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Timothy F. Merrill

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Unfinished Buildings -- Haggai 1:15b--2:9 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - C -- 2003
Travel to Bangkok, Thailand, and you'll fall in love with this beautiful city of the Orient.
Notes From A Nomad -- Luke 5:1-11 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - C -- 2003
Marti Guixe is homeless -- unless you call the world his home.
Preparing For The Comet -- Luke 21:5-19 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - C -- 2003
Ever tried your hand at writing a novel?
The Hated Blessed -- Luke 6:17-26 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - C -- 2003
I don't feel blessed when I am mildly disliked, let alone hated.
The FIDO Effect -- 1 Kings 18:20-39 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C -- 2003
In the fall of 1940, the Battle of Britain was coming to a close.
The Peacemaker -- Luke 6:27-38 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - C -- 2003
You have to admire those men and women who serve as peacemakers in trouble spots around the globe.
The Check Is In The Mail -- Galatians 1:11-24 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - C -- 2003
In November of 1998, I received a call from the billing department of a major electronics store.
How Helen Raster Came Back To Life -- 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Epiphany 8 | Ordinary Time 8 - C -- 2003
Pastors love to have church members like Helen Raster.
Chateau Naboth -- 1 Kings 21:1-21a -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - C -- 2003
Bob and Patty Brower had a dream.
Tipping Etiquette -- Matthew 2:1-12 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Epiphany of the Lord - C -- 2003
I don't frequent fine restaurants regularly, but occasionally I will visit an establishment that com
The Adoption Paradox -- Galatians 3:23-29 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - C -- 2003
Our oldest daughter is adopted.
Famous Last Words -- John 18:1--19:42 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Good Friday - C -- 2003
You'd think that when famous people die, they ought to leave us some final word, a last word, if you
Fruit Is Boring -- Galatians 5:1, 13-25 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - C -- 2003
"... Against such things there is no law." Well, perhaps there ought to be.
Hasta La Vista, Baby! -- Luke 4:1-13 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- First Sunday in Lent - C -- 2003
The Marines have been in the headlines in recent years, and the publicity has not always been positi
Bagging It -- Galatians 6:(1-6) 7-16 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - C -- 2003
Bones Mackay thinks he has a cool job.
Flash-in-the-pan Christians -- Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Second Sunday in Lent - C -- 2003
Back in the good old days of the dotconomy, people were making money hand over fist in what Alan Gre
The Parthenon Paradox -- Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Reformation Sunday - C -- 2003
As you read this, the 2004 Summer Olympics held at Athens, Greece, are history.
The Adversity Antidote -- 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2003
Dr. Charles J.
Fat-finger Dialing -- Philippians 4:4-9 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Thanksgiving Day - C -- 2003
Thanksgiving DayPhilippians 4:4-9Fat-finger Dialing
Cleaning Up After The Bomb -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2003
On March 27, 2002, at a little after 7 p.m., a young Palestinian male sauntered into the lobby of th
Deep Listening -- Luke 9:28-36 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Transfiguration Sunday - C -- 2003
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House, frequently com
What To Do When You've Lost Your Bomb -- Philippians 3:4b-14 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2003
Jack Kingston is a Georgia congressman.
Peace with the FHP -- Romans 5:1-5 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - C -- 2003
This text includes a reference to all three persons of the Trinity.
Pure Blood -- Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 -- Timothy F. Merrill -- Maundy Thursday - C -- 2003
The following is a discussion about blood -- human blood -- and if you can get over the ick factor a

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Rejoice In The Lord -- Luke 3:7-18, Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6 -- Rick McCracken-Bennett, Frank R. Fisher, Christina Seibel, Timothy F. Merrill -- Third Sunday of Advent - C
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Easter 4
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New & Featured This Week

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
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.
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
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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Peter Andrew Smith
“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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John Jamison
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
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Elena Delhagen
Dean Feldmeyer
Quantisha Mason-Doll
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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