in the people weeping. Why? Was something awakened in them? And why now?

Jesus comes back to his hometown, Nazareth, and is guest preacher/teacher at the synagogue. This is the occasion when he announces his ministry. He does this by reading from the Isaiah scroll and declaring that the prophecy is being fulfilled in him. The promise of God related in scripture was being fulfilled, and the people were impressed and amazed at his teaching and his authority. The words of scripture became God's Word in Jesus. How did that happen?

How does this happen with us? Find out by viewing the sermon video below.

01-27-19-sermon.mp3
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01-27-19-ff-answers.pdf
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01-27-19-gods_word_awakens.pdf
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KNOWN BY NAME - from Sunday, January 20, 2019

1/20/2019

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​What's in a name? Lots. How about the name that God has for you? Isaiah's prophecy is a vision of renaming and redefining God's people. Jesus at Cana is about how he is known ... or not.

[The bulletin cover had only the right side of 16th century Italian Renaissance painter Paolo Veronese's Wedding at Cana; pictured at left is the center section of his delightfully complex rendition of the wedding feast. Yes, that's Jesus modestly seated in the middle with a modest halo. Make it more sedate with fewer guests and it would look like Jesus at the Last Supper, right?]

Although God's people have been returned from Babylonian exile for 10 years or so, their lot is still sorry. They're known by the names Deserted and Desolate. And those names fit their situation quite aptly as the world sees them.

Isaiah announces God's new vision that brings them new names that God has for them; My Delight and Married. Those may seem a bit odd, but God's vision for God's people involves much more than the world can perceive or understand. Find out what these new names mean.

We all know the story about Jesus and the wedding feast at Cana - water into wine. What was that all about? In particular, what about that strange conversation with his mother? Stories in John's gospel are packed with symbolism, and this is no exception. Find out what's really going on when the ritual purification water jars produce the finest wine.

There is a lot to learn here. Get some insights by checking out the sermon video below, noting the availability of the downloads below the video panel.

01-20-19-sermon.mp3
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01-20-19-ff-answers.pdf
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01-20-19-known_by_name.pdf
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MAKING GOOD ON THE PROMISE - from Sunday, January 13, 2019

1/14/2019

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God's people aren't too good with promises, but God is. Scripture is an account of God's many promises with God's people, and how they get broken. Here are two scriptures, Isaiah and the promised return from exile, and Jesus' baptism as the original broken promise is bridged to the promise of new life.

God's people have languished in Babylonian exile following the destruction of their homeland. Now hope has emerged in Cyrus of Persia, and the promise of God is sweeping and vibrant. Although they have suffered greatly, and explicitly from the punishment of their God, God's promise has not been forgotten and God's people not forsaken as Isaiah 43 describes.
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Jesus appears in the baptism line before John the Baptist in Luke 3. A nobody from nowhere who has come to an obscure character in the wilderness leading a radical movement in a small religion, this guy ends up being something special. After the baptism, the Spirit of God descends upon him, and a voice from above declares this guy is God's beloved Son. It is through this Promised One that the great rift between heaven and earth will be healed and bring new life for all.

Find out more in the sermon video below and note the downloads below the video panel.

01-13-19-sermon.mp3
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01-13-19-ff-answers.pdf
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01-13-19-making_good_on_the_promise.pdf
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TERROR RESISTANCE - from Sunday, January 6, 2019

1/7/2019

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We leave the charming tale of the nativity and enter the dark side with Epiphany. Herod is the main player in the story of Matthew 2, not the Magi. Pharaoh plays a similar role in Exodus 1. Both are thwarted as they target children with acts of terror and genocide in order to advance their power.

Targeting children is no surprise when the power-obsessed feel threatened; they will stop at nothing. God finds those who listen to and have faith in God.

Pharaoh tries to recruit the Hebrew midwives to kill male Hebrew babies at birth. They subvert his plot by ignoring his demand. Their lame excuse somehow gains credence with Pharaoh. The midwives follow the demands of the God of their faith, acting as subversive agents for the Kingdom.

Undeterred, Pharaoh initiates a new strategy to drown the male Hebrew babies in the Nile. That backfires even worse.

Herod recruits the Magi to identify this new King of the Jews that they seem to feel has recently been born. However, the Magi heed the instructions revealed from God, and foil Herod's plans. 

Undeterred, Herod dispatches death squads to kill all the male children under 2 around Bethlehem. However, he is foiled again as the holy family had been forewarned and had already fled to Egypt.

God is the source of the resistance against the evil Powers-That-Be who think nothing of targeting children, the weak and the vulnerable. That is what the Kingdom of God is all about. It brings the new and different path forward from the world's accepted norms and values to establish God's justice, righteousness, and peace. Agents of the Kingdom are always popping up to remind us of the promise of God and God's faithfulness to God's people.

Learn all about these dark and exciting stories in the sermon video below, and note the downloads below the video panel.

01-06-19-sermon.mp3
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01-06-19-ff-answers.pdf
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01-06-19-terror_resistance.pdf
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