These are videos of sermons from the last three Sundays.
I know how much you love to see me on Sundays, so I thought I'd give you an added bonus! haha. Please share these sermons with people you think would benefit from watching/hearing them!!
DEVOTION: Luke 3:1-20
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,[a]
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
10 And the crowds asked him, "What then shall we do?" 11 And he answered them, "Whoever has two tunics[b] is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" 13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." 14 Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
Sometimes you just have to let the reading stand on it's own. Today is one of those days. The story tells it all. John the Baptist was sent to prepare the world for Christ, so heard and repented, others heard and rejected. So it will be on the last day.
Prepare yourselves! Listen to and heed the words of John today! Repent and believe the good news! Turn from your stubborn wickedness and do God's will! Fall on your knees before God, like you've never done before, and ask God for forgiveness for refusing to do his will even while knowing what it was, and turn to Almighty God so that He may save you!
Prayer: Lord, give me a repentant heart and turn not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of you salvation and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.
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CALENDAR:
Ladies Aid will serve a luncheon following Dianne Hance's funeral at St. John's on Thursday, December 3rd. Funeral,11 am, luncheon following. We need donations of salads, vegetables and desserts only. No hot dishes.
If you would like to donate a dish please call Lil Winter @ 636-585-2525; Joan Sexton, 636-456-5437 or Nancy Peterson, 660-619-8474.
We could use some help with clean up after the luncheon since some of our ladies are unavailable to serve. Perhaps 2 of our PALS would be able to volunteer. Please let me know by e-mail, lindacallies@centurylink.net or call me at 636-456-4228
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ORDER YOUR POINSETTIAS TO BE PLACED IN THE CHANCEL (ALTAR AREA) FOR CHRISTMAS IN HONOR OR IN MEMORY OF SOMEONE OR JUST AS A THANK YOU TO THE LORD FOR HIS CHURCH!!
$13.50 each
Sign up on the table in the narthex or call the church office.
Pay in the office or put your payment in the offering plate, but make sure it is CLEARLY MARKED "For POINSETTIA".
You can take them home with you after worship on Christmas Day!
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PROJECTIONISTS STILL NEEDED THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR FOR THESE DATES!!!!
DEVOTION: Philippians 1:2-11
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Over the years I've often used this greeting from Paul to the Philippians as a kind of template or form to use in letters that I have written to people I love and care for. It's not a letter you're going to write to someone that you don't like or someone with whom you are angry and fighting. It isn't a formal business letter either. You're not going to write all of that caring and flattering language to the person who does your taxes unless of course a loved one does them.
But maybe you should...... That's right, maybe you should greet everyone you know with "Grace and peace from God...." and "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy."
Can you really hate the person for whom you are praying? Can you wish grace to someone with whom you are fighting?
We are not called to hate anything but sin. We are to love the sinner even if that sinner has sinned against us. We are not called to fight with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to love them and care for them as He has cared for us.
As we are getting ready for Christ to come, especially in this season of Advent, one of the things we should be doing is reconciling all of our relationships. That means greeting those who have sinned against us with grace and peace, forgiving them of their sin against us as heinous as the sin was and as difficult as it may be for you to do so. There is nothing more freeing and relieving that forgiving and being forgiven. It also means asking forgiveness from those against whom we have sinned, regardless of what their reaction might be.
Take it from someone who knows..... Make all of your correspondence positive, loving, and caring. Talk with people only out of love in a spirit of reconciliation, discipleship, and fellowship. Care for people with your words and your actions! Make this an Advent to remember!
Prayer: Lord, make all my greetings positive and my dealings with people full of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Amen.
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CALENDAR:
Ladies Aid will serve a luncheon following Dianne Hance's funeral at St. John's on Thursday, December 3rd. Funeral,11 am, luncheon following. We need donations of salads, vegetables and desserts only. No hot dishes.
If you would like to donate a dish please call Lil Winter @ 636-585-2525; Joan Sexton, 636-456-5437 or Nancy Peterson, 660-619-8474.
We could use some help with clean up after the luncheon since some of our ladies are unavailable to serve. Perhaps 2 of our PALS would be able to volunteer. Please let me know by e-mail, lindacallies@centurylink.net or call me at 636-456-4228
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ORDER YOUR POINSETTIAS TO BE PLACED IN THE CHANCEL (ALTAR AREA) FOR CHRISTMAS IN HONOR OR IN MEMORY OF SOMEONE OR JUST AS A THANK YOU TO THE LORD FOR HIS CHURCH!!
$13.50 each
Sign up on the table in the narthex or call the church office.
Pay in the office or put your payment in the offering plate, but make sure it is CLEARLY MARKED "For POINSETTIA".
You can take them home with you after worship on Christmas Day!
____________________________________________________________________________________
PROJECTIONISTS STILL NEEDED THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR FOR THESE DATES!!!!
Hello all,
3 "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
6 "For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
When Malachi says that the Lord is like a refiner's fire and fuller's soap, what does he mean? Well, a refiner's fire was and still is used to get the impurities out of certain metals like gold and silver to make it pure, beautiful and flawless. A fuller's soap was used to wash wool and make it white, clean and sellable.
So not only is the Lord the one who judges our purity, but he is also the one who makes us pure. he is not just the one who says whether or not we can make it into paradise, but he is the one who makes us worthy and pure enough for paradise.
Then, when we get to paradise, because we have been made pure, we will be able to "bring offerings in righteousness".
Those mentioned in verse 5 have not been purified so they are still known and seen by their lawlessness and sins. When the judge looks at them, he already knows that they did not want to go into the refiner's fire to be purified. They wouldn't go into it. They stood in opposition against it. They rejected Christ's purification. Tis is what should make every Christian sad and at the same time, give us renewed purpose and determination in our striving to love others and share the good news off salvation with all at ever opportunity. It gives us a will to love them enough that they see Christ's love and turn from their unbelief.
As we go through trials and temptations, and as we experience the Lord's discipline from time to time, we must rejoice that he is still refining us. he is still working the impurities out of us so that we can be ready when the day comes and enjoy eternal life with him.
Prayer: Refine me with the Holy Spirit's fire and wash me in the blood of Jesus so that I may be pure and sinless in your sight. Amen.
Ladies Aid will serve a luncheon following Dianne Hance's funeral at St. John's on Thursday, December 3rd. Funeral,11 am, luncheon following. We need donations of salads, vegetables and desserts only. No hot dishes.
If you would like to donate a dish please call Lil Winter @ 636-585-2525; Joan Sexton, 636-456-5437 or Nancy Peterson, 660-619-8474.
We could use some help with clean up after the luncheon since some of our ladies are unavailable to serve. Perhaps 2 of our PALS would be able to volunteer. Please let me know by e-mail, lindacallies@centurylink.net or call me at 636-456-4228
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ORDER YOUR POINSETTIAS TO BE PLACED IN THE CHANCEL (ALTAR AREA) FOR CHRISTMAS IN HONOR OR IN MEMORY OF SOMEONE OR JUST AS A THANK YOU TO THE LORD FOR HIS CHURCH!!
$13.50 each
Sign up on the table in the narthex or call the church office.
Pay in the office or put your payment in the offering plate, but make sure it is CLEARLY MARKED "For POINSETTIA".
You can take them home with you after worship on Christmas Day!
____________________________________________________________________________________
PROJECTIONISTS STILL NEEDED THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR FOR THESE DATES!!!!
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