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  • Not to Haunt You, But to Heal You

    Herod heard reports about Jesus, but instead of wonder, he felt fear. “This is John the Baptist,” he said. “He has been raised from the dead.” Herod had tried to silence John, but he could not silence the truth John had spoken. He could behead the prophet, but he could not behead the truth. This…

  • I Will Be Stubborn and Do What I Want

    Jeremiah 18:12–17 There is much that is tragic in the book of Jeremiah. There is lament, warning, sorrow, and a deep sense of approaching disaster. Jeremiah often speaks as a man who knows the truth must be told, even when the people have already decided not to hear it. In Jeremiah 18:12, the prophet puts…

  • Forget the Tie; Listen to Dad

    “Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,and do not reject your mother’s teaching.”— Proverbs 4:1 I stand at an intersection of thinking. Father’s Day is coming, and Proverbs 4 is on my liturgical calendar for today. I am not planning to preach a Father’s Day sermon because I am in another sermon series. I am fairly…

  • Not Ashamed

    “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”— Romans 1:16 The first time we see the words “not ashamed” in the Bible is Genesis 2:25. Before they sinned, Adam and…

  • Seeds for Sowing

    “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”— Psalm 126:6 KJV Crack open a berry and you will likely find a seed — or more. Some have said that holly grew around Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to hide them from Herod, and that…

  • Marked for Christ: Glorying Only in the Cross

    “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” — Galatians 6:14 Paul comes to the end of Galatians with urgency. He has dictated much of the letter, as was common in his day, but now…

  • Praying Honestly

    Sometimes prayer begins when the heart is faint. One of the truly liberating realities of my life has been learning that I do not have to be great at praying. I do not have to be eloquent.I do not have to be impressive.I do not have to sound like someone else.I do not have to…

  • Real Strength

    “… I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”— II Corinthians 12:9 Whatever the thorn in Paul’s flesh was, we have all gained from it. That is because, whether we admit it or not, we are all rather thorny people. We could spend our days and nights picking…

  • In the Fullness of Time

    In the Fullness of Time “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son …”— Galatians 4:4a The sky was blue. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin for December 7, 1941, carried notices of Christmas events and parties planned throughout Honolulu. Many were arranged especially for servicemen who would be away from home…

  • No Reputation

    Is it possible to become so familiar with Jesus that we limit our capacity for real faith in Him? Two things come to mind as companions to the message I preached this morning. One is a song by Rick Elias. The other is scripture: from Isaiah 53, New International Version Who has believed our message    and…