First Mennonite Church January 29. 2017 Text: 1 Kings 19:1-18 “What Are You Doing Here?” I want to center our reflection on the following questions: What happens when God’s people are not in the place they should be? What happens when God’s servants fail to live up to their calling? There is something in common … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church January 15, 2017 What Do These Stones Mean to You? Text: Joshua 4:1-8, 19-24 After forty years of journey through the wilderness, there was one more obstacle before the Israelites could possess the Promised Land: they need to cross the River Jordan. It was the rainy season, thus the river was flooded. … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church January 8, 2017 Rahab’s Story: A Story of Risk Worth Taking Text: Joshua 2: 1-18 Before I go over this text, I would like to acknowledge that every time we go to the bible we do so looking for characters we can emulate. We admire Abraham, Sara, Ruth, Daniel, Mary, Paul, and … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church January 1, 2017 More Than Four Seasons Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 “Time is precious;” “time is money,” many say so. Sometimes it feels like if we are enslaved to the hands of the clock. Although much has been gained in terms of production, one of the disadvantages is that we have subdivided our lives … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church December 25, 2016 “You Shall Call Him ‘Jesus’” Text Matthew 1:18-25 It is common to hear that news about something is rarely known by those who should first know it. In many cases the last one to know about the bad news is the one closest to the object or subject of … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church December 18, 2016 Being Truly Blessed as Mary Text: Luke 1:26-38 Two Sundays ago, we had this passage for our Sunday school Bible study. We marveled at how God came into the world in human form through Jesus. We wondered, who was Mary? Who her parents were? Was she different in some … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church December 4, 2016 Story of Naaman, Elisha and Gehazi Text: 2 Kings 5: 1-27 The story of the healing of Naaman in 2Kings is the most fascinating in the entire book. In the story we find drama, a diverse cast of characters, irony, turns and twists. Among the characters we find a … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church November 20, 2016 A Time To Give Thanks Exodus 15:1-3 Today, my presentation will be very brief, but I would like to invite you to share something for which you are grateful to the Lord. Today is our Thanksgiving Day service, so let us make it a day to give thanks to … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church November 13, 2016 The Seriousness of Sin and the Pricelessness of Grace Text: 2Samuel 12:1-15a; Ephesians 2:1-10 There is a larger background to Nathan and David story, which could help us get the whole picture. In chapter 11 of 2Samuel, we read the story of David and Bathsheba. The story is that … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church November 6, 2016 Story: The Syrophoenician Woman Text: Matthew 15:21-28 21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” … [Read more…]