First Mennonite Church November 9, 2014 God’s Power of Regeneration Text: Titus 3: 3-8 3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. 4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church November 2, 2014 For All Have Sinned Text: Romans 3:21-26 21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church October 26, 2014 Texts: Exodus 32: 1-4; James 1:17 The Attributes of God: His Immutability Something that changes so very faster is technology. But not only technology changes; people change too. Oh, how we change! People change not only in their physical features, looks, but also spiritually, intellectually, and in their worldview. … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church October 19, 2014 The Attributes of God: His Omnipresence and Omniscience Text: Psalm 139:1-12 When theologians speak about the attributes of God they often refer to two kinds of God’s attributes: His communicable attributes and His incommunicable attributes. God’s communicable attributes are those that God shares with his people: his love, compassion, … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church October 12, 2014 The Attributes of God (I) The Holiness of God Texts: Isaiah 6:1-3; Exodus 15:11 Our user-friendly oriented society steers clearly away from everything that looks or sounds complicated. But life can be complicated. Human relationships can be complicated. But the demand to user-friendliness goes beyond the material world or … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church October 5, 2014 A Word of Encouragement Texts: 2Corinthians 1:3-5; 1Thessalonians 5:9 In the New Testament and particularly in the writings of the apostle Paul, we find a call to comfort and encouragement each other. In the Letter to the Hebrews the call to give daily encouragement to one another is to … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church September 28, 2014 Unity Is Not Only Good but Necessary Scripture reading Matthew 12: 22-32; Psalm 133 Before I go on to my central topic of unity, let me make two observation that are important in this text. The first is what Jesus says in verse 30. Jesus does not make … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church September 21, 2014 The Compassionate Father Text: Luke 15:11-31 A modern version Rudy and Kim raised a beautiful family of two girls. This couple was hardworking and well-respected in the community. They loved their daughters and provided for their every need. But when Mindi, the oldest of their children turn 16, she … [Read more…]
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…]