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Richard E. Zajac

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It Doesn't Pay -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
Withholding forgiveness can be detrimental to our character and well-being.
Nevertheless -- 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
... Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, an absurdity to Gentiles ...
Top Ten List -- Luke 14:1, 7-14 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"... For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled ..."
Stinkin Thinkin -- Matthew 16:21-27 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"... Get behind me, Satan! You're not thinking as God but as Man ..."
Anonymous -- 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
... we, many though we are, are one body ...
Dorian Gray And Us -- Matthew 10:26-33 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
... Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed ...
Powerful Babies -- Matthew 2:1-12 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
... on entering the house, found the child with Mary his mother ...
If You Build It They Will Come -- John 13:31-33, 34-35 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"... Love one another ..." A look into the power and potential of a good example!
Catfish -- Romans 8:1-5 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
... we even boast of our afflictions ...
The Critic's Choice -- Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites ..."
"I Murdered My Grandmother This Morning!" -- Mark 7:31-37 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
At once, the man's ears were opened.
A Word Of Thanks -- Luke 17:11-19 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"Was there no one to return and give thanks to God?"
It's All The Same To Me -- Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
... Peter entered the house of Cornelius ...
How Thinking -- Luke 16:1-13 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"... take your invoice, sit down quickly, and make it fifty ..."
It's Not Fair -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
If I were to catalog the most frequent expressions mouthed by hospital patients, at the top or near
Juxtaposing -- John 3:14-21 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"... God so loved the world ..."
The Power Of Little Things -- Mark 4:26-34 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"... It is like mustard seed ... the smallest of all the earth's seeds ... yet ...
Asking -- Matthew 4:12-23 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"Come after me and I will make you fishers of men."
Feeling Tired -- Matthew 11:25-30 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"Come to me, all you who are weary ..."
Rejection -- Matthew 21:33-43 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"... the stone which the builders rejected ..."
Seven Deadly Virtues -- 1 Corinthians 12:31--13:13 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
If I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I'm nothing.
Woe Is We -- Luke 6:17, 20-26 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"Woe to you when all speak well of you ..."
Who's To Say? -- Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
... Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp ...
The Wine Cellar -- John 2:1-11 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"They have no more wine."

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Juxtaposing -- John 3:14-21 -- Richard E. Zajac -- 2001
"... God so loved the world ..."
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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.

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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.

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Jesus, sometimes our branches become cut off from the vine.
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Jesus, sometimes we fail to produce good fruit.
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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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