First Mennonite Church August 3, 2014 A Healing Serpent and a Life-giving Cross Text: Numbers 21:4-9; John 3: 14-20 When children become bored, because they cannot watch TV, surf the internet, or eat junk food, they begin to grumble about everything else. Their world seems to consist of these three things they do not have … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church September 7, 2014 Two Incompatible Communions Text: 1Corinthians 10:14–22 Today we are having Communion. Sometimes it is also called the “Lord’s Supper.” This Christian practice of eating the bread and drinking the cup in the context of worship draws it source beyond the time of Jesus. Jesus himself established it in the … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church August 31, 2014 Making Hard Choices Text: Matthew 4:1-11 We live in an extremely divided society. And people are forced to choose sides. You have to either be Republican or Democrat, pro-choice or pro-life, tree hugger environmentalist or hardheaded denier, pro-Israel or pro-Muslim and so on. Besides these major social dividers … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church August 24, 2014 A Nation Like No Other Texts: Exodus 19:1-6; Numbers 23:9 The Exodus event, as we have been studying, has rich symbols and casts bright flashes of light on the Christian faith and life. Many elements within this great event transcend the life of Israel. Take for instance the institution … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church August 10, 2014 From the Fringes to the Whole Camp Text: Numbers 11: 1-15 You must have heard the story of Billy Sunday, the Chicago evangelist of the late 1880s and early 1900s. Billy Sunday was born into poverty in Iowa and spent some time in an orphanage. At the orphanage, Billy … [Read more…]