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John E. Sumwalt

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Who Goes to Heaven? -- John 3:1-17 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B -- 2024
Indeed, God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world
Eternity Was In the Room -- 1 John 5:9-13 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Seventh Sunday of Easter - B -- 2024
…God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his son. (v. 11b)
Infidelities R Us -- John 15:9-17 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2024
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Do Angels Really Exist? -- Psalm 23 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2024
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and
Heavenly Bodies and Earthly Bodies -- John 20:19-31 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Second Sunday of Easter - B -- 2024
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the
Deliverance from Hell -- 1 Peter 4:1-8 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Good Friday - B -- 2024
For this is reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been jud
Troubling Religious Cliches -- Isaiah 50:4-9a -- John E. Sumwalt -- Passion Sunday - B -- 2024
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with
Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio? -- Ephesians 2:1-10 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B -- 2024
But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were de
We Live By Faith -- Romans 4:13-25 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Second Sunday in Lent - B -- 2024
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants th
If I Should Wake Before I Die -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2024
As we work together with him, we entreat you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he

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Frank Brown, Legendary Cattle Trucker -- James 3:13--4:3, 7-8a -- John E. Sumwalt -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 2024
“Who is wise and knowledgeable among you?
It Felt Like the End of the World -- Luke 21:25-36 -- John E. Sumwalt -- First Sunday of Advent - C -- 2024
People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bod
Held in the Arms of Love -- Revelation 1:4b-8 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - B -- 2024
Look, he is coming with the clouds,    and “every eye will see him,
No Rest for This Beloved -- Psalm 127 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - B -- 2024
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,
Caught Up Into Paradise -- 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - B -- 2024
I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in
Death Will be No More -- John 11:32-44 -- John E. Sumwalt -- All Saints Day - B -- 2024
“Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?”
Baptism Promise Saves Lives -- Luke 3:7-18 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2024
John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful tha
About Angels -- Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - B -- 2024
Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.  
Once Upon a New Year's Eve -- Isaiah 60:1-6 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Epiphany of the Lord - C -- 2024
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Forgiveness Can Save Your Life -- Ephesians 4:25--5:2 -- John E. Sumwalt -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - B -- 2024
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with al

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The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Good morning boys and girls. Does anyone here remember someone saying, “I am the greatest?” I remember hearing it many times by a prize fighter named Ali. Does anyone here remember Muhammed Ali? He used to say a lot of things and he was a very good boxer. He told everyone that he saw that he was “the greatest of all time.” Wow! Not many people say those kind of things about themselves.

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What is a saint?

According to the Roman Catholic church, a saint is a holy person who has been elevated by God to heaven, there to pray for those of us who need their help. There is a three-step process: the request by those who knew the person in life, and who attest to their holiness; a witness by at least two people that they asked the candidate to pray for them and their prayer was granted in a miraculous way; and an investigation by the Vatican into all this evidence. The declaration is made by the pope.

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Call to Worship:
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the people how they could be blessed by God and experience God's kingdom. In our worship today let us explore the Sermon on the Mount.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I'm full of pride instead of being poor in spirit.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I'm overbearing and pushy, instead of being meek.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I'm not exactly pure in heart.
Lord, have mercy.

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Mary S. Lautensleger
"Surprise! You're adopted!" If you were to hear those words from a trusted relative, surprise would be an understatement, I'm sure. Total shock would probably be more descriptive terminology for your emotional state as you examined the official court record and your original birth certificate. "Adopted" does describe each of us though, because we have been adopted by God into God's family. How do we know? The Bible tells us so.
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When we put together the collection of things that we can believe, we need to ask a question about the person in the middle of the inquiry. What can we believe about ourselves? We don't often ask that question but it is a very important one. Some people are oppressed by low self-esteem. Others are led astray by exaggerated images of themselves. It is important to get a realistic understanding of who we are -- and of who we can be. The Bible has something to say on the subject that may surprise you. Are you ready? Hold on to your hat. The Bible says you were created and called to be saints.
Argile Smith
At an office meeting, Ben got the official news that he would become the manager of one of the most influential departments in the company. His colleagues admired him because of his tireless work, and they respected him as a dependable person in whom they could place their trust. They were glad when they found out that he had gotten the promotion. In order to celebrate the news with him, they bought him a gift. Well, it was actually more like a gag-gift, the kind that he would place on his shelf and chuckle over every time he saw it.
Joseph M. Freeman
Maybe both the best and the worst of us in humanity are far better preachers than we are doers and deliverers of what we preach and teach. And maybe maturity has everything to do with our genuine willingness to bring a greater congruity between our esteemed words and those actions compatible with, not contradictory of, those words. Jesus, fully divine and fully human, loved and valued not just the right deeds, but also the right motives and attitudes.
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Commotion At The Communion Rail

Tommy didn't budge.

When everyone else got up to leave the communion rail, he stayed kneeling. His folded hands were perched on the rail, and his little head was bowed so far down that his forehead was squinched against his thumb knuckles. His eyes were closed hopefully, as if he were waiting for a big present.
Charles L. Aaron, Jr.
As the movie Contact opens, the audience sees a precocious girl named Eleanor learning how to use a ham radio. Nicknamed "Sparks" by her father, she has reached a man in Florida, and is excited that her radio lets her speak with someone so far away. In a later scene she asks her father wistfully if she can call her deceased mother on the radio. He responds sadly that no antenna is big enough.
George L. Murphy
You know that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true"? We see examples of that again and again in life. During the war in Iraq, Hampton Sides, a journalist who had been slated to be "embedded" with one of our frontline Marine battalions, gave an interview on NRP (National Public Radio). At almost the last possible moment, Sides decided not to go with the Marines, but instead to report from Central Command in Qatar.
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It seems fair to say that the saints of the Lord have always shown us what it is to be worthy of God. It is why we remember them and rejoice for them. They have shown us what a life worthy of God might look like. To talk about the saints, we may talk about Kagawa in Japan, about Mother Teresa, about Bishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela, about D. T. Niles in India, and about Saint Patrick in Ireland. To know the stories of Dorothy Day in New York City and Oscar Romero in Latin America is to have examples of what it means to lead lives worthy of the God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
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