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Romans 12:1-8;  John 15:1-6; 16-17 During experiments aboard the shuttle “Columbia” almost 30 years ago, scientists discovered that there are twenty-six lakes underneath the Sahara Desert. It breaks my heart to think of the people who are starving and dying of thirst in that region of the planet because these hidden resources have not yet […]

2 Corinthians 9:6-15;  Matthew 22:34-40 Did I ever tell you how much I love soccer? Such a love –rather passion—for soccer goes all the way to my toddler days, when my mother was pregnant with my little brother. Her belly was so huge, I naturally assumed something more than my brother was there, in my

Galatians 5:16-25;  Mark 13:32-37 One of my favorite scriptures is in the 5th chapter of the letter that Paul sent to the emerging congregations in Galatia, in what today is central Turkey. This scripture talks about “the fruits of the Spirit.” Paul loves to make lists, and here he mentions nine “fruits of the Spirit”

  Genesis 25:19-28;  John 14:12-14 This morning I’d like to return to one of my favorite Bible stories, the one about a very dysfunctional family we introduced a few weeks ago. I’m sure you remember Isaac and Rebekah, and their children Jacob and Esau – a family that despite their flaws and limitations played a

  Ephesians 2:10;  Mark 10:13-16 Today our 2023 Vacation Bible School comes to an end, and we can say with a mix of relief and excitement “WOW! What a marvelous, intense, revealing days God has gifted to all of us! – children, church folks, families!” Inspired by a very warm, welcoming Jesus, together we explored

  1 Corinthians 1:10-17;  John 15:12-17   Have you ever experienced “cultural shock”? I have! I’ll never forget waking into an American supermarket for the very first time – humongous, and with so many options! The milk aisle, for instance — skim, 1%, 2%, 4%, half-and-half, whole, lactose free, calcium enriched, powder milk, soy milk,

  Genesis 32:22-31;  Acts 4:23-31 Today I’d like to talk about Mr. Jacob, a very questionable character who made the final cut into the gallery of famous Old Testament people by just a couple of putts. And do you know why he avoided elimination despite being a very questionable character? Believe it or not, for

  Acts 2:1-13;  John 14:15-16, 23b-26 Friends, let me ask you a question . . . If you had to give up on one of these celebrations –Christmas, Easter, or Pentecost — which one would you see as less relevant? Take your time. Could we go on without Christmas, without Easter? Most of us would

  Isaiah 41: 10, 17-20; Matthew 6:26-30 Most of the “founding fathers” gathered in Philadelphia in 1776 for the Continental Congress were wealthy citizens. In some cases, extremely wealthy – and many even had slaves. But Thomas Jefferson was not a wealthy citizen. He was chronically cash-poor, which is why he jotted down his daily

  2 Thessalonians 3:1-5; John 17:6-19 Have you ever had someone tell you that they were praying for you? What a wonderful, reassuring feeling! To know that you are not alone, that someone cares for you and that God is right there during it all. To know that even someone unknown to you may be