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Illustration
Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - C
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Ron Love
Abraham Lincoln and his family often sought solace at the Soldier's Home in Washington DC. It was to this mansion that the president often retreated to escape the summer's heat and withdraw from the problems of the war. For a weekend excursion in 1864, the Lincolns invited Joshua Speed to be their guest. Shortly after sunrise, Speed entered the library unannounced. There he found the president sitting before an open window, enjoying the morning's light, intently reading his Bible. Speed complimented the president's faith, then reaffirmed his own skepticism regarding religion.
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For March 26, 2023:

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Object: Three or four rips of cloth. I have used pieces of gauze from bandages, or long strips of an old sheet. We will also need a couple of volunteers for the role-play. When you wrap your volunteer, it does not need to be tight, but just enough to show how it keeps them from moving freely and being free.

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Ezekiel 37:1-14
The First Lesson is the work of a prophet from a priestly family whose ministry to his fellow exiles during the Babylonian captivity extended from 593 BC to 563 BC. Some oracles pre-date Jerusalem’s fall. The original collection of prophecies was rewritten and expanded by an editor.
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John E. Sumwalt
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The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
Jesus said, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." In our worship today, let us explore how it is possible to die but still continue to live.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I cannot understand your words.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I find your words hard to believe.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I am afraid of death.
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Reading:

SermonStudio

Schuyler Rhodes
Forgiveness is a concept common to most everyone. It covers a vast landscape, to be sure. In biblical understanding it is especially broad, linking together economic, social, divine, and interpersonal realities. Indeed, it is pervasive and foundational to Judeo-Christian faith. However, in our contemporary world we cling with worn fingernails to forgiveness as a sparse, seldom-used interpersonal notion. If utilized, it comes when two people have a quarrel, and one forgives the other -- simple -- clean -- easy -- not too intrusive.
Lee Griess
When the famous agnostic, Robert Ingersoll, died, the printed funeral program left this solemn instruction. It read: "There will be no singing." For without faith, few feel like singing in the face of death. Running, perhaps. Crying, certainly. But not singing. Not in the face of death. For without faith, death steals our reason to sing. Death takes the song off our lips and leaves in its place stilled tongues and tear-stained cheeks.

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Schindler's List is a true story of World War II. It focuses on the heroism and self-sacrifice of Oskar Schindler, a Catholic from Krakow, Poland. Schindler goes from wanton war profiteer to a conspirator who tries to free condemned prisoners from concentration camps.

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