Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) MOVIE SUMMARY: Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the universe from the Empire’s world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader. MOVIE THEMES Fate/Coincidence/Divine Orchestration The beginning of the film when C3PO and R2D2 escape with the plans for the Death Star, one wonders what all of this journey is about with... Read more
November 27, 2015 Year C Church leaders do three different things (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13): 1. Labor among the members 2. Lead in spiritual growth 3. Correct those who sin Their work (1 Thessalonians 5:13) is hard and deserves the love of the congregation. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He states that there are other ways one can give recognition to church leaders. He lists a variety of activities that give recognition to the leaders. How does it give them recognition?... Read more
Preparing for the Day of the Lord Preparing for the Day of the Lord is a simple thought reflection for Advent from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 about how one can prepare for the Day of the Lord. November 26, 2015 Year C 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Today is Thanksgiving. In our home, that means that we go to my parent’s home. We eat a full Thanksgiving meal. We sit around, play games, watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on NBC (followed by the... Read more
Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate by John J. Thompson Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate by John J. Thompson states the thesis of his book with the subtitle: Crafting a hand-made faith in a mass-market world. Thompson tries to show that in order for the Christian faith to be successful, it needs to be personal in nature, not industrial or corporate. He begins by sharing his personal testimony in which he had a difficult childhood (22-25). His faith was informed by Francis Shaeffer,... Read more
Christ the Victor Christ the Victor is a simple thought reflection on John 16:25-33 about how He was the victor over sin and death to help the world. November 25, 2015 Year B John 16:25-33 Jesus Christ is the Victor. He says that He has conquered the world (John 16:33). How did He conquer the world? How He conquered the world was to die on the cross to save people from sin (John 16:31-32). What did Jesus do to conquer... Read more
God Satisfies Me God Satisfies Me is a simple thought reflection for Thanksgiving from Psalm 63 about how I can find my satisfaction in God. November 24, 2015 Year B Satisfaction is defined as: fulfillment of one’s wishes, expectations, or needs, or the pleasure derived from it. This week, we will get satisfaction from a bountiful Thanksgiving meal. We will enjoy turkey, stuffing, cranberry jam, yams, pumpkin and pecan pie. We will have all kinds of food that we will... Read more
Give THANKS to God Give THANKS to God is a sermon from Psalm 100:1-5 on the need to give THANKS to God this #Thanksgiving. Story: Bad Parrot A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft... Read more
A Thanksgiving Story A Thanksgiving Story is a simple thought and inspirational story about Thanksgiving in which one learns to help each other because one needs something. Dr. Garland Bare, who grew up in Tibet, the son of missionaries, and who spent two decades as a medical missionary in Thailand, now with his wife Dorothy and the daughter Grace is our backdoor neighbor here in Spring River Christian Village in Joplin. Dr. Bare is the Bible teacher on Sunday... Read more
Eternal Guarantee November 20, 2015 Year B Have you ever been offered a guarantee on something which you have committed – either with money or talents? You commit to something on the promise that the guarantee is true. For example: Buy this car, then you will receive free oil changes for two years. Take this pill and you will be guaranteed to lose weight. Do what we ask and we can guarantee your safety. There are all kinds of offers... Read more
Top Ten Sermon Resources for Thanksgiving Top Ten Sermon Resources for Thanksgiving 2015 is a set of links to sermons, resources, and illustrations to help the pastor prepare for Thanksgiving this year. I have listed these resources in no particular order. Some provide several resources, while others only provide only one sermon. Feel free to use them as you see fit. 21 Thanksgiving Sermons This Crosswalk site provides links to 21 Thanksgiving sermons. The Text This Week provides links to... Read more
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