willowwind78

[willowwind78]

1 +1 = (15+33-24)/12

Galatians 3.19-29 Clothed with Christ in baptism Truth is honesty but it is not opinion. Truth is not found floating on the surface but must often be dug out with a shovel or a backhoe. Truth applies to all while opinion applies only to the one who speaks it. For example, the Galatians said that circumcision was essential to being a true Christian. Paul wrote to them because they were trying to…

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Truth Be Told

John 16.12-15 The Spirit will guide you into the truth Ever tell a white lie? A lie that seems so small you think its insignificant? Maybe this morning you told someone you liked their shirt but you really don’t and now you’re questioning whether their judgment is sound enough to pick where you’re going to lunch today? We often tell white lies because we want to spare someone’s feelings.…

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Generation Image

How many of you have been to a restaurant lately, or maybe even a family dinner and most of if not all of the people sitting at the table looked like this… What was your gut feeling? How many of you feel angry? Indignant? Wonder what on earth is wrong with these people?! Excellent. Because your parents and grandparents thought the exact same thing about you! Why can’t they sit still? Why don’t…

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I In Them and You In Me

John 14.1-14 We’re going to do something today we don’t generally do. Everyone who can stand up. Now, I want you to leave your seats, and greet as many people in this sanctuary as you can by saying the following “Hi! My name is…” even if they already know you, and then listen carefully when they say the following back to you “Hello… repeat person’s name. My name is…” Try not to fight too long…

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Trauma-Informed Church

            Trauma is a form of suffering whereby the person’s capacity to respond to and integrate the experience is severely impaired. [1] Victims continue to see the world through this “lens of trauma” through persistent, intrusive, or distressing images or recollections of the event(s).[2] “The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by…

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Hope Statement

Hope is healing, not restoration. In healing, scars remain where wounds once gaped. The original is not recreated as it once was, but has been changed into something new. Each mark, each reshaping, each grotesque malformation of flesh and soul are reminders of what once was but no longer is. A reminder of where one has been, but not a dictator of where one must go. Hope lies not in forgetting but…

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What's It Mean?

Revelation 21:1-6 New heaven, new earth The End of Days. Not something we talk about a lot as a Methodist church. Methodists are not prone to stand on street corners and shout, “Repent for the end is near!” It’s just not our thing. That doesn’t mean we don’t believe in the end of days. We do. We believe there will come a day when this earth is no longer in existence as we know it. We believe…

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Get Rid of the Apostrophe

Acts 9.36-43 Welcome to one of my least favorite holidays of the year. Mothers Day. A day set aside by the church to offend countless women since 1907. I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t start attending church until I was a teenager. I started attending church to sing in the choir, not of my own volition so much as my mother couldn’t stand hearing me sing the Phantom of the Opera anymore so…

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Should

The Resurrection According to John- Should He is risen! This morning, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. We gather together here in this sanctuary to be revitalized, to be changed, to be infected by the Holy Spirit. Or maybe you’re just here, to check off a box that says I attended church this year! To please your parents or grandparents. There are all kinds of reasons why you might be…

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The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-33 The Lord’s Supper Abuses at the Lord’s Supper 17 Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so…

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Not Always

John 12:1-8 Mary Anoints Jesus and The Plot to Kill Lazarus Lent is both a season for repentance and a season for renewal. It is a time for letting go of the past and embracing the possibility of a new future. It’s a time for making plans. It is a time for figuring out how we as a church are going to proclaim God’s glory. How are we going to bring honor to God in our future? In order to bring…

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Trying out some black primer today. Let's see how this goes...

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Sometimes, the secret to mouldline removal is adding rather than subtracting...

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Chicken Wings

Luke 13:31-35 A hen gathering her brood Strange song to sing in the middle of a service right? Gather us in? Haven’t we already gathered? Maybe. We might physically be here in this building but have our hearts and minds fully sought the safety and shelter of Jesus’ wings? Herod is the fox. Jesus is the hen. Niccolò Machiavelli was a 13th century Italian Renaissance diplomat, author and…

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Provisional Ordination Question (p)- Sacraments

p) Explain the role and significance of the sacraments in the ministry to which you have been called.             The sacraments are the two most important common means of grace by which human beings can joyfully and penitently interact with gifts from God. They are physical reminders of the forgiveness and eternal life offered to us through Jesus Christ. Through participation in them, we…

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Provisional Ordination (o)- Sacrifice

o) You have agreed as a candidate for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ in the world and the most effective witness of the gospel, and in consideration of their influence as ministers, to make a complete dedication of yourself to the highest ideals of the Christian life, and to this end agree to exercise responsible self-control by personal habits conducive to bodily health, mental and…

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Provisional Ordination (n)- Inclusivity

n) Describe your understanding of an inclusive church and ministry.              An inclusive church and ministry must value all life because God values all life. Every individual has the God-given right to participate in God’s church to the fullest extent. Inclusive ministry sees the value in all God’s people and demonstrate the belief that God is already working in their lives. Each life we…