Jesus Has This!
Contributed by Denn Guptill on Mar 21, 2020
| 6,525 views
This is my first response message to COVID-19. Jesus calming the storm
Everything was fine, and then it wasn’t.That is the reality in our world today. Everything was fine, and then it wasn’t.Do you remember when you heard about the Coronavirus? Maybe it was the result of a funny meme on Facebook, or an obscure news story about a city in china that you had never ...read more
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Denomination: Wesleyan
When Someone Betrays Christ Series
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Mar 23, 2020
| 1,783 views
A look at the disciples' response to Jesus' shocking declaration that one of them would betray Him. How do we handle things today when someone betrays the cause of Christ?
WHEN SOMEONE YOU LOOK UP TO WALKS AWAY FROM CHRIST: There are a lot of casualties along the road.- Luke 20:23.- It’s obviously a tragedy to watch someone walk away from Christ or to betray Christ. What makes that even more of a tragedy is the ripple effect.- It might be someone who gives up ...read more
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Denomination: Baptist
A Tale Of Two Kings
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 24, 2020
based on 1 rating
| 2,447 views
There would have appeared to be no contest in a contest between the great King Herod and the little baby Jesus. But Jesus' power of humility and holiness and obedience to God, displayed at Christmas was greater then and continues today.
Our text for this morning is Luke 2:1-7, the story of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. You’ve probably heard it many, many times before. Can there be anything new in it, any way that this ancient text relates to our world today? Let’s see. I encourage you to open your Bible to it as Linda ...read more
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The Journey From Bethlehem To Nazareth
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 24, 2020
| 2,118 views
We have our dreams for a perfect Christmas, but don't feel God has failed you if your dreams aren't met. Imagine how Mary's dreams for having a perfect birth for her baby were disrupted.
If we made a list of what it would take to make a perfect Christmas, it would be quite a list. Of course all the family needs to be together, all at the same time. Just that can be really complicated. For us, as near as we can tell, we’ll have one son coming in on the afternoon of the 25th and ...read more
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Not Such A Silent Night
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 24, 2020
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| 2,807 views
If your Christmas isn't coming together the way you would like, remember that our God is a God for the rough times, too. Look what Mary went through on the first Christmas.
If a good fairy appeared and said you could make a list to put together your perfect Christmas, what would you put on your list? Every year around Christmas time we get several chances to watch various versions of Charles Dickens’ classic story about Ebenezer Scrooge and the various spirits of ...read more
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The Angels' Celebration
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 24, 2020
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When we think of the wonder of what God did at Christmas, we just have to celebrate.
We love the quietness and intimacy of many parts of the Christmas story. The arrangements are made by angel messengers, who appear very privately, to Mary, face to face, and to Joseph in a dream. Mary ponders the wonder of it all, deep in her heart. A peasant couple quietly slips into Bethlehem, ...read more
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The Christ In A Manger
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 24, 2020
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We have heard the story so often that it seems obvious that Christ was born in a manger. But that would have been shocking to the world of that day.
I always enjoy the chance to meet people from different cultures and learn how 2 people from 2 different cultures can look at the same event and see it differently.Years ago, we lived in New Delhi India. Kathy and I had to take a bus to a shop in the old city, so I brought my Bible along to ...read more
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Peace On Earth
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 24, 2020
| 2,190 views
We might read a Christmas card that says "Peace on Earth" and not think anything of it. But the hope of God's peace is revolutionary.
In years past at Christmas time you would see the phrase, “Peace on Earth,” quite a bit. It might be on a banner in a store window or on Christmas cards or decorations in someone’s front yard. We did get one Christmas card with the phrase, but not as many as in years past. As the years go by we ...read more
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Dedicating Our Children To The Lord
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 24, 2020
| 2,893 views
We share in Mary and Joseph's desire to give our kids the best possible spiritual foundations
I want all of us who are parents to think back to a time when you presented one of your children for baptism. What was it that you were asking God to do when you brought your child for baptism? Grandparents, if it’s fresher to think about your feelings at the birth of a grandchild, do that. What ...read more
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How To Be Great In Jesus’ Kingdom Series
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Mar 24, 2020
| 2,086 views
Jesus calls us to be servant rather than elevating themselves. What exactly should we do if we do want to be great?
IS IT WRONG TO WANT TO BE "GREAT"? Jesus doesn’t say “don’t be great” but instead tells them how to be great.- Luke 22:24-27.- Matthew 5:19; Matthew 20:26; Mark 10:43.- It could have been when the disciples argued over being great that Jesus replied, “No. You will never be great. ...read more
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Denomination: Baptist
The Price Of Peace
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 26, 2020
| 2,856 views
At Christmas time we may dare to dream about peace on earth, but it doesn't last long. In Jesus, God showed us the way to true peace and it is not cheap.
“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good ...read more
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Jesus Grew
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 26, 2020
| 2,703 views
Have you been saved? Great. But that's only the beginning. Jesus had to learn obedience and effective ministry. Are you on the path to becoming a useful disciple for God?
Last week we looked at a touching moment in Jesus’ infancy. His parents brought their infant son to the temple to be dedicated to God. They wanted nothing but God’s best for their special son. And in the temple God brought them across the path of one of his true saints, Simeon, who loved their ...read more
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His Father's Business
Contributed by Stephen Aram on Mar 26, 2020
| 3,896 views
Even for Mary, Joseph and Jesus there were some messy family days. But that may be a necessary, healthy part of letting our teens grow up.
Have you ever found yourself in the situation where someone really impresses you, and you ask yourself, “I wonder what that person was like as a child?” You might be impressed with them for good things, or bad things. But you wonder about their childhood.For centuries Jesus has impressed ...read more
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When Church Seems Like A Fly-By-Night Operation Series
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Mar 27, 2020
| 1,626 views
It's easy to look at your local church and be underwhelmed by what you see. Jesus' words here point us toward a higher vision of the Kingdom that He is inaugurating.
AMATEUR HOUR: Sometimes the church can seem like a fly-by-night operation.- We all have stories of churches behaving poorly. We all have stories of churches who were laughably bad at what they were doing.- I remember as a young Christian being preached at by my pastor that we should bring our ...read more
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Denomination: Baptist
Easter: "we Had Hoped..."
Contributed by Vic Folkert on Mar 27, 2020
| 7,001 views
We say it, just like the 2 disciples on the way to Emmaus. Jesus 1) opens the conversation, 2) opens the Scriptures, and 3) opens our eyes. Jesus is alive, and our hope is alive!
EASTER: “WE HAD HOPED…” --Luke 24:13-35On a Sunday, about 2000 years ago, 2 disciples were walking down the road. It might have been 2 men, or a man and wife. They were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, about 7 miles. It was a walk of despair, for their hopes and dreams were gone. Read Luke ...read more
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Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed
