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James L. Killen, Jr.

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What Can We Believe about the Reign of Christ? -- Ephesians 1:15-23 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - A -- 2010
The church calendar says that this is the day on which we celebrate the festival of Christ the King.
Can We Believe? -- Philippians 4:1-9 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - A -- 2010
Do you ever find it hard to keep on believing?
What Can We Believe about the Bible? -- 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - A -- 2010
The words that you have just heard read in our epistle lesson for today are probably the first words
What Can We Believe about the Church? -- 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - A -- 2010
What can we believe about the church? That is an important question for us to ask and to answer.
What Can We Believe about the Christian Life? -- 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - A -- 2010
Paul frequently reminded the Thessalonians of the kind of life that he and his friends lived while t
What Can We Believe about God's Saving Grace? -- Romans 3:19-28 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Reformation Sunday - A -- 2010
The grace of God is the theme of some of our favorite hymns.
What Can We Believe about Ourselves? -- 1 John 3:1-3 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- All Saints Day - A -- 2010
When we put together the collection of things that we can believe, we need to ask a question about t
What Can We Believe about the End of Time? -- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2010
Today we are going to talk about one of the biggest puzzles in the study of the Bible.
What Can We Believe about Judgment Day? -- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2010
Most of the biblical images of the coming day of the Lord suggest a belief that it will be a day of
What Can We Believe about Stuff? -- 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Thanksgiving Day - A -- 2010
Today we celebrate the festival of Thanksgiving.
Removing Obstacles -- 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - A -- 2004
Our church has an important mission.
Experiencing The Reality Of God -- Acts 2:1-21 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Day of Pentecost - A -- 2004
The story of the Day of Pentecost tells of a pivotal event in the history of God's work in the world
Out Of Conflict -- Genesis 25:19-34 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - A -- 2004
Today, we are going to talk about conflict. How do you feel about conflict?
Surprised By God -- Genesis 28:10-19a -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - A -- 2004
We live in a culture that is increasingly secular.
The Subject Is Salvation -- Genesis 6:9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - A -- 2004
A pastor was talking one day with some men whom he knew were not actively involved in any religion.
A Voice From Beyond -- Genesis 12:1-9 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - A -- 2004
Down through the centuries, philosophers and theologians have come up with a number of classical "pr
Some Things Ought Not To Happen -- Genesis 21:8-21 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - A -- 2004
Some things that happen in our world just ought not to happen.
The Witness Of Being -- Genesis 1:1-2:4a -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - A -- 2004
Things are. The world is. The universe, whatever that is, is. I am. You are.
Discovering That It's Not About You -- Genesis 22:1-14 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - A -- 2004
"It's not about you." Did anyone ever say that to you? Something is going on.
The Problem With Promises -- Genesis 18:1-15 (21:1-7) -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - A -- 2004
The problem with promises is that you have to trust them.
The Way To Happy Endings -- Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 -- James L. Killen, Jr. -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - A -- 2004
Genesis 24 is like a short novel that is set into the end of the story of Abraham.
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In the sometimes-tiresome debate over science and scripture with respect to creation, it’s easy to become distracted. While the argument typically requires a focus on the how, we may lose sight of the what. And so, for just a moment, let me invite us to think for a moment about what God created.
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Acts 8:26-40
As a local church pastor, I was often asked if I would baptize a child whose family were not members of the church. Some churches rebelled against this, but I remember this scripture -the hunger for understanding and inclusion of the Eunuch and Philp’s response – to teach and share and baptize in the name of our God. How could we turn anyone away from the rite of baptism?

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“Dad, I think you worked a miracle.” Rolf slowly walked around the tree. “After that windstorm, I assumed this tree was as good as gone.”

“We just needed to give the branches time to heal and come back,” Michael replied.

 “I know, but so many of them were battered and broken I figured that it couldn’t recover. Now though it looks just like it did before the storm.” Rolf paused. “Do you think it will bear any fruit this summer?”

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Object: A live plant that produces fruit, and a broken branch from that plant. I used a tomato plant from a local greenhouse. Ideally, find a plant with blossoms or small fruit already growing. If you use a different kind of fruit-producing plant, just change the script to fit.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
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For April 28, 2024:
  • On The Way To Gaza by Chris Keating based on Acts 8:26-40. On the way to Gaza, Philip discovers the startling ways the Spirit of God moves across borders, boundaries, customs, and traditions.
  • Second Thoughts: Abiding by Katy Stenta based on John 15:1-8.
  • Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Tom Willadsen, Elena Delhagen, Dean Feldmeyer.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. In our service today, let us absorb from the vine all the nourishment we need.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes our branches become cut off from the vine.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes our branches are withered.
Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes we fail to produce good fruit.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
We will meet Psalm 22 in its entirety on Good Friday, but here the lectionary designates just verses 23-31. The lectionary psalms generally illuminate the week's First Lesson, which in this case is about the covenant initiated by God with Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17. The nine verses from this psalm, while not inappropriate, nonetheless leave us looking for an obvious connection with the First Lesson.

John S. Smylie
I think some people are natural-born gardeners. Our Lord grew up in a society that was familiar with agriculture. The images that he used to explain the ways of his Father in heaven are familiar to his audience. Growing up, my closest experience to agriculture was living in, "the Garden State." Most people, when they pass through New Jersey, are surprised to see that expression on the license plates of vehicles registered in New Jersey. Most folks traveling through New Jersey experience the megalopolis, the corridor between New York City and Washington DC.
Ron Lavin
A pastor in Indiana went to visit an 87-year-old man named Ermil, who was a hospital patient. A member of his church told the pastor about this old man who was an acquaintance. "He's not a believer, but he is really in need," the church member said. "I met him at the county home for the elderly. He's a lonely old man with no family and no money."

Paul E. Robinson
"Love is a many splendored thing...." Or so we heard Don Cornwall and the Four Aces sing time and again. Of course you or I might have other words to describe love, depending on our situation.

Love. "I love you." "I love to play golf." "I just love pistachio lush!" "It's tough to love some people." "Jesus loves me, this I know."

Love.

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