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"One Thing Never Changes"
Text: Romans 11;1-2a; 29-32
Genesis 12:1-3
It saddens me to say this, but it’s getting harder by the year to return to my hometown of Coraopolis in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The house on Ridge Avenue where I grew up – a house which my mom and dad worked so hard to remodel and refurbish over the forty years they lived there -- looks like it’s ready to fall down for recent lack of care.
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"A Global Vision for a Local Church"
Rev. John Sittema
Text: Revelation 5
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"One Miraculous Meal!"
Text: Matthew 14:13-21
Psalm 34:1-10
This feeding of the masses miracle of Jesus is one of the few recorded in all four gospels: Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6, and here in Matthew 14. So there must be an important message in this miracle story about human need, and about our capacity as disciples of Christ to help meet human need.
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"Destined to Serve"
Text: Jeremiah 1:4-10
Isaiah 6:5-8
1 Timothy 3:1-13
This morning, I’m going to begin by sharing a bit of my personal journey. Some of you may not know that long before I became a pastor, I was a normal person like most everyone else. I was once, in fact, a leader in the specialty steel industry in the Pittsburgh area.
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"Division of the House"
Text: Luke 11:14-23
Psalm 133
I am proud to be an American; thankful to be a citizen of a nation which, for almost two and a half centuries, has stood upon the highest ideals of the human spirit: liberty; equality; justice; opportunity; compassion; pursuit of righteousness, wisdom, and truth. These are ideals and qualities which have been defended by some of the finest men and women on earth; those who have given and continue to give so much of themselves, even to the point of sacrificing their very lives, in order that these ideals would continue to guide and shape us as a people. So much for a Veteran’s Day mini-sermon in late July. I’ll just say again, I am proud and thankful to be an American.
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"You Are My Beloved"
Text: Luke 15:11-24
Psalm 42:1-5a
Some of Jesus’ parables are so rich in content, so layered with meaning, that we go back to them time and time again. It’s like that favorite film, or novel, or piece of music which never gets tired; a well that never runs dry. Every time we watch it, or read it, or hear it – whether it’s the second, tenth, or gazillionth time – it seems we’re re-inspired; re-fed; discovering fresh nuances and in- sights.
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"Anxiety!"
Text: Psalm 25
1 Peter 5:7
Way back in 1806, Noah Webster offered this definition of “anxiety”: “A painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind, usually over an impending or anticipated ill….accompanied by an abnormal and overwhelming sense of alarm and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with it.” Two hundred and ten years later, does that definition match the experience of anyone in this room?